Old Orchard Beach, Maine

We headed off toward Maine, passing through Virginia, New Jersey,New York Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We left around 8:00 in the morning, which was early enough to not have too much traffic getting out of Virginia.

Then, we started hitting the toll roads. The first one was around $12. After that, was one for 4.50. By then, we had less than $15.00 in cash, and more tolls coming up. In New Jersey, we had a toll of $24.85!!! Now we were in trouble, because NO tollways take credit cards. We pull up to the booth to find out how much we owe, and tell the toll taker that we have no cash. He writes out a receipt for lack of funds, and tells us we have 5 business days to send in a check or money order. Lovely.

Then we go through New York, and the toll is $13.75, which, of course, we don't have the money to pay. So, another receipt, this time without the no postage due envelope, and 5 business days to pay it. So, we continue traveling, into Conn.

We go around New York City, because one of the buddies that Joe is going to see tells us we DO NOT want to be on the George Washington bridge, trying to get through NYC at that time of day. We end up in Hartford, Conn, at around 4:00. NOT GOOD; I'm just telling you now, NEVER attempt to go through Hartford on 84 in the afternoon. (Northbound wasn't much better when we were heading south at 11:00 in the morning.) The traffic doesn't move between exits 83 and the one for 91, which is what we needed to take. We sat there for close to an hour, moving a car length at a time, watching the time tick away, wishing we were on the next highway, MOVING!

Finally, we got moving, and got into Massachusetts. The first toll booth we hit in Maine, we were charged $2.50. YAY! That was much more reasonable.

We pulled into Massachusetts around 6:30 in the evening. Joe had found a KOA in Easthampton. Apparently, it is the newest one in America. There were lots of mosquitoes there- Koen collected a bunch of bites. The pool was open for a bit after we got there- and we did hamburgers for dinner. Our neighbors were also heading for Maine- but they started in New York. Joe and the guy chatted about computers, Superchips for Chevys. We got on the road about 9:30, but then had to stop for groceries (two places, because Walmart there didn't have the grocery section) and then gas.We did make sure to get some cash for the tolls that we knew we would encounter, too. We didn't actually get on the road until after 11:00. (Of course, Joe wasn't too happy about our departure time- he wanted to get into Maine in time to do some tourist stuff. We did get in at around 1:30.)

There was a slight issue pulling into the space (we nearly took out both the awning and a tree branch!) and the neighbors who had opened their pop-up trailer into our space. However, we had enough time to go down to the boardwalk at Old Orchard Beach. Apparently, the 7 miles of sandy beach are a HUGE draw, because it was CRAZY with people! It was windy, too, with the heavy sand pelting us as we went into the ocean. The crowd was nuts- there were enterprising people charging to use the restroom- which Joe, Kira and Koen used to change into their swimsuits. I couldn't bring myself to pay for restroom use!

The water was nice and cool- much better temp than at Myrtle Beach! We stayed there just for a bit, because it was hot and crowded. Joe did body surf a few times- and he really enjoyed it! Kira and Koen liked it a little less because of the temperature, but they did both got wet and cooled off. I got in up to my knees- it did feel good.

We decided to go to dinner (at the Clambake- can't really recommend it) and get into the pool for a couple of hours. The flies were biting, as were the mosquitos. They were all plentiful, too. In fact, Joe had so many mosquitoes bites during the night, he couldn't sleep. We got going in the morning, after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, headed up the coast of Maine.

We wanted to see the actual coast, maybe some lighthouses, and get decent, fresh, lobster. Joe asked the office staff to recommend places to eat. We ended up at Bayley's Pound at 10:30 in the morning for lobster rolls. They were GOOD! Loads of lobster on a fresh soft 7 inch roll. Yum! Both of the kids had hot clam chowder- which the girl thought was nuts- as the temp was already in the 90s. The chowdah was good, too.

Then we headed to Portland. Joe did a search for lighthouses on his phone, and we headed to Portland Head Light. It was another hot day, 102 at one point, but the coast line was gorgeous. The lighthouse at Portland Head Light was so picturesque- I will post a photo for you.

It was cool to see schooners on the ocean, go down on to the rocky beach- again into cold water to cool off. (Not as cold as the Pacific, though!)I picked up a few of the rocks and shells, too. After the Head, we drove down the coast to Two Lights.

The lighthouse there was cool too- with layered rocks below it. There was a foghorn, too! It was ear vibrating, but sounded cool. I did a short video clip of one toot. At one point, there was a seagull sitting on it. We decided that it must be deaf!

At one place, we stopped at a park, walked down to the rocky beach and waded out into the ocean. It was pretty calm in the inlet, and Koen found hermet crabs by the dozens. Both of the kids picked them up and held them.

As we headed back toward Old Orchard Beach, we went out one dead end street, which ended in a yacht club! No loitering, no staying, only members allowed! Then, since we had lunch at 10:30, we decided to go ahead and eat dinner at 4:30. We went to the restaurant that was recommended by the locals- Huot's. It was AWESOME! We had clam cakes- which are NOTHING like crab cakes. They were more like razor clams and sooo good. Koen had a 1/2 pound hamburger, Kira had penne alfredo with grilled chicken; I had baked scallops and Joe had Lazy Man's lobster- meaning they cracked it for them. It was a delicious dinner. They had a "sampler" for dessert- which was Mississippi Mud Pie- and also YUMMERS! We will definitely go back to both the Bayley's Pound and Huot's, if we get back to the Maine area again. We walked up the street to some rocks, climbed down, and had a bit of sandy beach all to ourselves. We had a great day- and put the money orders in the mail, so that got taken care of, too.