Kicking back in Wells, plus another Light house!

Looking for our next stop, SeaVu West campground, we were apparently given directions for coming in the opposite way, and we totally missed it, and got a tour of Wells and Kennebunk, before finding a place where we could turn around and try again!  

We spent Sunday, and a lot of Monday, just relaxing, reading and doing some laundry, much as we would a lazy weekend at home, but by Monday we were ready for an adventure,  and we drove through Wells, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport and walked around the towns and explored the shops. Here we experienced what they talk about on Rt 1 during the summer, with  the creeping traffic, and the search for parking.....even worse than Boothbay!   And it was Monday!  

 The boys thought a little relaxation  was a great idea!

Clem was thrilled to find that most of the stores were closed in Kennebunk!  But we walked the main street, and enjoyed all the lovely gardens and hanging flowers making the downtown so pretty. Flower pots along the sidewalks were little row boats!

Outside of town is the Wedding Cake House, built by a sea captain  lavishly decorated to take the place of the wedding cake the couple did not have! 

Kennebunkport is old, quaint, and very pretty, with a wooden sidewalk, and nice upscale shops, which WERE open, and we enjoyed browsing.
The Bush compound is on the point opposite town, and one of the shop owners told us the way to drive around and see the house, and a beautiful church, but we decided to avoid the crowded road around.  Another time.

Kennebunkport, from the back!  Shops were very nice, and old buildings very quaint, but I loved the water and reflections. 

Tuesday morning surprised us with some rain, and when I mentioned breakfast at a diner I had seen nearby, Clem jumped at the idea, so off we went!  Maine Diner has been there for 30 years, and was visited by Guy Fieri, so is of the Triple D fame!  We found it fun and super friendly,  but unimpressive for breakfast, though the rest of the menu looked really good.  I’m sure Guy showed up for some heart stopping concoction!  We may have to go back for the home made blueberry pie.  

The 2,2,2, was a bit more food  than Clem expected! 

The sky had cleared a bit by the time we ate, so we took a ride to York, through the seaside village of Nedick , and to Nedick Point to see the 1879 Nubble Light, one of the oldest in the country.  Sitting out on a rocky island, or nub, hence the name, with beautiful houses all along the rocky coast, and a really wide sand beach, which completely disappears at high tide,  we both agreed we were glad we decided to visit York, though we once again suffered through the Rt 1 slowdown.  

The Nubble Light has probably appeared on more postcards, calendars, and other souvenirs than any other New England lighthouse, with the possible exception of Portland Head Light. In 1977, when NASA sent Voyager II into space to photograph the outer solar system, it was also loaded with artifacts designed to teach possible extraterrestrial civilizations about our planet. One of the images it carried was a picture of the Nubble Light.

The finials on the gallery railing are miniature lighthouses.

This time  the congestion was Ogunquit,  a really charming place,  with lots of lovely shops and restaurants, and on our return trip, clogged even more with throngs of people.  Astounding the number of hotels and inns that line the roads north of town. 

I had kidded in the slowdown in Wiscasset that one of us could walk ahead and get one of Red’s lobster rolls, then get picked up when the other finally made it!  While crawling along on the way back through Ogunquit,  I spotted a mailbox, so jumped out of the car, dropped an  envelope, then trotted a short way ahead and jumped back in the slow moving car, giggling the whole time!  

 A little detour took us to  a hobby shop, where Clem perused the train supplies,   and I looked at the lovely merchandise made by local inmates!  Interesting shop! He bought a few supplies, and I got way more information than I bargained for from the clerk, of whom I asked a question about the area!  

Wednesday, Aug 16

A beautiful sunny morning for a walk, and surprised that Clem was agreeable,  we found Rachel Carson National Wildlife Preserve, where a pleasant one mile interpretive trail took us through some lovely salt marshes, where we learned about the grasses and ecosystem.  Got to chat with a few folks from Mass up for the day with their grand dog, and stopped in the visitor center to learn who Rachel was!  A child prodigy, to my mind, she read, wrote a book at a very early age, became a marine zoologist, and spent her life researching and  preserving, and the park was dedicated to her memory.  

The rest of our day was spent like most of our time in Wells, reading and relaxing!  I think we were just due, after having just way too much fun!  

Cell service is pretty poor, and the wifi is awful, so I am again writing in word processing for entering later.  I did find I could go stand on the porch at the office and get good wifi, and was able to download my book there!  Maybe I should take the laptop up there! 

