Funmurphys: the Blog

Today began like every other day – I opened my eyes and looked at my watch to see if I should get up or try to back to sleep. And then I got up and went for a run (I cut out all the boring stuff in between, which normally I try to do but am not always successful at).

And then it was like no other day. We loaded up and headed to Portland where we got on a boat – we’ve had many great boat rides on vacation – and headed to Peaks island.

They modified boarding for COVID according to another rider. The passengers used to line up and they took your ticket; but now they just have a bucket to drop your ticket in so no one has to touch it. Instead of waiting and walking onboard in a well spaced line there is just a tight mass all wanting a good seat, but their staff doesn’t have to touch your unclean ticket.

After a brief consultation with a convenient map on the island, remember the whole point was the boat ride itself so we didn’t know a thing about Peaks Island (we literally sailed into the unknown), we walked by the nature preserve across to the ocean side to clamber around on the rocks and admire the view. Then we took the longer way back, around the coast admiring the view even more. Lunch even had an ocean view – we were just lucky the island was as pretty as it was, although Erin thought the garbage transfer station conveniently located in the nature preserve lacked charm.

After the boat ride back to Portland we drove to Fort Williams and the Portland Head Light AKA an old lighthouse. And then it was back to Yarmouth where we crossed over to Cousins Island and Sandy Point Beach where the tide was coming in and the beach was visibly shrinking. The Airbnb owner has a page with the tide schedule and a hand written note at the bottom that the Sandy Point Bridge is awesome at low tide, but really it’s the beach when the tide is coming in.

That was the end of novelty and normalcy returned in the form of laundry. I don’t have to turn my underwear inside out anymore – ok that’s a joke. We’re good for another week, which means we will have to launder again or go commando.

And on that bombshell we’ll end today’s ramble.

Tags: RTAWE

Today was mainly a travel day, as we took a different route to lower Maine by way of Belfast, Palermo, and China on our way to Yarmouth. We also crossed a couple of rivers whose names had over twelve letters and were unpronounceable. Or maybe the highway sign guy was having a little fun. Or drunk. Or both.

We had a great lunch at Cushnoc Brewey (I don’t name them, I just eat & drink at them) – a pizza with butternut squash sauce, shaved brussel sprouts, and bacon. Yummy standalone, even better on a pizza. The weather was cool today, so a coffee stout put a little needed fire in the belly. And I mean that more literally than figuratively, but not completely literally.

We stopped off at the Maine Cabin Masters store where we saw Ashley. I failed MBH by not taking a single picture – not the store, not Ashley, not of Ashley & MBH together. We did buy one of those wool dryer balls, so it wasn’t a total failure. Close though, too close.

Another trip to a Hannaford, Maine’s grocery store, to restock our nearly empty breakfast supplies, but this time no line to get in. And then we did the Royal River walk, which was pretty much like it sounds, and the source of today’s pictures. A nice, easy, relaxing day.

Tags: RTAWE

Another full day at Acadia. We wanted to hike The Bubbles (don’t ask). We drove to the parking lot – there may have been a pause or two at scenic overlooks. It was full. The overflow lot was also full. We turn around with ease at the entrance to the Jordan Pond parking lot. We go to and enjoy Cadillac mountain which even the NPS warns you is the most crowded spot in the park (with good reason IMHO) and there are plenty of parking spots and it doesn’t feel too crowded. We go back to The Bubbles with the intent to turn around at the overflow lot if full and head to Eagle Lake. Main lot is full, and the overflow lot is so full somebody parked blocking the drive thru lane, so no way to turn around. So down to the Jordan Pond lot which is now jammed packed making turning around slow, but faster than the line of cars waiting to get out would make you think. We never did get a chance to hike The Bubbles, but we got in Eagle Lake and Pemetic Mountain plus we walked through the Bubbles parking lot on the way back from Pemetic, just like we got to cross the park loop road in a spot on a carriage road trail we’d slowed down for four times that morning. It was that kind of day.

Some people tell us they’ve never seen the park this crowded, others say it’s always this crowded in August. A lady who works at the cabins claimed it’s not crowded this year so finding parking isn’t a problem – not sure what park she’s visiting, or maybe it’s a matter of when. Still it’s a friendly crowd and we’ve nodded to people headed in the other direction and chatted with a few along the way.

And so we said goodbye to Acadia as tomorrow we pull up stakes again and head somewhere new.

Tags: RTAWE

Today we weren’t just adjacent to Acadia, we went in to Acadia. And out, And almost immediately back in again, and then later back out, and then by a couple of entrances, and then through. (Possibly there was even a bit more in and out and next to, but it’s hard to remember.) Because that’s the kind of park it is.

