Home!

The last two days were long ones.  There were things at home that needed tending to so we didn't take the time to sight see along the route home.  There are places to park the motor home for free overnight so we took advantage of those.  Yes, one Walmart parking lot... and the other was at the Ohio Turnpike Travel Center with the big rigs.  There was no electricity available and our generator is not working properly and my computer's battery was almost dead... oh the hardship!  Oh well, all we wanted to do was sleep so we didn't mind.  We were comfortable and felt safe.

It's good to be home again.  Thanks for reading my blog.  This trip is over, but there will be more. Stay tuned.

Homeward Bound



Rear Camera View

We had a great time visiting family and friends, but it's time to head home.  Before stopping to say goodbye to Eric and Danielle, we first stopped at a U-Haul facility to rent a dolly for Teresa's car that we will be taking back to Minnesota.  Pulling it has not been too difficult.  We hardly know it's back there.  We just have to remember to be careful on the corners and be mindful of how long we are.  The rear camera helps a lot.  We do have side cameras too!

Bernie usually drives thru the city traffic but somehow today I found myself in the middle of rush hour traffic in Albany, New York.  Ugh...I did NOT like it!  I only got honked at once when I got in the wrong lane at the Toll Plaza and had to scoot over.

Tree covered hills of New England

Today we drove thru parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and half way thru New York state. I see why people like to come here when the fall colors change.  The rolling tree covered hills go on for miles and miles.

We are sort of paralleling the Erie Canal.  We bridged over it once and I wanted to take a picture but I just couldn't get Bernie to stop and back up on the freeway.

Marble chillaxing

I wonder what goes on inside Marble's head.  She spends almost all her time laying on the bed even when we're driving down the freeway.

Portland, Maine

Last winter we visited our friend, Peter, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  He said we should look him up at his summer home in Maine if we were ever in the area, so that's exactly what we did today.  Up and off early this morning, we left the RV at the campground and drove the car up to Ocean Park, Maine.  Peter is a photographer, you may have seen his work.  He takes pictures of lighthouses and scenes all along the east coast. He makes post cards and refrigerator magnets and books for tourism, among other things. 

Ocean Beach, Maine

Our first stop was at the beach a few blocks from Peter's house.  Peter said there could be as many as 300,000 tourists on a nice sunny weekend.  But this was Wednesday and it was kinda cool so the beach was not crowded at all. 

One of the things I noticed, that I found rather disappointing, is that every two feet you could see a cigarette butt in the sand.  I felt like I was walking in the world's largest ash tray.

Huot's Seafood Restaurant, Saco, Maine

In the Northeast there are seafood restaurants every where you go.  Peter took us to one of his favorites, a local spot off the beaten path...where the locals eat.  It was excellent.  I would love to eat there again.  It was called Huot's Seafood Restaurant in Saco, Maine.

Portland, Maine

With our tummy's full we hopped in Peter's 1993 Suburban truck (with 366,000 miles on it) and drove up the coast to see Portland and some lighthouses.

The first one we saw was a little one called the Portland Breakwater Light.  It's nick-named the Bug Light because it's so little.





Portland Breakwater Light (The Bug Light)





Spring Point Ledge Light

Portland Head Light

Ram Island Ledge Light



Cape Elizabeth



Concord, New Hampshire

Saddleback Campground

We are camped at Saddleback Campground.  It's a nice little privately owned campground about 20 miles east of Concord.  We chose to stay here because it is a member of the Passport America network and we could stay for half price.  We are staying 3 nights.




Main Street, Concord, NH


Concord, New Hampshire, is not so big.  I think the population is around 40,000.  So not even as big as Mankato or St. Cloud in Minnesota.  But it is the state capitol.  Getting around here is a little challenging with lots of narrow and one way streets, but not half as challenging as New Haven, Connecticut, was!


Where Eric and Danielle live now


Eric and Danielle were in the process of moving from one apartment building to another one.  This yellow apartment building is where they will be living now.

Concord, New Hampshire

Campfire at Wompatuck State Park, Massachusetts

The last few nights were great nights for sitting around the campfire.  The rules are very strict here.  Do not bring in your own wood.  Only buy wood in the park you are going to use it in... and if there is any left over you have to leave it behind for the next camper to use.  NOT supposed to take it out of the park. The reason is to prevent spread of the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer.

Cummins/Onan Repair Shop


We had an 8am appointment at the Cummins repair shop to have them check out the generator that doesn't seem to work right.  So we got up early and headed out in rush hour traffic.  It wasn't that far away but took forever to get there.  Boston traffic is horrible, and driving a bigass motor home in it was no fun at all.  We have Teresa's car now, so I had to follow Bernie while he drove the motor home.  After an hour of stop and go traffic and a few wrong turns we were only 4 minutes late!

We were there for two hours before they decided there is nothing wrong with the generator at all and that the problems we are having are somewhere within the wiring of the motor home.  And since there was nothing wrong with the generator they could not charge it to warranty *sigh* so it was $140.

After the wasted morning then we drove the rest of the way north to New Hampshire and had dinner with Eric and Danielle at a Friendley's restaurant.