 After dinner, a little Yahtzee outside as the evening cooled, and before dark set in! 

Pemaquid Point and more

A lovely day, we drove up  through cute little town of Damariscotta, then all the way down the next peninsula to the tip, to Pemaquid Point Light. In a pretty park setting,  the keepers house contains a museum, and you can climb the tower for a view, but on such a lovely day, there were lots of folks gathered, set up in lawn chairs to enjoy the view, and of course, line up for the tower!  We were satisfied with the view from below, and venturing out of the rocks.  Clem did point out a sign to me when I went a bit far, that lives had been lost!  I could see waves crashing, so didn't go as far as I might have after that!

Beyond the light was Williamstown Fort, .......(add more)

Fort William Henry at Pemiquid Point, was originally built in 1692, and though the tower there now is a  replica, the excavation sites are real and fascinating.  Colonial Pemiquid is said to be older than the Pilgrim village, which over the years had been filled in as the land was used for farming.  Archeological digs have uncovered fragments of materials which prove its age, and various foundations from buildings. Listed on National Register.

After exploring the fort and museum,  we could not resist stopping for an afternoon treat at one of the hundreds of ice creams stands!  They are everywhere in Maine!  Many serve Gifford's Ice Cream Stand Ice cream, which has a huge list of delicious flavors.   Yum!

Yummy Giffords Ice Cream!

A quick photo op stop for this roadside installation at a diner on way back from York gives me 319! 

Not really the weather for it, but wanted to use the sausage I had purchased, so we had a yummy sausage and pepper dinner out at the picnic table! 

Clem built the whirly he had bought the day before in Booth Bay Harbor.  Very cute!

We spent our final day in Boothbay, making a quick trip to Bath, more to pick up a prescription than anything, but seeing the Ironworks and the shipbuilding operation with gigantic cranes along the waterfront.  Along the way, we wanted to see Wiscasset, "Maine's prettiest little town", but the traffic was so backed up, we settled for what we could see driving through.  Pretty town of old houses and buildings, and home to Red's Eats, apparently world famous lobster rolls!  Wow!  People were lined up around the building, and still arriving, and I had to wonder if they could really be THAT good!  Apparently, I am told, but we drove on by....in both directions!  No way Clem wanted to get out of the traffic line to sit in another line!

Red's famous lobster rolls in Wiscasset

We did make a stop at Edgecomb Pottery near our campsite, and marveled at the beautiful crystalline glazes that graced the pottery.  I bought a small piece, but it was hard to choose!

Edgecomb Pottery began in the red one room school house to the left

   

                      


We returned to enjoy the rest of the nice day at our campsite, and were visited by our neighbor Jeff, the retired local sheriff's deputy, and his wife Jean, who sat and chatted with us.  They spend the season, but have a house in  Sarasota, and invited us to come and stay and hookup the motorhome there anytime we are on that coast!  Nice guy....knows all the ins and outs, and is happy to share.  

It had rained overnight and into the morning, but cleared in time for us to hook up in the sun, and set off to our next destination, Wells, a fairly short drive away, and yet too far to explore from Boothbay.  

A lovely day for whoopie pies and fairy houses!

Wednesday, August 9

Another seriously chilly start to a beautiful day!  We actually turned the heat on for a few minutes to take the chill off!  But by 8;30 it was warm and wonderful, and though there is a shuttle to take us into Boothbay Harbor, and we had been warned that we would not find parking, we decided to go early and take the car, and just go someplace else if we couldn't park, since there are other things we wanted to do here.

Apparently early enough to beat the crowds, we had no problem finding a parking spot, right across from the town square, where a local craft fair was set up.....on a Wednesday!  I usually manage to hit these towns the day after their fairs!  So we strolled around, and I started chatting with one vendor, who it turns out is a full time RVer, and we started swapping stories!  But we could hardly get away!  But it was fun....to a point...and we finally excused ourselves and headed for the shops.

Captain Sawyers Place

Hilly, and full of shops and restaurants, and old buildings, in addition to a busy harbor, a lovely spot, and huge tourist draw. Although I have to say it did not seem overly busy or crowded.

 A big red building up a steep hill had tons of whirligigs and streamers blowing in the wind, and of course it called to me.  When I saw "new age", I was hesitant but glad we ventured inside, when clem saw a yard whirly that was a golf cart.  The place was jam packed with so much stuff, and the floors were scattered with glitter!  I roamed the isles filled with hanging sun catchers and what not.....why did I not take a photo??......and we found the whirly, which Clem bought for our house!  He does surprise me sometimes!

