Maine - Points North: Bangor / Presque Isle - 2012

From Bar Harbor we drove to Bangor and spent a couple of days.  Then on to Presque Isle (PI) where I lived when I was 5 years old.

From Bar Harbor we drove to our campground near Bangor:  Pumpkin Patch RV Resort.  It is actually in the little town of Hermon, ME which is a couple of miles outside of Bangor.  What a great campground!

The staff was very professional, gave a very good orientation to the campground and surrounding area and then one of the guys escorted us to our 'roomy' campsite.

The whole campground was in tip top shape:  very well maintained, the sites were level and the grass and flowers were at their best. Looks like the campground could host a few rallies.  It has a couple of big tents and a nice sized room for other events.    I think some folks were staying here before heading northeast into New Brunswick, Canada.  I rated them pretty high (9) on RV Park Reviews (my #1 source of campground info).

Bangor was a nice little mountain ish type of town.  A highlight of the couple of days there was the Rascal Flats concert.  We saw about 8 of their big rig trucks at the truck stop the first night we were in town.

Then we saw the stage being set up and people starting to get ready for the show.  We opted out thought I'm sure it would have been fun.  I like their music.

During our windshield tour of the city, we stopped by Stephen King's house,

drove through the downtown area,

and went across the Penobscot River to see Freedom Park and monument dedicated to Joshua Chamberlain of Little Round Top and Civil War fame.

There was also some Underground Railroad action here during that part of our history.

From Bangor, we went directly north to Presque Isle where we lived when I was 5-8 years old.  My dad retired from the Air Force here back in 1961 before the Air Force Base was closed.  We camped at Arndt's Aroostook River Lodge and Campground.  The view across the valley was great.  I liked the campfire.

The main detractor of the campground was getting to the site on the bumpy dirt road up a steep and winding hill and the uneven / un level campsite.  But we managed and it turned out fine.  I didn't rate them so high (5).  But we knew what we were getting before we arrived because we checked out earlier comments on RV Park Reviews.

Presque Isle is a small town that is struggling with the economy.  We drove in on a Saturday and not much was going on.  We started some sight seeing and I tried to locate some places I remember:
Zippel Elementary School where I went to second grade.

Our first grade school (Gouldville Elementary) I never found.  It apparently is an administrative building of some sort.

Presque Isle High School - home of the Wildcats.  This is where my oldest brother Marty went.

Pine Street Elementary - where my brother Brad attended.

The fairgrounds.  Every August they had a carnival and I remember seeing harness racing.

And the town Little League fields next to the swimming pool.  It was here my twin brother and I learned how to pitch and catch and to switch hit.

I don't remember the homes we lived in on Judd and Turner Streets, but we drove by hoping to see something I recollected.  Nope.  Just another neighborhood.

Then out to the Air Force Base that was closed.  It is now a regional airport and some of the housing area in low income and rental.  It is always tough to go back to these places because they are in a rough state of repair than what I remembered.

Here is the house we lived in on 58 Sunset Loop.

And some of the neighborhood.  And the big back yard / common area.

We drove around the base some more and went by base operations area which is now the regional airport.

It was a fun couple of days and a bit nostalgic.  I was glad to go back and see it.  If it weren't for being a full-timer, I doubt we would ever get back here.  As with most of the rest of the country, the weather has been unseasonably warm.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

4th of July Parade & Seafood Festival - Bar Harbor

It was a great day on the 4th of July.  We celebrated in Bar Harbor at the small hometown parade and seafood festival.  We were told to be there plenty early for the 10:00 AM start.

 And we were - Tom and Cathy and I.  We were so early we had time for a hot cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll.

We picked out a good spot and were ahead of the crowds.

They filled in the empty spots along the parade route quickly.

A little after 10:00 the grand marshall and marchers passed by us.

Then it was a steady stream of pure fun!

 These paraders were well trained:  they tossed the candy on the ground so it wouldn't hit anyone.

Then a real highlight - a group of go carts in various forms from the Shriners in Bangor.

 And marchers, political candidates, a band, a local theater group,

and more go carts - this time NASCARs

 then some older antique models

And Elvis made an appearance in a mail truck!

It was one great parade!!

After everyone cleared out we moved on up the street over to the annual seafood festival.

And to everyones favorite:  the lobster races!

There were lots of people there watching the log rolling, and checking out the booths and eating lobster.

And lobster rolls.

It was a great day in Bar Harbor for a parade and seafood festival.  Hope your 4th was a memorable one too.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Northeast Trip - More Days in Acadia National Forest

Bar Harbor and Acadia  National Park are about 200 miles from Kennebunkport Maine in what is know as the 'Downeast Region' of Maine.

