5. Along the Atlantic Coast - Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island

Day 12: Saturday, September 15

Since it got a bit cold during the night (45F outdoors and 55F inside) didn't really feel like getting up when I awoke at 6:30 AM. Turned up the thermostat and went back to sleep -- slept until 9:00 AM!

After breakfast and spending some time on the internet, got under way at 11:00. Beautiful sunshine, temps in the high fifties that would climb to the mid sixties during the day.

Meandered south primarily on US 1, with occasional side trips to visit little towns off the beaten path and to enjoy the views of the coast line, the outlying islands, and the multitude of bays.

One really "must do" detour is via SR 186 to the Schoodic Peninsula -- the northern part of Acadia National Park. The drive to Schoodic Point is very scenic and worthwhile.

At Ellsworth, found a car wash to give the Westy a much needed cleaning, and then headed for Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I first drove up Cadillac Mountain (1,530') in the mid-nineties and was overwhelmed by the spectacular view from the top. Visited again in October 1998 with Antje and the weather was just awful. The view today was quite good, a bit hazy and the photo didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

South of Bar Harbor is one of the two campgrounds in Acadia NP, Blackwoods Campground. $9 (after Golden Age discount) bought me a fairly level site with picnic table and fire ring. It's reasonably private, mainly because adjoining sites aren't occupied. Clean toilets, but no showers. No TV reception.

Drove 200 miles and was underway for 7 1/2 hours. Spent the early evening making and reviewing journal entries, sorting and editing photos, planning the next few days of travel, and warming a can of soup for dinner. Went to bed very early -- 9 PM.

Day 13: Sunday, September 16

A good day of exploring scenic byways. Although US 1 is called the coastal highway, it really doesn't hug the coast very much, and it offers few scenic vistas (but plenty of picturesque villages.) The trick is to take the time to drive out to the many points -- which means narrow roads and a lot of backtracking. But definitely worthwhile!

Taking the Acadia National Park loop road is an excellent way to get a feel for the beauties of the coastline.

Didn't get started until 10 AM and meandered along the coast on innumerable byways. Seven hours and 250 miles later ended up at Freeport. Since this town is the foremost shopping place in the Northeast, the traffic was awful, and the campgrounds crowded and expensive. I had originally planned to stay at a campground on Orr Island, but when I got there, discovered that they had closed for the winter. Instead went to the Flying Point Campground near Freeport. Had to pay $24.61 for a level site with water, electricity, picnic table, and fire ring. The bathhouse looks so-so (the shower costs 25 cents for 2 1/2 minutes!) and they charge $1 for using the modem line for 10 minutes.

Not far away, on Casco Bay, is the Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company in South Freeport Harbor. Ate a 1 1/2 lbs lobster that had been caught earlier today. Good, but not as sweet as the one the campground host had cooked for me Friday evening.

Day 14: Monday, September 17

Spent 75 cents for 7 1/2 minutes of shower time, what a rip-off. Didn't sleep all that well since my site was under an apple tree. Lesson learned: Don't park under an apple tree when the apples are ready to fall off!

Was on the road by 11 o'clock and headed for Portland. Nothing particularly scenic along the way. Portland itself is a beautiful city. The promenades along Casco Bay and the old downtown harbor area are worth exploring. I don't recommend going south on the various coastal roads -- places like Old Orchard Beach are eyesore, pure and simple. One worthwhile exception -- the drive from Cape Porpoise to Kennebunkport.

After Kennebunkport, pretty much stuck to US 1 to get to Portsmouth, NH -- a very historic town worth spending some time on. Continued south on SR 1A. which is not particularly scenic except for a few stretches north of Salisbury, MA.

Found the Salisbury Beach State Reservation,which includes a huge state campground. It's really a massive parking lot with grass between the pads. The pads are level and paved. Water, electricity, picnic table, and fire ring are provided. $20 for a non-resident.

Didn't drive many miles today, just 140 -- but was on the road for six hours. Bought gasoline in Freeport for $1.459/gal and averaged 16.4 mpg on the last tank.

Had beautiful weather all day. Sunshine and temperatures that climbed from the night's low of 49F to 65F by noon and into the low seventies in the afternoon. Sat outside for a while and grilled a cheeseburger for dinner.

Day 15: Tuesday, September 18

Woke up at dawn, couldn't go back to sleep -- was thinking about what happened a week ago . . .

The bathhouse was disappointing. I positively hate these pushbutton showers. To make matters worth, the water flow was just a trickle.

But beautiful sunshine helped to get the day off to a good start. Scrambled some eggs for breakfast and enjoyed a good cup of coffee while siting outside and letting the sun warm my back. Didn't hit the road until 10:45 AM.

Took SR 1A, SR 133, and SR 127 to get to the very pretty towns of Ipswich, Gloucester, and Rockport. Just north of Rockport is a granite quarry right by the ocean, and a beautiful cove.

Picked up SR 128/I-95 to loop around Boston and get to Rhode Island. Found a kinkos to connect to the internet and was able to upload and download.

Continued I-95 to SR 4 and SR 138 to take me to Jamestown, RI. After a few unsuccessful attempts, found the Fort Getty municipal campground, where $25 got me a very uneven site with water, electricity, picnic table and fire ring. From the distance, the bathhouse looks run down.

Spent the evening handling e-mail and trying to get through on Sprint PCS - after 9 tries, success.

Drove 175 miles today, was on the road for 5 1/4 hours.

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