virginia to maine

After breakfast I took a shower and packed all my gear and then had the bright idea of calling my cousin Joe who lives in Charlottesville,VA a out an hour up Rt. 29. I was a ble to get his cellphone number and he was available to have lunch with me. Cool! It’s been a few years since I saw him. I jumped in BEYOND and drove to the gas station. I pulled up to the propane tank right as the propane truck pulled up to fill it and had to wait. So I filled my gas tank and washed the windows, then filled the propane tank. I drove out onto 29 and they were working o n the road and the traffic was backed up but luckily it didn’t last long and I was soon freeway flying up 29 and onto the UVA campus to met Joe. We hooked up and since he had brought his lunch and my aunt had loaded me up with food. We chose to picnic on a nearby shaded picnic table. We caught up and family business and Joe told me about the property he has bought along the James and is drawing up a house for. He is an architect so I am sure it will be a cool house. Then he went back to work and I drove on up 29 to Madison were I turned on to Rt. 133 which goes right along the edge of the mountains and up to Front Royale. Soon I was on Interstate 81 headed north. It got rainy and misty in the Poconos. I pulled off at a sign for a state park but was unable to find it or a gas station. So I headed back to the interstate where there was gas at the next exit. Then I drove onto 80 east and off to the Hickory Run State Park. I drove about 6 miles off the interstate into the Delaware State Forest. I finally found the campground and asked for a site. She said they had a plenty. I asked for a quiet one, but she insisted I choose my own and come back to pay for it. There were hundreds of sites and almost no campers. So I choose one and bicycled back up the hill and paid for it. Then I made some squash onions and tomato and relaxed for the night. It was wonderfully quiet so I slept up top to the sounds of a burbling stream. Nice!

I slept until 9 it was so peaceful. Then I ate a bagel with blue(stinky) cheese and salami. It was very tasty and then loaded my travel log and pictures. Then I got my bathing suit and bicycled over to the lake for a swim. It was cloudy but not raining. The lake was a nice temperature. There were other people there but not really swimming. I pretty much had the swimming to myself which was cool. Then I rode back to my campsite and packed up the van and took on some fresh water and headed out. Then I noticed that my check engine light was on. Crap! Could be nothing but it makes me a bit stressed. So I drive up to Rt 209 which goes through the Delaware Water Gap and into Kingston, NY where my friend Carol lives. As soon as I get on 209 there is a sign that they are working on the road. I decide to go anyway and there was a detour but then I had the road almost to myself. It was a lovely drive. The Delaware water Gap was really pretty. I am going to have to go back and camp there sometime. Then on through Port Jervis and into the Catskill Mountains and finally into Kingston. I arrived 30 minutes before Carol so I took a minute to look up a VW dealer on the net so I can get the engine checked. She still feels great so we will see. It’s great to see Carol and her three cats. She is a painter and I working on a portrait commission. She is off to a good start on the painting. She shows me some more of her current work and then we decide to drive into Woodstock (yes the Woodstock, but not where the concert was) She has a great little VW convertible so we put the top down and cruise on out to the Little Bear for some really good Chinese food. Woodstock was full of hippies and smelled like too much patchouli as always but we got a great table over looking the stream and had some great seafood with hot chili and Mongolian lamb. Excellent. THen we took a drive around Ashkotan. It’s the huge reservoir for New York City. They flooded whole village to make it. Carol says there are still bad feelings locally about it. We watched the light fade of the lake and surrounding mountains. It was pretty magical. Then back to her apartment for a glass of wine and a look at my pictures of Greece. Then off to bed as Carol gets up at 6 am for work. I slept on her couch bed. Good night!

Up at 6 for a cup of tea with Carol then she flew off to work and I hung around for another hour. Carol clued me in to the fact that AutoZone will check your car computer error message for free! Cool. And that the local VOlkswagen place is really bad. SO I go to autozone and they give me the computer I run the check and it comes up Exhaust Gas fault and Transmission Clutch Relay. Hmm. I’m not worried by the exhaust gas but the TCR that could be something. BEYOND feels good and it’s too early to call George who rebuilt my transmission so I driver across Connecticut on the country roads. When I reach Torrington CT (I was born in a hospital here) there is another Auto zone so I pull in and check the computer again. It comes up only Exhaust gas fault this time. That makes me feel better. I drive onto to Hartford and get on the interstate to the Mass Pike. I stop for fuel and eat the rest of my Chinese food for lunch then drive on to 95 North to 128 out to Essex, Mass, When my friends Tom and Peggy live. When I get there I call George about the Transmission Fault code. He says if it feels good it’s probably okay since the code cleared. That makes me feel better.

My friend Peggy had something going on with her heart and is supposed to rest. I am about an hour early and don’t hear any kid noise from the house so I stay in the van. If Peg is resting I don;t want to wake her. Then she drives up in Tom’s car. SHe is looks great and feels good. The tests have cleared her complete nothing to worry about. That’s a big relief. So we go into t he house and see the three kids and see their artwork and eat some fruit.

Tom works at home and is in his office on a phone conference. We are supposed to leave at 4:30 to play disc golf(frisbee golf) He finally appears at close to five and we rush off to meet his brother John. We can’t play at the course closest to his house as the whole Park has been rented for the summer for an Adam Sandler movie. There is lots of talk around Adam and the crew around town. Word has it that Adam is a pretty nice guy.

We catch up with John and have a great golf session. They are both really good. I haven’t played in 9 months when I lost my driver on the course in St. Pete in an impenetrable palmetto clump. We finish just as the rain starts. We pickup a bottle of Pinot Noir on the way home and there are make your own burritos. We have burritos and wine for dinner then break out the music. Tom loves to sit down and share music as much as I do. We spend an hour swapping music and then we watch a movie. I can’t remember the name right now but it was fun. A fantasy film about parallel world’s and people who can cross over.
Then it was time for bed. Another long and excellent day.

Friday
In the morning I helped Peggy and Bob make blueberry pancakes for the kids. We made a huge pile of cakes and ate almost all of them. Then Peggy and I took the kids over to her parent’s house. Tom and Lois are out of town but an aunt and some cousins are house sitting. The weather is very windy and rainy. We run off to take a tour of an historic home there in Gloucester. The original owner was a designer and kept adding on and decorating all the rooms differently. The finally house has about 40 rooms that are all decorated in different periods and styles. It is a fascinating place with rooms in all different colors with lots of different colored old bottles in the windows and everything is designed to go together. The others owners were very appreciative of the designs and kept almost all of the rooms faithful to the original design. A very cool house.

Then we went back to Check on the kids and discovered that a small sailboat out on the dock had turned turtle (flipped over) So we righted it and and go all the kids out to bail the water out of all of the boats. THe winds is still blowing hard but the rain has stopped. So we load up everyone and drive out to Crane’s Beach. We are almost the only people there and the life guards are sitting in their truck but the rain has gone so we all brave the waves and swim. The surf is very high but I make it out past the breakers and keep an eye on all the kids who are playing in the surf in case on gets dragged out. THey re having fun jumping over and under the breaking waves. The water is pretty chilly and soon I am cold so I head back in and most of the kids are cold too so we load back up and drive down the road to a new ice cream place that has opened. I have deer tracks ice cream which is vanilla with white chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts. It’s pretty good. Then we all head back home and swim in the pool to wash off. Soon Tom is finished with work so we cook some steak on the grill and eat it with fresh corn and green beans. THen Tom and I break out the beer and the music and do some serious listening. until his son Elliott comes down and reminds us that he is sleeping on the couch tonight since Bob and Foster are in his room. SO we finish up bu listening to some of Elliott’s metal tunes and then call it a night. I take a shower and head out ot BEYOND. It’s nice and cool and the wind and rain have stopped. It will be good sleeping tonight.

Saturday
I am up at 7:30 and make a cup of tea while I wait for the house to wake I read a book that Peggy recommended. Soon TOm is up and we have cereal and then get to work putting a roof on the treehouse he is building for Lindsay and Jenny. He has hoisted two big cross beams about 8 feet up onto a triangle of trees and constructed a platform. He wants to put and tent roof on it. When I look I suggest that we get some PVC tube and make a barrel roof instead. He concurs and we go in search of long PVC. In Florida every Home Depot sells 12 and maybe longer lengths but in Mass you can only get 10 ft lengths. So we buy some 10 footers, some connecters and dowels to put inside and strengthen the joints, PVC cement and conduit clips. We stuff it all into BEYOND and head back. After lunch on left over burritos we head out and sand the dowels so fit inside the PVC. Then we cut pieces to length and assemble our roof supports. THen we get out the bug dope and tools and head up to the treehouse. The mosquitos are really fierce but we tough it out. I assemble the roof while Tom pulls out a big length of fish net he bought and begins to stretch it off one end of the treehouse like a big hammock. Soon we have the roof in place and I help him finish off the hammock. It is super cool and reminds me of the trampoline on a catamaran. We take quick turn lying in ti and then retreat to get the girls. We bring them up and string up the mosquito netting and they are thrilled with the roof and hammock. So we all retreat back to the house. Tom and I grab beer chips and salsa and head for the screen house. Peggy and the kids make pasta with Peg’;s homemade pesto and we all eat dinner in the screen house. Then Tom has to take a business call so I read and play dominos with Jenny. Then it’s late when Tom finishes his call so we say good night. I shower off the sweat and mosquito parts and head for bed.

Sunday

I am up early again and Tom a nd I have cereal and then Tom and I take a ride down to the clay studio because I have a project I want us to try. I saw some violin shaped vessels in a shop in Greece and want to make one with him. We roll out some clay and form it into the basic shape but then it starts to look like a human torso and I start working it in that direction and Tom goes off to trim some plates he made the other day. I get the torso looking really cool and am smoothing the surface but I work it too far and it begins to sag! Too bad. So I collapse it and beat the clay back down so Tom can reuse it. I would like to try it about with a heat gun so I can stabilize it as I go next time. I phone my friend Celia in Arlington and arrange to visit on Monday. When Tom is finished we head home and he ends up working for the rest of the day with a quick dinner break of roast pork and veggies. After dinner I plot my route to Celia’s house in Arlington and then read until Bed.

