29 July, 2013 Yesterday morning we drove from Eastport, Maine, to Calais, where we crossed the border into St. Stephen, NB. Those last few miles of US 1 along the north coast of Maine are pretty rough going. From St. Stephens we drove up NB Hwy 2, a very nice 4 lane through the forests of New Brunswick. If it weren’t for the occasional town, you’d think you were in the wilderness. We drove down Hwy 114 toward Fundy National Park and it was like déjà vu all over again. First came the road construction signs, then the rough-patched pavement ended, then loose gravel. Oh no, not another adventure road! But the construction zone was only 12 kilometers (that’s how they talk up here, in kilometers and liters.) Once we got into the national park, the ... read more

25 July, 2013 Tuesday morning we left Plymouth and drove north on Hwy 25 until it turned into I-495. We then enjoyed the relatively light traffic on I-495 as it bowed west of Boston and we followed it until it ended at I-95, not far from the New Hampshire State Line. The morning started out muggy-hot and overcast, but it turned to rain before too long. We slogged through rain mixed with fog with poor visibility at times. But as I said, the traffic was fairly light and no one was driving crazy. In New Hampshire and Maine I-95 is a toll road, but the toll was not expensive, even pulling a trailer. The weather cleared by late afternoon and we stopped for the night in Poland Spring, Maine, at a very pretty campground. We did ... read more

21 July, 2013 On Friday we left Dexter, NY, and drove south then east past the Adirondacks and through the Mohawk Valley and into Massachusetts. We wandered some backroads in western Mass until we found our way to E. Otis, MA. On Saturday we drove around Springfield, MA, then south into Rhode Island and then out again before finally finding Sandy Pond Campground in Plymouth, MA. Only it isn’t. It isn’t in Plymouth, but 20 miles south. We have discovered that Massachusetts roads change names and numbers randomly. And some people who give directions don’t know north from south on a regular basis. By the way, Rhode Island was my 49th state, so whoo-hoo for me. We met some very nice people in the next campsite at Sandy Pond and they gave us very good directions ... read more

17 July, 2013 Kerry found a shortcut. I could stop there, but you know I won’t. Kerry studied the map before leaving Jonestown, PA, and decided to take a shortcut to get to Watkins Glen, NY. We turned off the interstate onto a pretty country road. A mile later we saw a sign “fresh oil and chips.” Okay, so they’re working on the road surface, no big deal. The next sign says 10% grade next 2 miles. Hmm. Here we go again. We wound and curved and climbed and dove through some really beautiful farm country in the Susquehanna River Valley area. The downhill grades varied from 9% to 11% and the hairpin turns go without saying. Of course for every downhill there is an equal or steeper uphill. When we finally crossed the Susquehanna River ... read more

13 July, 2013 We are back on the road, this time heading north to cooler (we hope) climes. We left home on Friday morning and had a fairly uneventful drive to Chattanooga. As you know, uneventful is, to us, a good thing. There was plenty of traffic, both cars and trucks on the interstates, but most drivers were minding their manners. The only smudge on our shiny day was the 50 minute pit stop in Manchester, where we stopped for gas and lunch. At the gas stop, we were blocked in while the driver that pulled in in front of us went inside to use the facilities. But that was okay, we weren’t in any hurry. At Mc-you-know-who’s we waited and waited while they chased down the cow (or whatever) for our burgers. I think the ... read more