MAINE MID COAST 17th October

 

We have done over 5000 miles and we have had to put in a litre of oil. There is an annoying electrical problem.......twice now.... Without reason the battery has discharged. We started the car this morning.... Drove a hundred meters... Went for a shower... Came back.... Flat battery!!... Weird! There is room for another battery so well buy one as a spare!! Minor problem we can always use batteries! A nice man from the national park bought his car along an jump leads and started us this am.

This hen of the wood mushroom was a whopper

The leaf color is still lovely down here as its a bit later than where we were. 44deg N our furthest north.

The Moose are eluding us. They get some sort of tick which causes them to scratch off their fur, then they freeze to death in winter so numbers are down. They still hunt moose for meat and heads to hang on the wall! There is also a referendum coming to try to stop bear baiting and trapping. They call it hunting to bait bears with food then trap them and shoot them!! The two camps are strongly opposed to each other. Don't ask me how that could be called hunting!!

Gun shops are amazing.

As we headed south we came upon Camden....so we sort of got stopped again ... So many interesting boat yards an ship builders an harbour masters to talk too! Lovely old houses and nice coffee

Good lobster too. We ended up camping there 3 nights. Our longest stop to date bar New York. A Shaker furniture showroom and workshop caught my eye just north of Lincoln so we went back to vistit. Windsor Chairmakers.   windsorchair.com.  

Huge old barn with people making handmade chairs and tables mostly ...but lots of stuff. The Two farm houses have been joined together and added to with a lovely big exhibition space at the back also filled with their furniture.  So many beautiful timbers to work with.

Camden was a really nice little town with great artsy atmosphere, a nice little town dock and very nice restaurants and very friendly people.  

Rockland. Very near to Camden.

From Camden we Stooged south another 100 odd km to a campground near Freeport Maine. Tomorrow we will explore Bath. 

For Sale for around $250,000. So Cheap here.

More Photos from NewHamshireMaine

MAINE SOUTH 18th October 2014

We accidentally stumbled into the Bentley Bikers Bar Campground on a Saturday night! It was getting late and the State Parks were closed. We decided to stay in spite of the hundred or so bikes parked out the front. After pitching the tent came we wandered down to the Bar. The music was good and the bar was packed. Not much sleep happening! The bikes were working out all night, just outside our tent. We recon there were a few headaches in the morning. The bar puts on a Sunday Breakfast and it is buffet style. This breakfast  made up for the total lack of sleep. The bonus was a shared table at breakfast with a lovely couple who live in Kenerbunkport and we now have new best friends in Ki and Bill.
 http://bentleyssaloon.com/

Kennerbunkport is a pretty place with one of the few ocean front drives on the entire coast. There are some very large mansions set on headlands and vast grounds. Allegedly the playground of the rich and famous for a few weeks in the summer. Most of the coast is privately owned so you can't drive along the foreshore! We were also able to follow the coast some way next day south towards Boston.

 

Dropped into Boston to see the old Naval Vessel USS Constellation No luck. It's being worked on this week so it's closed to the public.  A visit to Faneuil Market instead but didn't really need to shop so moved on south to the Cape Cod Peninsular. 

Someone's summer weekender for sale

Tuesday we drove out the Cape Cod Peninsular. It's Roughly 100km from the Cape Cod Canal which cuts through from Cape Cod Bay to Buzzards Bay. Province Town at the very end of the peninsular is the first site in the US where the Mayflower anchored. The Pilgrims aboard first set foot in the New World at Provincetown. They only stayed briefly, realizing quickly that there is no fresh water. Province Town was a pleasant surprise. It's very cramped, with tiny streets and lots of shopping for tourists. There are more galleries here per kilometer than anywhere we've ever been before. It's obviously a very busy destination in the summer but right now it's pleasant even when its drizzling.

So many neat houses in Maine! So cheap!

We stopped at a neat little cottage, overlooking the ocean for the night  and caught up on lost sleep in comfort and warmth. It is getting very cold at night. The leaves are still great and several locals have told us that they are the best they have ever seen.

NEW HAMSHIRE TO MAINE

North after Cape Cod, inland through Conrad we drove  for 2 Taipan days to get to the White  Mountains. Franconia Notch Campground. A Taipan day involves every back road and laneway......And no freeways. It was beautiful but freezing overnight, down to minus 4 deg. Seems everyone is going south, especially the geese and the campers.  We are still going north today another two days stooging Taipan style .....we went searching for moose. Found lots of tracks but no moose so far. Trip to LL Cote in Errol for some serious warm clothes. Man! The Guns! What a display! It's hunting season just started and the store was busy. Probably all the moose gone for cover as trophy hunters abound. The moose are a rootin an the hunters are a shooting! David had his picture took by a lassie who'd never seen an Australian before!! It's very outback up here. Drills for drilling holes in ice to catch fish. Snow mobiles. Huge piles of firewood. The campground at Deer Farm Campground just north of Kingfield Maine, is almost abandoned. Beautiful leaves, amazing colors. 

Sunday and we headed south east East through some cow country, but mostly poor and abandoned places or for sale. No work up this way. Properties for $ 20k up.  Fall Color still lovely. On the coast now near Ellsworth, Maine. We have booked for 2 nights to take a look around.