After bidding farewell to Vanessa and Paul, we stopped by Canadian Tire to get a Bug Zapper Racket that was convenient when we were visiting Les and Monique: The mosquitoes were out in force in this part of Canada and we were anticipating using it tonight.  As we passed into Quebec, I thought I was in France all over again: The road and business signs (except for Subway and McDonalds) and even the cashiers all sported French as the primary language.  Bob and I spent time interpreting the signs as part of our French lessons!

We made it through the border without having to sacrifice any of our groceries. Once in Vermont we landed at Prouty Beach Campground and RV Park.  It was warm but not obscenely so and we went for a walk along the lake.  Now that we had decent wi-fi and cell coverage we spent a few hours devouring Stage 16 of the Tour de France and wondering how the riders were managing through the horrific heat wave plaguing Portugal, Spain, France and the UK.  Our relatives in England were managing ok with the heat but they certainly weren’t used to it.  We are definitely going to be retrofitting whatever house we get in France with air conditioning (usually the ductless units) in anticipation of the increasing temperatures.

The next day we decided to walk to Newport which is less than a mile away. We left late morning, it was in the 70’s and a bit muggy. We meandered through the streets, visited a large gothic Catholic Cathedral, took in the architecture of traditional New England homes that in our estimation must have housed a few generations of families based on their size. 

We then strolled along the waterfront replete with a fake swan along one of the canals that eventually changed its position when we left the next morning. By that time it was noon, and we were starting to feel that suffocating humidity that we hadn’t experienced in a long time.  We have been to the Amazon and Cambodia, and in those places the humidity is nearly 100% and in some cases nearly 100 degrees, but we’re not getting any younger! We were both sweating profusely and went into the supermarket to stick our heads into the freezers and grab some necessities – like wine….

We walked back to the RV and were fortunately getting some decent shade with the help of our awning that extended over the picnic table and a breeze started to kick up.  Bob announced that we had walked five miles with some decent uphill stints; that may explain why the back of my neck had created its own water feature🥵.  I broke out my special fan that you add water to that converts to a mister; I set it up on the table next to me and was quite comfortable. We had lunch and basically took a siesta until the hottest part of the afternoon subsided.  This is great practice for our transition to Europe where the shops close down in the afternoons anyway.

Our air conditioning unit is loud and we decided to save that for the evening when we catch up on the Tour de France and a movie. By that time the temperature had dropped to a reasonable level and we opened the windows for the remainder of the night.  

The next day we passed through New Hampshire on our way to Maine.  This area is stunning in the fall (as we experienced years before) as you imagine a carpet of blazing orange and red with the quintessential church spires erupting from the landscape.  We drove through Lancaster with its charming, traditional architecture.  We soon got more Moose caution signs – we hadn’t banked on that on the east coast and I have been educated yet again.

We settled into our spot at the KOA outside of Bar Harbor and set out for said location the next day.  

On our way to the harbor, we stopped by Acadia National Park; we had been there before during “leaf peeping” season and decided to drop into the visitor center, once again leveraging our National Parks Pass and collecting a magnet for the board.  Though it was a short hike, there was some rather steep uphill, it was nearly noon and really hot and muggy.  I felt like I was in a hot yoga session.  We headed out to the Bar Harbor (Baa Haa Baa), to cool off and grab a bite to eat; I had an overpriced but tasty Lobster Roll and lots of iced tea.  We bummed around the shops and visited the harbor itself.  It was super busy as its a tourist hot spot but fun all the same. 

We had parked the rig in the shade near an athletic field not far from the designated RV Parking.  Unfortunately all the designated RV parking spots were taken and the dirt lot next to it was virtually empty. We still paid for a ticket to avoid getting fined.  It all worked out great in the end as we scored a spot in the shade😍

On our way back to the KOA, we stopped by an extension of the bay to have our tea as we love picking interesting spots as part of the RV trippin experience. The idea was to sit at a shady picnic table at a rest stop that overlooked the bay, watch the bird life and contemplate our bucolic surroundings – well, the mosquitoes had a different agenda….so we wound up bagging that idea! 

After 13,000 steps in the heat, crowds and humidity, I opted for a shower and to spend the rest of the evening in the air conditioning, recouping from the day. 

The next day we headed down the coast of Maine via Highway 1.

Along the way we spotted a large blue building that was part of a larger blueberry attraction; Maine is apparently the blueberry capital of the world. We of course had to check it out and though they have a smorgasbord of blueberry products, oddly there were no fresh blueberries.  

Moving on, we diverted to Jonesport to get closer to the sea. We found a camping area filled with RVs and sorta crashed it; the camp host asked us what we were doing and we responded that we were just taking pictures – she was cool with that and indicated that the camp was full anyway. Then the other camp host came by  and asked us if everything was ok and we inquired about having our tea in this really great spot; he extended his New England hospitality to us so we sat next to the bay and had our tea amongst the seagulls and salty air – sans the mosquitoes! We caught the interest of some of the nearby RV inhabitants and wound having a great conversation with some of the locals about our travels. The gals were playing a game under a pop up and the guys were under a nearby awning. When Bob asked the boys what they were up to they said they were going to visit the “Sardine Museum” – as if to say they weren’t up to anything. When we bid our farewell to these lovely New Englanders we passed by the Sardine Museum – such a beast does exist in Jonesport, Maine🎣🛖

We went through the backroads and ended back up on Highway 1 on our way to Houlton which is next to the Canadian border.  It was rural Maine with farms of barley, corn and other assorted crops.  As its now late-July, the sun is beginning to tilt in such a way that the fields and forests give off that summer smell of dry grass and pine needles that beckons the eventual transition to fall. We stopped at the Million Dollar Scenic View Byway that boasts a massive lake called “Grand Lake” with a view of New Brunswick just on the other side.  Granted there weren’t any other RV’s coming this way, let alone much traffic as this must be one of the roads less travelled despite its scenic byway designation (it could be one of the hotspots in the fall though). Yet here we were enveloped in an unexpected peace, surrounded by the quietude and shimmering of lakes and fields where the long shadows journey into the evening twilight. I suddenly felt encapsulated for a moment in the rarified presence of mid-summer, away from the incursions of civilization and shielded from the heat plaguing the rest of the Eastern Seaboard. Even the occasional farm seemed to be caught up in the ether of nature’s siesta.

We stopped off to get groceries and I looked for the legendary wild Maine blueberries and oddly the store only had raspberries and blackberries.  I had become pretty perplexed by the whole blueberry business.  Yet….they had Washington Rainier Cherries!! I of course pounced on a bag like a hungry fox.

We ended the day at the Houlton KOA who had kindly reserved a cooked lobster for moi. 

Bob, not being a shellfish, person opted for steak and we dined on surf and turf as the evening began to cool enough for a campfire.

We spent the evening by the fire catching up on decent wi-fi and cell coverage in anticipation of our next leg into Canada where we know we will get a Verizon throttling as we have before📶= not. And the wi-fi is always spotty at RV parks no matter where you go.