Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor

While we were at Evergreens in Solon, ME, we noticed one of our tires looked low. We were near Griswald's (and we were on vacation!) and they had air. So we wiggled the Alto near the pump, put our quarters in and voilà, the pump sucked the air out of the tire! We asked for help, so Griswald to the rescue, not. We pumped more quarters in the machine and more air was sucked out. Thankfully there was a station nearby that had a reliable air machine so all ended well. No quarters were returned from Griswald's.

View from K5

The Bar Harbor Campground prides itself in not taking reservations or credit cards. The reservations thing worked in our favor since we planned this trip pretty late. Our hope was to arrive at 11:00. All hope drifted away with the air incident. Oh well... We arrived after noon, and all the spots I thought we wanted were taken. The spots were not for us. There was one behometh after another so close together there was hardly enough room for a picnic table.

Bar Harbor

We drove around the campground and found site K5, perfect in every way. We had a view of the ocean, privacy, and room to play with Sophie. We didn't see a cloud the whole time, temperatures were in the low 80s, and we thought we won the lottery. We stayed in one place for 5 days. No packing up and moving on, just puttering around enjoying the area.

We drove into Bar Harbor and had dinner. I had a list of things to eat while in Maine. Crab roll, lobster roll, fried clams, and a bucket of clams. Steve tries most of these, but the passion isn't there. Still, he understands me and enjoys that I'm loving all these shelled wonders. Dinner in Bar Harbor was a clam roll for me and haddock for Steve.

Random roadside fun

We drove in and around Acadia the next day seeking out organic veggies and fresh seafood I could cook. We found the freshest haddock, salad veggies, bakery treats, and lunch for both of us. We drove to a scenic rocky waterfront and just ate lunch there. What a lovely surprise.

Lunch by the road

Granite with black volcanic dike

The following days we spent inside of Acadia. I had been to Acadia a few years ago with my dad and step mother. They weren't very mobile, and my site seeing was limited. With Steve, I felt free to stop anywhere along the drive. I wished I could say we hiked and biked the Park, but to see it at a macro level is wonderful. We drove the Park Loops, and stopped at Sand Beach, on the Ocean, Echo Beach, on an interior lake, then drove to Schoodic Penninsula, for a rocky coastal view, and Cadillac Mountain for a view from the highest point in the Park.

The Park doesn't want people to do this, oh well.

How lucky we are to see these places. After driving around each day we returned to our little house, and looked at the ocean from a different view, and later saw so many stars in the dark sky. Life is good.

 

 

 

Echo Lake

Lunch in the Park

 

View from the Road

 

Really SPCA?

 

 

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Solon, Maine

Kennebec River from our door

Thankfully we slept at the factory after the work was completed on our Alto. The drive across the boarder to Solon was a Google measured 3 hours away, but that meant more than 4 in real life, plus a border crossing. Common sense prevailed and we stayed the night. Plus it was free. After our maiden voyage, when we drove way too long to get to our campsite, and I was asking Siri when sunset would happen, we vowed to never, ever, set up camp in the dark.

We got an early start leaving the factory, and drove through St. George, avoiding the traffic work we were stuck in the day before. Rue de President Kennedy was our road to the boarder. We got to the boarder, discussed why we came to Canada for such a short time, and again were considered crazy to drive all the way to Canada to have work done on our trailer. It's an Alto thing, the boarder agents just don't understand. We declared Sophie and showed her rabies certificate. The agent wanted to see her, I opened the hatch, and she let Sophie lick her. That's all it took and we were on our way.

Rue de President Kennedy was now Canada Rd. in the U.S. Seemed odd. Jackman was the first "big" town we passed. I thought of staying at a campground there, when I was in planning mode. Knowing nothing about this area, I asked my Altoistes friends, and a gentleman from the group suggested we drive a bit further to Solon. We are so glad we did. Jackman is a teeny tiny town just past the border. I think it's a hunting and fishing kind of town with no services, groceries, not even a Walmart! There was nothing quaint or appealing, and it was nice to drive on by.