We hiked the Beehive, and by we I mean I made it about a third of the way, TBH about half way, and Erin all the way to the top. And back. I turned around when it was like here is where you start scrambling up the rock face, TBH when it was like here you hang on to some iron loops to climb the rock face. Then we ate lunch on the beach, in part because it was right across the street from the beehive so we didn’t have to drive and find another parking spot, and partly hey it’s the BEACH, where else would you sit and eat and enjoy the day?

We continued on the loop road stopping where our fancy and the views led us, until we stopped at Jordan Pond to hike around it. We considered tackling The Bubbles (hey I don’t name them, I just hike them – or not, as the case may be) while we were right there, but a combination of factors made us say tomorrow. That’s an odd thing in life, when you feel like you have a tomorrow you start emptying today to fill up tomorrow. The trail on the east side is nice, with a nice firm crushed rock makeup, but then you round the top thru some wetlands with a couple of bridges, then a rock scramble for a while (overheard as we passed a family where mom had taken her little girl’s hand “mom, you’re pushing me in the water”), then a board walk, then a bog walk (that’s what the sign said, but it felt like they put down spagnum moss over forest moss for a very spongy feel), and the crushed rock again for a hop, skip, and jump back to the beginning.

We got in a nice drive around the island, not as in all the way around the whole island, including stretches through where the wealthy and not wealthy live, before arriving back in Bar Harbor where we easily parked and ate because we learned from last nights fiasco. Ahh, the joys of a second chance. At a rough estimate 1/3 of the license plates are New York and 1/3 New Jersey. The accents are thick, including the foreign ones.

Now MBH and I are just hoping we can climb out of bed tomorrow.

Tags: RTAWE

We have arrived at one of the original destinations of the trip, Acadia National Park.

Quebec City was the other, but it lies on the other side of a closed border, so it was replaced. Erin and I added two more states, Maine and New Hampshire to the list of states we’ve been to. Once I collect Vermont, I’ll be done with the Northeast.

Today was mostly travel with a morning visit to Portsmouth and a lunch stop in Falmouth – I wasn’t sure we were going to find an open restaurant there. We made it to Mount Desert Island, cool breeze in our hair, in time to get settled in the cabin we had to switch to a few days ago before the rain hit. Once it rolled through it was off to Bar Harbor and dinner, which came off the menu when we saw how crowded the town is (as in hard to find a parking spot and people waiting at every restaurant). So it was off to a grocery store and it too had a long line to get in (blankety blank coronavirus) but we persevered and eventually dined back at the cabin.

We motored thru the 2,000 mile mark today. We have gone so far I no longer recognize the names of most stores here. They do things a little differently with highway exits too. Starting in New York, but ever since the exits are numbered sequentially instead of by the mile marker, so I can’t estimated distance to go to our next exit, I have to rely on the smartphone and you know how much I love that.

Given my age, my coffee intake, etc etc I have to pee twice as often as the rest of the family combined. I remember when as a teenager my father would stop for coffee, then 15 minutes later a potty break, then 15 minutes later coffee, ad infinitum. Some trips I didn’t think we’d ever arrive. I’m not near that bad, but I did ponder buying Depends when we stopped for lunch.

Tags: RTAWE

I started the day with a run. Yes, that’s how sick and twisted I am, I go for runs on vacation. Lexington was great because it was flat, Albany started (and ended) with a hill that was longer and steeper than I thought so it was killer both up and down, this morning I was just slow which I’m going to blame on last night’s large Mexican dinner. And I still do my wind sprints, or as a neutral observer would describe them, dynamic lurches.

We rambled around Salem today, and then went for a scenic drive. They made it very clear, for miles, that there was no parking for rubberneckers, only residents. A nice Sunday afternoon and everyone was out. We really had not experienced how crowded the area is until today. Not to put a fine point on it, I don’t care for crowded.

The theme for this trip has been the very slow driver with his arm hanging out the window, one of whom we’ve encountered every day until today. Today’s was just slow all the time.

Tags: RTAWE

Today the sun goes down on the first week and, in my mind at least, the first act of the vacation play. Act two will be our week with Erin, and Act III will be back to just the two of us for the thrilling conclusion. Act 4 will be our return to home and hopefully the recongealation of my brain which is turning quite mushy under the relentless assault of novelty.

Anyhoo we left New York behind and picked Erin up at Logan and then spent a hot afternoon in downtown Boston, mainly walking the Freedom Trail once we could find it. We wandered about Boston Commons looking for a sign, but not until we overheard a park ranger tell a fellow tourist to follow the red brick path did we use the proper sense and direct our gaze downward. All was revealed.