Monday

I get up and help PEggy make blueberry pancakes for the kids. THen I pack up BEYOND and at 9:30 I head south. The traffic is clear and I make good time to Arlington and have no trouble finding Celia’s house. She isn’t there and I am a little early so I walk around the block. Celia pulls up as I am coming back up the street and recognizes me. She looks almost the same 22 years later! She and her husband Steve have two kids about Winfree and Estill’s age. They are of at camp so I get the house tour. Celia took a break from making her collage, assembly boxes when the kids came but is trying to get back into making some art. Soon we have to go pick up her son Tommy who is 8 and is at comic drawing class. Celia drives now which different (but not on the highway) We get a cup of tea and chat while we wait for her son. Then he want s to play with his friend. HIs friend’s Father Chris works at the Fogg Art Museum as an art handler and is a painter himself. We have a good chat while the kids eat and they go off with Chris. Celia takes we to the park where Paul Revere did his famous ride long ago and we go for a walk and continue catching up. THen we pick up Tom and her daughter Julia from camp and all head to the lake to swim. It’s warm to day and the water feels good except there is quite a bit of chlorine in it. I have fun playing with Tommy. Then we go home and change and Celia and Steve have a meeting so She dropped me and the kids off at her sister Rebecca’s house. Her husband Chris (?) is very nice but the kids are out of control. They are a pretty wild bunch bunch and don’t pay much attention to their parents. Finally we bundle them into the car and head for a chinese restaurant the kids like. Celia’s kids keep picking on their cousin Abby and she screams and throws tantrums. It’s very weird. I wonder how they developed these behaviors! It’s also exhausting. We eat at the buffet and it’s okay but the kids are out of control. Running around and screaming. Defying all attempts to the get them to behave. Celia’s sister Rebecca joins us and she can’t control them either. Finally we finish eating and walk to a playground where the kids burn off energy and we play play with the new Blackberry to Harvard bought her. She works in their Museum staffing department. WHen it gets dark we drag the kids back to the car. We try to stop on the corner for ice cream but the freezer is broken so so Chris(?) and I drive to the supermarket for the same same brand. It’s a local super premium. We get home and Celia and Steve are there. We have to fight with the kids to make them wait for their ice cream as I insist that they get served last for being so disrespectful to their parents. I bought the ice cream so I could serve how I felt like! The ice cream was good. When we got back it was bedtime for the kids. Celia, Steve and I drank some wine and talked while Steve and I compared music collections. He working in the home audio industry and we both love music. Then Steve had an early meeting so we all crashed. I slept in BEYOND in the driveway and it was much cooler than in the house!

Tuesday
I get up and have tea and cereal with Celia and then catch the bus right in front of their house for Harvard Station. I walk through Harvard Square and spend the day walking around looking at the buildings, the projects in the Design Center and then the Art Museum. THe main Museums are close for renovation but they have part of each collection in another building for viewing. There is floor of modern art, one of classical and American paintings and sculpture and a floor of Oriental art and sculpture. I enjoyed the pieces and must return when the Museums are reopened. THen I walk around some more and find the farmer’s market I remember from a few years ago is set up. It is the most expensive market I have ever seen but I buy to peaches and sample some handmade Mexican chocolate ( I bought some before) it’s very grainy but tasty with a hint of cinnamon. There is a chamber group playing beside the fountain so I sit on a rock in the shade and listen and watch kids play in the water. WHen I finish I get a cal from Celia that they are going swimming and then the family has an engagement. We agree on a time for dinner and I spend the afternoon walking around Harvard Square. Most of the small boutiques have been replaced by chain stores SIGH! It has really lost a lot of it;s charm. I walk in the Harvard Coop and look at the books and find an Eastern Mountain Sports and replace the soap container the airport security confiscated on my way to Greece hen I catch the bus back to Celia’s house. THe fare is cheaper with a Charlie transit card so i buy a one use card. Good to know for the future. I get back to Celia’s too late to swim. I write in my log until they return and There is an email from my stepmother about visiting her son Steve and a report on the cover my father is making to go over the deck he and I build last spring. WHen Celia gets home I cook some squash and onions for dinner and she feeds the kids mac and cheese. When Steve gets home we have a quick dinner and they all leave for something. I finish my dinner and then clean the kitchen which is a bit messy. I try to call another fiend of mine Dana whom I also worked with at StageWest years ago. I think I get his mother and she gives me his brother’s number call to get his number and then tells me that his father died a few days ago. Ouch! I leave messages on both phone number with my number for Dana to call me and the take a shower. I write more in my log, until they return with the Tim Burton Movie Coraline. Celia make popcorn and Steve tells me bit about the theater sounds system that he helped develop part of the technology for. Steve has work to do and heads upstairs. Celia the kids and I get our popcorn and 3D glasses and watch the movie. Like all TIm Burton movies it has a great look and a good story line. Very enjoyable. Then off to bed. No phone call from Dana. I know he lives in the Boston area but can’t find a phone number for him. Maybe tomorrow. Good night!