Kennebec River

We arrived in Solon about a half hour later. While it's also a tiny town, notice I left off the teeny part, it did have a quaint feel to it. We pulled into the campground, and drove down a pine tree lined lane which led to the office. I met the owner, who had all of his reservations in an honest to god book. No computer for this fellow. There we were, a line item in this old book, complete with rubber band so the old pages wouldn't get in the way. I signed a few credit card slips and we on our way to site 7.

Our campsite 7 was on the banks of the Kennebec River and stunningly beautiful. We took advantage of the new Caravan Mover to reposition the Alto so our door faced the river. The campground was so quiet even though there were about 10 other trailers and some cabin residents there. We later learned that the campground was a great place for ATVs. They used the snowmobile trails and went for hours. So, the reason it was soooo quiet is because everyone but us was gone. We enjoyed the quiet.

There were interesting rocks at our site. They looked like someone sawed them, inserted white stuff and glued them back together. A quick note to our geologist friend, Jen Kling, and we learned that felsic magma intruded into the rocks! Which means, there were large rock deposits underground with small cracks in them and magma intruded into the rocks and cooled in the cracks. The rocks were so pretty we took two of them for the garden at home. These little beauties were moved from wherever they lived for zillions of years to the base of the tree at our campsite by someone, so we didn't feel bad taking them.

Wood carved mermaid!

A short trip to Skowhegan provided more fun. We shopped at a Chapter Eleven store and found Cheerios, coffee filters, and neosporin at crazy cheap prices. Most of the stuff was off code, but not our little gems. We paid for our treasures and noticed we got a Canadian penny in our change---worth only 75% of a penny, and how appropriate for a Chapter Eleven store. We saw a wooden carved mermaid. And ate at a superb restaurant for lunch, and had a great ice cream cone from a local shop. We shopped at George's Banana Stand. And most important of all we found Sesame Street.

George's Banana Stand grocery store

We found Sesame Street

We needed time to just relax after a lot of driving and factory sleeping. We were rested and ready to move on to Bar Harbor, ME.

 

 

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Trip to the Factory

Sunset at the Factory

The trip was all about the Caravan Mover. Steve and I saw a video of the Caravan Mover before we picked up our Alto, but thought it was in testing, or it was a prototype, but we had no idea it was available. It wasn't listed as an option and the salesman never mentioned it. Months after picking up our Alto, one of our friends in the Alotistes group on Facebook talked about his and how great it was. Let me explain... The Caravan Mover, when engaged, allows us to move the Alto forward, backup, spin, and rotate, all by remote control. Considering that backing up was a terrifying experience, every time, and was keeping us from enjoying the best camping spaces, we decided to take the plunge to have one installed.

Having the CM installed is not a simple thing. It comes from Europe, and is not available in the U.S.,and there are two places we knew of in Canada to have it installed. So---that leads us to Quebec and Safari Condo service, right next door to where our little house was built. But, if one is going to Quebec for service, one should think of it as an opportunity.

Solar panels have been on my wish list for awhile, so why not? We would already be there, and that's where the panels that fit our roof are available. Then there was a bike rack, but we'd have to get those bikes we've been wanting. Check. Those were the biggies, but there were other things that were only available at the factory, so the list grew and grew. The exchange rate was favorable. Even after paying Canadian taxes it was like getting 25% off.

Us at the factory

After clearing Canadian Customs (the boarder agent thought we were nuts to come to Canada to have work done on our trailer), we arrived at the factory on Wednesday and camped outside of Service that night. The work started the next day promptly at 7:30 am. We met another family in a similar situation, and traveled with them going here and there for the first part of the day. They have an infant and a three year old, and we have a dog, so it was hard to stay together. How brave of them, but what fun too.

