Maine 2011

We left Fourth Cliff and drove through Boston on our way to Maine.  Traffic was heavy going southbound so I was happy we were going North  We found this sign interesting....certain times you could travel in the breakdown lane on the right.

As soon as we crossed the border in Hampton, New Hampshire we stopped at a liquor store.

 We arrived in Naples Campground in Maine, about forty minutes west of Portland near Sebago Lake.  We paid for four nights as we were planning on going farther up the state for three nights near Baxter State Park.  The owners were very nice and gave us a good pull thru spot at the top of the campground.

 It was Monday so there were not alot of people there but you could see their were more seasonal RV's there then what they call us transient RVer's.  This campground had a heated pool and a small restaurant that made breakfast lunch and dinner.   They also had a tractor that they used for hayrides on the weekends.  We set up and sat outside with a cockail enjoying the evening. 

On Tuesday we went to LL Bean in Freeport about 30 minutes east of Naples. Bill had a computer bag he had for many years and it was falling apart and since their products are guaranteed for life he got a credit for it and bought some clothes...not a bad deal!

 We then went and got some ice cream at Ben and Jerry's right across the street...there were so many people there that we thought they were giving something away!  Anyway Bill said Freeport had changed alot because it was pretty much an outlet store town.  We saw this Overlander and I took a picture of it because I had never seen one before.

 We drove south down to Portland and drove around the city.

 Down by Old Port here there was this mural on the side of a warehouse

and lots of sailing rigs small and large alike

 The town had some very old buildings, some had been refurbished others had not

 Some of the streets had cobblestones and we drove through one with a statue in the middle of it

 There were some colorful apartment buildings

 It was rush hour but it really wasn't too bad considering it was one of the larger cities of Maine.

We then headed back towards Naples and stopped at "The Umbrella Factory Supermarket"... no, really, that was the name of it and you can see by the picture inside why it was called that.

 We got something for dinner and took it back to the campground to prepare it. 

On Wednesday we drove around the Naples area.  This was just up the road and was Naples Marina. 

 They had a sightseeing RiverBoat across from the Marina.  On the weekend this area was mobbed with the lots of people.  Apparently there are alot of campgrounds around and people spend their weekends and summers up here near the lake in seasonal sites, leaving their motorhomes or fifth wheels there. 

On one of the streets off the main highway was this house...reminded me of the nursery rhyme about the crooked man and crooked house.

This store was called "The Barn"

There were alot of little shops and restaurants on the main street

We then went to dinner at Bray's Brew Pub.

Bill had mussels and I had a craving for ribs. There were falling off the bone and were really good. I liked the inside of the Pub and thought it would be a good place to be a regular at if one lived there.

 We got to talking to the bartender Michael about our trip and we drank a few beers then went back to the campground.

 I got on the computer to do some blogging for about four hours and my neck started hurting but dummy me I did not change positions and I ended up in so much pain I could not lay down and sleep so I semi sat up on the couch all night.  The next morning was worse and it was supposed to be our last day at the campground but we extended a day hoping I would get better.  I went to the office/restaurant and ordered a breakfast sandwich and the smell of moonpies filleds the air.  They had just pulled these chocolate cake with creamy white filling pies out of the oven so of course I had to get one.  It was good and fresh.  Afterward  I kept moist heat on my neck and Bill went and purchased a neck brace for me which seemed to help but I could not sleep with it.   It rained most of the day and this was the only picture I took that day.

 We were supposed to meet up with Katie, Bill's daughter that evening for dinner but I knew I would be in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable so we had to cancel. 
On Friday it was raining again but I found a Concentra Urgent Care walk in clinic about 30 minutes away in Lewiston.  We got there and were seen within 15 minutes.  I wasn't sure what could be done but the doctor felt it was muscular and gave me a steriod prescription as well as a muscle relaxer.  The muscle relaxer said take 1/2 to 1 pill every eight hours so I took one pill right away.  We ate at Macs Seafood, a small but good restaurant on the way back to Naples.

 I ordered the fish and chips but because of the pain I could not even open my mouth wide enough or chew without it hurting so I ate very little.  We got back to the campground and after resting a few hours later Lindsey called and as we were talking she said,  "Mom, are you alright?  You sound wasted! "  Well I felt fine but my tongue was semi numb and since I took a muscle relaxer I could not form my words properly and it sounded like I was slurring!   Obviously the next dose I took was only 1/2 and that seemed to do the trick.  We extended our trip by another 3 nights so that I did not have to travel with my neck problem.

 Saturday I was feeling alot better so we decided to go on a hike and see more of the area.  We headed east to start the scenic route that they call The Gems of Hwy 26 but first stopped at Bucks Naked Barbeque for lunch. 

We then drove through past the Maine Wildlife Park, the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village which was very neat and tidy and through Poland Springs.

 We continued on Route 26 through a town called Norway and reached South Paris were we took a dirt road through some farmlands driving several more miles and found Roberts Farm Preserve Trails. We walked on the Noya trail for close to an hour.

 We then got back in the car to start heading south on Route 5 through Springer, Fryeburg and the town of Brownfield to find the Brownfield Bog that I looked up in the Maine Birding Pamphlet I had picked up at the visitor center.

 There were no signs but the directions in the pamphlet were good as well as the GPS directing us there.  We drove down a dirt road and through the bog when we came upon this wooden bridge that did not look too promising. I got out of the car and walked ahead to get this picture of Bill going over it. 

We saw lots of birds and turtles including this one that did not seem to mind us.

 Then we came up on these two moose foraging in the Bog to our right.  They took one look at us and decided to bolt across the road to a more secluded area.

 The view across the Bog was pretty with the mountains in the background.

Bill stopped  the car in a shady part of the road thinking we would get out and walk some to see what else was around but while I was preparing to get out of the car and Bill and Ty were already out, he came running back like a wild man swatting at dozens of mosquitos swarming around him and the car.   He jumped back in and said no way can we walk out there!  So we drove on and came to a wet marsh and the end of the trail so we turned around and headed back along the pretty country roads to the campground, had dinner and retired for the evening.

On Sunday our last day in Naples for sure this time,   we met up with my sister Ceci who had come up to the Portland area to visit her friend Cathy whose son was getting married the following weekend.  They came up to the campground and then we went to dinner at the Black Bear Cafe in town. 

It was an Irish Pub and there were musicians playing in the corner of the restaurant.

 Our food was good and the company was great! 

We went back to the campground and said our goodbyes.  Monday June 27th we were headed to Acadia National Park for three nights of dry camping.