I've been hanging out at Sue's. Not too much going on here with the hot and humid weather, but we have done some walks and it's always good to hang out with family!
8/7 - I was planning to head to Albany today in preparation for arriving for my van appointment at 8 AM. Sue recommended that I call them and I'm glad I listened to her since they told me that the parts won't be coming in until 10-10:30 tomorrow. I am incredulous. They were supposed to order the parts to arrive on Monday (or so I thought based on our discussion). What is this a ridiculous JIT (Just In Time) inventory process so they don't incur 3 extra days of inventory??? So, I'm staying at Sue's another night and will head up in the morning. I am so afraid that they will not get this done tomorrow. And what does that mean for us?
I filled Zoe's water bowl today in the van using the main faucet and it smelled horrible. The water out of the drinking faucet and the outdoor shower in the back smelled fine. I ran a bunch of water through the main faucet and now it smells ok. Hmmm. I've been putting off running bleach through the system, but maybe it's time. Not sure when/where I'll do that now. Should have done it when I got here a week ago.
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| Cool web. Never seen anything like it before. Spider web or something else? |
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| Morning view |
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| Sue's Catalpa tree - so beautiful and provides wonderful shade |
8/8 - Went to Albany and dropped off van. Zoe and I walked to the bike path and then walked around (Mercedes wouldn't take Zoe in the shuttle). We met up with Sue and Jet at Lion's park, where she brought lunch. It started raining, but we went for a walk anyway (not too wet) and then Sue dropped us off at the shop. I only waited another 45 min and it was fixed. I was so nervous that it wouldn't be fixed, but it sounded good while driving it.
I left there and headed for Brattleboro, VT where I met up with Sunny and stayed at Fort Dummer State Park. Funny name! Nice campground and I got a spot right next to Sunny. It was raining for my whole drive and then heavily when Zoe and I walked and when Sunny and I went into Brat (as it's called) for dinner.
I was planning to go to Beth's the next day, but basically she and her mom didn't want Zoe there due to her protectiveness/aggressive behavior. I hadn't really thought about it, but realized that since people come and go all the time there, it might not be a good idea. She probably would be fine, but since there are family members who are afraid of dogs, it wouldn't be good if she did start being protective. I have no worries of Zoe hurting anyone, but her aggressive displays are not pleasant for anyone involved. So I understand, but was bummed.
But, as usual, things work out! Sunny invited me to an RV Women's gathering in Arlington, VT (heading back West where I just came thru) at Camping on the Battenkill. I had a great weekend meeting some great women, so all is good!
Hurricane Debby came through on Friday night and though there were tornado warnings, it wasn't bad other than quite a bit of rain. They had tents setup and it was all fine and fun.
I had planned to leave on Sunday, but I ended up chatting with different people until around 2 PM and then it was too late to head to Polly and Charlie's in Maine, so I decided to stay another night. I had been parked in a spot where the people had cancelled, but couldn't get a refund and Sunny thought it was for 3 nights. But, while I was hanging out, enjoying some quiet time, an airstream pulled up and they were in that site. Super nice people even though they had 2 young kids who were tired and grumpy. Anyway, I had to move. My new spot was in the woods (previous in a line of spots on the grass) and more secluded. The new spot was lovely in that it was shaded and on the edge of the campground, but it was dirt and thus dirty. I also liked the shade. I liked being in the other spot among the other RVW folks, but I also really liked the new spot. Pluses and minuses to everything!!! I need a tattoo to that effect.
I definitely have been learning to go with the flow more since being in the NE with all the delays for going to Nova Scotia. It has allowed me more family and friend time, more time at Blue, meeting up with Sunny, going to the RVW gathering and meeting new friends, etc.
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| Dinner with Sunny at A Vermont Table |
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| Zoe was not happy on the hard ground so thought being in my lap was a good idea... 😏 |
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| The Battenkill river flows right by this campground. Expensive (for me), but a super nice campground! Highly recommend. |
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| Sunny crocheted this blanket!!! WOW!!! |
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| In the sun |
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| Overheated from the sun |
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| passed out from the sun |
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| back in the sun |
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| A break from the sun |
8/12 - I am now in Limington, ME on Pequawqet Lake, visiting with cousin Polly and her husband, Charlie. Cousin Marge is here as well as Greg (Polly and Charlie's son) and Maggie and their two kids, Sutton and Oren, along with Al (Charlie's dad) and a couple of his friends. A few weeks ago, they had 23 people here, so I'm grateful for the smaller crowd! It's so nice to be able to visit and not take up bed space. I'm sitting in my van right now enjoying my solitude. I have been with people (and mostly not in the van) since June 27th! I am looking forward to my being on the road on my own after this. Don't get me wrong - I have loved every minute of this time with family and friends, but that doesn't mean I don't miss my alone time. While here I did have time to sit down by the lake on my own. I took a swim in the lovely spring fed lake that was cooler than I expected after all the warm weather and being a small lake. And then Zoe and I used a SUP. She did great, but I'm so afraid of her ending up in the water. I felt pretty unstable, but Zoe just laid there, so that was good.
