DOWNEAST, MID-COAST AND THE BOLD COAST

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminBy Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Camden Harbor -- a classic port on Maine's Mid-Coast Saturday we entered North America’s sixth time zone, the Atlantic zone.  We have traipsed back and forth through the four well-known time zones of America for years, and in 2010, we found out there was an Alaskan zone when visiting that state.  But it wasn’t until Monique planned our crossover into Franklin Roosevelt’s Campobello Island that we realized that we were going into New Brunswick, Canada (passports shown), which is on Atlantic Time. We are “Downeast,” parked at Eastport, Maine, close enough to Canada to intermittently get phone service from our neighboring country, which is a cause for concern, because it means we are on “roaming.”  If you’re going into Canada (or Mexico), I suggest that you check with your carrier on options and policies. What is “Downeast”?  According to a brochure, it’s this area of the northern Maine coast that Boston ships approached by going downwind while headed eastward. Eastport... Read more

SOME THOUGHTS ON CARAVANS … AND A CORRECTION AND SUGGESTION

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers I’ll devote this edition of the blog to a question from a reader and my response to her.  As you know if you’ve been following this series, we are a little over a week away from hooking up with a caravan for a 48-day trip into the Maritime Provinces on the east coast of Canada. Following is the question and my answer: From Lois Thurston, I was sitting here thinking if I want to do an Alaska cruise when I saw your post that you took a caravan tour to Alaska and I thought thats how I want to see Alaska, so thank you!  I have been doing a little research but do you have any advice on picking the right company to use? Thanks for your blogs I really enjoy them and also learn from them. Barry’s Response In answer to your question about choosing a caravan company, I have two quick suggestions — 1) pick a company that has lots of caravans to different places, and 2) ask the company about the wagonmaster’s style. 1)  I don’t know of any caravan companies that have gone out of business, but I think a well-established company is probably safer.  Among other things, the campground owners and others they deal with are more likely to court their business and try hard to keep them happy.  Ask for catalogs from each of the companies, which can be found by an internet search. 2) We had no desire to sign up with a caravan company until I happened to meet a wagonmaster for one of the big companies and set... Read more

FROM MOUNTAIN HIGH TO SEA LEVEL

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers We summited Mt. Washington, an important mountain near Gorham, New Hampshire.  In addition to being the highest peak east of the Rockies and the very first tourist attraction in America, Mt. Washington is also known for having recorded the highest wind speed of any place in the world – 231 mph, which blew by in April 1934. As regular readers of our articles know, we don’t try to tell you all the statistics and details about everything we see, preferring to whet your appetite to see for yourselves.  But there are a few things about our Mt. Washington visit that you might find interesting. First, at the start (mountaineers might call it “base camp”), they warn you that it’s not for the faint of heart.  The 8-mile narrow road with no rails overlooks gorges, and cars heading downhill are required to stop to allow the upward bound to pass by without losing momentum. There are four traditional alternative ways to reach the top.  1) climb on foot four or five hours along one of the steep trails; 2) take the stage coach van to the top; 3) hop aboard the cog railway; or 4) drive your own vehicle (no RVs allowed for obvious reasons) at your own pace.  Those who pay the toll to drive, as we did, get an enjoyable CD that guides them along, plus gives history and tales of the mountain for the motorists’ listening pleasure.  In addition to factual and safety information, the narrator speaks about those who have... Read more

