Exploring Kennebunkport with R&V

Thursday, after surviving Boston, we headed back up the coast toward Kennebunkport.  We discovered that liquor was cheap in New Hampshire, so Dennis had wanted to stop and check it out for himself.  Come to find, out the Canadian Club Whiskey that Dennis is currently drinking was very much worth the stop.  What had cost $42 in Canada was priced there at just $14.99.  Crazy, huh?!  So you bet he stocked up!  Good thing we have a truck, right!  Just Kidding, he only bought a few bottles.

Michael's Harborside Restaurant. Nice view!

Back on the road, we decided to stop for dinner in one of the small towns along the southern coast of Maine.  We found this cute waterfront restaurant called Michael's Harborside in Newburyport, so Veronica could try her first-ever Lobster Roll.  I think the vote is still out on whether it was good or not.  It seems there are two types of Lobster Rolls; The ones served cold with mayo and the ones served warm with butter.   I think she was expecting the warm kind but come to find out, that's not the Maine way of serving them.

View from the deck at Salt & Honey, Kennebunkport, Maine

On Friday, we explored downtown Kennebunkport.  We started out the day having breakfast as this small but popular restaurant called Salt & Honey.  With a name so close to R&V's own store, Milk & Honey, of course, we had to try it.  Afterward, we walked around town for a bit then drove by the Bush's compound on our way out.

Pier 77 in Kennebunkport, Maine

For lunch, we went just around the corner from the campground to Pier 77.  There is a small lighthouse off in the distance and a couple of restaurants.  However, parking the dually was a bear as always.

Drinks at Lobster Beach House while watching the sunset.

 

Afterward, we headed down to Ogunquit and checked out a few more shops, sat and watched the surfers in the ocean, and then had drinks at the Lobster Beach House while waiting on the sun to set.

We finished up the day with dinner at Federal Jacks back in Kennebunkport.  I kinda feel like we ate and drank our way through the whole day.  But hey, when you're in port, it's vacation time!

On Saturday morning, we headed up to Portland to take R&V to the jetport.  We stopped in Biddeford for a quick breakfast at Biscuit and Company.  I first thought $7 was high for just a biscuit, but the thing was huge and delish!  A must stop if you are in the area.

Since we still had a little time before their flight left we decided to check out Cape Elizabeth lighthouse while we were in Portland.   Even though we couldn't get real close to the lighthouse from this viewpoint, the rocky shoreline was well worth the stop.  A perfect ending to a great visit.  We look forward to more visits from my wonderful sons and their families during our time on the road.

Boston

On Wednesday, we packed our bags and headed south to the Boston Amtrak Station to pick up my son Ryan and his wife, Veronica.  Since they had to be in NYC for work, we had discussed them hopping up here for a short visit and I was so glad they did!  It had been 8 months since we left Ga and I was getting very homesick for family.

As it turned out, Boston was only about a 90-minute drive from Kennebunkport.  We found getting down to Boston was an easy drive along the coast but OH MY WORD once we got into the city, it's a whole new ball game.  Little did we know that Boston was the most populated city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts AND in all of New England, therefore, making traffic crazy.

If you have driven in New York or DC and thought the traffic was bad there, well think again for Boston is the worst.  Come to find out in 2018 it was ranked as #1 for having the worst traffic in the nation and 8th in the world.  I for one feel that still holds!  To say driving the dually there was pure insanity is pretty much spot on.

Statue of Samuel Adams in the square

The one thing that saves Boston is that it is very easy to get around on foot.  So after picking the kids up in the middle of the road (literally), we drove around and got lucky with parking and hit the pavement.  Our destination was Faneuil Hall Marketplace near the waterfront.  The market house originally opened in 1743 and it was the site of several speeches encouraging independence from Great Britain.  Inside we found information and maps on the freedom trail and downstairs you can watch a short documentary about the building history involving slave trading on the site.  It was definitely worth the stop.

Bell-in-Hand Tavern on Union Street, Boston

If it's on a plague, it's gotta be true!

Cheers for family!!

Afterward, we did a little more shopping and then went for a drink in the oldest bar in town! The Bell-in-Hand Tavern was built in 1795 and was a very cool pub.

Got a feeling there's always a line.

Some of the pics on the walls

Afterward that, we set out to eat at THE best pizza joint in all of Boston! Regina Pizzeria was founded in 1926 and they even have there own wiki page! Come to find out it wasn't too far from the pub so we decided to walk. However, when we got close, we could see the line to be seated was out the door.  Well, you only live once, so we waited for our turn. It seems it's also popular with a few celebrities too. There are pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Winkler, Rob Lowe, Jay Leno, just to name a few.

After dinner, we headed to our hotel for the night in order to rest up to fight the streets of Boston again.  We weren't so lucky the next day at finding a parking spot, so Dennis and Ryan decided to just ride around the block while Veronica and I jumped out to go pick up a vest I had seen the day before.  It took all of 30 minutes to purchase the vest and when we went out to met them, they were still half a block away!  It seems they had been sitting at one red light 15 times before finally making it through.

USS Constitution aka Old Ironsides

Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge

We finally said goodbye to the city center and drove out to tour the USS Constitution that we had spotted when we crossed the bridge into the city.  The USS Constitution served from 1797 to 1881 and is the the oldest and most storied commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy.  We also got to go on a destroyer called the USS Cassin Young that served from 1943-1960. She survived two Kamikaze attacks and sailed the globe.

Afterward, we headed up to our campsite in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Yahoo!  We still had 2 more days to enjoy the company of Ryan and Veronica! Yeah!

Kennebunkport, Maine

Well, our first boondocking experience (camping without any type of hookups) went off without a hitch.   We found a Walmart just north of Bar Harbor in Ellsworth, Maine and pulled in about 9:30 PM in the pouring rain.  It was pretty crowded by that time but we still managed to find a spot for our big rig.

