Today was the day for scenic driving. We were leaving Maine (sad face) and heading toward New Hampshire. We woke up to a gloriously sunshiny day (well, actually, Michael and I were up before the sun because he wanted to get a run in before we left). He took some lovely pictures of the town of Camden on his run:
 |
| Camden harbor |
Before we had to turn in the rental car, we took a quick run up the Mt. Battie Auto Road (it is located in Camden Hills State Park). It was windy and cool at the top, but we were treated to some amazing views!
 |
| Top of Mt. Battie... the girls called this "Cair Paravel" (from Narnia!) |
 |
| Photo-bomber!! |
 |
| Notice the beach in the top middle of this picture? |
 |
| Acadia in the distance... some other time, Acadia!! |
 |
| This is the beach from the photo above! |
Afterwards, we packed up the RV and began the long drive across Maine. Before leaving Maine, I would like to give some parting thoughts about this state. First of all, there is no shortage of beauty here. From the few short days we've spent here, I am beginning to understand why it is called "Vacationland". The rocky coastlines, the beautiful trees, the quaint towns and harbors. So lovely. Additionally, they (along with really most of the northeast) have a Dunkin' Donuts on almost every corner. I am not kidding. I don't know if its more for the coffee because it's cold or for the donuts because you need fuel to keep warm up there or what?! Just struck us as interesting! And finally, in a bit of family interest, there are no shortage of punch-buggies up here! We failed to keep a count on this trip but it is has been a LOT!!
We stopped by a pretty lake in Maine to have a picnic lunch (sandwiches on some awesome French bread we bought at a bakery in Camden):
We saw lots of these signs along the way today:
 |
| Lots of signs but no moose :( |
 |
| That's a snowmobile crossing sign if you can't tell from my blurry photo! |
Once arriving in New Hampshire, our route took us over the Kancamagus Scenic Highway and through the White Mountain National Forest. I have no idea how to pronounce that name and I'm not about to try because I am repeatedly getting pronounciations wrong up here!! However you say it, it was a beautiful drive. Michael was nervous I was leading him into another "Squirrel Spur" incident when he saw the word "scenic", but the road was mostly very smooth and wide. We saw plenty of buses and RV's.
So this road runs right through a National Forest but it was not closed. Hooray! The campgrounds (which are basically dry camping) did not appear closed either. The only sign of government shutdown was the boarded up bathroom facilities at the scenic areas. The girls were joking that we could sell passes to our RV potty for $5 each and make some easy cash!! Another irony of the 'shutdown' here was that the fee collection boxes were locked up. You are supposed to buy a day pass for $3 to access the trails/scenic areas. No one was prevented from acessing these areas but the government wasn't going to collect their normal fees either. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!! Stupid government. Sigh. (End of political grumbling. Probably.)
Here are some pictures from our drive on the "Kanc":
 |
| Sabbaday Falls |
 |
| Playing "Pooh sticks" on the waterfall! |
We arrived in Orford, New Hampshire around 5 pm and found a spot at a cute family campground right on the banks of the Connecticut River (which is the border between Vermont and New Hampshire). The girls enjoyed stretching their legs on the playground and at the fuseball table while I called my parents (first day with cell service since we arrived in Maine!). Michael built a fire for us and we enjoyed our dessert (Abbie made apple cobbler) outside. I wish there was a way for me to have taken a picture of the night sky. It was amazing. There are virtually no lights out here and we could see stars for days. So beautiful!
Tomorrow will bring a drive through Vermont-- not a long drive but a lot of planned stops... including a long anticipated one for me and one for the girls... I'll let you guess tomorrow which was which!
No comments:
Post a Comment