THEY GOT YOU COVERED IN VERMONT

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Covered bridges of all sizes and vintages cross rivers in Vermont and into New Hampshire. Why? Most likely so that horses crossing the bridges wouldn't be frightened by rushing water. Or to prolong the life of the bridge. Or to make crossing easier in the winter. First it was the deserts of the Southwest, then battlefields in the South, then lighthouses along the Atlantic coast.  Once we hit Vermont, we were seeing covered bridges everywhere.  There are over a 100 in the state, according to brochures, and while many of them are inconveniently placed off larger roads or where there is no nearby parking, we were still able to walk across and photograph about 15 of them. The word “quaint” applies to so many towns we’ve visited while in New England that I’ll ask that you just assume everything is quaint – Main Streets, churches with their narrow steeples, shops, even people. Our last article left off while we were staying along the Massachusetts coast. Before updating you on our travels since, I want to mention a problem with seeing the lighthouses.  There’s plenty of space for RVs to park, but Cape Cod’s beaches are charging $20 a day on weekends to use state parking areas, $15 on weekdays).  Luckily there are National Park lighthouses, which charge less and accept the Passport America for half-price admission. We departed Salisbury State Park Reservation following the advice of our GPS to find... Read more

HOT, HOT, HOT IN NEW ENGLAND

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers With almost 500 campsites at Salisbury State Beach Reservation (“a state paaak,” as they say around here), we pictured Sunday morning at the dump station as being a line of rigs as long as Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  Our first strategy for avoiding the check-out-dumping-rush-hour was to wait until most campers departed by 11 a.m., but when we didn’t see any packing-up activity by neighbors at 7:30, we decided to make a run for it early.  We were first in line at the dump and out of there 20 minutes later.  Most campers were locals wanting to stretch out their weekend as long as possible. There’s not much to report since the Cape Cod blog a few days ago, but since we’re moving inland into Vermont and New Hampshire, where we won’t have hookups, and since we’ve received some helpful comments from readers, I’ll send this out anyway. Mussels await the return of high tide along the Merrimack River shoreline. Friday, with our trailer parked at Salisbury, we drove a very few miles to tour the New Hampshire coast.  Like most of the shoreline New England villages, the settings for homes are wonderful.  Rhododendrons and wild roses are blooming, so it’s a colorful experience. Two places we found interesting:  Portsmouth Harbor and Hampton Beach.  I’ll let two photos tell those stories. With temperatures in the mid-90s last Friday, swarms of area residents went to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire,... Read more

LIVING HISTORY IN NEW ENGLAND

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers “History”: Remember Fifth Grade when you learned the words “Plymouth Rock”?  And there were all those other names, like Lord Baltimore, Benjamin Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Roger Williams, William Penn, Benedict Arnold, etc., etc.  Since arriving in the colonial states of the East, we often find these names as part of the landscape on the narrow roads we A Motorhome nests among the Provincetown area dunes travel. If it's New England, there's gotta be a lighthouse photo Plus others, like “Moby Dick” author Herman Melville, The Kennedys’ hide-away Hyannis Port, Explorers John Cabot and Henry Hudson, Captain John Paul Jones, and seaman Nathan Hale, Chappaquiddick, portrait painter Gilbert Stuart, radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi … around every curve is another name that I had heard but with which I had not become personally acquainted.   There are many more and, I’m sure, many more to come in the weeks ahead. The bell rang – move to “Geography” class.  In doing a bit of research on the computer (working off battery in our dry-camping situation) I discovered that there are only four Maritime Provinces.  It changed in 2001 when Newfoundland and Labrador officially merged.  The other three, Prince Edwards Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have stood their ground, so to speak. Moving along to “Science.” I mentioned that I did online research.  Here’s fact that amazes us: ... Read more

YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT RECENT BLOGS

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Readers have responded to my recent blogs with information that I think you’ll find interesting. John Kyler asked, “What reference material did you use to locate your campgrounds?  It sounds like a little nerve-wracking, but enjoyable trip.” BARRY’S RESPONSE: The way I select campgrounds is by turning where Monique says to turn.  After we agree where we want to be and what we want to see, such as Washington, D.C., as the planner and navigator, she puts her heart and soul into routing us, She takes her time pouring over maps, travel guides and articles torn from RV magazines, researched further on the Internet.  Once she has the route carved in stone and we actually hitch up, we use her routing as a basis, but go wherever our wanderlust directs us. Freedom is Wonderful, which brings us to an important message:  This is the Memorial Day Weekend, a time when we honor our nation’s servicemen and women who have given their all to keep America free, whose service to our country has preserved our access to a free press; preserved our right to worship in the way we want or not to worship at all; to be entitled to fairness before the law; to learn and discover; to travel where we want in the RV best suited for our lifestyle.  Like I said, Freedom is Wonderful.  To those who have died over the centuries for our liberty, we give our deepest thanks. Now, to resume our travel planning.  We try not to make reservations,... Read more