Thanks, Walmart!

We got up early, dressed, and headed into Walmart since they had a Duncan Donuts inside the store. Sweet!! After a quick breakfast, we set out to find fuel and then continued on our way.

We pulled into Sandy Pines Campground around 1pm and checked in.  Our site is a little short for our outfit and it took quite a bit of maneuvering to get it to fit.  Next time I will be sure they understand just how long our 5th wheel is before booking.  Other than the size of our spot, this park is pretty interesting.

Our 5th wheel is right at the edge of a big drop off and it's just off the road. Whew!

They have these awesome yurts and wagons you can rent here and they seem to be very popular.  We are also pretty close to downtown and the beach, plus several other cute resort towns.

How cool is this!!

Inside the wagon

Now that is tent camping!

Inside one of the many tents that are here.

On our list of things to do while here was to drive by the Bush family vacation home.  Seems they have had a presence in Kennebunkport for well over a century. George H.W. Bush’s grandfather and great-grandfather purchased the property in the 1870s.  Originally known as “Point Vesuvius,” but is now known as “Walker’s Point.”

Walker’s Point is home to a variety of properties and has been in the news on more than one occasion.  There’s the main, 3-story, stone-and-shingle home along with eight other buildings. The  Bush’s five children all have homes on the property.

Family photo in 2015

Barbara Bush and Craig Coyne's wedding back in Oct 2018

Walker's Point

The town of Kennebuckport offers tons of shops, hotels, restaurants, whale watching tours, and a trolley museum.

Any time of the day there was always a line at this place!

City Center with Cooper Candle store in the background.  Cute shop!

Bridge on the main street

Some of the shops on the water

This weekend we are going to hop down to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and check out a couple of lighthouses.

St Andrews, New Brunswick

If you want a picture-perfect seaside escape that is just over the border into Canada, then St. Andrews by-the-Sea is the place to visit.  Many of the National Historic homes are 100 to 200 years old and have been restored.  The Storefronts also have the historic look giving the town a very nostalgic feel. 

 

Besides the beautiful view of the ocean, there is plenty to do here.  You can shop in the cute stores that are all along the main street, stop and have your fill of lobster at one of the many restaurants,  go on a whale-watching cruise, visit the Huntsman Aquarium & Research Center , go kayaking, fishing, play golf at the awarding winning Algonquin Resort, or take an easy bike ride on the trail over to Minister Island.

Tudor Revival style hotel built in 1889

During low tide, you can drive or bike over to the island!

The town does seem to have a wee bit of a deer problem at the moment.  Deer can be seen throughout the town grazing along the road, hanging out in the park and sitting in folks front lawns.  They don't seem to be bothered by people or vehicles.   Rumor is there are more than 60 of them that call St. Andrews their home and have become a bit of an issue.  You definitely will need to keep your eye out for them or you might just hit one.  There were a couple of times we had to slam on our breaks as a family came wandering out onto the road.

This quiet little town is located on the Bay of Fundy in the Passamaquoddy Bay which gives you plenty of areas to watch the amazing tides.  If you get a chance to visit New Brunswick, the tides in the Bay of Fundy are truly a sight to behold. 

Dennis on the stairs with campground behind him.

Me standing in the middle of the ocean at Low Tide! Scary!

High Tide

Unfortunately, our week in St. Andrews came to an end.  This is one of those towns that I wish we had been able to extend our stay but it just wasn't in the cards due to Hurricane Dorian making an appearance off the coast of Nova Scotia.  We will for sure put this town on our list to visit when we make our way back to Nova Scotia in a couple of years.

With this post, we say our farewells to Canada for 2019!  It is a bittersweet moment for we have missed the good ole US of A more than we expected,  yet we have had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful sites in Canada and meeting some very sweet people.  We have also experienced some horrible internet service making it very difficult for Dennis to work at times and stressful border crossings.  But overall, so worth the 10-week journey from Niagara Falls to the shores of St. Andrews.  So, Canada, we bid you au revoir!

Bangor, Maine

On Sunday, we headed across the border again into the US to pick up Dennis' prescription and decided on a whim to drive over to Bangor and see the house of the "Brain of Horror" aka Stephen King.  (This particular nickname is according to a clue in the LA Times Crossword puzzle.)

We knew it was going to be a little bit of a drive but what we hadn't counted on was the condition of the roads.  The drive took us the better part of 2 hrs and through some very pretty forest areas.  I just wish the roads had been as pleasant as the views.  The route from Calais to Bangor is on a portion of state highway Route 9, crossing Penobscot, Hancock, and Washington counties.  It was planned as a military road in 1838-1839 during the Aroostook War, and remained unfinished until 20 years after the “War” was settled.  It passes through mostly small towns, such as Beddington, Township 22, Clifton, Crawford, and Alexander.

Beddington, Maine

Clifton, Maine

Township -22

We found Stephen King's house without an issue.  When we pulled up to the house, we were not the only stalkers there so we waited our turn to take our photos and then road around the block to check out the neighborhood.  It blows my mind that people are willing to live near a mind that can dream up the things he does!  Would be a little scary if you ask me.

Afterward, we drove around town a bit and then decided to stop for a late lunch at what we thought was the Bangor Beer Company but once we got there, all we saw was the Oriental Jade Restaurant.  It seems the beer restaurant was in the back and we had mistaken it as the brewery.  (Yes, we just aren't that bright sometimes).  So long story short, once we walked into the Oriental restaurant there was no getting Dennis out of there.  The man loves sushi!

31 foot Paul Bunyan Statue from 1959

Even though it was a bumpy ride,  I'm glad we did it for who knows when we will get back up there.