When I originally planned this road trip, my returning route took me from Chesapeake, VA directly down the eastern coast, stopping, of course, several times, before reaching St. Augustine, FL and then heading home.  Instead, as you can see, I headed southwest stopping in Burlington, NC and then Spartanburg, SC.

Burlington, NC is a growing city with a population of almost 50,000 at the 2010 census.  It is the home of the first cotton mill in the South (built in 1908), still contributes to the textile industry, and today contains the headquarters of LabCorp, employing more than 3,000 in the county.  The city maintains many parks and the county, Alamance, offers many hiking and paddle opportunities including the Haw River Trail and the NC Mountains to the Sea Trail.

Spartanburg, SC was a center of the textile industry in the late 19^th century.  Today, population 37,013 at the last census, the city is a college town, with eight institutions of higher learning and is the world headquarters of Denny’s.  The Marshall Tucker Band calls Spartanburg home.  Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it boasts many hiking trails and, historically, was an important site during the Revolutionary War.

I changed my route shortly before I left but not because I found these cities to be so compelling and, not to be denigrating these locations, but they are strictly waypoints on my way to Cumming, GA.  Why would I want to go to Cumming, GA, population 5,430 at the last census, the county seat of Forsyth County?  Is it because the area was originally inhabited by Cherokee tribes or perhaps because during the 1830’s and 1840’s the city benefited from the gold mining industry?  (Who even knew that Georgia was a site for gold mining?)  Maybe because Zac Brown was born there?  Given my fascination with mountains and hiking, perhaps the Sawnee Mountain Preserve with 963 acres of hiking trails is the lure.

None of those reasons called out to me yet, in fact, my original plan called for me to visit Cumming on my way up into the Appalachian Mountains way back in the beginning of July.  This plan was derailed shortly before I left because my niece Patti and grand-nephew, Jackson, planned to visit her parents, Rick and Mary Pat, in Florida on the same dates I planned to visit them in Georgia.  Patti still wanted me to visit them so I adjusted my returning route.  So, that is where I will be next.

Chloe and I slept very soundly, not even wakening until sometime after 7:00 am.  We wandered down to the kitchen to see Beth already up and making a fresh fruit salad and steel cut oatmeal.  I made a cappuccino and wandered into the living room where Phil had Fox & Friends on.  We had decided last night to all go to Assateague this morning but there was no hurry as I am going to a hotel in Chesapeake, VA after this.

I walked Chloe through their beautiful neighborhood of mature plantings, exquisitely manicured yards, ponds, and winding roads.  Chloe satisfied, we returned to the house where Nancy had come down.  We chatted and eventually, everyone got ready to go explore Assateague.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Assateague Island is a 37-mile long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland section contains the majority of Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park while the Virginia section contains Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  It is best known for its herds of feral horses, pristine beaches, and the Assateague Lighthouse. The island also contains numerous marshes, bays, and coves.

At about 10:00 am, we loaded into Beth’s car and a few minutes later, were in Assateague State Park on the hunt for wild horses.  The park itself is beautiful, unspoiled, and, while we did see people, it didn’t seem to be overrun by them.  We saw wild horses several times but when we stopped to take pictures, they were mostly far away as you can tell by my picture on the left.  Karen drove over there on Sunday, August 12^th and sent me these awesome pictures:

After the Assateague tour (and I stopped it because I was attacked by mosquitoes as soon as I left the car), my plan was to leave but I got talked into staying for lunch.  We stopped back by Phil’s where I took my car (which I had previously packed) and we went to Marina Deck where I ordered Crab Imperial topped with mild cheddar cheese, baked on a toasted English muffin.  Yum!  Told you, I LOVE crab!

I had an absolutely wonderful visit with my cousins and then left directly from lunch on my way to Chesapeake, VA. Most of the trip was quite beautiful with such lovely flowers and trees alongside the roadway, I stopped at one point and took a picture.  Most of the ride was uneventful but always memorable is crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  It is an absolute marvel which the picture below (I obviously couldn’t have taken it as it must be from the air) shows.  For a mere $15.00, you go across a causeway, then a bridge, then a tunnel, then another bridge, then another tunnel, then another bridge  It is approximately 23 miles long and one of the tunnels is 105 feet below the surface of the water!

