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We left Bar Harbor this morning, and headed north, crossing into Canada at Calais, and continuing on to St Andrews by the Sea. Our campsite is at a Kiwanis campground on the end of the peninsula. We enjoyed lunch at Harbour Front Restaurant, fish and chips with a glass of Keith beer. Tides here are phenomenal. Went this afternoon to 500 acre Ministers Island. At high tide, it's an island. At low tide, there is a gravel bank road 200 feet wide that you can drive across. Originally settled by a preacher in 1690, hence the name. Tomorrow, we tour a local garden, and eat more seafood! This is a lovely little town, 1700 people in the winter, 3000 in the summer, plus the transient tourists. We're just at the beginning of their season, as Canadian schools end today.
We went today on a bus tour of Acadia National Park, which is on a group of islands about 50 miles south-east of Bangor. Made of ancient granite, the islands are rocky and have been scraped by glaciers, at one time over a mile thick in this area. Cadillac Mountain, a rounded granite peak over 1500 feet high, is the first spot in the USA to see the morning sun. Bar Harbor is a sweet port town, full of restaurants, inns, and shops. The land is covered with forest: spruce in the mature forests, and hardwoods in the newer areas that were burned clear in 1947. A playground of the rich in the early half of the last century, the touches of the Rockefellers, Astors, Vanderbilts, and others are everywhere. Lovely playground in the summer, bitterly cold in the winter with temps often around -20. Campfire tonite, and tomorrow we are off for Canada. We will be able to receive phonecalls, but cost is 79c/minute. Texts cost 50c to send, 20c to receive. Email is preferred, we'll have wifi at about 80% of our campgrounds.
So, arrived at the rendezvous point for the beginning of our caravan today, called the Narrows Too RV Park, and had a meeting to go over procedures. Got a milestone log, along with maps and directions. Met all our fellow travelers. About half are first-tour folks, like us. Probably half of the remainder are second-tour folks. The rest have been on 3 or more tours. One fellow is on tour number 24! Wow. Oh, yes, he has a Prevost, and tows a Lincoln. Of the 24 tour participating vehicles, 23 are motorhomes, one 5th wheel. One rig is on it's maiden voyage, and the couple on their first RV camping ever! Whew! There is a wagonmaster who has been on 20 caravans, and a tailgunner who has been on about the same. We had two boxes of wine, and our choice of lobster or steak for dinner. (Duh!) Tomorrow, a bus tour of Acadia National Park. Thursday, we head for the border!
Wonderfully full day today. Started in Vermont, at a nice little campground, Rest N' Nest, in East Thetford. We headed across the White Mountains on the Kancamagus Highway, NH state 112. Gorgeous scenery, lousy highway. Found a nice little spot for lunch in Conway, then continued on. Some nice shots at the pass, 2855 feet. Peaks are 5000-6000 feet. Do you like the butterfly? If you look very carefully at the picture of the river gorge, you'll see a fisherman on the left side. One slip, and he's history. Tonite, we're in the Narrows Too campground on the Atlantic Coast, hooking up with all our fellow caravaners. Tomorrow we get a briefing and get-together at 4PM, followed by a lobster dinner! Oh, yeah!
Scored a nice campsite right on the edge of the water in the marina inside Salem harbor. Electric and water, but no dump station. Oh well, just here 2 nites, so no problem. So, we did a walking tour of Boston today, following a brick line in the pavement thru all of historic Boston. Lots of history here, from Paul Revere and Ben Franklin to the Boston Tea Party and the battle of Bunker Hill. A beautiful city with plenty of personality. Little Italy. The waterfront. A beautiful new bridge, next to the oldest active navy vessel in the world, the USS Constitution.
