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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Leaving New England--New York Finger Lakes, Ives Run Corps of Engineer , Tioga, Pa

So-------
Our last posting was a little over two weeks ago. That posting was the first in two and a half months.  Looking at the recent posting, we realized we may have been in overkill mode. I counted 16 videos on that last posting.  I don't see how any of you had time to look at all of them.  Good news---only 3 videos this time and the blog is a little shorter.  Always happy to have feedback.
We have had pictures of Sean(on the right)in the past at the Maine Marathon. This time Sean encouraged his brother, Scott(on the left)to participate. This was Sean's 12th marathon and Scott had a great showing on his first half marathon. More important-we think-they both had a great time. So did we-following the race and then  heading into Old Port, Portland for a seafood lunch. Special time with Bailey and Ruby at the marathon and also at lunch with Joe and Meredith. The brothers actually ran the first 6 miles together.
Also, kudos out to Bailey(Sean's wife)for running in the Mount Desert Island Marathon on Sunday.  A great run! Bailey had run in marathons before, including the Boston Marathon and is now getting back into running.


A number of campers at Walnut Grove were disappointed with the foliage colors going into October. Then the colors just seemed to bloom all at once.
This is an addition for the family history.  Jan's folks stayed here at the Maine Idyll Motor Court in Freeport, Maine on their wedding night , January 1, 1941. They continued to come here for many years. The same family still runs the business and has updated the facilities.

Do not panic!!!
Lady Blue is safe!!
We came across this collection of Volkswagon Westfalias on Route one in Belfast, Maine. 
As many of you know, Bailey is focused on old Westfalias. But we know others are interested or have friends who are interested as well.
A number of the relics should be probaby left where they stand. But some look in decent shape. And in the first picture above there is a neat green and white, old model(behind the telephone pole) with the split front window and a different looking roof popup.

These were some of the bright foliage colors in Maine. A cloudy day and still early in the foliage season.

The sign says Lebanon, Maine. Fun to see such a variety of colors in succession.

We are quite lucky to have family and friends who have introduced us to some great New England maple syrup.  The syrup above is another great addition to the family of maple syrups.  Alison introduced us to Thurston and Peters of Newfield , Maine last year.  We were happy to have a chance to visit again this year. Also, quite surprised that Debi , one of the owners, was out raking and actually recognized us. "You are the RVers who travel all around the country!" This visit we also had a chance to chat with her husband Harry. They are both retired school teachers. Harry is a wealth of knowledge on the property that has been in the family since the 1700's. He can tell you about all of the family that are buried in the cemetery, dating back to the Civil War and more. He can also show you pictures and tell you about the lead mining and the family farm way back. Not to mention how the property was spared from a disastrous fire in 1947 that consumed much of the surrounding area in Maine.
The following video is about 9 minutes long, but it is a great video of the property and also of the process of sugar farming from the early days to their modern production facility.  You can tell from the video that they are sticklers to making as perfect a product as possible. Talking to Harry, you know he is up to date on the best processes for modern maple syrup farming. But you also know that he is clear on preserving the history as well. On that note, please pay attention at the end of the video to their plan for the future preservation of the Thurston and Peters property.

On the video below. Once you cue up the video , click on the cross arrows to the left of the word "vimeo" to enlarge. Then hit the play arrow on the left.  Enjoy!
One of our definite necessary stops was at Carlson Orchards in Harvard, Massachusetts.  Harvard is an apple lovers paradise in the fall with a large number of orchards offering all kinds of apple products. This is Johnny Appleseed country! This year we noticed they not only had our Cortland apples and more, cider donuts, and cider; but they also had some apple hard ciders.

We left New England on the Mass. Turnpike. The colors were just as bright as the picture above. Good color into New York as well.
Leaving New England after Columbus Day is always challenging. Most campgrounds are closed and some that say they are open on their webpages are also closed.  We had luck with Deer Haven Campground in Oneonta, New York. They were officially closed, but allowed us to come in for one evening. A great little campground on top of a hill overlooking the town.

Many seasonal spots, but also some nice, woodsy, temporary spots.
 One campground that was still open, was Sampson State Park in Romulus, New York.  We had not been to the Finger Lakes region of New York in a number of years. They also had some great foliage color---and rain.

Even in the rain , the vineyards have great views of their grapes---still on the vines here--and Lake Seneca.  This picture is at Lamoreaux Vineyards. Our first visit was to Wagner Vineyards on a heavier rain day.  Really enjoyed their Meritage--a nice blend of three kinds of Bordeaux grapes bottled in 2012.  The vineyards in this area also have wonderful Riesling wines. 

The Lamoreaux Landing Vineyards is very close to  Wagner Vineyards on Route 414. The number of wineries in the Finger Lakes Region has multiplied since the 1970's.  Wine tasting requires some planning even if you have more than a few days.  We had a chance to visit a very nice winery with Gary and Linda, located in Foster, Rhode Island. Nickle Creek was a great visit as well.
  We enjoyed their Pinot Noir wine . We also enjoyed the Pinot Noir wines here in New York.  Again their boasts are about their Riesling wines and other whites.
Some of the fun here is to explore the websites.



From the Finger Lakes it was an easy trip down Route 414 to Route 88. A few miles brought us to Route 99 south to Tioga and Ives Run Corps of Engineer Campground.  One of our favorites!!
We reserved a different site this year. Still out in Pine Camp which is the dry camping section. Very quiet, but with a wonderful view.