Wednesday
Well no messages from Dana. Maybe he is too caught up in dealing with the death of his father. I had tea with Steve before he went to work. Then split and bagel with Celia. Sill no word from Dana and Celia is off with the kids and rush hour is over o i lock up the house and head for Concord, MA. Soon I spot a bike path and stop. I bicycled on the Minuteman Commuter Bike Trail. It was a nice ride probably 6 miles. There was a bike shop and then end. I didn’t have money so I got directions and drove over and bought a spare bike tube. The stopped at CVS for a pair of clip on sunglasses that fit. And then found my way to Concord and over to Walden Pond where I swam.  Toured the replica of Thoreau's house. HA!  Cute little place!  I walked around the lake and saw the actual site of his house. Then swam again.  His most famous statement we all learned in school has always been important to me. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion." I was pleased to see the actual place. I have contemplated these word often over the years. I am still inspired by them. Then I drove north into New Hampshire and stopped along the way at a roadside stand for squash then at the super market for onion and milk. Then a little further and stopped for the night at Pawtuckaway State Park.  
I find my site and get the top up and the rain starts. And then the phone rings and it’s my step m other’s son Steve. We arrange for me to call him the next afternoon to arrange a time and place to hook up. Then I drink beer and eat some chips and finally bike to the washroom for a shower. I forgot it took quarters and biked back up the hill but it was worth it to get clean as it was pretty warm and humid. Then back to Beyond to write in my log and sleep. Another fine day except I wish I had heard from Dana. Too bad. ‘Night!

I sleep in until 8 and have tea and wheat chex for brekkie. Love wheat chex! Used to have them at camp in New Hampshire when I was a kid. Maybe that’s why I really wanted them today. I clean the van and collected all my dirty clothes and looked for my bathing suit. I had it at Celia’s house and remember drying it in the van but have not seen it since. Looked everywhere i could think of. Even called Celia to have her look in the driveway in case it fell out of the van. Damn, now I have left my shoes at Carol’s and lost my bathing suit. What next. Hope my head is screwed on tight. I got my pack ready and drove down to beside the marsh where a trail leads up to a fire tower and headed off at a fast walk to try and out run the skeeters. No luck I ended up spraying DEET on my elbows, ankles and back of my neck to keep them at bay. They are really thick from all the rain this year. Finally i get up on the mountain where there is some wind blowing and and the bugs retreat. It’s a nice hike and soon I m up on top and the breeze is great. There are some teenagers on the tower having fun speculating on the number of band members in the Sex Pistols. When I get to the tower I throw out that I think there were three. Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten and the drummer. They laugh and head down so I can see the view. It’s overcast but you can still quite a ways. There are maps indicating what can be seen in each direction. Pretty cool. Then I eat my apple and walk back down. The walk down is less buggy as the sun has come out and when I reach the bottom I drive down to the beach for a swim. The sun is out and the water is a perfect temperature so i swam for a while then sit on a picnic table and read. I have a granola bar and a plum for lunch. Then I go back to BEYOND and change into dry clothes and call Steve. He calls me right back and we arrange to meet at 5:50 at the big liquor store outside of Portsmouth, NH Steve is a wine seller. I drive into town and find a laundromat. I get all the sheets and dirty clothes together and get them started the notice a book on the counter. Wow! It’s the final book of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea Trilogy The Farthest Shore. I have been thinking about re reading these books. In fact I looked for them in my house for the trip but didn;t see them. Cool! SO I read some of it and finish cleaning the van and manage to spill a bunch of my detergent in the parking lot. Klutz! Still no bathing suit. I check my email a Celia has looked but can’t find it at their house. What a mystery. When my clothes are finished I stack them in the back seat and drive into Portsmouth. I find the liquor store and am early so I drive on into town and go the the Portsmouth Brewery where they brew my favorite brown ale Smuttynose. I finally find a parking space next to a park and walk up the hill. I find the brewery with just enough time for a pint and decide to try and IPA. It’s very good, also Smuttynose. I pay and am walking back down the hill when my phone rings. It’s Steve saying he told me the wrong time to meet and where am I. I tell him near the brewery and we arrange to meet back there in 20 minutes. So back up the hill. Through a store that I thought was going to be od building parts but was just stuff and a used book store. The owner thinks he has the other two Eathsea books but can’t find them. Too bad. So I walk to the brewery and there is Steve talking to an old friend. Steve used to work here and knows lots of the clients. We have a pint of summer ale and talk with his friend then Steve tries to sell some wine to the manager and we are off to pick up his kids from karate. They want to ride in BEYOND but she is full of clean folded clothes so they ride with their Dad and I follow them home to Dover, NH. We say hi to Beth and chat in the kitchen over a beer while Steve cooks up some shrimp with rice veg and feta cheese. We eat on the porch and then I go to meet the new goats and the geese. Then Chase plays me a song on the piano and Tucker their new computer game. Then they are off to bed. I take a shower. Beth, Steve and i watch part of a movie on TV but soon head for bed. The weather is nice and cool so i sleep in BEYOND. Good night.