ENTERING NEW ENGLAND

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers The first atomic-powered submarine, the Nautilus, gives visitors a view of life in "the Silent Service" Things we learned quickly about New England: the streets in these picturesque, quaint towns were built 250 to 350 years ago – very scenic but not the place you want to take your Class A, C, Travel Trailer or 5th Wheel.   Just driving down many of the streets in our GMC truck involves pulling over to let on-coming traffic through. We’re currently in Narragansett, Rhode Island, which is not far from Misquamicut, Usquepaug and Wequetequock.  You don’t really need to know that, but my point is the names of towns around here are often verbally challenging. Stone fences abound in this part of New England These Yankees love historic stone fences in front of large two-story homes.  Everywhere we look in the Connecticut/Rhode Island area there are stone fences, which I surmise are the result of field-clearing centuries ago.  The countryside is beautiful.  We have seen all cannons, forts, battlefields and historic sight signs that we will need for a lifetime.  In the past three weeks, we have been to Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and we’re now in Rhode Island. We recommend coming here — but find a campground where you can park your rig, and tour in your car or truck.  I have a tale of almost-horror to tell at the end of this episode of the “Never-Bored RVers.” We... Read more

A FIVE-PART BLOG

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers YORK AND THE HOGS — As today’s title suggests, there are five parts to today’s blog, beginning with our discovering an interesting area to visit when you’re traveling in the Northeast.  The place is York County, Pennsylvania, between Harrisburg and Baltimore.  It proudly calls itself Another "Hog" owner arrives at the factory. No photos are allowed in the production plant. “The Factory Tour Capital of the World.” Before going further about all that’s available in that area, I’ll start out by saying that the only tour we took was the Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory.   Realize that technology is not high in Monique’s sphere of interests and I’ve never longed to straddle a “Hog,” but whattaplace! The robots that paint and form parts are magnificent.  The workforce’s devotion to producing a precision product is inspirational.  Everything on every motorcycle that goes through the stations is checked and rechecked all along the assembly lines. Most of the process is done by men and women because almost every bike is different. Large and small, various colors and models, some with ultimate accessories, others lean and mean – robots can’t be programmed to cope with the variety.  [And unlike Ozzie Nelson when the Nelsons went through the U.S. Mint in the 1960s, I didn’t ask for a free sample.] When we were staying near York, we carefully chose which factories to tour... Read more

RVING SWITCHBACKS – EAST, WEST, NORTH, SOUTH

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers I prepared an article years ago about the types of places you can park your rig, updating it several times — everything from private campgrounds to national parks to retail outlets and many more – 17 more to be exact.  If you’d like a copy, please email your request to neverboredrvers@gmail.com. It’s free. Annapolis, capital of Maryland. What a neat place!  We spent a day walking the streets of this interesting town, reveling in all-thing-Annapolis: historic homes and buildings, including those housing state From left, "Big Al" picks out crabs for us in St. Michaels, a town that celebrates its seafood, and we're ready for a feast in Annapolis government, the Chesapeake Bay waterfront, seafood, shops, and, most notable of all, the U.S. Naval Academy.  Very prestigious, and the midshipmen are all so handsome; that is, all except the midshipwomen, who Midshipmen -- with female middies in background at right are dolls.  I don’t mean to be sexist about this, but we were astounded to see how many of the middies are female.  And they all, both women and men, look so young and fresh. During the past week, we have qualified to put three more stickers on our map of states visited as RVers.  We stayed across the Potomac in Maryland while visiting Washington, D.C.  Then, we crossed the never-ending Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis (really only 4.3 miles, but it goes on and on) to the... Read more

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