The objective has been reached

 On the way we stopped at the capitol of Maine – Augusta and another Elks Lodge, a really nice lodge with DARTS! They also had a nice oatmeal stout which made life pleasant. A side trip to Booth Bay Harbor reminded us that the tourist trap towns should really be avoided.

and they were GOOD!

After Augusta we went back to one of our old haunts, the Elks Lodge at Rockland where enjoyed had previously enjoyed the Maine Lobsterfest. https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2016/08/lobster-fests.html Unfortunately after Covid last year and the long lead time necessary for organizing vendors etc, this years event had been cancelled. It may have been a good thing as the heavens opened for a couple of days and the forecasts were talking of 2” to 4” in total.

The Knox mansion near Rockland

A very welcoming lodge equipped with several dart boards and a shuffleboard table helped us fill in the time.

One of the many pretty little coves, each with a harbor for lobster boats

Just around the corner we saw a sign for Lobster Rolls with decent prices so we stopped by for lunch. We placed our order and started one of those great casual conversations with another customer as we waited for our orders. We were just talking about being from the Liverpool England area when the owner came out with our orders. He joined in the conversation then asked if we knew the other side of the “Harbor” from Liverpool. We explained that it was actually the river Mersey and the town was called Birkenhead – our hometown.

Then he said that his father in law was from a place named OXTON VILLAGE!! We lived in Oxton Village for a couple of years before we emigrated to the States and our good friends Ken and Angie Oram have lived there for a long time!

You just never know when those “Its a small world” moments will pop up!

After decimating the lobster population some more we packed up for the long drive to Bangor. Well 64 miles can seem long sometimes! We were soon settled into one of the nicest campgrounds around, Pumpkin Patch in Hermon ME. On arrival we met our “Mum and Dad” Peter and Donna who officially adopted us when we joined Escapees Chapter 57 in Florida. They quickly filled us in on all the best places to eat!

I should move to Maine just for the license plate

We took that information and crossed the road to Ralph and Crystal’s rig, yes the same Ralph and Crystal we met in the Finger Lakes! They, by pure coincidence, happened to be here for a few days, but they didn’t know about the rally and unfortunately couldn’t stay for it as the CG is completely full.

With Peter and Donna’s list of good eats we went to a local diner. While everyone else had seafood I chose the cracked pepper rib eye steak, and what a fantastic steak it was. It’s years since I had one as good. We staggered back to the CG stuffed to the gills.

Ralph and I decided we needed to go fishing the next morning and I think the lades were glad to see our backs for a couple of hours. With tips from a local bait shop about where to fish, we had a couple of pleasant hours annoying the local fish population. Ralph took the honors by landing 2 nice ones and I put back the little sunfish I caught. 

Ralph joined us in our attempt to eat all the lobsters in Maine by finding a local seafood restaurant/market and eating 2 there then bringing 2 more back to cook for later consumption. Good man!

Ralph caught the first fish of the day.

Back at the CG the early rallyists were arriving and our old friends Dave and Rose Irons camped directly opposite us, giving us a chance to catch up on all the news.

Getting ready for the feast.

Pretty soon the party started! Rallies are so much fun, meeting old friends and making new ones. Learning new things and sharing knowledge with others. We have been “Rally Rats” since we were teenagers running around the motorcycle rally scene across England and Europe. Back then we would throw a tent and a couple of sleeping bags on the back of the BSA or whatever motorcycle we had at the time and just head out. That made us graduate to more capable bikes, better camping equipment, then to a pop up trailer and eventually into RV’s.

Dave getting tucked in

We ate A LOT! Diets were not a feature of this event and breakfasts were provided every morning, dinners out were frequent, happy hours at night, and a pot luck dinner, but the big one was the Lobster Feast.

Barbara, Myself Rose and Dave still eating

When you registered for the rally they asked how many lobsters you wanted, last time we just ordered 2 a piece but friends ordered more so they could freeze them and enjoy them later, we thought that was a good idea. This time we ordered 10!!

Fresh from the boiler

Clams too

Peter knows the lobster guy and got them direct from the boat. There were 100 I believe plus fresh clams and corn cooked out the back of the rec center. The club (Chapter 3 of the Escapees RV club) has all the pots etc and have had plenty of practice cooking them. The crowd gathered, the excitement built and then….LOBSTERS!

Dressed for the occasion

They were just delicious and pretty soon they were devoured. Lots of full bellies and smiling faces were all that was left. I have to think that we seriously reduced the lobster population, maybe we got a bit closer to making them an endangered species, who knows??

The objective in sight

Dreams do come true

We stayed a few extra days after the rally was over and hung out with Peter, Donna, Rose and Dave, relaxing, sipping a few drinks, getting bitten by the mosquitoes! 

After another great dinner at Chases Diner it was time to go. The end of our “Outbound” trip and time to turn around. It has been enormous fun but we still have more adventures to find yet.

Vermont and Southern Maine

 Then we finally left New York and moved into one of our favorite states, Vermont.

Delicious hand made ice cream

Vermont is known as “The Green Mountain State” which is apt in several ways. Firstly the name Ver Mont is French for Green Mountain! Secondly the state is very mountainous. Not gigantic mountains but very picturesque. Lastly there are trees everywhere and so everything is very green.

See what I mean about the Green Mountains?

We have had many family vacation here when the kids were growing up and my sisters and Barbara’s brother have visited here on vacations. We have been thru on our fulltime adventures in the past too, so know it well.

Vermont is the home of REAL Maple Syrup

We were trying to decide whether to stay around Burlington and we had intended to meet Ralph and Crystal in Burlington VT, but at the same time we were also trying to get a Thousand Trails stay to help offset the cost of the membership.

Maine lighthouses are our favorites

 As it turned out we could get one week in at a TT campground in Wells Maine starting in a couple of days, so the plan became a couple of nights at the Elks Lodge in Brattleboro VT then a week in Maine followed by?? 

Just our regular drifting around! But the distances aren’t vast so just a couple of hundred miles would cover it.

To our surprise the TT park in Moody Beach ME was quite nice, at least in the new section we managed to get into. The sites were spacious and level with 50amp power and all the amenities.  The town of Moody Beach was nice too.

Craft beer seemingly everywhere.

Traffic was a nightmare though on Rt 1. It is very much a vacation destination for the population of Massachusetts, the border being less than 20 miles south, and Rt1 although pretty, it is just 2 lanes wide with many small towns and 25mph speed limits.

LOBSTAH! As its pronounced in Maine

No big deal as long as you keep your cool and enjoy watching the tourists cutting each other off and getting irate!

There were lots of places to explore and magnificent coastal views to be had. Having a week in one place we broke out the grill and the chairs.

Of course we had a mission. Make the Lobster an endangered species! We ate as many as we could but prices have almost doubled this year. With the hammering businesses took last year it’s not surprising.

A Lobster sticker for the RV

Another chance sighting of a billboard saw us in the theater watching “Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville” which was a very nice change of pace.

The set for Margaritaville.

We explored all around and visited several Elks Lodges to add to our collection of the special pins (Badges) that each lodge have custom made.

Fort Western Augusta ME

Eventually we had to move on. The long term goal was to go to Rockland ME then on to Harmon ME where Escapees Chapter 2 are holding their annual Lobsterfest Rally. Escapees and Lobsters, what else can you ask for?

The State Capital Building Augusta ME

On the way we stopped at the capitol of Maine – Augusta and another Elks Lodge, a really nice lodge with DARTS! They also had a nice oatmeal stout which made life pleasant. A side trip to Booth Bay Harbor reminded us that the tourist trap towns should really be avoided.