While in the house this evening, Zoe was demand barking and she just wanted to get comfortable. I got her settled on a lazy-boy and she did fine for a bit, but then I decided she'd be better off in the van. She was in the van for probably 2.5 hours and was fine. I bet she was happy there, though she'd always rather I was there, of course.
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| Zoe did great with everyone! Polly and Charlie, Marge, Al (Charlie's dad), Greg (Polly and Charlie's son) with wife, Maggie, and Sutton and Oren. |
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| It's a lovely, clear, spring fed lake, which was cooler than I expected when I took a dip! |
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| Nice beach for dogs and kids |
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| Sutton. So cute. |
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| Zoe was great with the kids, but I quickly put an end to this interaction with Oren for Zoe's sake! |
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| Also visiting were Caroline and Warren, 86 and 90 respectively, on the right. I've often thought that I don't want to live to 90, but these two are in such great health and are able to do so much. I was super impressed! Polly, Charlie, and Marge on the left. |
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| Thankfully Penny is tolerant of Zoe. She isn't always welcoming to other dogs. |
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| Warren, Al, and Caroline. |
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| Zoe hopped on the paddle board and laid right down and stayed there. Good girl! |
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| And then she wouldn't get off... |
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| Zoe ran and hid into the corner of the couch with Linda, because Polly was playing with some plastic thing in the kitchen. She is now very noise sensitive with regular household noises, like opening a can of soda, the crinkling of the can, crinkling water bottles, opening a bottle of wine, whistles (they are LOUD and annoying!), cutting cheese and the knife hitting the plate hard... Poor girl. I never know what's going to surprise her. So far, still no issue with storms and fireworks. |
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| This is a busy place! We were only 10, but they had 23 people there at one time this summer. WOW!! |
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| Marge, me, Polly |
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| The girls - someone always has to look away... |
8/14 - Left Limington and drove through Belfast, ME, where we stopped to walk around. It's a really cute town though I didn't take many photos, but loved this building:
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| Another great sign to help people understand the concept of merging! 😆 |
Then onto Jill's house in Bass Harbor on the Mt Desert Island that is Acadia. Cute log cabin and my van fit no problem! When Jill mentioned that the driveway was really just a break in the trees, I wondered, but was happily surprised.
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| Big Bertha fits perfectly! Only one lowish branch, but plenty of clearance |
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| Our home for the next how ever many days |
8/15 - Zoe and I took the shuttle from Bass Harbor Campground, which is just around the corner from the house. The shuttle dropped us off in Bar Harbor and then we took another to Gorham Mountain trail. It ended up being warmer and more in the sun, as well as more steep than expected, but Zoe did OK. She was definitely slow, but she made it! We looped around to Sand Beach and to Thunder Hole, which was not very interesting. I read something about it being very uninteresting unless there is a storm. Tifin had told me about some anemone (I always thought it was anenome!!!) caves in that area, but I didn't look at my note about it until after (a common problem for me...).
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| After many folks got on the bus, Zoe was lying here by the door, then a black woman got on and barked at her. 😟 Yikes! I felt terrible. Was it because she was clearly scared? Or because of where Zoe had been hanging out? Or has she not experience enough black people??? |
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| Someone was a bit tired and hot. It wasn't supposed to be so sunny!!! |
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| The top of Gorham Mountain |
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| One tired pup. It was standing room only on the bus, but she got a good spot for a rest. |
After, we caught the shuttle back to Bar Harbor and had dinner at Side Street Cafe, which was great. I had some yummy crab cakes and a blackberry bourbon lemonade. It came with a huge salad, roasted veggies, and a corn pudding (which sounded weird to me, but was very yummy), so I ended up with leftovers!
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| Crab cakes, roasted veggies, corn pudding and a blackberry bourbon lemonade. 😋 |
The next shuttle wasn't until 7, so we killed a bit more time wandering around. We stopped at the Garden Lounge for a drink to kill some time, which is a really nice place to hang out. Chatted with some sailing folks for a bit as well as crossing paths with some folks I had met on the trail. I asked for an old fashioned, which ended up costing $23 (before tip!). The cocky bartender made it really strong and I had to ask for a bit more simple syrup and ice to make it drinkable. Kindof a racket, but you pay for the ambiance.
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| The Garden Lounge |
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| Cool door handle! |
8/16 - Decided to take the van to a nearby trail called Ship's Harbor trail fairly early to have a chance at a parking spot with Big Bertha. Very nice trail and when we started there weren't many people, so it was really nice. We had a chance to sit by the ocean on our own for a bit until a couple of families showed up - time to go! 😁
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| I just loved watching the seaweed flowing with the waves. So relaxing! |
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| a rose among the rocks on the "beach" |
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| At the point watching the waves come in |
We then went to the lighthouse - also found parking there.
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| Hot and tired pup |
I decided I wanted to do a hike up Beech Mountain and knew that Zoe couldn't do it, so I left her at the house (what a luxury!!!) and went. Beautiful hike!
After the hike, I went back to the house, showered and went to Thurston's Lobster Pound for an early dinner. I'm driving Big Bertha and it's a bit tight and there were cars parked on the street. I was going to give up and decided to just driving past the street parked cars and found a whole bunch of open angled parking spots (I love angled parking spots!!!). Though it appeared to be busy, and there was a line of people, it really wasn't too bad. I had a lobster roll and it was so fresh and tender. Yum!
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| Not a back table for views |
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| And this face! 😍 |
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| Love the reflections |
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| There is something about boats in the calm harbor |
8/17 - We went to Thuya Gardens, which didn't allow dogs in the gardens (not surprisingly), but they had some good trails in the woods, so Zoe and I did that before I put her back in the van so I could enjoy the garden. Such beautiful flowers!
After that I tried to go to Little Long Pond, but Google sent me to the wrong place, so then decided to try for Jordan Pond. Yuk! So many people, so I just turned around and then found a spot at Little Long Pond on the way back. I'm for glad I did as it is a lovely area that allows dogs off leash. It's such a pleasure to not have to feel guilty for allowing Zoe off leash. She's just so good about being put on leash when necessary and isn't interested in people, and it makes our walks so much more pleasant for both of us!
I hadn't eaten breakfast and it was approaching 2 PM, so we ended up stopping at Seafood Ketch in Bass Harbor. I had excellent scallops and sweet potato fries. When the waiter delivered my meal, he asked me if the fries were overcooked for me, and I said yes, so he brought out another plate of super yummy fries that were perfectly cooked. It was so nice that he noticed and offered without me having to ask.
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| Seared scallops, Arnold Palmer, and a view! |
After dinner, I started to do some cleaning in the van, defrosting the freezer, and doing laundry. Such a treat to be able to do laundry - probably my last in home laundry until I get back to friends or family whenever that may be. It has also been a treat to have a shower as I've been sweating a lot with all the hiking.
8/18 - I had thought about leaving today, but Jill recommended not leaving on a Sunday, which makes sense. So I will leave tomorrow. I am sitting on the deck right now and I haven't done anything yet today and it's 10:30. Due to the crowds I always feel like I have to get out early to get a parking spot. I may just go check out Wonderland trail, which is a little over a mile away and a little over a mile walk while there. Maybe I'll just walk the whole way as it's cloudy out and cool. Zoe should be fine with that I think. We'll see.
We did walk to Wonderland trail and back. I considered hopping on the shuttle on the way back, but we walked the total of 4 easy miles, but Zoe slowed down. When we turned back up the road where the house she resisted, like she wanted to keep going. What's her deal? Does she have FOMO? It doesn't matter where we are, she doesn't want to go back to the house or the van, even when she's tired. Only when she's ready for bed does she seem to want to go back in. It's pretty foggy today and supposed to be high surf, but it didn't seem like high surf to me (but I don't have any reference).
I've been eating out once a day while here and tonight I waffled as I wanted to have more fresh seafood and maybe try blueberry pie, but though I waffled back and forth, I decided that I really just didn't want to go out. I wanted to just chill here at the house. Sometimes I find it hard to know what I really want. How is that? I guess part of me wants one thing and part of me wants another. Someone suggested that I make a decision and then see how that feels. If it feels right, then I'll know it, if not, then I can change my mind. I'll have to try that and see if it helps...
For now, I'll sign off. I'll be heading farther north and into Canada soon. Hopefully I'll be able to bring Zoe back with me... 😂😉😆
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