When I got to Chesapeake, I checked in and decided to just chill and read.

I spent a leisurely morning with Terry, Kayla, and Sami, drinking cappuccino and talking.  I left sometime between 11:00 am and noon and drove my shortest route.  I stayed on Route 1 leisurely driving through beach towns enjoying the sights.  In less than an hour, I pulled into my cousin, Philip’s neighborhood, where he lives with his wife, Karen.  I very happily discovered that some of his siblings—Clifford, Beth, and Nancy were also there.  We sat around for a while catching up and then, we all went to Sunset Grille on the water where we met up with Karen (who ☹ had been at work).

Appetizers such as Mahi fingers served with a sweet chili sauce and spicy remoulade, Caribbean chicken quesadilla, (and some others) were passed.  If I remember correctly, I split the Twin 5oz jumbo crab cakes, served with chipotle remoulade and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes with Clifford.  My absolute most favorite food in the world is Chesapeake Bay crab and, obviously, the best place to get that is in Maryland or Virginia.

During many events while growing up, and then at every family reunion, one of the featured events was always picking blue crabs.  Armed with a mallet and a small paring knife, we’d sit at newspaper-covered tables spread with steamed blue crabs, melted butter and Old Bay Seasoning and get to work.  The slightly salty, sweet buttery flavor and tender texture of blue crabmeat explodes on the tongue…it is so heavenly, you just want to savor it.

Many years ago, we had a family reunion at the Lake of the Ozarks and, as usual, had blue crabs flown in.  Other than leg meat, I do not tend to eat as I pick but rather prefer to make a pile which I can enjoy at my leisure.  My brother, Jim, was water-skiing the hour or so as I patiently picked every piece of meat from these delicacies.  I was just about finished picking when Jim came along, swooped up my entire pile of crab at stuffed it into his mouth!  As far as I’m concerned, his biggest crime was not the theft of my crab but the haste with which he ate it!

Back to today…when we finished dinner, we toured around the marina where, to my utter delight, most of the boats were festooned with TRUMP flags.  Inside the restaurant, the owner had his picture with President Trump and, in fact, look at what President Trump tweeted on August 3, 2018:

Afterwards, we sat and listened to The E Street Shuffle, a Bruce Springsteen Tribute band that regaled us with songs we all know.

Eventually, we all went back to Philip’s home and enjoyed catching up.  More tomorrow…

Today’s drive was a quick jaunt down the Garden State Parkway to Cape May where we caught the Cape May Ferry.  The day was absolutely perfect for a ferry ride, the sun bright, the air warm with a light breeze, the sea calm.  I had made my reservation for 1:00 PM because when visiting a couple of years ago, my niece, Brittany, and I had driven from Ocean City to Cape May and I remembered it taking about three hours.  Also, Brittany and I were sightseeing as we drove through all those wonderful south New Jersey beach towns.  So, taking the Garden State Parkway route allowed me to arrive early enough to catch the 10:30 AM ferry.  I was pleased when the toll taker said they were giving me a small refund because gas prices had gone down since the date I had purchased my ticket!

Vehicle traffic onto the ferry was light yet pedestrian and bicycle passengers swarmed the vessel.  Chloe and I wandered throughout the levels, stopping frequently for Chloe to be admired and petted.  I was surprised that, just like on the two Canadian ferries, there were no announcements about life jackets or emergency procedures.  But, one safety procedure that did occur on this ferry was, as we were waiting in line to board, security officers checked under each car with mirrors and even popped trunks.

The ride took a little more than an hour and I was the third car to disembark so we were quickly on our way.  I easily found the residence where my nephew, Kayla and his girlfriend Sami live together with my sister, Terry.  Kayla was at work, Sami was chilling, so Terry took Chloe and I on a tour of the area.

We eventually parked near the boardwalk and proceeded to Zogg’s Raw Bar and Grill for lunch.  I ordered a lump crab cake sandwich with old bay aioli, lettuce and tomato, on toasted brioche served with a spicy remoulade together with an ice-cold Bud Light.  It was good!