We walked the stores, shopped the goods, and walked the 1901 footbridge across the water, where a 1902 tiny house was situated.  At various times a shop, and a vacation home, we were amazed that anyone would want to vacation there on the footbridge with people looking in your windows!

Such a beautiful day, we had a leisurely lunch at a spot near the water, then headed for Wicked Whoopies, which I had spotted earlier.  Featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, and the like, they were indeed wicked good!!

A GIANT whoopee, that would make a cute birthday cake!

Lots of flavors, in addition to the classic

 I restrained myself and bought a mini, but Clem could not resist the peanut butter filled one, which came only in the regular size.  Tempted to buy them and fill the freezer, but I decided to think about it! Might not be such a good idea to have them so readily available!










A Botanical Garden of some renown was nearby, and wanting to take full advantage of the glorious day, we decided to check it out.  But not before a stop for another "interesting installation".....a giant old salt fisherman in slicker!  Reported to be 15 feet tall, it was soon apparent that he was much taller than that, since I came about to his knee.  A good find!

The gardens of the Coastal  Maine Botanical Garden were full of beautiful flowers, and delightful to walk around, and I loved the little fairy houses.  They had what might be an entire fairy garden, but it was a 20 minute walk from the main area  ( I forgot how many acres the place entailed, but it was substantial!) , and Clem was in no mood for an additional 40 minute walk, so we called it a day!

Oops....should have straightened this photo before uploading! The little house was supposedly a fairy house workshop, and had several on little shelves when you opened the door.  Cute.

Fairy houses in little house

On to the Boothbay area

I didn’t think I would ever say I was excited to do laundry, but I couldn’t wait to get set up in our new campground and start a load!  Not that we are running out of clothes as much as running out of space to put the dirty ones!  And I am tired of taking GI showers and being so carful to not fill our tanks, as we have not had sewer.   Pretty spoiled!  

It was not as cold overnight, but it rained a lot, with that rhythmic beating on the roof.  There was a predicted break at 9AM, and  we hurried to hook up the car and pull out before it started up again!  Not a long drive, we got into Shore Hills campground on the Boothbay peninsula, passing a couple of cute little towns that I have on my list to explore,  and set up in time for lunch. 

 I discovered the Boothbay Railway Village was practically across the street, and the rain had stopped, so we had lunch and went for a visit.  What a neat place!  We took a  ride on a narrow gauge train to the other side of the property and then spent several hours exploring all the buildings containing one man’s accumulation of not only train collectibles, but antique cars and farm equipment, outboard motors, combustion engines, toys, and even salt and pepper shakers!  Not to mention the cool old buildings and train depots, dismantled and rebuilt on the property.  The town hall and chapel are still used in their new location!  

Narrow gauge steam engine

Our visit included a ride on a narrow gauge passenger train, pulled by an (Edaville RR engine on loan from MA!), and we boarded the closed car due to temps, and got some photo ops of the pretty car. 

The cars were chosen for their significance in history, and were beautiful. 

 One of the many buildings of the village was this cute gas station.

I loved the Richfield pump, mainly because my Dad's Atlantic Station became Atlantic Richfield. 

One building contained a  model train layout, where I spotted this miniature of the huge fisherman we went to see!  Here he is in his original state, with sardine can, rather than the lobster trap he now holds. Clem enjoyed not only the layout, but chatting with the folks who were there working on it. 

On the layout....almost looks real in the photo! 

Another train depot, which contained some interesting history of the railroads and Maine.

Really old salt and pepper shakers!  Makes me want to get my collection out!

An interesting little tid bit about Mary's Little Lamb mounted in a one room school house! We had visited the supposed site of the schoolhouse, as well as the birthplace of the author, in Massachusetts, but apparently the authorship is questionable!  Who knew?!

We were pretty excited to be able to watch the evening news!  Then we took a walk around the campground and discovered it is quite large, and has some beautiful sites in the woods, which go all the way down to the river's edge! We chatted with a woman walking her dog who is here from Arizona  to find some cool temps, and had last week been to Eastport, where we stayed two stops ago.  I asked if she had met “Bob”.......oh yes!!  He tried to talk them into staying longer because her husband liked to take photos!  Too funny!