9/18 - I went to an art trail with wood sculptures that Marius had told me about. He thinks that some of the carvings were done by a Lithuanian (his nationality). It was cool aside from the rough road to get there and then there wasn't any parking. I had to park on a primitive road that looked pretty well used, but I wasn't there for too long and no one came by. It's kind of weird that there's no parking (or maybe I just didn't see it).
I was going to try to look for a nice place to stay for the night, but decided to go to a Walmart in Bangor ME. It was fine and quiet.
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| Sleepy girl |
9/19 - Today I am heading to visit Polly and Charlie in Limington, ME again. I was really ready for a break from traveling/finding a place to park/sight seeing, so I was psyched that I was welcomed again.
Since there wasn't anywhere to walk Zoe around the Walmart other than for doing the necessities, I figured we'd cut our trip in half by making a stop in Augusta, ME for a walk. I should have walked her earlier in the day, because the sun came out in full force by the time we got there around noonish. We walked around and stayed in the shade as much as possible, though it wasn't super hot - only in the low 70s.
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| Nap time while Mom drives |
9/19 - 22 - Polly and Charlie's on Peqwuaket Lake in Limington ME. Al, Charlie's dad, who is 92? 94? is there with them. He was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and there is nothing to be done. But, they have stopped some of the meds he was on and he's doing really well! Karen, Charlie's sister, and husband Kevin and their two dogs, Lulu and Chewy, were there as well. They also have a van and were staying in theirs too. The first night, Al made a cabbage and sausage soup that was really good. The next night, Charlie made onion rings and a pork meal. Food here is always great! The third night, I grilled zucchini and summer squash, while Kevin made tacos.
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| Dug a hole in the sand and laid in it |
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| Evening boat tour - last of the season as boat comes out tomorrow... 😕 |
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| Lulu - Karen and Kevin's dog - super sweet, but not great at reading Zoe's signals when she doesn't want to play. Lulu kept trying to play with Zoe when we first got out of the van in the morning and Zoe just wanted to pee. When I would tell Lulu to leave Zoe alone, she'd talk back. Too cute! |
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| Chewy - Karen and Kevin's old dog. Super cute and prances like a dressage horse |
9/22 - We left Polly and Charlie's and headed to VT. I had considered leaving on Saturday and staying somewhere along the way, but was enjoying myself too much. I had a vet appt for Zoe on Monday and mammogram for me, so I had to be in Ferrisburgh by Sunday night, so I had no choice but to leave. Before I left, Karen cut my hair (I had just tried to schedule a hair appt with Amy in VT. but she was unavailable while I was going to be there, so this worked out well) and Charlie made me a French omelette along with bacon. I felt very spoiled!
The trails along the Kangamangas highway in the White Mountains were pretty busy as it was a Sunday, but we were able to get a short stop and hike at Beaver Pond. Not much color yet. There seemed to be more in NS and NB, which I suppose makes sense due to the higher latitude.
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| Goofy girl |
9/22-24 - In VT parked in Ken and Laurie's driveway across from my old home for three nights. Good times visiting with Ken and Laurie and another van person, Lynne.
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| morning view from mud creek lane |
9/24 - Went to Ferrisburgh Town beach and walked the Kingsland Bay trail there. Afterwards, I had nothing to do, so I grabbed a blanket and Zoe and I chilled and napped by the lake. I don't do this enough!
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| Lots of these fossils |
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| Chilling at Ferrisburgh town beach after our hike |
Lots of appointments this week. I can't believe I managed to get them all scheduled.
9/23 - mammogram (all good!), 9/25 - Eye Appt (std checkup, but my dry eyes have been terrible, so I'm glad to have this appt), 9/26 - Dentist to adjust the bite on my new crown, 9/27 - Annual physical. I don't know if I'll be back in the NE next summer and if not, I imagine I might skip health related appointments, so I'm glad to get them all done now.
I can't believe I didn't take a picture parked at Joe's with the great view, but oh, well. I did see this van around the corner from him and I like the idea of putting something like this on my hood. It's like a van tattoo. Speaking of tattoos, I had hoped to get my tattoo fixed (lightened in spots) while in VT on this trip, but it didn't work out. Hopefully I'll find somewhere else to get it done. I should go to the guy who gave me the tattoo, but I'm not sure I trust him to fix it...
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| Joe gave Zoe this toy. No squeaker, but there's a tennis ball in it to destroy! |
After one night at Joe's and one at Elena's, I stayed with Christine in Burlington for three days before heading to Blue. It was great to hang out with her again!
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| A walk in Burlington |
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| Zoe and Ryker enjoying the sun |
On Saturday, we walked to Farmers and Foragers Dockside for lunch. It was their last day, so they were out of a lot of things, so I ended up having a really good Cheese steak, while Christine had a fried chicken salad and we both enjoyed them. Food is from a food truck and they serve drinks. All outside, thus closing so early...
Sunday, we hit Texaco beach. I was sure I wouldn't want to swim, so I didn't wear my suit. I found myself so hot that I swam in my underwear and sports bra. Though my underwear was nude color it was all good.
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| Lovely day at the beach! |
9/30 - we left Christine's and headed to Blue. Jennifer, Marius, and Elena were there, so it was nice to visit with them. Unfortunately they were all leaving the next day. It didn't even cross my mind, but Jennifer asked why I didn't want to sleep in the van when I was trying to decide where to sleep - in the room with Elena or on the bunk, which is super uncomfortable. I had thought it wasn't very level, but it was good enough and I just don't sleep well with other people, so we slept very happily in the van.
Elena left early and Marius and Jennifer left after lunch and then I was able to move all my stuff in. It seemed much easier to leave the stuff in the van until everyone and their stuff was gone. I think it was a good plan!
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| Morning fog |
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| Oct 1 sunset |
Oct 2 - Zoe and I took a walk to Lake Durant where the campsites are. Which were all empty. The one spot on the lake is so nice!
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| Lake Durant |
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| Lake Durant |
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| Blue Mountain |
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| Looking at Prospect Point |
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| Blue Mountain from Prospect Point cottages |
Oct 3-12 - I stayed at Blue until Saturday 10/12. Sue came up on 10/7, so we had most of a week there together. While I was there I played Pickleball several times and managed to not hurt my arm this time. I did stretches beforehand, so maybe that helped? I don't think I held the paddle any differently, so I'm going to guess it was the stretches. I'm not sure if it was pickleball or something else that triggered it, but I hurt my knee. It did hurt and start to pop as I moved the last time I played and my knee is really swollen. Ugh! I paddled a few times, walked the dog, etc. I didn't end up doing much hiking, though I had really wanted to climb Blue Mountain again this year, but again it was thwarted. Last year it was due to covid, this year it's my knee. 😕 Next time! I had lots of fun playing pickleball, but I'm afraid to play again! I guess I'm going to have to start doing exercises for my knees in preparation. I should have been doing them all along.
We were disappointed to have a cloudy night, so we didn't get to the see amazing Northern lights that others saw. 😭 The next night was clear, but no sadly no pretty skies.
I had planned to stay until 10/15, but it was going to be cold and rainy/snowy for the next four days, so I decided to go south to Sue's early. We had talked about possibly going to iceland for a week or so, but I don't know if we're going to. For me, part of it is my knee as it's still not better. Also, neither of us are excited about the cold... At the same time, maybe we'd see the northern lights there. We'll see. We also talked about spending a few nights in NYC or even New Orleans. I think I'm struggling with the decision making and planning as I do so much of that. I should tell Sue to plan it and I'll go.
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