After eating, Terry took me on a tour of the boardwalk.  I told Terry that most boardwalks don’t allow dogs during season (I had looked it up when in New Jersey) but she assured me it was okay.  Despite that, as we went up to the boardwalk, I looked for any signs indicating that dogs are not allowed and, since I didn’t see any, we headed north as Terry stated that most of the boardwalk was that way.  We strolled along chatting and looking into the various stores for several blocks when a guy ran over to us and told us to get off the boardwalk or be fined.  This was just a guy, not a cop but we left and wandered around the streets until Chloe decided it was too hot (she just suddenly laid down and refused to walk anymore).

Anyway, we went back to the house, a very nice three-bedroom home with a large yard rimmed by mature trees and an enclosed porch on the back.  Both Terry and Sami have dogs which Chloe made friends with quickly.  A day or two before I got there, Terry’s ex-husband, Larry, had left an African tortoise with them to pet-sit while he is away on a job.  The resident dogs were fascinated with this tortoise, but Chloe completely ignored it until it walked right into her space.  Funny.  I have fake turtles laying all over my house and Chloe pushes them around with her nose, so I guess she was a little shocked when this one moved all by itself.

So, we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about all sorts of topics and Terry made a late dinner as Kayla wasn’t arriving home from work until 7:30 or 8:00 pm.  She made chicken piccata over pasta and a wonderful salad.  I didn’t think I’d be able to eat as I don’t usually eat two big meals in one day, but it smelled so good, I just had to.

After dinner, we sat around telling stories about growing up and sometimes some very embarrassing tales about ourselves.  We also talked about genealogy and the work I have done researching our family which Kayla seemed to be interested in.  All in all, it was a very pleasurable day and evening.

Easiest trek yet!  All I had to do was drive a mere sixty miles to Ocean City, NJ to visit with some of my awesome siblings–brothers Jim and Mark, their beautiful wives Bernadette and Karen, two of my adorable nieces Christine and Kaylee.  Also, in attendance were Christine’s boyfriend Chris and their precocious and winsome daughter Camryn.  Jim and Bern’s house is just two from the beach yet has parking for up to six cars; when I arrived, the parking area was empty, but I expected that as I had been told everyone was meeting at the Deauville House for lunch and I was a bit later than originally anticipated.

Chloe and I went for a long walk and then I decided that I would take advantage of the peace and quiet, unload my car, make a cappuccino, and read on the porch with the ocean breeze wafting across my face.  Chloe made herself right at home guarding the porch.

I think I was right to relax for a bit because once everyone showed up, there was a steady stream of visitors for pretty much the whole time I was there.  I’m not complaining, mind you.  Visiting Jim and Bern, especially at their beach house, means a hectic social scene and, besides that, I already knew most of them.  It’s hard to remember the exact order of events as there was a bit of imbibing going on every day.

I seem to remember dining on cheesesteaks that first night and, the only really, really good cheesesteaks are made in the Philadelphia area (Ocean City is full of Philadelphians, so they know how to make them properly).  Yum!

Saturday dawned bright, warm, and clear…a perfect beach day.  After caffeinating, salads were concocted for the barbecue later in the day and everyone donned bathing suits, carted chairs, coolers, and towels the short distance to the beach.  Bern brought along a beach bocce ball set which kept most of us engaged and competitive.  Sandy and salt-kissed, we traipsed back to the house, collapsing with ice-cold beers (or whatever) before rinsing off.

Later, brats, burgers, and dogs served with my potato salad, Karen’s pickle pasta salad, Jim’s pepper and onion “relish”, lots of condiments, and more beer hit the spot.  Conversations swirled as people came and went.

On Sunday morning, sadly, I had to bid adieu to Mark, Karen, and Kaylee as they were leaving for home.  As the ocean was unusually calm, the rest of us prepared for an epic cruise completely down the ocean to Cape May.  As we passed each town, Jim gave me an update on what town we were passing.  Then, strangely enough, I asked Bern if they ever saw dolphins while cruising in the ocean and about fifteen minutes later, we saw this HUGE pod of dolphins!  While we regularly see dolphins down in Florida I never saw so many at one time.

