'22/#24 So Soon?

 Second blog of the day! First a month between blogs now only hours. Anyway....

It has come to my attention that today is an anniversary of sorts.  Just a short seventeen years ago we started this adventure with our first full time RV.

Two trailers, two trucks, thousands of miles, millions of adventures, and more new friends than we can count. It IS a wonderful life! Hopefully another seventeen years in our home on wheels? 

From our home somewhere across America because home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#23 Short Time-itis

 With just a little over a month left here in Bar Harbor we are starting to look forward to our travels south. That is only eighteen more work days at the hotel. But who's counting? HAHA! As much as we have enjoyed our time in Maine it is time to move on. After all our house is on wheels and wheels are meant to roll.

This past Friday was the last day we would be working with the international kids. Their J-1 visas are expiring and they only have so much time after they are done working to head home. All of them have travel plans to see more of the United States than Maine with some of them having itineraries that make us jealous. Portland, Boston, New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami as well as the Grand Canyon, Utah, and Hawaii are just part of  the list of places they will see. 

With our travel experience we were able to help them plan to get the most out of their travels. Having been to many of the places they are going and knowing people in those areas we have given them a head start prior to their arrival. To all our friends and family who gave us information to pass on, thank you from us as well as our J-1 friends. 

Yes, they have become friends even though we are old enough to be parents and sometimes grandparents to all of them. Many have exchanged contact information with us. If our past experience with J-1s is any indication I am sure we will keep in touch. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have friends not only across the country but also around the world!

Just some of our new friends!

To these young people all I wish for them is to have a wonderful and safe adventure and maybe think of us on occasion and smile. Today we will try and catch up with a few that we did not say our goodbyes to before they leave on Tuesday morning.

I will sign off now, having checked and double checked the calendar, from or now short term home in Bar Harbor because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#22 Catching Up-Part Two

 Ok, where did I leave off? We got sick, got well, back to work, chores, lighthouse, lobster, and continuing....

There was a local fair about an hour away and the kids we work with were going. They all were asking us to go along so we did. I don't know what they mean, but they keep saying we aren't like most old people. Maybe it's because we don't treat them like kids, we treat them like people. They are our coworkers after all. We didn't stay as late as they did but everyone had a great time.

On our day off we decided to go into Acadia National Park. We had simultanious brain farts. Who goes into a national park on Labor Day? EVERYBODY! We got out of the traffic jam going in and headed home to do some tasks that needed to be done around the rig.

Later in the week the temperatures started dropping, the rain moved in, and decided to stick around. Lots of rain and lots of rest. Sometimes Mother Nature needs to tell us to recharge.

The following week we took advantage of the Hilton employee discount program and booked a night in Portland Maine. It was nice to get away for a little bit and we bagged three more lighthouses on Mary's list. Then it was back to Bar Harbor and the laundry room.

Mary has been keeping track and announced that we only have 21 work days left before we hit the road. That is just about five weeks on the calander. The international kids are leaving in the next week to ten days. Needless to say with us looking forward to heading south and the kids doing some traveling before heading home there is an epidemic of short-time-itis at the hotel. We will miss them and hope that they also have fond memories of their time with us.

Well I think I am all caught up. The weather is turning chilly and rainy again and we are enjoying our fireplace and just relaxing. So I will put myself in the recliner in front of the electric fire and sign off from our home in Bar Harbor because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#21 Catching Up

 It has been almost a month since the last blog, so let's catch up. In that time Mary and I both caught covid. Thanks to being fully vaccinated the symptoms were minor and didn't last long. The worst part was being locked down for the isolation period. All is well now. It seems that covid is here to stay, just like the flu, and will have to be dealt with.

After we went back to work we still felt a little run down so lots of sleep over the next two weeks. Then it was back to our regular routine of work for four days, chores for one or two days, and exploring the rest of the time. It was still family tourist season so Acadia is crowded. Instead we headed out to Bass Harbor Lighthouse since Mary was "jonesing" for a lighthouse fix.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the coastal scenery and do a little mountain goating on the rocks at the base of the lighthouse. On the way home we stopped at a local (off the beaten path) lobster pound and satisfied Mary's urge for lobster. It was the best tasting and biggest lobster roll we have had yet!

Most of our shopping is done in Ellsworth, just 20 minutes away, but sometimes we travel an hour into Bangor for things we can't get near us. There are very few national chains in Maine's smaller cities. Some of the small towns actually ban national fast food chains in their city limits. We did a little sight seeing in Bangor, hit the BJ's there, and replaced a battery in the truck at the Ford dealer. With a few other things taken care of we headed back to Bar Harbor.

I'll cut this off now since the blog is getting longer than I planned and today is laundry day for us. So the washing machines are calling. I will finish the blog later from our home "downeast", as Mainers call the coastal areas, because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary