Beyond the Horizon: 20 Days on the Road

NC-VA-PA-NY-VT-NH-ME

We’ve covered many miles since May 31st, and we’re adding to our Best of lists. Most of these Best of moments have been made better by visiting with family members and friends.

Gettysburg, PA let us spend time with Ray’s sister and her kids and grand-kids in York, PA

and also allowed us to share one of our favorite National Parks with Colleen and Charles Holder, our great traveling friends.

At the Manchester VT Farmer's Market

In Dorset, VT we visited with Jane and Pete Johnson, folks from Trace who returned to their roots in VT. Having visited multiple times, we’ve come to know their daughter and her kids so it was great catching up with their accomplishments and milestones.

We also visited Ray's Aunt Peggy in Fair Haven, VT. Luckily Ray's cousin Pepe was working on a truck restoration, we haven't seen him in years.

And a new Best of place is the American Precision Machine Museum in Windsor, VT. Rifles made here helped the Union win the Civil War with a rifling technique made possible in part by a man named Howe who left Chelmsford, MA, the town we left to resettle in NC. Small world is proven true every day.

From Old Orchard Beach, ME we took a side trip to Seabrook, NH to meet my sister Barbara and my dearest friend Maureen, (Ray’s cousin who introduced us many years ago), we met at Brown’s Seafood for some fried wonderfulness!

Heather carrying our grandmother's pie basket

In addition Old Orchard Beach gave us the opportunity to see my cousin Heather and her husband Rick, (Too many years go by between visits!) and to relish an Amato’s Original Sub sandwich.

We also visited some of Portland's Historic Sites

Portland Liberty Shipbuilding Memorial near Bug Light

Fort William - Portland ME

And L.L Bean is a must!

Unfortunately, this stop also dealt us a ‘glitch in the proceedings!’ What is an RV trip without a mechanical failure to address? When driving from VT we got an intermittent error code from the engine computer! At first we thought it was a ‘Bad Fuel’ notice, but after checking the fuel we knew the code meant something else was wrong. The Portland Freightliner service center did a computer readout and announced that our VGT Actuator was in need of replacement. Portland said the part would be available but they couldn’t do the work for a week. (No bueno!) But we could drive to Bangor and they could fix it sooner. Four nights in Bangor and a nationwide computer search for the part helped us get everything working properly, and it gave us an opportunity to show Colleen and Charles a part of New England that wasn’t on our original itinerary!

Whatever did we do before FedEx and computers? In addition to the nationwide search for the VGT Actuator, Colleen found us a nice RV park near the Bangor Freightliner dealer and we planned a trip to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. In addition to an Amato Sub, (bringing back many family shared memories) we discovered a Mom and Pop pizza place that creates some of the best NY style pizza! Tesoros across from the library in downtown Bangor was a fine addition to places to eat! And Ray was able to reschedule our pre-booked RV Park reservations, all with the assistance of a smart phone.

Bar Harbor and Cadillac Mountain were so perfect on this perfect weather day.

Saturday, June 16th was a beautiful day to finally head to Canada. We crossed the border in Calais, (Ca-lis) ME with a goal of Century Farm Family Campground, in St. Martin’s, New Brunswick. Ray and I have stayed here before and just loved the location.

St. Martin has 2 covered bridges

The Fundy Trail Parkway begins 10k from St. Martin. It includes 2 UNESCO-designated sites, Stonehammer Global Geopark and Fundy Biosphere Reserve. It is the last undeveloped portion of the North American East Coast. And being on the Bay of Fundy, the tides are a wonder.