Bern and I found a restaurant that was both pet-friendly and had docks.  I think it was called the Lobster House.  Unfortunately, as we pulled up, all the docks were full but as we were motoring in, Jim noticed a recently docked boat where the lights were on and called out to the people who had just disembarked.  The owner was thrilled and ended up offering to let us tie up to his boat.  We had a great lunch and then, when leaving, one thing led to another and we were invited back to his home in Stone Harbor.

So, we raced through the intercoastal to this gorgeous property…

Afterwards, we motored back out to the ocean where the ride back home felt as if we were on a lake.  Jim noticed the gas tank was showing empty when we were still a couple of miles away from the dock but we managed to get in without incident.  On the way home, Bern picked up some clam chowders (both kinds) which were both very tasty.  The evening continued with visits, drinking, and multiple conversations.

Monday we declared to be a national holiday as it was Jim’s FRA birthday (that is Full Retirement Age for you youngsters).  Brittany made a surprise (for me) appearance but couldn’t stay long as she had to report for her job in Avalon.  After breakfast, Bern made good and spicy Bloody Mary’s.  Shortly thereafter, we left for a boat ride north to Atlantic City.  On the way up, we drove through the intercoastal and stopped for a delectable lunch including steamed clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, nachos grande, and I think a few other tasty morsels. One sated, we continued on our way.

I asked Jim to stop when we reached a train bridge…one of those where it swings open instead of rising.  (I love trains.)  Unfortunately, for me, at some point on this trip, we hit a sand bar at a moment when I was standing and not holding on properly so fell pretty hard cutting my arm and leg and bruising myself in several places.  Then, despite staying under the boat canopy, I managed to get my back pretty badly sunburned which is still bothering me today.  Enough about me.

We eventually went back out into the ocean and cruised along the Atlantic City shoreline, which from the boat, is quite beautiful.

We continued the celebration well into the evening.

Tuesday was another beautiful day.  We drove to a “doggy beach” to let Chloe participate in some of the fun.  Chloe did go with us to Cape May but I had left her at home for the Atlantic City trip.  She frolicked a bit but I was nervous letting her off the leash.

Later on, we drove through the intercoastal bordered by marshes ending up at this beach where Jim beached the boat.  We set up chairs, umbrellas, and ate Wawa hoagies (Yummy!).  After that, the plan was to pick up some of their neighbors at the dock which was a mile (?) away as they had way too many people to fit on the boat.  Jim successfully picked up about eight of them and then, on the second trip, ran into an issue with his steering!  Yikes!

As a result, he couldn’t dock to pick up the rest of the people but was able to make it back to us (because not much steering is required to beach a boat) and then, with some strategic maneuvering, somehow managed to get us back to the marina where he keeps his boat.  Hopefully, the fix is an easy (and not expensive) one.

Tuesday evening we had a very, very special visitor–Mrs. Haggerty, mother of many of my brother’s friends, friend of my mother, 90 years old.  She and her son, Jimmy, are recently returned from Ireland and it happened that Jimmy had stopped by on Saturday and told us that she would be in town Tuesday.  I felt so honored that they stopped by before even going to their shore home.  Her Irish lilt is almost musical…what a great lady.

So, in the morning of the 8th (Wednesday), it was time to leave.  As always, lots of good times, many, many conversations.  It was, as always, a lot of fun.

After leaving Plainville, Ct, I encountered the most harrowing ride of this road trip.  To be honest, I have no idea what roads I traveled as I was frequently lost.  But, as you can see by the route as illustrated to the left, what should have been less than four hours, took me almost seven.  To me, one of the scariest things to do is to drive on multi-lane highways, especially when there are six or seven lanes going in one direction.  The worst traffic in the eastern United States is around New York City and I managed to get there just as torrential rain pelted down, wipers on full, with visibility almost nil.  No opportunity to pull over and wait as there was no defined place to do so.  Despite the weather, drivers were maintaining speeds over the limit, zipping in and around lanes, my GPS telling me to turn at places where there were multiple choices and, of course, I did not always select properly.  After crossing the Tappan Zee, I managed to get into line to go through the Lincoln Tunnel back into New York City.  Why anyone would want to drive in this area I will never know.  What I do know is that I will NEVER EVER drive in that area again.

