Maine Reason for Camping

Day Seven

Today was the drive up from Gloucester to Wiscasset, ME. It’s a lovely drive if you take your time and hug the coastline. We had visited several of these coastal towns on a previous trip three years ago. Our beautiful weather ran out today; it was overcast and we ran into a few showers along the way. We made it up to one of our favorite campgrounds in Maine, Chewonki Campground! We set up and headed into Wiscasset for a lobster roll at Red’s Eats. This place is just a small roadside stand, but the line to get their lobster rolls forms before they open and stays long until they cut off orders at 5. If you are ever in Wiscasset, you have to check it out! We then drove up to Boothbay Harbor for the afternoon. It wasn’t the best of weather, but we still enjoyed walking the town and the great footbridge across the inlet. Oh! And we drove by Newagen on the way back to the campground and ran into some friendly alpacas!

Tomorrow we make it up to Bah Hahbah! (That’s Bar Harbor for those not familiar with Maine dialect.) 😁❤️

Magic in Salem & Marblehead

Day Six

We stopped by the new Witches Memorial, made a second visit into Salem, ventured over to Winter Island to visit a favorite little lighthouse, and then we explored Marblehead for the first time. And, I mean we REALLY explored Marblehead.

I (Jeff) found a 43 point walking tour on line and we walked over 8 miles seeing things we would have overlooked otherwise. It was so very interesting and truly educational. The history in this seaport town is unreal! I had no idea! And for an American history nut like myself, our time spent here went far too quickly.

Did you know that the original painting of “The Spirit of ‘76” by Archibald Willard is displayed in Abbot Hall in Marblehead? Willard painted the iconic American masterpiece that features three Revolutionary patriots courageously marching to battle - a white-haired central drummer who is flanked by a young boy drummer and a fifer. It was purchased by Marblehead native General John Devereux in 1880 and brought back to Marblehead where it still remains on display.

This historic seaport has many ties to The Revolutionary War, including being the birthplace of the US Navy. Did you know that the men who ferried General George Washington across the Delaware were Marbleheaders? They were, indeed. The “Hannah”, the first “war ship” that was commissioned by General Washington came from Marblehead. There are SO many historic points of interest in this town.

The beauty of this town in also exceptional. AND, the locals were SO friendly. During our walk we had several who stopped to talk to us. Part of the reason, of course, was seeing a glamorous, beautiful redhead walking the streets in heels, dress, gloves and hat. Many came to tell her how much they wished everyone “still dressed like that”, recognizing that Carrie was attired in a 1940s look. We met a group of seniors at a park that were so very interested in Carrie’s “look” and talked to her for about 15 minutes. As we left them they all thanked her for dressing up to visit their town.

As we finished our walking tour my feet were killing me. Then I remembered, Carrie had just walked the entirety of the tour wearing HEELS!

I said, “Aren’t your feet killing you?! Don’t you have blisters from wearing heels after all that (walking)?”

She said, “I’m sure I do, but wasn’t this SO fun?!”

She was truly giddy.

❤️

I absolutely love her zest for life. 🥰

Port Towns & Lobster Rolls

The morning started with getting a new spare tire for the camper. Once we got that task accomplished, we headed east to Salem, MA!

We arrived at Cape Ann Campground near Gloucester around 2:30 and set up full camp! We are here two days so it’s a full camp set-up! Full camp means everything gets set up. 😁

We again had magnificent weather! We headed over to Gloucester for a bit before taking in the sights of Rockport. We love both of these great port towns in Massachusetts, but Rockport is our favorite. After roaming around the town and visiting a few shops, we headed back to Gloucester for some fresh seafood! The lobster up in this area, of course, is amazing! And for the record, the lobster rolls at the Blue Collar Lobster Company is as good as it gets!

After a quick bite we headed back the campground to make a quick change into my first of two “Salem Halloween Outfits” I brought for the trip! I think I chose wisely. 😁 Jeff planned it so we could be in Salem for the full Harvest Moon! It did NOT disappoint! The skies were clear and the moon was brilliant! Wow!

Not sure how we too this day, but tomorrow we are sure going to give it a try!!

Up next, Salem (day 2) and Marblehead!!