I have to reiterate how surprised I am by all of the empty countryside we have driven through in the Northeast. I thought it was just one big crowded mess. Now I know it’s a big crowded mess surrounded by plenty of empty countryside.

I managed to snag a half Irish breakfast (everything that comes with a full Irish breakfast, only 1/2 of the quantity) for lunch served by an actual Irishmen so I’m happy, although the lack of mushrooms kept me from being ecstatic. It’s the little things in life that make a big difference. Still, four kinds of meat! FOUR KINDS!!!

And on that happy note – plus no cancellations so every night a bed is present and accounted for – we conclude week 1.

Tags: RTAWE

Klaatu Barada Nikto!

Ok, now that that bit of nerdery is done, let me say that the earth didn’t actually stand still today, we just got to stay in the same place for more than a day and will stay at least two nights in the same place from here on, at least according to current plans which are fluid (which fluid is left as an exercise for the reader).

Tonight is laundry night so we are sitting around in minimal clothing so we can wash what we wore today since we lost a laundry chance in Maine when our plans were changed.

Today we visited the Adirondacks, or at least a tiny portion thereof closest to Albany, namely Lake George. The town was amazingly crowded, the beach was full, our attempts to hike were thwarted because the parking at the trailheads were full. But we are nothing if not perserverent, so we were able to find parking and hike. The only people we met were right at the trailhead who pointed out an alternate trail – what are the odds? They pop up, say you ought to take this trail right here in the parking lot instead of going the thirty feet down the road to take the marked trail, disappear down the road, and then we don’t see anyone else the whole time there and back plus lunch when every other trail is mobbed. Life is stranger than fiction.

More things I struggle to understand: The Airbnb is in a neighborhood where the side of the street you can park on changes every day. The Airbnb has a TV in the bathroom, and no we haven’t turned it on (yet).

Tags: RTAWE

Today we visited Valley Forge in the morning and then it was on to Albany New York. We cooked our own breakfast (yay!) for the first time this trip – and for MBH that means pouring milk over cereal.

But in between we had our first Wawa experience as we needed ice for the cooler now that we have food. So many special milestones on this trip. We hope to get wawa-ed again soon.

The drive to Albany was another scenic drive in the mountains as we avoided the cities of the plain. It’s amazing how much empty terrain there is in this country. Despite seeing three or four state police cars (which is three or four more than we’ve seen before today) we managed not to get stopped.

After consultations with our former Maine host we have booked a cabin near Acadia so as of right now we have somewhere to stay besides the car for the remainder of the trip. But I’m not counting my beds until I’ve slept in them.

Tags: RTAWE

Today marks many milestones: we crossed the 1,000 mile threshold to much rejoicing, we drove through East Berlin, West York, Bird in Hand, and Lancaster county (only saw one horse and buggy sadly) and crossed the very wide but not particularly deep Susquehanna River before arriving at today’s final destination of West Chester PA.

If you are ever in West Chester, you should consider staying at the Brinton Inn and Suites as it is fairly informal. Dawn, who claims to be the only current employee, greeted us wearing a mask that said, and I quote “This mask is bullsh*t” and wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of Bill and Hillary smiling with the tag line, and again I quote “Clintons: we can’t all commit suicide”. Needless to say, we felt right at home although it was several minutes before I hung my mask off my ear. We were provided an actual key to the room – I feel young again staying here. The room has a nice patio that I’m sitting at as I write.

Despite all the milestones, and getting the same waitress two days in a row and three pieces of bacon at our Perkins breakfast, the highlight of the day was our visit to Longwood Gardens. The goods: beauty around every bend. The bads: now my sunburn has sunburn.

My biggest takeaway from our visit is that it’s good to rich as Longwood Gardens started out as a hobby for Pierre Du Pont. Now, because he found out about a farm with rare trees was going to razed, we have access to an amazing garden at merely high and un-discounted prices.

Tomorrow on to New York. We’ll try to sneak in so they don’t stop us at the border.

The odds of spending nights in our car got worse today: the Airbnb near Acadia National Park texted and said due to a family emergency it will be difficult to honor our reservation. We surveyed our options and found only one other, texted her back we’re going to switch and she said don’t be hasty as she is working her extensive friend network (my paraphrase) so I have no idea what she means or what will happen but tomorrow is another day and the reservation is for next week so I’m hoping the fact that I got three pieces of bacon instead of two at breakfast this morning means I won’t have to sleep in the car. You should see how I pick horses at the race track!

Unanswerable Questions: Why in Pennsylvania is it not enough that a restaurant sells food, why does the patron have to order food when ordering an adult beverage? Does the virus make that distinction between restaurants and bars? Unanswering for a friend.

Tags: RTAWE