Once again, we are driving in the opposite direction of traffic. We aren’t sure what traffic forces are in action. Of course, we don’t mind watching traffic as long as we aren’t in the thick of it.
We had to stop at Pilgrim Rock. We could see why the pilgrims chose to land on this specific rock --- It was the only one with the correct date engraved on it.
The Mayflower II reconstruction is near to the rock. Although it was not open for tour at the time we arrived, it’s interesting to see the size of their boat.
We approached Boston during the morning commute on route 3. We had planned to circumvent the traffic by traveling around Boston along I-95 but the traffic started at least 10 miles before we reached our turnoff. It was stop and go but mostly stop for about 45-minutes. Traffic was still heavy as we connected to I-95 but at least it was more go than stop.
After a quick stop at a Panera Bakery to use the Internet, we crossed into New Hampshire. You have to be careful not to miss New Hampshire because there is only about 15-miles of road before we entered Maine. New Hampshire collect a $1 toll for that 15-miles. They sure know how collect from mostly out-of-state travelers.
We stopped in York for lunch and to do laundry. We found a nice little restaurant, Rick’s, in the same building as the Laundromat. I had a good meatball sandwich and Mary had a BLT while the laundry was churning in the machine.
The laundry owner scolded Mary for slamming a dryer door. He said, “if you slam that door again you will have to leave”. Not wanting to be stuck doing laundry alone, I opened and closed the drier doors from then on. Mary wasn’t a happy camper by this time. So, we left the laundry with a few cloths still a tad damp.
Mary decided that we should take highway 1 all the way to the Plymouth Lighthouse. The drive was exhausting. The speed limit kept changing from 25 to 35 then 40 and back to 25. Every corner had a cross walk that you have to watch for pedestrians --- they definitely have the right-of-way in these parts. We noticed when we were walking in York that the drivers would stop even when they thought we might cross a street. We were still standing on the sidewalk looking at a map but the drivers would stop just in case. Either the people are overly friendly or the cops overly enforce the law.
Our gas and propane was running low. We looked for a gas station that sold both in every little town we came across but no luck. I finally stopped at an off brand station --- lured by the $2.959 price. We had seen lower prices in Massachusetts. A little further on we stopped at a propane dealer and picked up 4-gallons of propane. They don’t usually sell that small of amount but they took the time to help us. Of course, just a few miles further up the road we found a gas station that also sold propane and their gas price was less than what we had paid.
We arrived at the Portland Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth a few minutes after it had closed. I don’t think we missed much except for a chance to buy a pin to add to Mary’s growing collection.
We camped at Winslow Memorial Park and Campground in Freeport, Maine. It a nice little campground on the coast that has hiking trails and great facilities. Our site is back a few rows from the shoreline but we have that wonderful smell of the ocean in our site. The bathrooms are ambidextrous or asexual. Each room has a toilet, sink, and shower. It’s almost like being at home. Showers are 25-cents for 3-minutes. Oh yes, there are mosquitoes. Mary stepped outside last night for a few seconds and got a bite on her hand. At least they aren’t as bad as the “no-see-ums”. We both still have bite marks from a week ago.
We discussed our travel options for the next few days and decided to go directly to Acadia Nation Park with only a few quick stops. We should arrive at the park by 3-pm Wednesday. Acadia is the third corner of our trip. We’ll stay there until Sunday or Monday before starting our westward leg home.
