Was it one if by land and two if by sea, or was it two if by land...

October 9

We rode the MTA into Boston today. Boston Harbor, the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s house, Old Ironsides, Bunker Hill, Old South Meeting Hall, the Boston Commons. So rich in history is this city I cannot put today’s events into description. Except, I will try one venue. In the Old South Meeting Hall, which was just down the street of the site of the Boston massacre, I sat in the pews and tried to imagine how it must have been in that church (churches were meeting halls where secular issues were regularly debated) to listen to Paul Revere, George Washington, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and others as they spoke and openly debated the issues of the times. There were no marketing geniuses or public relation analysts. It must have been substance rather than party affiliation. How informative and genuine those words must have been.

The pictures are Paul Revere's house, inside the North Church where the lamps signaled the arrival of the British, and the memorial to Mary Dyer, who was hanged in the Boston Common in 1660 because she professed to be a Quaker, not a Puritan.

Plymouth

October 8

The weather has definitely changed. It rained most of the night but stopped for most of the day. The trip into Massachusetts was fairly dry but we saw no sun. Traffic was heavy even though we skirted Boston. We are in a RV park in Plymouth, thus the pictures. There was a walk through another graveyard and a visit to the landing site. I am again reminded of the severe challenges that this colony faced in the first two years, losing over half to death. Meanwhile, our only sacrifice here is being without cable TV and not be able to see Cleveland beat the Yankees. Tuesday will hopefully find us boarding a train just 10 minutes from the RV camp and taking the hour ride into Boston.

President Bush I

October 7, 2007

FYI: If you want a more detailed image on any of the pictures in our blog, click on them and they will be shown in a much larger format.

Kennebunkport is famous for its beautiful shoreline, its historic roots, the mansions, and the Bush compound.

This morning we drove a short distance north looking for St. Ann’s Church, an old Episcopal church frequented by the Bush family. We found it, but it was closed for the season. We drove on a bit further along Ocean Drive and found ourselves looking directly at the Bush compound over about a 100 yards of water. It sits on Walker Point which is the only designation given to this area on the tourist maps. There is no mention of the location of the Bush compound but you can find that on the internet.

We stopped to take some pictures and noticed some people gathering. They were locals. “The boat is at the dock,” they shared. “That means that GHW Bush is taking someone out for a cruise.” Soon a Secret Service boat appeared and we could see them preparing the Bush boat for launching. Within a few minutes GHW appeared and walked with a group to the boat and boarded. GHW took control of the boat and eased it from the dock. Before exiting the harbor, he reved up all three outboards and did a quick 360 for the party on shore. Then, at high speed, they headed out for the open water. We did not find out who was on the boat with the former president. About an hour later, the boat returned and docked in the same fashion, except without the fanfare of the 360.

There were some interesting dynamics on shore. First of all, other than the secret service boat, we saw no security on the shore. Several cars stopped as we did and there must have been forty or so people taking pictures. Many were parked on the road illegally, and there was no police presence evident.

When we first stopped the car, Barb got out to inquire as to what was going on. Meanwhile, I temporarily parked the Jeep in a parking lot labeled “Reserved for Langley B&B Only”. However, it appeared that the B&B was closed so I left it parked there. Barb wanted to walk down further to take pictures but I did not want to leave sight of the Jeep for fear of it being ticketed or towed. I stood about 100 yards from the Jeep watching the compound and the Jeep. Barb was another 100 yards down the road closer to the compound.

I was standing there alone, looking back at the Jeep back down the road then turning my attention on the boat. I continued the surveillance of both the Jeep and the boarding preparations when I saw four adults watching me. The two couples were about 20 yards from me and they would look at me then turn away. One would say something then another one would look at me. I soon figured out what their interest was. So to play the game, I turned toward the compound and brought my watch up to my mouth and spoke a few words into it. Then I went back to watching the Jeep, then the compound. In the next few minutes, while we were waiting for the Bush party to board, I did this several times. I was about ready to break up in laughter and I finally walked over to them and told them that I was not from the Secret Service. They howled. They were tourists from New York and were experiencing this for the first time, just like Barb and I.

