Making our way across Maine, the weather has stayed warm and the
humidity has remained high. We are mostly damp, never really drying off
unless we stop for a few minutes and drape our clothes over our bike.
Any chance we have, we soak our heads in the coolest water we can find... be that a river, lake or public drinking fountain.
Pulling into the town of Rockport, Ryan being a boat lover, his bike
more or less was magnetically pulled toward the harbor as we rode into
town. Out of the water, a 65 foot sailboat was sitting onshore and
preparing to be put back in the water after two years of intense labor
to refurbish. We were approached by the Harbor Master who offered us his
house for the night if we wanted to attend the party taking place the
following day for the boat. Tempting to take him up on his offer, but
instead we carried on and rode our way into the town of Camden, a few
miles further north. This short ride between Rockport and Camden was
simply stunning. The rode is encased with beautiful trees and extremely
fancy homes on either side. I can only imagine these homes all go for a
few millions, especially the ones on the water. The landscaped lawns
hold every color flower and seemed to be in full bloom. It felt surreal.
Camden was another beautiful town filled with bustling tourists and unique independent stores, of course all inflated due to the time of year. We grabbed bread and cheese from the local shop before enjoying our lunch down by the harbor. Sitting in the only shade we could find, a man joined us with much to say and couldn't help but tell us of the ways to enjoy life and how we are all connected. It was fairly fascinating but a little odd when he wouldn't give us his real name when he introduced himself because he wanted to remain anonymous. We really do meet all types. The library was hosting a huge book sale which allowed us to admire one of the most well constructed and beautiful libraries. It was three levels overlooking the harbor and decorated with small sailboats in cases, a floor telling the history of the town, etc. Oh yes, and it was air conditioned, which of course never hurts on hot days like this.
Contacting another warmshowers couple, we rode the 20 miles to Belfast and spent the night in a home. The woman is from Holland and the guy is from the US. She had her sister and her friend visiting, so we all sat on their back deck for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious veggie lasagna as the 6 goats, 8 chickens and 1 duck made noises in the background. What a trip! I assumed they got milk from the goats and eggs from the chickens but I was wrong. They simply have them as pets. Talk about kind people. Although they were heading out to sail the following morning, they offered for us to stay at their home if we decided to hang in Belfast for the day. Getting into Belfast and enjoying the co-op for a good 3 hours, we decided to take them up on their offer. Ahhhh, a day of enjoying the shade by the water with a book, a nap and cruising through the quaint town of Belfast before making the 4 mile ride back to their house for the night. Knowing we were staying in a home, we loaded up on veggies for an enormous salad that tasted delicious. We stop at produce stands but never make a true salad. Oh how I miss them.
Cruising from their home at 7am, we were chilly enough for goosebumps and loved every second of the crisp air. Continuing northeast along the water, our route finally took us off the busy highway 1 for a good 16 miles of back roads. Much more our style and desire. We hit the town of Ellsworth, fast food capitol, when we stopped in the outdoor store looking for a single stake for our tent. No luck with the stake, but one of the workers offered us her lawn for our tent. Why I think we will kind lady! Her backyard opened to the forest and we slept like babies. It is a touch more comforting to know we are sleeping somewhere where someone definitely won't be upset and stumble upon us.
The following morning we had every intention of riding a mere 5-10 miles for breakfast, but thankfully we stopped at a fresh doughnut sign because we rode 30 miles before we came to anything. Making it 20 miles is one thing, 30 is a totally other ballgame. Our appetites are quite huge and our metabolisms are in full gear these days. Almost running out of juice, we eventually hit the Fisherman's Wife cafe. Many options to choose from, including the fisherman's platter. The waitress said the scallops, shrimp, haddock and clams had just arrived that morning. Sold! Now this was just not any platter but pretty much the biggest platter I could have imagined. After we finished just half of it and took the rest to go, we sat in a gazebo for 3 hours to digest all this fried goodness and I of course took a nap. Wow that was a lot of food.