Needless to say, I eventually managed to escape the insanity surrounding our largest city and eventually made my way south to Camden where I again miscalculated and found myself at the toll booth for the Ben Franklin Bridge.  I said to the toll taker, “I’m not heading into Philadelphia, am I?”  He responded, “If you go across this bridge, you are.”  He was so nice.  He said that if I was willing to drive across ten lanes of traffic, there was a turnaround prior to crossing the bridge.  NOT!  This guy did not charge me, and he gave me excellent directions on the way to cross the bridge and come right back to Camden where, about five minutes later I found myself in front of the residence of my cousin, Chris Maier.

I lucked out and found a metered spot (broken, so free—YAY) right in front.  Chris lives in this awesome renovated building, The Victor, overlooking the Philadelphia skyline from Camden, which was originally built to be the anchor assembly building for The Victor Talking Machine Company, which became RCA.  It was “gut rehabbed” and completed in 2004, featuring 341 luxury apartments, ground floor retail and on-site parking.  Chris lives in a corner unit with this gorgeous view of the Delaware River and the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia.

Chris, Chloe, and I walked along the beautifully revitalized Camden waterfront where he regaled me with history of the area as well as the life and generosity of Eldridge Johnson, founder of The Victor Talking Machine Company.

Passionate about art, music, and history, Chris has delved so deeply into this subject, he created a one-man show to impart his knowledge in a very compelling and entertaining way.  As you can see, Chris’ apartment is alive with relics from Eldridge’s company…

We spent an engaging afternoon and evening conversing about history, our lives, loves, and just catching up.

In the morning, as you can see, Chloe made herself completely at home while we drank our coffee.  Then, before we said our good-byes, we walked the area

Finally, Chris created a fascinating video which is definitely worthwhile to view:

I have to start this post with an apology.  Some of you have noticed (and notified me) that I haven’t posted anything since July 30^th and that is true.  I should have realized that having a long stretch staying with friends and family might impede my blogging and posted to that effect so when I stopped, you knew why.  I am sorry I did not do that and am extremely thankful that many of you cared enough to worry about me.  Back when I originally started blogging as I traveled alone, I did so primarily to keep my friends and family aware of where I was.  So, duh…dumb me.

My trip from Providence to Plainville was quite relaxing for most of the trip but then my GPS took me through the city of Hartford where I naturally (for me) got confused.  I am just not good with highways sporting multiple lanes.  But, I got through the city and found my way to this cute town, Plainville, where my good friends and neighbors, Vito and Mary Ellen, live when not in Florida.  I pulled into a community of lovely homes, manicured lawns, mature trees, and beautiful flowers with Mary Ellen’s gardens probably the most impressive.  My pictures of their yard do not do it justice.  They even have their own private bocce ball court!

Their home is magnificent with the layout incredibly thought out.  Vito and Mary Ellen did what most of us would love to do—pick a home in a neighborhood you enjoy, with good “bones”, then redesign the interior to meet your every need.  The layout is so open and inviting, you automatically feel welcomed.  And, they have a full separate apartment downstairs which they stocked with provisions for both Chloe and I – treats for each of us!

Adding to this, the yard!  Gorgeous plantings, fencing, pool, and, to Chloe’s utter delight, a yard she could run around in and a chipmunk who lives under their patio.  Chloe was especially appreciative.

Mary Ellen took me on a tour of the Farmington area where I saw some of the most elite institutions in the country—Miss Porter’s School (where Jacqueline Kennedy attended), the Farmington Polo Club, elite country clubs, and huge estates.  This whole area is incredibly beautiful but my favorite part of this visit was Vito and Mary Ellen.

We spent most of our time talking, drank a lot of wine, and stayed up late.  We went out one night to a delightful Italian restaurant and then, the next night, ate some of the best shrimp scampi I have ever tasted (made by Mary Ellen), It was wonderful!  (By the way, Mary Ellen very kindly offered to let me take the leftovers, which I intended to do, but somehow managed to leave without remembering to take them!)

