2 full days of travel to get there... 2 full days of travel to get back - so 4 days of our 7 day trip spent on the road. Sigh. It is a long trip. Oh but wait - this time around it was even longer because my truck window got stuck down. Yes it did. 1 garage along the way spent 2.5 hours trying to at least get it up for me, but no such luck. Finally they taped heavy clear plastic over it and then I had to listen to that thing snap and crackle for miles and miles at highway speeds. And then spent a good part of another day getting it fixed at the Chevy dealership... needed a new switch. And 1/2 of another day at another garage waiting on Big Boy (our RV). Except turns out that Big Boy needs a pretty major brake job so we ended up leaving him at the garage for a bit.
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A few trip observations...
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*Boston at 5 pm on a Friday is a bit congested. I don't mind driving in traffic (although I prefer to avoid it) and if I give LB the camera - it keeps him entertained! He captured some great images this time around (OK, so I had to delete a ton, but you got to take lots of photos to get a few good ones). Proof that he is the photographer - check out the mirror shot! I just love that 
bridge - isn't it beautiful?! Oh - tunnel and bridge photos NOT taken at 5 pm - no traffic in those photos. The 1st photo would be the 5 pm shot.
bridge - isn't it beautiful?! Oh - tunnel and bridge photos NOT taken at 5 pm - no traffic in those photos. The 1st photo would be the 5 pm shot.
*Pizza Hut has a great personal pan pizza meal for something like $6.99 that includes salad bar and drink - cheaper than drive thrus!
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*Why is part of 295 in Maine closed in the summer??? That is just plain crazy.
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*Route 9 in Maine has about 20 miles of US flags on every other telephone pole. That's alot of flags!
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*Maine is a popular family vacation spot - on a Saturday the road is FULL of pop-up campers, cars with many bikes, kayaks, canoes. Fun to see!
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*The bad news is that all the hotels in Augusta and Waterville practically DOUBLE their prices for the next few weeks - it is summer camp time and lots of parents coming and going to drop-off/pick-up kids. The hotels are taking advantage of it to the max - even the dumpy little dive-y hotels are outrageous (I won't stay at a hotel with exterior doors anyway, so it is a little bit beside the point, but still)! We drove and drove and drove on the way north - all the way past Bangor before we got to a nice hotel with reasonable rates. Bangor was full because of a Bingo tournament - lots of tour buses from Canada.
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*The bad news is that all the hotels in Augusta and Waterville practically DOUBLE their prices for the next few weeks - it is summer camp time and lots of parents coming and going to drop-off/pick-up kids. The hotels are taking advantage of it to the max - even the dumpy little dive-y hotels are outrageous (I won't stay at a hotel with exterior doors anyway, so it is a little bit beside the point, but still)! We drove and drove and drove on the way north - all the way past Bangor before we got to a nice hotel with reasonable rates. Bangor was full because of a Bingo tournament - lots of tour buses from Canada.
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*The service plazas in Maine have nice restrooms, but horribly overpriced fast-food places - and NO picnic tables. The state information centers have great picnic tables which were loaded up with the families that plan ahead - toting coolers. Little Boy and I picnic the 1st day (while the food is still fresh/cool) and eat out the 2nd day on our trips. See Pizza Hut note!
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*Mass. has got to be one of the worst states ever for lack of rest areas with bathrooms. I already know this so plan ahead, but I just had to get my little complaint in here.
All this for a bit of family visiting time. And a bit of cleaning, shopping and cooking for my Dad. Oh, right and all that garage stuff too. But it is always good to see family and we had a good visit.
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Oh wait - that JFK guy isn't a part of our family, LOL!
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And we did squeeze in a bit of shopping too - so got some items crossed off our list! We were lucky enough to even hit Marden's for a bit of fabric!
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And, while the tomatoes and plants are certainly looking GREAT on Cape Cod - poor LB was sneezing and wheezing as soon as we hit Bangor and had to take allergy medicine the entire time. Plus - the bugs just ate him alive. He is covered in welts and despite wearing a hat most of the time - even has scabs on his scalp. Poor thing. He is one happy boy to be back home to our colder Northern climate... over 90 degrees on the Cape and a mere 60 along the Fundy Shore. All our fog probably does wonders for his allergies, who is to say? But, he is definately much better here. Thankfully. Although - our tomatoes are certainly pathetic because of the climate, but you can't have everything. Guess I can always buy my tomatoes at the store if it means my son can breathe better.
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And at the end of every journey, everyone should be so lucky as to have a rainbow waiting for them (not to mention a happy husband!) About that rainbow - let's just say it is a good thing that I got the windshield wiper blade replaced bef
ore heading back. It rained off and on from Portsmouth, NH all the way north, phew.
ore heading back. It rained off and on from Portsmouth, NH all the way north, phew.*
I'm happy to be back. Did I mention, I am HAPPY to be back. Oh yes, I am very happy to be back. Today - I have plans to do very little!
2 comments:
good to have you back! what a lot of driving and traffic you got through
another great adventure for you and LB!!!
hugs
laurie
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