About three hours later, I was sitting on a bench in the Kennebunkport town square (which is actually a triangle) talking to a couple from Boston. One of the hundreds of cars that passed by us during that time stopped and rolled down the window. A lady from the two couples back on the road at the Bush compound stuck her head out the window and yelled, “Look out for that guy. He’s from the CIA.” We both laughed and, of course, I had to explain the comment to the Boston couple.

After Kennebunkport Barb visited one of the local light houses.

Tomorrow we head for the area south of Plymouth, MA and west of Cape Cod. It is called East Falmouth. We plan to settle in for a few days there to see Boston, Cape Cod and Plymouth.

Moving on

October 6

We pulled into Wells which is just outside of Kennebunkport, ME. Again, it is a busy coastal village, busier than most fall weekends as this is a three day weekend for most. The campground, however, is quiet and Barb and I just settled back and relaxed. Interestingly, the WSU game was on television and I did watch part of it. The ambiance of the small village and the proximity to Boston, however, continued to lure me into planning the days ahead. Our evening was quiet. We missed a campfire with our friends. We received emails from both parties as they are off on their own direction. I reflected on the past five nights of sitting by the fire with two other couples who share a strong faith, a love of country, and the deep appreciation of the freedom and opportunity to share both. Yet, unlike other campers who we have met, they are from home. We will see them again soon. God speed to you Bruce, Lou Ann, Bruce, and Kris.

Our trip here was through the countryside with some of it away from the coast. Barb was jumping from side to side in the RV trying to get just the right fall-colored leaf picture as we traveled. There were many pictures that needed a stop to capture however with our RV it is much harder to “stop on a dime”. We did go on line and discovered that we are still about 2 weeks ahead of peak color, but we must press on. It is beautiful, nevertheless. We are still looking for a moose.

The pictures are from the Bar Harbor area, the bike trails, the foliage, and a lobster dinner at our campsite. You can click on each picture to enlage it.

Can't have it both ways...

October 5

“It has been too much of a good thing.” “You can’t have it both ways.” Both cliques are applicable to Maine this last week. It has been warm, sunny and glorious. The nights have been calm and warm. We have basked in these blessings as we went about our daily explorations and sat around the campfire at night. However, the byproduct of great weather is that the fall in Maine this year may not be as colorful as most.

It has been some time since I journaled so here is a quick recap.

We are still traveling with our friends but that ends today as we head our separate directions.

Bar Harbor has been a wonderful village. Each day, the shops fill with the passengers of cruise ships. Two ships are docked each day. The harbor is beautiful and teaming with lobster and tourist boats. The name comes from the fact that there is a bar running through the harbor. At low tide the bar is exposed and you can then walk out to Bar Island, which sits in the middle of the harbor. As Barb and I left town on Wednesday, the bar was exposed. Barb walked and I rode my bike out to the island on the exposed isthmus. I felt uncomfortable doing so as the water lapped up within 10 or so feet from us on each side. On arrival at the island we noticed a trail up through the woods. Barb wanted to follow it, I kept looking back over at the causeway. We entered the trail and within a few minutes we were in the trees. We climbed, rode up a hill and found a sign, “.2 mile, Harbor Island summit”. Barb wanted to keep going. I did not check the tide charts, I know that the Bay of Fundy, site of the world’s larges tidal shift, is nearby, I didn’t want to chance it. On the way down the hill we met two couples climbing the path. They both reported that the path through the water was very wide. As we emerged from the trees, we saw that the path was gone. Water now covered the bar. We went out to the water and were able to walk through about 6 inches of water to the shore and our car. Within minutes the entire path was gone. I am not sure what the couples we met were going to do. It was 12 hours or so until the next low tide. There was no other way off the island unless they could find a boat.

We spent the afternoon bike riding the Acadia Trails which had been built by Rockefeller in the 1930’s and 40’s, for horse carriages. Now the some 40 miles are wonderful bike trails around lakes and along rivers.

We toured the island by car on Friday. The fog lifted in early morning and glorious views filled the day. We ate lunch at a village park in Northeast Harbor, watching the lobster fisherman work on their boats before returning to retrieve their day’s catch.

