NEW ENGLAND BOUND!!!

FIRST STOP CONNECTICUT

The months of June and July found us in the familiar states of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. We spent our time there visiting family and friends and taking care of our medical appointments. With our last appointment completed and our goodbyes said, it was with great excitement that we headed off to New England! Despite having spent most of my life in the Finger Lakes region of New York, there were two states in New England that I had not been to. I had spent time in Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire, but had never been to Massachusetts or Maine, although both places have always been on my list must see places! On the other hand, Bart had attended college in Boston and had many opportunities to visit Cape Cod, albeit many years ago. He was excited to return! It was not long into our trip when we noticed a few things. The roads in the northeast are among some of the worse in our country! By the time we arrived in Connecticut, we felt like one of James Bond’s cocktails, shaken, not stirred! We have heard report after report of RV sales being through the roof since Covid and, with the availability of the vaccine, people were traveling in record numbers. Judging from our experiences, we would like to say these reports are not exaggerated!

Our primary purpose for visiting Connecticut was to spend time with Bart’s son Nick and his girlfriend Kat. We had a wonderful time exploring Stamford, Connecticut, more specifically, the restaurants of Stamford, Connecticut! Kat’s mom treated Kat and me to a wonderful girls’ day out at New York’s Botanical Garden! As much time as I have spent in the city, it was my first time there, but I hope it won’t be my last! Knowing that Nick and Kat were coming to visit us in Bar Harbor made saying goodbye much easier than usual!

NEXT STOP CAPE COD

Our hit list of places to go and things to do in Massachusetts was quite intensive. We had planned to spend time at Gateway to the Cape RV park and explore what we could from there. Then move up the Cape to an Encore park in Chatham. That plan fell through when attempting to book that park failed, since they were unable to accommodate a 40 foot motorhome! Anyone who knows us or follows our blog knows we are planners. Our trips are planned out well in advance. Since we had to wait to 90 days before the date we wanted to stay at Chatham, it was too late to get a site at the National Seashore, or anywhere else, for that matter. The boom in camping and the throngs of people heading out this summer had made late bookings virtually impossible. We were even unable to extend our time at Gateway, but thankfully we managed to see and do almost everything we had hoped. Nantucket was one of the places we had hoped to visit, but just could not fit in. The weather cooperated and we able to visit Provincetown, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod National Seashore, Boston, Falmouth, Sandwich, Shining Seashore bike trail, The Rail Trail, as well as ride our bikes along the canal. We had an amazing time and as hard as it is to pick a favorite place or activity, for me, spending time on Martha’s Vineyard was a dream come true. I was even able to do some writing there!

OUR MAINE ADVENTURE

Our first stop in Maine was one that we will definitely pay a return visit to! Once again, we used our Thousand Trails membership and stayed at Moody Beach RV Resort. It is in the town of Wells which is located just outside of Ogunquit. Ogunquit was given its name by the Abenaki tribe because it means, beautiful place by the sea. Well, as they say, if the name fits… well, this name most definitely fits! The only downside to staying here was the traffic! There was one main road leading to great beaches and restaurants, which resulted in constant bumper to bumper traffic. Thanks to our E bikes, we hardly ever had to deal with it! The bike lanes here are easily accessible, they are wide, and lead anywhere and everywhere you may want to go! Once again, we faced the challenges of post Covid RV travel. On our way to Bar Harbor, we were excited to visit the Booth Bay area and were planning on using a Harvest Host while there, but found out that they were fully booked! With the online booking, spots can be reserved up to six months in advance! This was news to us, but lesson learned. Now when planning our travels and we know we are interested in possibly using a Harvest Host, we check out what kind of advance booking they offer and note if it is a good last minute, unplanned stopover or not!

OUR NEW FAVORITE BAR IS DEFINITELY BAR HARBOR!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE Bar Harbor, but what’s not to love? The scenery can’t be beat, lobster dinners can be found everywhere, Acadia National Park is down the road and the amazing town of Bar Harbor is easily accessible. We spent three weeks at Mt. Desert Narrows, an Encore park on Mt. Desert Island, an easy ten-minute drive to Acadia National Park. A list of what we did during our stay reads like a small bucket list; A whale watching cruise, a sunset cruise, time on a lobster boat, sunrise at Cadillac Mountain, seeing and hearing Thunder Hole, spending time at Schoodic Peninsula, enjoying a ride on the Ellsworth Train, visiting Jordan Pond, walking the Land bridge and eating more lobster than we ever imagined! Nick and Kat visited us while we were in Bar Harbor, which only added to the fun, and the lobster eating!!!

TIPS AND HELPFUL RESOURCES

Making reservations is more important than ever. This includes many National Parks. Check what activities require reservations in the park you will be visiting. This can be done by visiting; https://www.recreation.gov

Boat tours Bar Harbor;

Acadian oat Tours – https://acadianboattours.com – Includes Sunset, Puffin, Nature and Lighthouse cruises.

Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company – Whale watch cruise, Puffin Cruise, Lighthouse Cruise & others https://www.barharborwhales.com

LuLu Lobster Boat – https://lululobsterboat.com – A great experience!

https://www.traillink.com/ – Information on bike trails. We love the app!

Ferry information for Cape Cod – https://www.visit-massachusetts.com/capecod-marthasvineyard-nantucket/ferries/

Mt. Desert Narrows is pronounced Duh – zurt

OUR ROUTE

OUR NEW ENGLAND CAMPGROUNDS

Sturbridge: Thousand Trails -We used as a stopover to go to Connecticut. Pros – Location Cons – Not big rig friendly, tight sites and poor or nonexistent cell service (Verizon) Will we pay a return visit? No Link – https://thousandtrails.com/massachusetts/sturbridge-rv-resort

Gateway to Cape Cod: Thousand Trails Pros – Location, large level sites, wooded and pretty Cons – Poor to no cell service (Verizon), wooded site resulting in no satellite, no cable Will we pay a return visit? Absolutely Link – https://thousandtrails.com/massachusetts/gateway-to-cape-cod-rv

Tuxbury Pond: Encore (TC) We used for a one night stop over only. Pros – Filled New Hampshire in on map Cons -Location, limited or no cell service(Verizon), no satellite Will we pay a return visit? No Link – https://thousandtrails.com/new-hampshire/tuxbury-pond-rv-resort

Moody Beach: Thousand Trails Park Pros – Location, nice sites, nice pool and hot tub Cons – Limited 50 amp, back sections can be crowded, back section no satellite Will we pay a return visit? Yes – Looking forward to it! Link – https://thousandtrails.com/maine/moody-beach-rv-campground

Mt. Desert Narrows: Encore Park (TC) Pros – Location…location…location, Nice sites, nice pool Cons – Not all sites have sewer, $25 fee for honey wagon, can be hard to level a bigger RV Will we pay a return visit? Can’t wait!!!! Link – https://thousandtrails.com/maine/mt-desert-narrows-camping-resort

UNTIL NEXT TIME….