October 20 to 26

OCTOBER 20, Friday

Up at 7 a.m. It is raining again. Packed and on the road by 11 a.m. Drove Hwy 1 to St-Stephen where we crossed the border into Maine USA at 1:15 p.m.
We got onto Hwy 9 and followed it all the way to Bangor where we spent the night in a Walmart parking lot. The hiway was good but we couldn't see much due to so much fog and rain. We stopped at a rest area for lunch and were in Bangor at 3 p.m. (We changed time when we crossed into the US, one hour back Eastern time)
It is busy here being a Friday. we fuelled and laid back and rested. Bought 30 beer and 5L wine for $29 versus $60 in New-Brunswick (just goes to show how much we are being gouged in Canada)

N 44*46' W 68*44' Alt: 197' distance today 312 Km Fuel 18.95 gal @ $2.64


OCTOBER 21, Saturday, Sunny but windy

Had a lousy sleep. Up at 6 a.m. The batteries went dead overnight so had to start the truck to charge them and get the furnace going. IT is a chilly 6*C
Got a mcmuffin from McDonald and left by 8:30a.m. Got on hwy 395 then I-95 south We had to pay toll fees of $4. between Augusta and New-hampshire. It took 3/4 hour to cross N.H. at the bottom end. We are making good time as I don't want to boondock with the batteries the way they are. We stopped at an info centre in Massachussetts and the people here weren't all that friendly. Kept going south and around Boston. Busy but not overwhelming. Drivers coming on the freeway come in slow then speed like maniacs, so it was best to stay in the middle lane as we had a couple of close calls. They don't seen to look when coming on either. We are travelling at 90KM/hr (55mph)
South of Boston, we took I-495 and headed S.E. to Bourne Cape Cod. Bourne RV Park is a nice place with lots of trees and by the canal. It is well kept but expensive for us...$30/night and it was the cheapest around.
As we drove in, we encountered a couple that we had met back in Moncton N.B. WOW....small world.
We set up in site G34 near the canal, had dinner then headed for bed. A long and tiring day for both of us. Called Jeff in the evening and talked to him for a while.
We are here for 3 days

N 41*45' W 70*35' Alt: 56' Ditance today: 478km ( 300 miles)
fuel: Maine 19.43 gal @ 2.599 & Massuchussetts 9.62 @ 2.899


OCTOBER 22 Sunday, Sunny

We left at 10 a.m., crossed the Bourne Bridge and headed East into Cape Cod on Hwy 28. It was a beautiful drive with lots of quaint little town/villages, neat houses and friendly people. We south places like Yarmouth, Falmouth, Woods Hole where the frry to Martha's Vineyard is, we saw the Island, south Cape beaches, Waquoit among many. We stopped in Hyannis to see the Kennydy memorial. He lived here for many years even as President.
We joined Hwy 6 as the Cape does its curve north and it took us to Cape Cod light house and ProvinceTown. The drive reminded us of Oregon coast with all the sand dunes and the ocean nearby. It was mainly all State and National Parks and we reached the northern most point at Race Point beach N 42*04' W 70*13' there was also an airport here.

ProvinceTown was a neat village of 3100 people which triples in the summer. This is where the vessel MAYFLOWER landed with the Pilgrims back in 1620. They populated the area and Plymouth on the mainland, and also formed ProvinceTown.
After a quick beer and a snack, we headed south on hwy 6 and were back home within an hour and a half. we had a late dinner and went to bed tired but happy.
I bought 2 new deep cycle batteries in Hyannis for $126.


OCTOBER 23 Monday, Sunny again.

It rained overnight but it is sunny this morning. Decided to drive to Boston, an hour away. Filled the truck 20gal @ 2.599 and followed hwy 6 then I-93. We parked near the "Common Grounds" and took a walking tour. It was interesting and we got to see where it all happened back in the 1700's Downtown Boston is very historic and it is interesting to see the old with the new. Our tour guide was very informative and it helped that she was cute!!! We saw Paul Revere's house, the Italian quarter, the meeting hall, the State house where the Declaration of Indepence was read.
AND...we got to see and try out the famous Pub "CHEERS" from the TV show. It was neat to see there and see everything as we saw it on TV, including the famous window by the stairs. We didn't see Norm or anyone else of that show unfortunately.
Came home and fuelled the truck for 8.5 gallons @ 2.699 Another successful day. Drove a total of 566 km in the last 2 days.


OCTOBER 24 Tuesday, Cloudy and Cold

It was only 6*C again last night. We left by 10 a..m. after dumping and stopped in town for a Post Office then onwards west and south on Hwy 6. we hopped on I-95 by Ferndale then entered Rhode Island and through Providence. We reached Connecticut an hour later and stopped at a info centre where we met this guy Steve who gave us some good info and also knew the owner of the campsite we were planning on staying in Madison.
Arrived in Riverdale Farm Campsite at 3 p.m. and set-up. $93 for three nights including a full tank of propane which was pretty good. we have full hook-up and WIFI and cable. Unloaded the kayaks and readied everything for our trip to NY tomorrow.
This is Madison county ( movie Bridges of Madison county) and incredibly picturesque. Actually it was all the way down. We drove by Mystic, famous for its pizza as per the movie but no time for one now.


OCTOBER 25, Wednesday, Sunny and windy

Today, we went to Mahattan, New-York! What an icredible city. I can understand why they love it as we fell in Love with New-York!
We left our site and drove to New-Haven where we took a train to Mahattan @ $32 for both. We met a lady on board who gave us some very good info and 2 hours later we were in the mist of Grand Central Station and the skyscrapers of Mahattan. WOW! We took a taxi to GROUND ZERO then walked to Battery Park where we saw the Statue of Liberty, from far away mind you. Ground Zero was a bigger than I thought and the memorial was well done. We both shared a tear seeing all this devastation and the list of the names of the people who perished in that horrific moment.

We then walked to WALL STREET where we saw the NY exchange and some beautiful highrises. and took anotehr taxi back to the Empire State building. The taxi drivers were all marvellous and more than willing to share their town with us. We saw the Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn across the river, teh United Nations and Trump's tower. It made it even more interesting. We went up to the 86th floor and saw New-york form above (SEE PICTURES) The cost was $32 and there were line ups everywhere. It was very windy and cold up there so took some quick pictures, took a moment to reflect then headed down. From here, we walked 43rd and then 6th (the avenue of the Americas) to TIME SQUARE. What a strange feeling to be standing here. We also saw the N.Y. public library, a beautiful building and walked Broadway part of the way.
At 42nd and 6th we stopped at Vigil's and had a beer and snack and saw New-Yorkers in their environment. The bartenders were all friendly and chatty. We left there in the mist of rush hour. People elbow to elbow yet we managed to walk fairly fast back to Grand Central.
We took the train back, an express, and the drove home to Tucker. He went straight for the first tree as soon as I open the door then came over to greet us. Poor little guys, he was bursting a tthe seams.

We both wish we would have had mopre time to spent there but it is expensive and we do have a limited budget. It was an AWSOME day for both of us.


OCTOBER 26, Thursday and sunny

We spent the day here doing laundry, writing e-mails and bringing this blog to date and downloading pictures. I've been sitting behind this screen for about 3 hours now...time to call it quit.

Bye for now and check out all the new pictures.