I had planned on staying two nights in Manomet, MA but discovered a problem that I just could not ignore.  It started yesterday but I thought that with time, it would resolve itself.  It did not.  Tommy’s brother, Dan, has an albino rabbit which usually has the run of the house.  For our visit, Dan had erected a “wall” in the living room to create a “safe space” for the bunny rabbit.

We arrived yesterday, and Chloe immediately went over to the enclosure, sniffing and barking trying her best to figure out what was inside.  The only thing that seemed to calm Chloe down was my picking her up and taking her outside or holding her.  As I mentioned yesterday, we left for the beach and a drive and then, when we went to dinner, we just shut Chloe in our room.  When we returned, I walked Chloe and shortly thereafter, went to bed where Chloe was quiet, and I thought everything was fine.

Then, this morning, Chloe’s fixation with this bunny rabbit was in overdrive.  She was in the grip of an obsession she was powerless to resist.  To stop her either trying to get to this rabbit or barking at it, I either had to hold Chloe in my arms or go outside.  Unfortunately, I was starting to feel so stressed that I felt we had to leave.  Dan was trying to work in his home office upstairs and I just wasn’t comfortable having to constantly hold onto Chloe.  Apparently, bunny smells are too much for my baby.  Look at her looking over the enclosure trying to figure out what this thing is (and that was one moment when she looked calm!

So, I decided that I might as well head towards my next destination—Plainville, CT but first we decided to see Plymouth Rock, the traditional site credited as being the disembarkation point of the Mayflower pilgrims.  The whole area is just so incredibly charming and quaint with striking images of the ocean lapping at the coastline.  Chloe and I spent some time walking around the area marveling at the Pilgrims’ tenacity and what it possibly meant to us, specifically my Rogers family.

I do say “possibly” because I am not claiming a definite genealogical link to Joseph Rogers or his father, Thomas Rogers, both passengers on the Mayflower.  A few years ago, when I was heavily involved in researching our ancestry, I found a link (in the early 1800s) to this line but was unable to verify it.  Nice to think about and perhaps will give me the incentive to get back to this research…

So, we ended up today in Warwick, RI, home of the Providence airport.  I remember my last visit here in 1996 or 1997.  I and one of my bartenders in the French Quarter had met these two guys in our bar who invited us, at their expense, to fly up here to attend a Patriots game with them.  We took them up on their offer and landed in Providence in the middle of a snow storm.  Neither Jodi nor I had appropriate winter clothing, but the guys met us holding Patriots jackets for us to wear.  Wasn’t that nice… especially since they knew we were Eagles and Saints fans.  Warmth won out.

Anyway, my route here was uneventful and, for the most part, very enjoyable.  As usual, I had selected “Avoid Highways” as it seems that generally my GPS selects a pleasant drive through small towns and villages, parks, and quiet roadways.  That was true again today until I reached Providence.  I drove through parts of this city that no one would call scenic; street closures and construction, missing signs, and non-working lights created chaos for me until I finally pulled over and changed my preference.  At that point, the GPS took me directly to I-95 where, I exited in two miles and my hotel appeared one block later.  Okay, I’ll concede that sometimes highways can be beneficial other than being the fastest (and most boring) way to travel.

Had a great breakfast this morning in Camden, ME…homemade coffee cakes, fresh fruit and juices.  I was actually sorry to be leaving so soon as I greatly enjoyed this town.

I made the decision last night to skip my stop in Portsmouth, NH since circumstances made it so my friend Tommy Sullivan couldn’t be there on July 30^th, my originally planned visit to Manomet.  I had to change my preferences to NOT avoid highways and tolls so that my drive wasn’t much more than four hours and thankfully, on my way to the interstate, I got to drive on scenic US 1.  It did not disappoint but, unfortunately, eventually, I had to get into the interstate fray.  Traffic was extremely heavy and, as is usual on interstates, there were several impatient drivers weaving in and out of traffic, despite most of us already driving faster than the speed limit.

One idiot on a Japanese motorcycle seemed to relish darting in front of vehicles, driving in between lanes, then occasionally on the shoulder only to pop back onto the highway causing a bit of havoc on the roadway.  Both he and his rider were wearing shorts, neither was wearing a helmet, he had on sneakers and she wore flip-flops.  It’s amazing to me how stupid some people can be.