The next morning I have breakfast with Steve and then we go out to the barn to feed the animals. Then we go into town to the store for food.
THe boys ride with me up to camp. We stop at the store in Milton Mills for ice cream in the pouring rain. It’s coming down as hard as a Florida summer storm. We run for the van and drive on. THe boys help me with all the turns and soon we are at camp. We run back and forth until we have all the supplies in the house then we put everything away. It’s still pouring so we put on a movie. Pink Panther. The new version with Steve Martin. It was pretty good. THe boys loved it. THen I played chess against Tucker and finally won. It was pretty close. We are pretty evenly matched. By this time the rain has almost stopped so we swim. When we are finally cold Beth arrives and we scrounge around for dry kindling and get a fire going in the stove. Soon the camp is warm and we are all in dry clothes so we have a glass of wine and start the movie Princess Bride! I love this one. About half way through I start dinner. Mushroom risotto, mango salsa, and squash and onions. We try to reach Steve to see if he is on time but no answer. Beth gets pissed. Finally we start the grill and Steve shows up just in time to grill the salmon and other fish. It’s ready just after the risotto so I serve it all up and we open another bottle of wine and feast! It all tastes great and we enjoy our meal except Beth is silent and she and the boys go to bed after dinner. Steve and I stay up for a while and drink a bit more wine and talk. Then off to bed. Hopefully there will be no sleep driving tonight! I hav e only done it once and that was right here last July 4th! Scary place as the road is just wide enough for my van with steep drop on either side.

In the morning Beth has gone home to clean. They live in an B &B and guests are coming. Steve and I have tea and coffee and then go down to the lake for a swim. Soon the boys are up and Steve makes a big breakfast. Eggs from their hens bacon toast. Very good. Then we spend the rest of the day n the water. As Ratty says in WInd in the WIllows “There is nothing as satisfying as messing about in boats!” We sew up the sail on the sunfish and she sails fine. Then we take the big motor boat out for a spin around the the lake. Steve points out the Ossippe Mt ring inside of which we went to Camp Merrowvista when we were teens. Those mts bring back memories. We paddle boat over to the neighbors pulling the boys on the big float. THen we tow them back and notice ripe blueberries. So we go back in the small motor boat to pick and wind up driving to different spots around the lake but finally finding a bonanza and come back with a huge pile of berries. Steve and I make burgers and corn for dinner along with left overs from the night before. We feast and then we make a zen rock garden and light a fire and torches along the water front and prepare for a wine tasting with the neighbors. Steve and I sample the wine and soon the friends show and we have wine and chocolate until everyone is tired and then we put out the torches and head the fire and head for bed. What a great day!
In the morning it’s blue berry pancakes and bacon for brekkie then a swim and I pack up my gear say my good byes and head east to meet up with Cecile and family in Durham, ME. It’s a sad goodbye but I am sure I will be back for more messing about in boats. Steve thanks again for your hospitality. I always have a great time with you!

I find my way to Acton, ME and then take the blue highways East until I am near Bradbury Mt. State park where I camped and rode my bike last year. Some rough trails! I call Cecile to see if they want to meet me there for a hike but they are picking blueberries so I drive over to join them. Cecile and her son Percy are done picking (too many bugs) so they jump in the van with me and we drive back to the house. I am warmly greeted by Mike, Julie and Dick. It’s great to see them again this year. I met Julie and Dick (Cecile’s folks) last year and we all had a great time. One of Cecile’s sister Joanne returned with Bridget and soon we are having a beer and a snacky lunch and talking around the table. Then we fly kites for a while and look at fixing the lawn mower. We discuss going into town or a concert but decide to cook dinner instead. I make mushroom, chicken risotto and squash and onions and Cecile makes some chicken and other veggies. We have a nice meal and then Mike does the dishes and we all play Boggle. It’s a new game for me but I enjoy it. I’m not much of a game player but this one involves words and I have fun. Then we all head for bed.

I am up way too early so I make a cup of tea and head back to bed. Soon all are up and we have cereal and toast for breakfast. Then Cecile and family and I head out to meet Joanna to kayak and Mike goes off to hit golf balls. IT’s a beautiful day and the kayak place is swamped but soon we are on the water and we have a nice hour and a half paddle then return our gear and head to a restaurant and Cecile and I have some good fresh clams for lunch. Then back to the house. We all relax for a bit and then Mike, Percy and I head off to a disc golf course just down the road and play The Beast! It’s Mike and Percy’s first time but the both throw frisbee very well. We all have a fun frustrating time bouncing off trees but complete the course in good time and zoom home for dinner. Cecile and her father have gone off to fiddle camp so the rest of us eat and great meal Julie has prepared. Roast pork. mashed, green beans and finally blueberry pie with ice cream! What a great meal. Mike and I clean up and read until the rest are home then all are tired and off to bed.