Saturday found us traveling off the island to the villages of Camden and Rockland. Again, the quaint villages were once just fishing ports which have now been inundated with rich people’s homes, art galleries, restaurants and large yachts and sail boats. As I sat on a bench in the town square, I made a comment to Barb that is was hot. (78 degrees). A local who was sitting next to me snickered. She commented, “This is wonderful. Sometimes we have snow by now.” In crossing the Penobscot River, we ascended a 400 foot tower to view the surrounding area. We toured Fort Knox, not the one in Kentucky with the gold, which sat guarding the river.

We leave to begin our southward journey this a.m. It will be a slow progression. There is much to see between here and Atlanta.

Pictures: Barb crossing the bar, a cruise ship coming out of the fog in Bar Harbor, a coastal village.

Bar Harbor Maine

October 1 and 2,

We arrived in the Bar Harbor area around 2 p.m. Our RV site overlooks Frenchman Bay. By 6 p.m. Bruce and Kris, and Bruce and LouAnn had arrived, set up, and 6 fresh cooked lobster sat on the picnic table. The weather is terrific. We ate outside and sat around the camp fire sharing road stories until 9.

This morning we arose at 5 and drove up Cadillac Mountain to be the first Americans, with a hundred or so others, to view the sun on this October 2. It was a bit cloudy but viewable. After Lou Ann’s presentation of pancakes and blueberries we toured Bar Harbor. Two cruise ships had pulled into town so the stores were full of shoppers. Bruce, Bruce and I tired out before the ladies so the 3 of us retired to the campground for some serious naps.

Pictures are the lobster dinner, Barb and Kris just before sun up, and the sun peaking through the clouds.

4 Weeks tomorrow

October 1,

It is so nice to have a day without rigid timetables. You are probably surprised that I would state that regarding this trip but we really have been on the move, not on a fast pace, but we have been blazing new trails almost every day.

It will be four weeks tomorrow since we left home. It has gone very well. I thank God for our safety and good fortune. The RV has performed well. I also want to report that we have not had to apply the rv’ers Bible verse, Proverbs 21:9 (It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than to be in a house with a mad woman.). You did know that that is the reason that RV’s have ladders on the back. Barb and I have fared well. We are careful to schedule “sanctuary time” which is around an hour a day where we are off doing our own thing. I thank my bike for making that possible.

One major change has been my sleeping pattern. I am back to the pattern of the days of work. I would arise early, often before the alarm, to get some work done. I think, organize, plan and write better in the early a.m. I also get a lot more done since there are no interruptions. When I retired, I began to sleep in. I am sure Barb would share that she was a bit miffed that for the two years that she worked after I retired, I rarely rose to share breakfast with her. By the way, do not be shocked at the times listed on the bottom of the blog. My computer is still on PDT.

I find that I have to schedule exercise. The bike has been great but my body misses the physical labor that I did almost daily. I was in a regimen, even in the dead of winter, to do some sort of weight lifting or upper body exercise 3-4 times a week. I miss that but I am also happy that I have not had to do any heavy repair, such as change a tire on a deserted country road.

This expedition reaches a milestone today as we join our friends in Acadia. I know Barb is really looking forward to getting out with the ladies. I fear some heavy duty shopping may be in order after what she has endured the last four weeks. We miss you all, especially Janie. Nathan and Cailyn have been great about sending pictures which is a mixed blessing. We love the pictures but we see how quickly she is growing/changing and we long to be there to experience it first hand. We’ve missed some phone calls due to lack of cell phone signal but we can usually find the internet almost daily ( I think only 3 days without a wifi spot so far.). I really appreciate the comments regarding this blog. My favorite comes from Sharon LeMay who shared, “I am living vicariously on your gas money.” Spitz, I thank you for your continued comments as well.

The sun is up. Bah Haba is 88 miles away. Several lobsters await our arrival. Got to go.

Will enclose a few more pictures from Vermont/New Hampshire. The order is: shooting color in Vermont, village store, village post office, and house with barn attached. We've seen several houses with attached barns. Even a century or two ago, animals were considered part of the family. :-)

The last picture yesterday is of Barb journaling, during sanctuary time.