Waiting out the storm

Campsite in Moose River, ME

We’ve made our way south to the coast of Maine.

Our first stop was a diner—which looked popular and appeared to be a favorite of locals.

Our next was Belfast, a little seaside town, which seems to survive on tourist trade.  It used to have two shoe factories, but the last closed in the 60’s.  It is a charming town and we enjoyed the art galleries, shops, and marina.  A bonus was that Sheila and Boomer were welcome in a couple of the stores and were given water and treats.   Belfast belongs on the growing list of dog loving communities.

And they expect justice!!

We headed west on a designated scenic route, Highway 1, but because a thick fog rolled in, we saw very little of the beautiful Maine seashore.

We elected to stop in Camden at the state campground and wait until the fog lifted.  The ranger there warned us that a storm was imminent, and 4 to 6 inches of rain are forecast.  My first thought was that we should try to outrun it—at least as far as the outlet stores and L.L. Bean in Freeport.

But Don’s good sense prevailed and
we have hunkered down in the campground.  We have the Internet (yes, in a state campground!!), electricity for our computers and television, and hot showers, so we are set for the duration. 

145 miles; Camden State Campground, Maine; N 44° 13.916’ W 69° 02.962’

Vieux Québec

It poured last night—we could hear the rain pounding on the roof of the Tiger all night.  And, good news, we stayed dry.  The day was a bit overcast and drizzly and we opted to drive into the old city.  Don set the GPS for a parking lot but we found street parking very close to the elevator and stairs into the walled city.

We spent a very pleasant day walking through the streets of what could be the historic district in any French town.

We had the pups so we stayed outdoors

except for the beautiful church.  It was absolutely stunning—flowers, gold leaf, statues and paintings.  It also contained a history of François de Laval, who founded the church and whose relic (a bit of collar bone) was on display.

We walked around the citadel

and the wall overlooking the St. Lawrence (or St. Laurent) seaway.

This is a very beautiful city and well worth a longer visit. 

It is also full of dog lovers—Boomer and Sheila posed for many photos and endured many pats on the head.

We had lunch at a bistro with a charming hostess.

Although dogs are not allowed in the restaurants, even in the outdoor patios, she said we could sit on the outer edge of the patio and park the dogs just outside.  So we were able to enjoy a classic quiche Lorraine and French onion soup with a slightly miffed pair of dogs, who wanted so badly to sit under our table.

We then headed south to Maine.  This part of Québec is thickly settled with tidy homes and gardens, and it appears far more prosperous than the area north of Vermont.  Just north of the U.S. border, the farms and homes stopped.   Our crossing into the U.S. was actually quite pleasant this time.  Our border agent was a nice young man who went to high school in Anchorage.  And this part of northern Maine (the Moose River region) is very thinly settled.  Fall color is peaking here and the drive was just spectacular—and it helped that the sun came out.  We stopped at a campground on a river in a small town—Jackman—and walked down the highway to Schmoose’s Cafe for a beer and lobster roll.

124 miles; Jackman, Maine; N45°38.078’ W 70°15.840’

Camping de la Joie

After a walk around the beautiful grounds of Rivers Bend, we headed north to Burlington, Vermont.  We were here 20 years ago for a conference and remember the place fondly.  It is a charming college community situated on Lake Champlain.  It has history and beautiful views and the attractions one expects of a college community—good coffee, shops, and cultural activities. We took advantage with a stop at Healthy Living, an enormous health food store.  To amuse themselves and befuddle the shoppers, the owners laid out the store in a large figure eight.  It is very difficult to find anything or to keep track of your partner (we used our cell phones).  But it is a fabulous store, and we provisioned with healthy and organic bread, cheese, sausage, fruit and vegetables.  They also had a great selection of wine—a first for me in a health food store.

We walked through the pedestrian center and along a park with a view of the waterfront and lake.  It should have been more fun but the humidity and the heat were high and I was dyin',  We opted to continue north.

We had a lovely lunch at the salmon hole with a beautiful view of a river from a park bench.

We continued north to Québec City.  The province of Québec looks a bit shabby—and there is very little English.  The remainder of Canada is bilingual but Québec is staunchly French.  It is the only place we have been (and we have traveled in Belgium and France) where the stop signs say “arrêt” rather than “stop.”

We stopped for the night at Camping de la Joie.

It was closed but the really nice owner said we could stay once we assured him we did not need to hook-up.

We are just north of Québec City and are pondering how to see the vieux city—whether there is public transportation or we need to drive.

 284 miles; Camping de la Joie, Québec City; N 46°53.820’ W 71°19.806’

Rules Rules Rules

We took our time leaving Boston.  We were ready to be out of the parking lot of Lizzie’s apartment building but so grateful that the super permitted us to stay here.  There really are no campgrounds in this area, and we would not have been able to stay this long if we needed to commute or find a hotel.  We did make one last stop in Cambridge.  I wanted to go to Harvard Bookstore for a book that is unavailable on Kindle.  The book is “When in Rome” by Robert Hutchinson, an irreverent and fun look at life in Vatican City.  It's a lot of fun and good preparation for our trip to Rome next month.

Stock up and Save!

We drove north to New Hampshire and took a route we took several times when Emily was a student at Dartmouth.  We did not stop in Hanover, however, although we were tempted to return to Lou’s, a great coffee shop there.  We did stop at a sad excuse for a rest area—featuring a state liquor store with tax free booze.

We crossed the Connecticut River to White River Junction, Vermont, and headed north toward Burlington.  We stopped at a Vermont rest area. which was really lovely.  Not only did it have lots of traveler information, it had fresh coffee, a park, and a really beautiful tribute to veterans of the Viet Nam war and a memorial in progress to the local folks who have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq—the first such memorial I have seen.  It predates the wall in Washington D.C. and credits itself with being the first Viet Nam soldiers memorial.

We stopped at a TI in Middlebury, and picked up brochures for the local campgrounds.  We rejected the one in the brochure promising lively fun and featuring Polynesian dancers (in rural Vermont?), and chose instead Rivers Bend—a really lovely campground whose owner keeps the camping population under strict control. 

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Our site was right on the river bend

with a beautiful view down the river.

We enjoyed the walk along the river the next morning.

203 miles; Rivers Bend, Middlebury, Vermont; N 44° 03.832’ W 73° 10.814

Boomer and Sheila go whale watching

What a day!  We left Salisbury Beach early because we had an 8:00 a.m. date in Gloucester with Cape Ann Whale Watching tours.  The drive was scenic and the day was beautiful.

As we pulled in, Steve (as we later learned) motioned where we should park.  We asked if we could park in the shade for the pups.  He had a better idea, and asked the captain if the pups could go on the trip.

So the five of us went whale watching. 

And we did see whales

and an interesting old fishing port.

The whales were Fin whales, which are large baleen whales.  On the return, we also had porpoises follow us, playing in the wake of the boat.

It was a beautiful day and this trip is highly recommended.

Because this was to be our last day in Massachusetts with Lizzie, we wanted a special dinner so we had made reservations in the evening for Craigie on Main in Cambridge.  This is a popular place and rightly so.  It uses local and fresh ingredients exquisitely prepared.  Our friend Peter in Anchorage had recommended it—he is related to the chef.  We had a very enjoyable meal and it was the perfect end to our Boston stay. 

69.4 Miles; Arlington, MA