In the morning we are up for tea and cereal and then we organize and picnic and car arrangements. Cecile Bridget and I drive BEYOND to the store for more supplies and I visit the farmers market for squash, onions, zuchini kale and a bluberry bar. I run the store and buy some pepperoni. We pack up the van and the others met us then we caravan up the coast to Rockland. We stop to see Suze another Bates graduate who is a good friend of Mike and Cecile's. We find her house and then all head for the beach for a picnic. Suz has a son Harry and soon some of his friends and their parents show up. It’s very foggy and Eva is not able to fly off Matinicus to meet us. Too bad! We have a picnic in the fog and then Mike Percy and I go for a swim. THe water is brisk! But I swim a bit and then dry off and we are all off to Suze’s house. We talk and watch some schoolhouse rock then I drive Suze and Cecile to the pizza shop and grab and slice for me and head north to Rockport, ME to meet my friend Carrie. She is working for the summer at the Maine Media Workshops. She has to run a slide show so we head over to the venue to ge tit set up and I take a walk. It’s a beautiful place but all the house are for sale by Sotheby’s so you know it’s outrageously expensive! The slides shows are really cool. And then Carrie and I go out and drinks some wine and talk about future plans. THen I drive back and sleep in front of Suze’s house. It takes me a while but I finally find it and crash.

In the morning I am up early and Suze is just leaving for work. She let’s me in to use the bathroom and a quick shower then I drive over to the coffeehouse where she works and I have tea and a blackberry scone. It’s also a used bookstore and I look and sure enough they have the other two Earthsea trilogy books. Cool! I get them for $5 and now I am set to read the trilogy again. I wander around town and then to the tourist bureau to see if the Matinicus plane got off. Eve isn;t on it our the boat so I call. She is going to try to get over in the afternoon and will call me. I move BEYOND to all day parking and head for the Farnsworth Museum and am entranced by Andrew Wyeth’s watercolors! THey are amazing. I also see the work of the LOVE sculpture man and many other painter in the Wyeth family. THen I get a call the Eve is coming over. Great! I call Cecile and we agree to meet half way in Damariscotta, ME. Eve is a bit late but here so we hug then say hello to Suze. She declines to join us as her man is flying back in from fishing in Alaska! We hit the road and soon are at the rest stop out side town. Cecile and family show up minus Dick and Julie and we drive into town and find aa pub and order burgers and beer, just what Eva wanted! We have a great time catching up and the Mike and the kids go for a walk and Eva, Cecile and I pay and then walk and continue or conversation. it’s sprinkles a bit and then pours and Eva is worried about getting home so she and head back to Rockland and when we get there the weather is clear enough to fly so Eva heads home and I walk back to BEYOND and drive back to see Carrie and some more slide shows. THen I park in front of the hotel where she is living and grab a quick shower in her room and crash. Another great day!

Thursday

In the morning I cleaned out BEYOND while Carrie went to the gym. Then we went into Hamden for breakfast at a cool cafe there. Breakfast wraps and juice. Then Carrie dropped me off at the hotel and I charged my computer and tried to download pictures to my computer but I keep getting a memory card error. It looks like my camera is broken. Damn! It’s going to be hard to get it fixed on the road.
So I go online and try to get a campsite at Acadia National Park but it
s totally booked except for the campground that only takes walk-ins. Carrie’s dad is coming up for the weekend and she really want s to take him camping in Acadia. So I pack up and drive over to see carrie and work and give her back her room key and head south for the Olson House which is where Andrew Wyeth painted Christina’s World and many other paintings. THen back to Rockland where I gas up and have Pizza Hut buffet for lunch then head for Acadia to see if I can get a campsite. It’s a beautiful day and the traffic is not too bad so I enjoy the drive and arrive at the Seawall Campground at 4:30 and get the very last campsite for one night. It’s in the Rv area right by the bathroom but I am in. I am informed that I can get in line at 8 am and I should ne able to get a campsite in the tent area(Carrie and her Dad are bringing a tent) for the next two nights. So I take a walk set up camp cook dinner and then crash. I feel like I have been on other people’s time for weeks! It feels good to be on my own schedule. I read and soon I am curled up under my blanket fast asleep!

Cereal and tea for breakfast then I drive up to Echo Pond and go for a swim then I hike up the cliff. It gets very steep and includes 4 steel ladders then i am on the top of the cliff looking back down at the lake and there are ripe blueberries! Yes! Then I hike on up to the top of the Beech Mt. where there is a fire tower and a fine view in most directions. It’s a clear blue sky except for one black cloud in the north. I eat an apple and head back down and take another trail that goes along the cliffs over the lake. Then back down to the lake for a swim. When I ge there that black cloud is over the lake nd the wind has kicked up! I quickly jump into the lake and enjoy the waves the wind is kicking up. People are scurrying for their cars but I hang out on the beach and soon the storm passes and I lie in the sun with my book and warm up and dry off in the sun. I am reading the Earthsea Trilogy and enjoying it as much as the last time a read it. Probably 20 years ago. WHen I am warm I pack up and drive back to my campsite and change my clothes. THe local chapter of the VFW is having a lobster dinner tonight to raise money for student scholarships. I decide to drive in to Southwest Harbor and join the fun. I show up just before 7 pm and find out that it started at 5 and I am the last customer! Wow just squeaked by. But the stars were shining for me as they had lots of really fresh mussels and they gave me a double portion! Yum. THe lobster was excellent and fresh corn on the cob. THen brownies and ice cream. What a feast. THey gave me extra brownies and corn to take with me for Carrie and her father who are joining me tomorrow. I went back to camp and crashed after that great feed.