Anyway, I survived Boston traffic and finally found myself on scenic Route 3A where my GPS had difficulty finding the proper dirt road that the Sullivan abode is on.  Luckily, Tommy was standing out on his deck and eventually saw me and helped guide me to the proper driveway.  His brother, Dan, lives in this beautiful six-bedroom home; he and Tommy were my gracious hosts.  Look at that magnificent view from the deck!

After a while, Tommy, Chloe, and I took a walk around the property and down to the beach where I discovered that Chloe loves the beach.  She ran in and out of the waves, dug holes, played with other dogs and all while my camera was back in the house!  Later on, Tommy drove me around the area showing me some of the sights such as White Horse Beach.

After relaxing for a bit, Tommy, Dan, and I went to a restaurant called 42⁰ North where I enjoyed a glass of sauvignon blanc together with extremely delectable pan seared sea scallops over lobster and roasted corn risotto with julienned zucchini.  Yum!

We woke up this morning in Canada and tonight we will be going to bed in the United States of America!  And, I am back in the Eastern time zone.  YAY!  As much as I love traveling outside the country, I always get excited when I see the border to re-enter the USA.  Today was no different.

So, this morning, St. John lived up to its reputation of being one of the foggiest cities.  The pea soup was thick, cloying and, from my room, I couldn’t see but about a half block away.  I was up and ready to go at about 7:00 AM but waited two hours hoping the fog would lift.  It did not.  I want to tell you, it was scary.  Visibility was so bad I couldn’t see signs and you could barely see cars in front of you.  I made several wrong turns and was getting extremely frustrated just trying to get out of the city.  I knew that once I was on  Canada Route 1 West, it would be somewhat better as it was a straight shot to the US border, but it took me almost a half hour to find the correct road.

The extremely dense fog persisted for about thirty minutes but finally lifted enough that you didn’t feel as if you were driving into an abyss.  St. John is only a little more than an hour from the border and I had figured I would stop somewhere along the way and spend my remaining $21 Canadian dollars but all of a sudden, there is the border in front of me.  Luckily, there was also a duty-free store.  I already had two bottles of wine in the car (maximum allowable) so spent my wad on dark chocolate.  You can never have too much chocolate.

There were three lines to enter the U.S. and I picked the middle line.  Wrong decision.  I swear, I never pick the fast line no matter where I am.  By the way, I did NOT take this picture as it is illegal to do so (there are signs stating that fact).  I found this picture on the internet.

Anyway, I finally got through and let the GPS be my guide and what a beautiful ride it was!  ME Route 9 West then ME Route 46 South, then US Route 1 South.  Winding, dipping, turning, magnificent terrain almost the entire way.  This should be listed as a scenic route…mountains, lakes, rivers, quaint little towns, the ocean!  I have completely run out of unique adjectives to describe what I’ve seen.  Suffice it to say that I am impressed with the grandeur and gorgeousness of our country.  And, Maine is particularly spectacular.

I picked Camden, Maine as a stop purely because it was a four-hour drive from St. John but, oh my God!   I love it here!  This town is so cute and picturesque.  The population at the last census was only 4,850 but triples during the summer months with tourists primarily from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.  Bordered by the Penobscot Bay and the Gulf of Maine (part of the Atlantic Ocean), the homes on its hills offer spectacular views.

Chloe and I checked into our hotel and we were both blown away.  The pet-friendly apartment with high, sloping ceilings and a skylight, reminiscent of the sea, is decorated with paintings depicting dogs on beaches or boats, the bed cover has dog pictures all over it, even the shower curtain has a dog on it.  There is a special dog bed (which Chloe has already used), baskets of doggy toys, dog bowls.  For me, there is a queen-sized bed, a full kitchen, television with Fox News (YAY)…I could live here.

We settled in then went for a walk to Camden Harbor where most of the shopping and restaurants are.  We found a little park with a waterfall and ducks (that was Chloe’s favorite).  The harbor is breathtakingly beautiful and we found a nice waterside restaurant to sit, have an ice-cold beer and fresh blackened haddock tacos, stuffed with Asian slaw and mango salsa.

Gorgeous place.  I wouldn’t mind coming back here.