This was one great place!  Our 8 days there were not enough time to enjoy all that it has to offer.  We will definitely be back!  Here are some more photos of what we did at Acadia NP, Bar Harbor and the surrounding area:

1. On the drive up to Cadillac Mountain overlooking Bar Harbor.

2.  Cadillac Mountain - the highest point on the eastern U. S.

3.  One afternoon we walked around Bar Harbor and went over to the park near the waterfront. 

One of two beautiful parks in town.

4. We really liked our campground and spend many evenings around the campfire.

6.  Or walking around and seeing other campsites.

7.  Another morning Tom, Cathy and I got up early (like 4:00 A.M. early) to see the sunrise on top of Cadillac Mountain.

We were not disappointed!  It was well worth it!  We were not alone -- there must have been 200 people up there with us.

8.  We also did some hiking in the park.  One morning we went on a nice 3.2 mile hike around Jordan's Pond.

I leave you today with a photo looking across Jordan Pond toward the Bubbles.

As you can see, it would be hard to run out of things to do at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.  We didn't.  In fact stay tuned for the next edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles to see a recap one of the great small town 4th of July celebrations…

Thanks for joining us!  Until next time...

Northeast Trip - Bar Harbor Maine

We drove from Kennebunkport following our friends Tom and Cathy.

During our time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, I took hundreds of pictures.  I posted a lot of them on Facebook.

We arrived about mid day and had no trouble getting to our campsite at Hadley's Point Campground outside of Bar Harbor.  What a nice place!  And the price was right at $22.15/night.  We stayed 8 days and only had to pay for 7.  The free wifi was great and we enjoyed many nights around the campfire.

It is a busy campground but this is the busy season in Maine. We met some seasonal folks who are regulars here and they were very friendly and helpful.

The first thing we took advantage of was the free bus ride into Acadia National Park.  L.L.Bean underwrites the bus system through the campgrounds and into Bar Harbor and around Acadia National Park.  Pretty awesome.

Hop on and get off downtown Bar Harbor or anywhere along the route in Acadia.  Or ride the complete loop around the Mt Desert Island.

Here are some things to in Acadia National Park:

1. Visit the Hulls Cove Visitor Center.  Nice orientation on the park and plenty of great information and ideas.

2. Have a picnic at Sand Beach.  Or dip your toe into the cooold 50 degree water!

3. Hike to Thunder Hole.

4. Have afternoon tea and pop overs at Jordan Pond.

There are more pictures and times to share with you on our time in Acadia and Bar Harbor.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for joining us on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Northeast Trip - Kennebunkport

We arrived at the Silver Springs Campground in Saco, Maine (near Kennebunktport) about 1:30 Monday afternoon.  The drive from the Boston was uneventful and took us a couple of hours.

Along the way we stopped at the Maine Visitors Center/Rest Area for some maps and info.  Don't know why I snapped a photo of Tom and Cathy's rig and not ours -- but here it is.

We decided to grab a quick bite to eat in the Roadrunner before we continued on into Maine.

After we got all set up at the campground, we took it easy, explored the area and ran some errands.  Pam and I ran to Wal-Mart and dropped off some clothes at Goodwill before we returned to our campsite.

We got some firewood and then sat around the campfire with Tom and Cathy and plotted our activities for the next day.  It has been a bit cloudy but we have only had a few rain showers and are enjoying the warm and sometimes cool weather.

The next day, we went drove along the coast.  One place we stopped was Old Orchard Beach.  There were a few determined enthusiasts who were going to get some beach time regardless of the cloudy sky and cool temps.

And the pier with shops.  And then we drove along the coast to see what we could see.

Not surprisingly we saw a lot of boats, seaside homes, tourist cottages and fishing villages.
And one eye doctor...

About lunch time we found a restaurant on the water in Kennebunkport.  It was under going some additions and construction work but we found a table and had a great meal.

Nothing like a bowl of clam chowder with oyster crackers on a cool rainy New England day!

Kennebunkport is a quaint little town that was fun to drive through.  We took the road that went right near former President George H.W. Bush's home and stopped for pictures.

Then we stopped at Bayley's for some fresh lobster.

We got them cooked there and they were still hot when we attacked them back at the campground.  They were excellent!  Even better than our meal a few days ago.

Yum!

We are thoroughly enjoying our Northeast trip to Maine ~ thanks for joining us!

Next stop:  Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park
Until next time...