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.