Saturday
I am up early eating oaties (off band cherrios) and drinking tea. It’s a gorgeous day. No fog in sight so I ride my bike down the road to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. THere are lots of boats headed out of the channel to take advantage of the amazing day. I ride back and stop to hike two trails that go down around two old harbors. No buildings any more but very pretty views. One there is a family swimming and the father waits down current to catch the kids as the water pushes them past. They are having a blast. THey all have biblical names and are calling their parents ABA and ZAZA, which I find fascinating. On the other trail there is a section of trail that is surrounded by a cloud of light purple wild roses. It smells like heaven. THe best perfume ever! I ride back to camp and have a bite of lunch and then lie down to read as Carrie and Don should arrive soon. And about 10 minutes later they roll in. After hellos we load up and head into SOuthwest harbor to get a sandwich togo and then off to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. THere is a lecture or something that carrie wants to see. We never find the lecture but eventually we find a parking space and walk around and take pictures and then go for a hike. We walk down a ridge for a while a pick a few blueberries then head back up. We get back in the car and drive around the carriage road stopping to see the Thundering Hole but the tide is too low for thunder. Then Jordan Lake house. And finally we decide to drive into Bar Harbor for dinner. We get lucky and find a parking space right in the center of town. We walk down to the harbor and then to the Patagonia store and some other outdoor clothing stores to see if there is anything we must have. Nothing insists so we get directions to a mexican place and have dinner. Pork and Chicken tortilla with a very sweet mole sauce for Carrie and I and her father has some soft tacos. Then we drive back to the campground and walk down along the shore to look at the moon and stars. The sky is completely clear and it’s very dark here and we can see a trillion stars and the moon is painting a gold path across the sea. Lovely. THen off to bed.

Sunday

We are up pretty early and all have hot chocolate and oaties for breakfast. Then we drive up to Echo Lake and take the same hike up to the overlook and the Beech Mt fire tower. Carrie and DOn doe well and we all enjoy the hike and follow it with another quick swim. Then Don and Carrie have to drive back for Carrie has work to do. DOn is a real quirky guy. Pleasant but a bit out of control. IT’s almost like he and Carrie have reversed roles and she is the parent of an unruly child. It was fascinating to watch the dynamic. Anyway I go for another swim then grab some fruit and a chair and eat lunch and swim again then read in the sun and when dry pack up and drive further down east along Route 1 and then a side run down scenic route 192, as recommended by Outside magazine. I knew it would be good for something! Then route 189 and onto West Quoddy Head, ME which is the easternmost point in the US. I was here years ago on a geology trip from Bates but it’s fun to come back. In the last 3 years I have been to the NorthWest, Southern and now Easternmost points in the US. Guess I will have to get back to San Diego again soon to complete the corners! THen I drive about 5 miles across the Canadian border into New Brunswick to cam p at the Campobello Roosevelt International Park. Our President had a summer home there. It used to be quite a resort but now it’s a very pretty provincial park. And I happy turn off the engine and make some pasta with red sauce and lots of veggies for dinner. THen I get a really nice hot shower and scrape of the last almost week of dirt. Swimming everyday helps but a hot shower really feels great. Then back to BEYOND where I quickly fall asleep. Good night.

Tea and a bagel with roasted red pepper humus for brekkie with tea and I am on the road again. Again kudos to Outside magazine for recommending Cobscook State Park where they lend you the equipment to dig clams. I pony up my $4 park admission and deposit a 20 for the clam rake and basket and am directed to a mud flat. I walk out in my watershoes and they are promptly sucked off my feet by the mire! SO I dig them up and scrub them clean and leave them on high ground and walk barefoot into the tidal stream and start looking for the clams breathing holes. After a few tries I am getting pretty good at find the buggers. No really big ones but big enough! It is hard muddy work. I can see why my friend Tom switched from digging clams to painting houses during the summers for college money! I didn’t get started on the falling tide but right past dead low and soon the water is coming back in and I am near enough to the Bay of Fundy that it’s coming in fast enough that I start wading back to whence I began. I dig a few more clams along the way but soon my basket floats away whenever Search through a rake full of mud. Of course I find some of my best clams! Soon the water is deep enough and I am muddy enough that call it quits and remove as much mud as possible from my shoes, body and the clams then go back to BEYOND and pull into the picnic area to a spot looking over the sea and I cook and eat all of the clams! Delicious! Well worth the effort. Then I wash all the dishes and return my rake and basket collect my $20 and head north back to route 1 and up to Calais, ME. There I consult the tourist info place about a phone number for the North woods Company. THe are the logging company that owns most of Northern Maine. There used to be a little museum there but it has closed. SO I find an internet signal and do some email. I wanted to call some people but I am so close to Canada that I am getting their cell network so I hold off until I am further inland. THen I drive north up Route 1 and onto ROute 6 west throug ha thunder storm then I head up a gravel road to a campground and make my calls. But soon lose the signal. About 5 miles of pretty rough gravel road I reach the campground by a lake and relax then make veggies with hummus and parmesan cheese for dinner. Take a shower to wash of the last of the clam mud and crash.

