Met up with a group of fellow truck campers for a boondock over the 4th of July. Since we are retired, we were among the first to arrive and picked a space at the edge of the field. This was the first test of the solar system and it performed beautifully, giving us all the lighting we needed, as long as needed and never dropping under 12.3 on the meter. What it would not do, of course, was to run the AC which was sorely needed - 95F and humid. We did run both the roof fans plus a 12 volt fan from a plug recently installed. Just too lazy to try to run the AC on the generator since we spent most of our time socializing under the pop up tents.
This is the lighthouse and harbor where we were camped and the tents set up for picnic and gatherings.
This was an unplanned event and spread word of mouth. We ended up with a dozen rigs, mostly truck campers but also two older bus RVs that are being restored. Can we pack campers in close to the breeze or what? These are the TC roofs.
July 4th dawned hot, bright and with a busy harbor. We socialized, sat under the tents and read, played Sudoku and just chatted.
Mikeee cooked an 18 pound beef roast on the grill and lobsters in the propane pots. Kevin and Paul opted for SIX plus pound lobsters and had a great time both cooking them and breaking into them. An ax was needed on the claws. As usual, too much food and beverages but the conversation keeps up. We sat up by the light house and watched incredible fireworks from Marblehead, Beverly, and Salem. You could actually see part of Boston's on the far horizon.
Too short a visit with friends as always but we headed back to Maine to clean the camper and restock for a quick trip to Canada.
July 6-8, 2010
We try to come up to Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews, New Brunswick a couple of times a year. This is a 27 acre perennial garden with walking paths, ponds, more flowers than you can imagine and a cafe serving local foods. This year we chose to take the Airline out of Bangor as far as Wesley and then cut over to Route 1. Our goal was to stay at Cobscook Bay State Park which is right on the ocean. With no reservations, we figured we could get into the park but had no idea we would get a waterfront site.
Arrived at low tide, pulled out the chairs after a pretty good hike around the park and watched the tide come in. As usual, I pulled out the knitting.
Change in temperature from the weekend? You bet as it was 72F and sunny and the view is one of the reasons we live in Maine. This is what happens to the shoreline with a 25+ tide. Views are the same, one at low time, done at close to high tide.
Lots of wild life including brown rabbits, red squirrels, very loud crows and chipmunks. No moose or deer. No way to explain how relaxing sleeping in the camper is when the night temps drop into the 60s and there is utter silence.
Next AM off we head to St. Andrews, stopping at the 45th Parallel exhibit and then at a US National Monument to the settlers of St. Croix Island. Many large bronze statues here giving a real feeling of what it must have been like to try to survive a winter in the middle of such a cold river/entry to the ocean.
We crossed into Canada at the new border crossing in Calais, bypassing the old city totally and not getting into the tiny town roads. No problems crossing as there shouldn't be as we never have anything with us we shouldn't have. Kingsbrae was worth the drive and time, lunch was smoked salmon and seafood chowder. Walked through the harbor town of St. Andrews and are now camped right on the ocean at the tip of the peninsula between two huge A RVs. Friendly folks who are fascinated that we can live and travel in something as small as a TC. We look at the As and wonder how they can ever get anywhere but a major highway. To each his/her own. Here's a view out the TC door.
Home tomorrow with lots of our own garden work to do. Wonder where we will go next?
