Travelodge Bangor

... oncoming traffic lanes. Luckily, traffic is very light in the area and we were very cautious.

We stopped for lunch in a small diner along the road. The manager was great and a biker too. She even rented a HD fatboy (like Barb's at home I suspect) in Las Vegas and had ridden Red Rock and other areas around our home town. She and another customer warned us to be very careful ...

The Westy has decided it needs attention and rest, so we are heading to Montreal. Ben at Ben's Place will give it his best care and attention.
The drive through Maine and New Hampshire is again, giving us a new sense of the vastness of America and an appreciation for it's beauty.

... place exceeds all superlatives and yet virtually none are cast in their direction. We had some great drinks in the bar -- I had a blueberry martini made with a blueberry vodka that is distilled near Freeport. Local blueberry vodka and a small hand full of blueberries...why wouldn't that be a great drink?!

We had a salad and then we both had a divine grilled cod served with a blueberry and chipotle chile ...

... south end of Deer Isle, about 30 minutes from here. So that's what we did. Stonington is a working fishing village and the second largest lobster fleet in the US coming in just behind Portland to the south. When you consider the population difference (64,000 in Portland vs. 1,200 full-time residents in Stonington) you get a sense of how "lobstery" Stonington is!

The town has begun to add galleries, a few cafes and restaurants, and a few hotels and B&Bs to ...

Well, it turns out wi-fi was right down in the barn...why didn't I think of that?!

So here are a few pictures of the drive up here. We took the slow route, along the coast on US Highway 1. The highway passes through dozens of really old villages and there is no mistaking that you're in New England. As Laurie said in her comment, it looks like a postcard everywhere you look.

We've both noticed that Maine feels ...

Cont'd At dinner we played Are you smarter than a fifth grader? It turns out Table 2 is smarter. Congratulations go to Courtney, Krislyn, Lee, Spencer, Dane, Mr. Hashimoto, Mr. Inouye, Mrs. Kodama, Mr. Murata, and Tony Sunamoto. We also gave out awards and certificates. There were some interesting winners. The ride back was long and boring. Continued ...

... is actually one of the shortest trips I've done. So where am I going? First I am going to Costa Rica. I'll be flying into the capital San Jose and meeting up with a tour company called GAP (Great Adventure People). Over 5 weeks we'll travel across Central America by bus, taxi, boat, whatever! Eventually we will end up in Mexico and from there I have a few days alone then flying back to Moncton, New Brunswick. Should be a great trip!

... was based in Rammstein. Ok. Back to the office get form....filled in then back to customs and yes we made it after the second attempt. In the meantime another black cloud arrised. Jeppesen, this is Mike speaking. Eeeeehm we are very sorry but it seems that your order didn't leave yet. So the first date would be four days later to recieve our charts. Order cancelled and improvisation is required again. Who to call. Finally Florian a ...

... I love the look of the ski slopes in the summer; it's like bald spots on the mountains. The strangest thing to me was noticing my ears popping. I didn't even realize my altitude had risen nearly enough for that and it caught me completely by surprise. In between the towns, 4 runs by a river and provides some picturesque views. I saw a beautiful old ...

... in a not-so-great spot, though. Where I was, in this part of coastal New Hampshire, I watched one ferrari, one mustang, two corvettes, several convertibles, and lots of new cars and trucks go past. Rats, I thought. Rich people don't like Long-Hairs. It took an hour, but Mike eventually picked me up. Thin, thirty-something Mike was excited because he'd just come from getting hired as the new manager at a home repair chain store. It was his first job in ...