Tuesday
I am up early for a hummus bagel and then get on the road. As I drive out over the mountain I get a message from Jenny at Creative Clay and my timing is perfect to call her and we work on the layout for the FolkArt and Music Festival. Then I drive north and stop at a pretty river for a swim but it’s very buggy and the rocks are slimy and current swift so I am only in briefly then dry off and drive onto route 2 north when I crosses 95 I pick up a phone signal and talk to my friend Chris. He has been doing some serious biking which is great. I write some business email and then head into the North end of Baxter State Park. I drive 9 miles into the campground on the pond below North Traveler Mt. I get the last site in that campground and am glad I did as it’s very pretty here. I take a quick up on Sadler Mt and make it almost to the top stepping over at least four piles of bear poop. One very fresh. Before heading back down for a swim. THere has been lost of rain and the rocks are very slippery. I take my time and soon I am in the Lake swimming in nice cold water and watching the sun set over the mountain. I find out there are ripe blueberries up on the Ledges so I grab a container and run the half mile up there and find huge blueberries. I pick and watch the sun emerge from the clouds painting the rocks red and then set. I pick for another 15 minutes and then run back down before it’s too dark to see the trail.
Then I drink a beer and make some risotto with veggies and fall asleep.

Wed
I am up and ready to hike at 8 am. I head out on the Traveler Mt Loop but in my haste I miss a signpost and head off on the wrong trail. It’s running along a pretty stream but not climbing to much. THen It dead ends into a pretty waterfall. I can;t find any more trail so I do the only logical thing. I get naked and swim. I ma drying on a rock when I hear a voice and I have company I quickly slide into my shorts and a young couple join me by the waterfall. THey are both physicians from Windsor. ME down ear Portland taking a weeks vacation. We have nice chat and I eat my bagel with humus then walk back down. I find the sign I missed but it’s too late to do the loop so I head up North Traveler Mt. It soon is very steep with lots of loose rock. Soon there are more blueberries than I have ever seen. I head up on the shoulder of the mountain and stop for a rest and chat with some other hikers and then head for the top at 3144 ft. Just below the top I stop for a chat with Nancy from Belfast, ME. Finally on top and it’s clear and I can see the top of Baxter peak in the distance. I climbed it last year. Then i walk back down stopping to big the biggest and fattest berries I see along the way. When I get back down I have a full pint of berries and talk to nancy some more and swim and then drive out of the park until I get a good cellphone signal then I see a gravel road back to an old cemetery and pull off. I get a call through t o my father have a nice chat with him them make some mac, cheese and pepperoni and watch the stars come out. Nancy said to look for shooting stars so I eat in the dark and watch but don;t see any and soon my eyes are closing and I call it an night. It’s been a long but nice day.

THursday
In the morning I drive into town and the north on route 11 to Ashland, ME where I gas up, but more drinking water in my tank and then drive to the North Wood Company gate. The woman on the gate is not very friendly and says I can’t a take a bicycle in and that the bridge is out and I can’t get to ROund Lake where I want to camp. SO I drive away and head for the next gate at Portage. before I get there I fold my bicycle up and put it inside the van. This woman is more pleasant and I get my permit and head in. But she also says I can’t get through to the Allagash gate because the bridge is out. I head in and find my way to Deboullie Mt Reserve. A few logging trucks fly past me but I just get out of the way. It’s their road. Then I am in the reserve and have to creep over a really rocky section of road but find a nice campsite and pull in. I put up the top and crawl up for a read and a nap. In a little while I was awakened by another car coming up the road behind me. He came up then backed down then cam up again and I heard him get out of his car and walk along side BEYOND. I called out to him and startled him. He asked if I knew how to get to more campsites down the road. I told him I did not. He said he was going to take the site next to me and to come over for a glass of wine. I told him I would be over in a bit. I read some more while he set up camp and then got up and put on my bathing suit thinking about a swim before the wine. When I came around the van there he was sitting at his picnic table with the wine all ready. S I went over and introduced myself. His name was Allen and he was a retired TWA pilot. I went back to BEYOND for a wine glass and joined him in sipping some pinot noir. He had been kayaking around on some of the lakes and streams in the north Woods. And lo and behold he had just come in one of the gates I am trying to get out! Yes! I figured there would be a way out going North instead of retracing my steps. He missed a turn and came the long way around but we look at the map a try to find the turn he missed. He drove 40 extra miles. We keep seeing vehicles drive past us on a very rough and rocky road. Maybe that is it. He offers me a canned ham and mustard sandwich. Having had only tortilla chips since breakfast I accept. Goes pretty well with the wine. We have been camping in many of the same parts of the country and spend the rest of the afternoon drinking wine and telling stories. He offers to open a can of chicken and make chicken and mustard sandwiches for dinner. I decline and invite him for dinner and I settle him in BEYOND with his glass and proceed to make fresh veggies over pasta with humus and parmesan cheese. He has been camping in bear country and eating out of cans for a couple of weeks and really enjoys the fresh veggies. After dinner and a few more stories I have drunk enough wine to be pretty sloshed and am ready for bed. I send him home and crash. It was fun to meet another traveler. He had some great stories enjoyed mine equally. Good night.