Steve's bucket list item to visit Canadian Tire

Not knowing how much time we would spend at the factory, we didn't have tourist plans. We drove to St Marie, and St. George just for something to do. We ate near the factory where we befriended a restaurant owner, named Michel who only spoke French. That was interesting. Michel showed us what he prepared as the special, since we had no idea what he was saying. Fried chicken tenders! They were great. The next morning I wanted a fried egg over easy. Michel engaged a bilingual customer to help. Seems "flip flop" described what I wanted. The eggs were sooooo good. I raved over them like I was eating prime rib.

The employees here are beyond kind. And most importantly, they know their stuff. It has been a pleasure having them work on our baby. In addition to the employees, there were a couple of other treats here at the factory. We saw Alto number 1, the first Alto ever built, in all its yellow glory. And we saw the prettiest sunset of the trip.

Our work was complete by 3:00, but too late to move to our next destination, so we spent another night.

Alto number 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Off to Quebec

Sunset at Lake Memphrémagog.

Planning for the trip to the factory has been like playing a game of how do we dodge traffic on Labor Day. Our strategy was to leave on the Sunday of the holiday weekend, and to avoid I 95. Every Google Map route led us to I 95, but that route can be horrid on a good day, and we would be hauling a trailer. So we planned a route around Harrisburg, PA which kept us west of Philadelphia and NY City.

Captain Obvious was at the KOA

The drive was great, with no excitement. The place I booked in the Catskills had no services and it was sooooo hot. When we were about 50 miles away from that campground I found a KOA- pull through (no backing up, yay), with water, sewer, and electric. Perfect! We booked it. KOA's are not usually scenic. For us they've been great to check in, stay a night, and leave. There are usually lots of big white boxes (great big trailers, nothing like ours). The owners like our cute little Alto, but comment---you'll upgrade some day, or that's cute, but we'd be divorced. But, this KOA was different; it was in Woodstock, NY. ;-) There was space between the trailers, and trees. And great showers.

Lake Memphrémagog

On Labor Day we headed out for our second 5 hour drive--destination, northern tip of Vermont. Our campsite is on a hill looking down onto Lake Memphrémagog (say that 5 times fast). The lake is in Quebec and Vermont. There's even a boarder crossing for boats. This place is beautiful! Our two days here have been great---Sophie was able to swim in the lake---no signs forbidding dogs. We ate lunch with the locals at a diner and had the biggest medium ice creams ever.

Tonight's dinner was the Internet sensation, Martha Stewart's One Pan, 9 Minute Pasta. Super easy, and oh so tastey. https://food52.com/recipes/30147-martha-stewart-s-one-pan-pasta

Martha Stewart's One Pan Past

Dinner

Tomorrow, we head to the factory.

 

Newport, VT

 

Newport, VT. Looking at the campground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Touring Northern Michigan

Beauty from Straits State Park

We left Minnesota and entered Wisconsin, in what seemed to be just a few minutes. Wisconson was pretty as we drove from east to west, but when we started the drive northward along Lake Michigan to the MI Upper Peninsula, it was simply beautiful. We were on a two lane peaceful road that was along the coast. Cherries were for sale here and there, some advertised "not washed" which seemed odd. I found out they don't last as long once washed, but people like to buy them and eat along the drive. I bought light colored washed cherries, I later discovered were used for maraschino cherries. Yum.

Our destination was St. Ignace, a nice, small town on the northern side of the Mackinac bridge which connects the UP to the rest of MI. To the east is Lake Huron, and to the west is Lake Michigan. Later in the week we saw an edge of Lake Superior. I should have thought of this trip as the Great Lakes trip, as we saw all of them, except Lake Ontario. I feel another trip in my future.

So close to the water

Months ago I made reservations at Straits State Park in St Ignace. You never know whether or not the campground you reserve is a really nice place, or, whether you'll be disappointed. Reviews are available, but it still feels like making blind decisions. Well, Straits was beautiful, clean, and filled with families having a great time. We had a great site where we could see Lake Michigan from our little house. We hit the jackpot! Yay!