Finishing our leftovers, we were back on the bikes for 3 1/2 more hours before we found a small unused road off highway 1 that was a perfect spot to call home for the night. The car noise died early and we were asleep by 9, barely moved until the 4am rainfall. Spitting rain on and off all day, strong winds and fog, we have spent most of today inside the local Machias library. On our travels in North America, we seem to spend a lot of time in breakfast joints, libraries and ice cream stands. Heeemmm....not sure what that says about us?
Camden was another beautiful town filled with bustling tourists and unique independent stores, of course all inflated due to the time of year. We grabbed bread and cheese from the local shop before enjoying our lunch down by the harbor. Sitting in the only shade we could find, a man joined us with much to say and couldn't help but tell us of the ways to enjoy life and how we are all connected. It was fairly fascinating but a little odd when he wouldn't give us his real name when he introduced himself because he wanted to remain anonymous. We really do meet all types. The library was hosting a huge book sale which allowed us to admire one of the most well constructed and beautiful libraries. It was three levels overlooking the harbor and decorated with small sailboats in cases, a floor telling the history of the town, etc. Oh yes, and it was air conditioned, which of course never hurts on hot days like this.
Contacting another warmshowers couple, we rode the 20 miles to Belfast and spent the night in a home. The woman is from Holland and the guy is from the US. She had her sister and her friend visiting, so we all sat on their back deck for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious veggie lasagna as the 6 goats, 8 chickens and 1 duck made noises in the background. What a trip! I assumed they got milk from the goats and eggs from the chickens but I was wrong. They simply have them as pets. Talk about kind people. Although they were heading out to sail the following morning, they offered for us to stay at their home if we decided to hang in Belfast for the day. Getting into Belfast and enjoying the co-op for a good 3 hours, we decided to take them up on their offer. Ahhhh, a day of enjoying the shade by the water with a book, a nap and cruising through the quaint town of Belfast before making the 4 mile ride back to their house for the night. Knowing we were staying in a home, we loaded up on veggies for an enormous salad that tasted delicious. We stop at produce stands but never make a true salad. Oh how I miss them.
Cruising from their home at 7am, we were chilly enough for goosebumps and loved every second of the crisp air. Continuing northeast along the water, our route finally took us off the busy highway 1 for a good 16 miles of back roads. Much more our style and desire. We hit the town of Ellsworth, fast food capitol, when we stopped in the outdoor store looking for a single stake for our tent. No luck with the stake, but one of the workers offered us her lawn for our tent. Why I think we will kind lady! Her backyard opened to the forest and we slept like babies. It is a touch more comforting to know we are sleeping somewhere where someone definitely won't be upset and stumble upon us.
The following morning we had every intention of riding a mere 5-10 miles for breakfast, but thankfully we stopped at a fresh doughnut sign because we rode 30 miles before we came to anything. Making it 20 miles is one thing, 30 is a totally other ballgame. Our appetites are quite huge and our metabolisms are in full gear these days. Almost running out of juice, we eventually hit the Fisherman's Wife cafe. Many options to choose from, including the fisherman's platter. The waitress said the scallops, shrimp, haddock and clams had just arrived that morning. Sold! Now this was just not any platter but pretty much the biggest platter I could have imagined. After we finished just half of it and took the rest to go, we sat in a gazebo for 3 hours to digest all this fried goodness and I of course took a nap. Wow that was a lot of food.
Finishing our leftovers, we were back on the bikes for 3 1/2 more hours before we found a small unused road off highway 1 that was a perfect spot to call home for the night. The car noise died early and we were asleep by 9, barely moved until the 4am rainfall. Spitting rain on and off all day, strong winds and fog, we have spent most of today inside the local Machias library. On our travels in North America, we seem to spend a lot of time in breakfast joints, libraries and ice cream stands. Heeemmm....not sure what that says about us?
Ryan and Lisa,
ReplyDeleteGood to see you are still out and about. Have been thinking about you from time to time wondering where you are. Glad you are both doing well.
Bob and Diane, Bonners Ferry, Idaho