July 2024 - Maine

Camping, 2024 (Maine): "Roughing it"

Early last month, we got the RV out for a week-long trip through Maine, with the target destination of Campobello Island just over the border in New Brunswick.   It was the perfect time to travel, before the summer heat and crowds.

Sunny skies surrounded us as we drove along Vermont and New Hampshire backroads to the first day's destination of Conway NH.  After a little retail therapy at the outlets, we settled in at the RV park there.  

Of course, it seems that every trip has one or two bumps in the road....

Those sunny skies gave way to rain overnight.  It was warm and dry in the RV, but there's no huddling indoors when travelling with dogs.  So, while John slept in the next morning, I started out my day with a walk around and around the campground with Zoey and Roxy, who seemed to have forgotten what they were out there to do.  Two wet dogs, eight dirty paws, two soaked sneakers, and 2,000 steps (according to my Timex) later, they finally did their business and we headed back to the RV.   I looked forward to a nice hot cup of coffee, only to find that our little Keurig coffee maker (yah, we're roughing it) had bitten the dust, first spouting coffee all over the counter, and then refusing to work at all.  

I'll skip the rest of the details, but we finally got everything cleaned up, had breakfast, stopped at McDonald's for coffee, and were on the road for the day - with a detour through Augusta to pick up a replacement Keurig at Walmart.  

All that behind us, the rest of the week went smoothly, and we made our way up towards Lubec.

Better start on day 2: Dawn in Ellsworth Maine

Why Lubec?   For one, it's the eastern-most town in the United States.  

Bridge and border crossing from Lubec Maine to Campobello New Brunswick

More to the point, it's just across the narrow Lubec Channel which connects Maine to Campobello Island, New Brunswick - the summer vacation home of President Franklin Roosevelt.  Now Roosevelt Campobello International Park, it's where FDR woke up one morning at age 39, suddenly paralyzed from contracting polio.

We enjoyed a tour of the 34 room "cottage", and then drove around the rest of the island, with its light houses and scenic views of the Atlantic.

Back across the bridge in the U.S., we visited the West Quoddy Lighthouse, the easternmost point in the United States.

Easternmost point in the U.S: 44°48′54.4″N 66°57′1.7″W

The rest of our week was a relaxing meander back home, with stops in Belfast, Camden, and Freeport Maine.   But the most memorable aspect of the trip were the beautiful Maine sunrises.....

...sunsets....

...and ubiquitous lupines:

We're already planning a return next year, with more time way up there in Downeast Maine, and more exploration of the islands around New Brunswick.

* * * * *

When we bought our RV and took it out for our first trip in 2006, it had been twenty plus years since we had been to any campgrounds.  We were surprised then at how things had changed over the years – fewer tent sites and more mega-RVs.   

On this trip, I reflected on those earliest trips 40-50 years ago, when we packed tents, sleeping bags, coolers, camp stoves, lanterns, picnic baskets, and duffle bags into the trunk of our car.  I can’t quite believe how we actually washed our dishes in plastic tubs with water heated over the Coleman stove, and how we put up with rain and other weather conditions with just a thin nylon tent. 

Camping, 1983 (New Brunswick): no Keurig coffee maker!

For many folks, the thought of camping in an RV, with all the comforts of home, is still just too primitive to consider.  But for many in this world and throughout history, the simple shelter of a tent - let alone a vacation - would seem the ultimate in comfort and luxury.  

A dysfunctional coffee pot and a little wet weather while enjoying a tour of some of the scenic coast of Maine: truly a "First World Problem".   Who am I to complain?