Pasty fun

We spent a day in St Ignace going to little shops and talking to the locals. We bought a bag of coupons from a nice woman who owed a neat kitchen store. This led us to a local diner were we ate a pasty, that's pasty with a short "a". The closest thing to a pasty we've ever eaten is an empanada. My step-sister, who lived in MI for years said we had to try them. Pretty good, but hold the gravy.

Scene from Mackinac Island

The next day we were back to St Ignace to board another ferry (and used our buy one get one coupon from our bag of coups), without the car, and went to Mackinac Island. Sophie was free, only people pay. The island was a tourist destination. No cars are allowed, and only bikes, horses, and feet are permitted means of transportation. It reminded me of Cape May, but without cars. We did see a UPS truck, hmmmm. We walked for several miles and had a great day.

On a whim we drove to Sault St Marie on the U.S. side. After googling around I discovered there was a set of locks, the SOO Locks, allowing ships to go back and forth from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Superior. We watched a ship go through the locks, as the ship lowered when it slowly moved through the Lock. "Great Republic" was on the side and back, but "Deleware" on the back in little letters. Kind of odd.

SOO Locks

Next up was Traverse City, a town south of St Ignace, but still in northern MI. We camped at another state park, the park was conveniently located, and near a great Lake Michigan beach. The water is so clean---Caribbean clean. The park needed TLC, but was located in the middle of the action so we can't really complain. There was so much to do from this home base. Sophie swam in open water for the first time ever. She loved it! We visited a remodeled asylum, where treatment was based on the theory that exposure to the nature helped patients with mental illness. The asylum was converted into little shops and restaurants----dogs were allowed, Sophie was a good pooch. Also on the campus were private residences and an assisted living facility. Down the street from the campground was a drive-in restaurant with carhops, which was a hoot. We met a couple from Ohio we enjoyed so much. Our new friends, Michelle and Brian, are now part of our Alto group, so we will remain in touch.

Loooong shadow from northern setting sun

I had been reading about things to do in the area, and came across the Lake Leelenau drive. The drive was so beautiful along the Lake Leelanau shore. Finally we saw orchards for all those cherries sold along the road. Why oh why do the cherries at home come from Washington State?

There was a little town, Suttons Bay just prior to the drive around Lake Leelenau. We had lunch there at a dog friendly restaurant--- the waiter was kind enough to bring Sophie an apple. How nice.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

The highlight of our stay in Traverse City was a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore. I scoped out this park years ago, but it was so far away from home, I thought I'd never go there. But here we were. Entering the park, we went through a covered bridge, and entered a lush woods for several miles. The drive was so refreshing, but then came the dunes and the desert, quite a change. Seemed pretty weird to see a dessert in MI. We walked on a loop that was all desert until the trail markers stopped. We turned around and headed back to the car. The trip ended up being twice as long as we thought, over three miles, as the day kept getting warmer and warmer and the sand kept getting hotter and hotter.

When we first saw THE Dune, I just couldn't believe how steep it was. The people seemed to roll down to Lake Michigan, and crawl like ants back up. There were warnings that a fee was charged to rescue climbers. At the end of the downhill, climbers/rollers could take a dip in the lake. On the uphill crawl, nothing refreshing, not even a water fountain. We didn't do the Dune! It was humid, 88 degrees, and besides we knew we would need to be rescued. Oh and the sand was soooo hot. But there were those determined individuals who did it. Their nervous parents or spouses or friends stood at the top waiting for their person to make it. Some had binoculars to get a closer look. Fun to watch, awesome to see the Dune.

The Dune

 

The rest of the trip was pretty ho hum, just driving back home. We'd been gone for 3 weeks, and honestly if we didn't have commitments we would have enjoyed traveling to more places. But there is a next trip already scheduled, so more places, more things to see and do.

Proud Grandpa and Britta after our trip

Just before the end of the trip we got the news that our seventh grandchild was born! Britta Davis. Britta is the third child for Natalie and Jimmy. Congratulations, and welcome Britta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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