Enjoying Fall!


Friday, October 4, 2019

Maine Coast and family gathering

Yes, it has been more than 2 months since the last posting. We have been enjoying the summer, friends, and family, and New England.
Jan and I decided it might be best to start with newer pictures. Then, hopefully, we will have a chance to post pics from the summer in future blog postings. Something to look forward to.
Rachel and Scott wound up having quite a crew for Labor Day weekend.  You have to know that the brothers and sister do not get a chance to see each other very often during the year.
Sean, Scott, Gary

Left to right:
Gary, Linda, Sean , Cristin,Alison, Scott, Rachel
Another rare picture opportunity.
Alison and Marsha

There was a lot of story telling and laughter.
Good times!

Lucas, Sean, and Lilly

Cristin, Rachel, Lilly, and Scott
Food was also very, very important

Marsha, Bruce, Alison, and Rachel

Missing Lucas in this picture, but a nice catch of Rachel, Lilly, and Scott

Did we mention good food?


Nancy and Jan are always happy to spend some time together.
Important doings on the deck.
Linda is supervising. Did they get all of the silk off the corn?
Lucas and Lilly had fun decorating a birthday cake for Everyone!
This link is to a short , crazy video of the occasion
Can someone say Jeopardy??
Also, here is a short video of our picture taking
Thanks to Dave for this one.
The videos on the blog show in red. Just click to play and click or double click to enlarge
Beginning our favorite tour of the Maine coast. We are back to Winslow Park Campground in Freeport, Maine. This was the view from our site . The following video was looking towards Harraseeket River
On the way , we actually found a place to park Lady Blue in Camden Maine. It was even marked for RV's!!
That gave us a chance to walk downtown Camden and to take a few videos of the harbor.
This first is from the lawn of the library at the top of the hill.
Also a little video from deck of the Waterfront Restaurant

A great stop again at Lobster Buoy Campground in South Thomaston.
A video from the shorefront
 And a tasty lobster from McLoons Lobstah Shack(the "ah" spelling is on the side of the building)on Spruce Head Island.

How's the lobster Bruce??
This video is from where the picnic tables are located
Of course, the lobster was perfect Maine!!


It seems like some customers come just for the view.
The following video is as we leave McLoons. Away from the main tourists areas, these coves along the Maine coast hold the business end of the lobster industry. Lots of lobsters come in, are packed, and shipped in trucks to final destinations around the world.


We took a wrong turn out of Lobster Buoy. But it turned out to be a good turn. It led us to Owls Head Light.
Built in 1825. This lighthouse is a surprise. When you approach the top of the stairs you realize that what you see is what there is. The lighthouse is very short because it sits nicely on the top of the ledges. We try to keep the video fairly short. Hopefully they are helpful. These two are from the base of the lighthouse.
The high view gives a perfect look around the coast. That includes a number of lobster boats pulling their traps.

Sunset Point Campground is located north of Schoodic Peninsula in Harrington, Maine. The campground is off Route 1A
This is the view of our little cove at Sunset Point Campground. The tides here are up to 13 feet for each change of tide. So low tide looks very low.
Video from low tide

This is the same dock and boat at high tide.
Also a video from high tide


Jan enjoys a view from Sunset Point walking trail

The sunset did not disappoint.


From Schoodic Woods Campground on the Schoodic Peninsula, Jan and I take a hike on the Lower Harbor Trail


Bright green moss and also other colors of moss along the hike.

The hike goes all along the water. The beginning of the noose is Schoodic Woods Campground in Acadia National Park. It is also the beginning of the Park Loop Road on Schoodic.

One of the views along the way.

Also some woods parts of the trail.
The next day we take a bike ride from the campground around Schoodic Point.
This video is from a stop at Frazer point.


At Schoodic point , visitors scramble over the rocks or bring their folding chairs and just sit and watch the ocean. The picture above shows how when this area was formed , molten lava pushed up through the already fromed and cracked granite to make these dark strips of diabase dikes. The diabase erodes faster than the granite.
The video is from near these rocks on the point. You should see a number of people walking and sitting on the rocks.

The Schoodic loop on the bike was 11 miles. The point with the ledges is at the bottom of the picture above. This ride gives great ocean views all the way until the gray section that cuts back to the campground.

Bright red ash? berries.

To the right is Mount Cadillac and the left is Dorr Mountain

A view from the Park Loop Road of Acadia National Park. A cruise ship is moored on the left and Bar Harbor is on the right.
Above a huge cruise ship from the Holland Cruise Lines leaves Bar Harbor

Above is the Margaret Todd of the Windjammer fleet
This is a video of the some of the surf close to Thunder Hole on the Loop Road

On our bike ride around Acadia.

One of the views of  Eagle Lake along the carriage roads.
A different view of Eagle Lake from the end of the lake.

Jan takes a break from the hills.
 
Not a lot of foliage colors, but here and there were some bright leaves This was around Jordan Pond.

A nice new discovery was Megunticook Campground on Route 1 just south of Camden

Even enjoyed the old woody Ford wagon on the front lawn.
Also, as you can see from the video, a nice section of waterfront that is set up with a number of wooden chairs to view the ocean. We saw the eagle fly by and others point out dolphins and seals.