The New England States-So Many Great Days

Seems That RVers Have Friends & Relatives Everywhere

Our next stop in our travels was in Scarborough Maine which fortunately was only a short 30-minute drive from Linda and Dave’s (The Fernald Campground).  We’ve been to this area quite often but it’s a beautiful area with plenty to see in southern Maine.   Our RV park, Wild Duck, is an adult only park and it was very quiet. 

The shade was appreciated but that meant no DirecTV access

Naturally our 1st stop was Walmart to restock supplies.  On Friday we were invited to Lalia’s cousin Heather and her husband Rick’s for a lobster dinner.  Great way to start our week in Scarborough. 

Waiting on the 3rd and 4th Lobsters

Awesome New England Lobster

Saturday, we went to the Saco car show, lots of cars parked on both sides of the street. Plus we did a wine tasting at a local wine store. 

Rick's friend shows the Spider, Rick shows the Mustang

This English delivery truck is original
and is still used to deliver foods

Plus we did a wine tasting at a local wine store.

Great wine advice

Lalia and I left the car show and headed to Portland to check out a Farmer’s Market recommended by Lalia’s cousin. The Market is in a downtown park and includes crafts and flowers in addition to vegetables.

Sunday, we had rain most of the morning and in the afternoon we drove down Pine Point Road to the beach.  With the extra weather, the beach had many wind surfers enjoying the relatively empty beach. Unfortunately their was too much evidence of the trash left behind by the Saturday beachgoers. A nice beach but not a great day to get out and walk around. 

Lalia's grandmother's sister lived on Pine Point Rd. and Lalia had spent some time one summer visiting with her great Aunt. The house at 21 Pine Point Rd. was known as Twin Maples, unfortunately the maples are long gone.

Blueberries and Hot Dog Rolls

Monday, we headed back to Steep Falls to buy some extra-large hot dog rolls and pick some blueberries.  The blueberry picking was very easy because all the bushes were covered in berries.  It took us about 10 minutes to fill up our two small baskets.

We went on a serious search for New England Style hot dog rolls to send to Janet MacKay in Florida for her birthday. With a little help from our Steep Falls friends, we found just what we needed. That evening we had dinner again with Lalia’s cousin.  Another wonderful meal with nice wine and good conversations.  Beautiful day!

Mansions and Mills

Tuesday, we headed south to visit Ogunquit, Wells, and Kennebunkport.  We were hoping to walk the Cliff Walk in Ogunquit but it was extra crowded with nowhere to park, so we just rode through town. 

There are so many beautiful old homes in this area, many were previously the homes of the owners and managers of local factories. As we drove north, we went by the Biddeford/Saco mill buildings.  There are more mills in this area than anywhere we’ve been in the past including Lowell, MA and Manchester NH.

Our last day in Scarborough was spent visiting a couple of stores recommended by Heather.  We restocked our wine supply and then had an Italian feast at Heather and Rick’s.  Heather made homemade pasta using a pasta making machine that we loved and we will be looking for this coming winter. 

Another wonderful evening of great food and good conversation. We enjoyed our time with Heather and Rick and are looking forward to visiting with them on one of our future trips north.

On to the Famous & Picturesque Harbors of Maine

From Scarborough we drove about an hour and a half to our next stop at Shore Hills Campground in Boothbay, Maine.  It is a family run park and we appreciated the efforts the office staff made to get us a full week's stay.

In our first couple of days at this park we were joined by friends Linda and Dave from Steep Falls, Dale and Charlie from MA, and Nelson the drummer.  Yes there really is a Nelson. We heard so much about Nelson from Linda and Dave but were never able to meet him until this stop.  Nelson is a great drummer and a real gentleman.  We had a wonderful 3 days with these friends and Saturday night Dave and Nelson entertained everyone at the RV park with their music.

Many will recognize the Fernald home on wheels

Folks throughout the park gathered at the Rec Hall to hear Dave and Nelson

  

The elusive Nelson

With the traditional toast of chocolate wine, we bid good-bye to the band 

With lots of farmer's market opportunities, we headed to nearby Damariscotta Farmer's Market and were charmed by an oatmeal cranberry cookie and a blueberry scone, so we bought broccolini to assuage any feelings of guilt😋

Time for Seafood

On Monday we drove to Pemaquid Bay to visit with friends Maggie and Dave who have an amazing view of Pemaquid Bay.  We then went to Pemaquid Seafood Restaurant & Wharf for dinner and had some really good seafood while overlooking the picturesque Pemaquid Bay. Best of all a BYOB restaurant.

The next day we had planned to visit the Maine Maritime Botanical Gardens but we didn’t realize you needed a reservation so instead we drove up the Maine coast to Rockland, Camden, and then Belfast. It was a sunny warm day and the drive along the coast was beautiful.  We stopped at a small store in Belfast and bought a sandwich and then drove down to the Belfast City Park and enjoyed watching the boats in the bay.  Amazing day for sure.

Rockland Harbor

A fine walkway around the harbor 

Not all boats in the harbor are working vessels

Recommended by "the Google Machine"

A great recommendation

BIW-Bath Iron Works- 6000 employees and looking for another 1500

Our last day in Boothbay we drove to Bath to visit the Maine Maritime Museum and take a boat ride up the Kennebec River.  The history of the Bath Iron Works (BIW) is one of the highlights of our tour through this museum. BIW has been known as a successful boat building company for many years.  During WWII BIW produced a destroyer every 17 days for our navy which is just an unbelievable feat.  BIW was purchased by General Dynamics in 1995 and they are now building the Zumwalt destroyer Lyndon B Johnson and an Arleigh Burke class destroyer seen at its side. 

Lyndon B. Johnson

Arleigh Burke class destroyer

 

Also part of Bath, Maine is the history of a schooner building company called Percy and Small.  This company was famous for Schooners that were of great quality and speed.  One of the schooners they were famous for was the Wyoming which was the largest wooden sailing ship ever built in the United States and the last six-masted schooner ever built.  This ship was 325 feet long, had 22 sails, and could carry 6000 tons of coal. What even made this schooner more valuable to it’s owners was the fact that it only needed a total of 14 people to man it.

Sculpture representing the Wyoming

The Masts are 68 feet shorter than the real ones-
they would need lights for aircraft if full size

We also took a boat ride up the Kennebec River and learned some about lighthouses along the river.  Over all our day at the museum was very interesting and we learned a lot about the history of ship building in the area.

On Thursday we left Boothbay for a weekend stay in Salisbury MA and another opportunity to visit with Lalia’s mother and sisters. 

Couldn't decide which ones to leave out

Boothbay 

Brown's Restaurant and Inn Greeter

View from the Post Office Parking Lot

We didn't get to do more of the Museum
of the Streets But it's a great idea

In Honor of the Proud Independent Maine
Fishermen Who Lost Their Lives at Sea

Rockland

Made from Railroad Spikes

Breakwater Lighthouse at Marie Reed Park

Belfast

Belfast Harbor From City Park

Belfast Harbor

Bath

Ship Building Moulds/Patterns

Ship Building Moulds/Patterns

Some of these timbers were 37" square by 70' long

Schooner Wyoming

Recent ships built for the navy at Bath Iron Works

Zumwalt Class Destroyer

Dry Dock

Lalia and her mother

Barbie, Mom, Lalia, and Susan (4 Beauties)