'22/#25 Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock

 No, it's not the croc from Peter Pan. It is the clock counting down the time we have left in Maine. On the calendar it is just three more weeks. On Mary's calendar it is just twelve more work days. In my mind I am already on the road. Hitch-itch is settling in, and one form or another is running rampant through the hotel. It is almost, dare I say it?, an epidemic! The hotel shuts down for the winter on November 1st and everyone is looking forward to heading out on their next adventure. Some are going home, some are going to other jobs, and some are just traveling before another leg of their journey through life.

The J-1's from overseas have already left and are seeing some of America before their visas send them home. We got to know them pretty well and are staying in touch.  It is good to see them having fun at a lot of the places we've been to and some that are still on our list. We miss them and they miss us also but our adventures continue and usually on different paths. Maybe we will see some of them in the future but we will have social media to keep in contact.

Around the rig we are getting things cleaned up and stored for travel. Mary is also cooking and freezing meals for the road. If we start now we will be ready on D-Day. "D" is for departure! 

Well that is enough for now from our home in Bar Harbor because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'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

'22/#20 Twelve Years Later

 We are still in Bar Harbor and if you have followed us from the begining you know that we were here once before. That was before we hit the road full time. Our stay in Bar harbor was just a week but we still had an amazing time. That is one of the reasons we were so looking forward to this trip. The last time we planned on doing the lighthouse and puffin boat trip but were so enamored with Acadia National Park we never got on the boat, so just twelve short years later here we are.

The day couldn't have been more perfect. The water was calm, the views of the lighthouses were clear, we spotted seals and sea lions and harbor dolphins, and yes even a few puffins. It is the end of the puffin season and most have migrated north but as with any migration there will be a few stragglers. 

On the way back we passed the mouth of Winter Harbor and caught a few of the heats of the Annual Lobster Boat Races. Yes they were racing lobster boats! One of them had been clocked at 71 mph! I don' think they can harvest lobster traps that fast but they can get them to market in a hurry. 

As with many tourist areas the local businesses support each other and we took advantage. A local lobster "pound'' offered a discount with our tickets from the boat ride. It was a restaurant we wanted to try so it seemed like a perfect time.

You can see we ordered a variety of food, from seafood dip to steamed shrimp and a platter of shrimp, scallops, whole belly clams, and haddock.

You can also see that we made short work of it all. With our bellys full and all the sea air it is time for a nap. What is on the agenda for next week? We have all week to figure that out.

So I will sign off now from our home in Maine because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

 

'22/#19 The Reason To Roam

 It's been two weeks since we arrived here in Bar Harbor and we are settled in. We have the lay of the land (sort of), have got our job down down pat (almost), know all the people we work with (names?), and are getting down to business. That is the business of enjoying our nomad lifestyle.

Yesterday we were pure tourists. Bar Harbor is an old northeast coastal town with the streets layed out before cars were common and big trucks like ours were unheard of. So driving the streets and finding parking with our beast is at best, challenging. We decided to park the truck at the hotel where we work and take our scooters into town. With the wide walking path leading into town and the slow traffic in and about town the scoots were ideal transportation.

Since our timing put us in Bar Harbor at low tide we decided to take the land bridge to Bar island. The island is uninhabited and the only way to get there is by boat, unless it is low tide. At low tide a sand bar that is mostly gravel, sand , and rocks emerges from the water and is a nice stroll out to the island. Beware of the time because if you are on the island when the tide comes in it is either swim or call the local cruise company for a water taxi that will set you back $150. The land bridge is about a half mile across and the water is cold, so it is imperative to pay attention, or wait the 10 - 12 hours before the next low tide.

Low tide

High tide. Island in the sea fog.

Then we just tooled around town looking for places to eat and shops to browse and just enjoy the day. The locals have complained about the heat since we arrived but except for a few days in the low 90's it has been beautiful summer days with highs in the high 70's to mid 80's. Then it was back home to relax.

In the evening we went back into town with the truck. With the shops closing and the tourists calling it a day is was a little easier to find a parking spot. After great dinner at a local pizzaria and a walk around town checking the stores that were still open we did more of the tourist thing. Spent a little money and stopped for desert at a little ice cream shop. We enjoyed our desert on a bench in the Village Green park while people around us walked, and talked as the sun went down. Small town America at it's finest.

Well that was yesterday. Today we get back to real life. There is laundry to do and some cleaning around the house is in order because as I have said in the past, this is not a vacation. This a lifestyle. Yesterday was as close to a perfect a day as we could have and that is the reason we live this gypsy life. So I will sign off now with a special day in my memory and chores in my future from our home in Maine because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary