Comfort Inn Civic Center Augusta

... call it desert mountain. You stand on a table top of pink granite and see 360 water views includinig Bar Harbor. Randi loved shopping at the LL Bean Outlet in Ellsworth. Then we made it to the capital, Augusta for the night. Tomarrow we start our journey home. No more stops except to rest. We hope to make it back to Lafayette (3500 miles) by Thursday. Wish us luck. Nels

... line. Nothing cute here. Highway 2 is terrible. We decided to look for a place to stay. No camping in this weather. No B and B's, very few motels. I checked the GPS and “Judy” (our personal GPS guide) directed up to a great little motel on Lake Wilson. There is a beautiful lawn going down to the lake. Adirondack chairs to sit in and kayaks to use-if the rain lets up we could stay here a week.---Nels

... know some, but not too much

Enjoy the walk, you don't have to keep up with your tour group

Before crossing a busy street, watch for awhile

When crossing a busy street, join a group of locals

For the emergency cash stash, take larger bills, use banks

Check pockets again before sending to the laundry

... pills sunglasses some clif bars? light towel Other odds and ends that I can think of. All of this will not take up much room at all. Other than these items I am bringing my imagination and wanderlust. I hope to have a safe trip and thanks to all of you who have wished me luck. Even if I do get robbed or beat up or lost on this trip...that was supposed to happen, right? No surprises. It will all be part of the experience. Adios.

This was a fairly unexciting trip...at least in the sense of stuff I can write about on this blog that pertains to traveling. I came up here to help test some of our equipment so that it can be redesigned. Can't say too much else on here. I do have to say, if going to Waterville, the Hampton Inn is much nicer and more up to date than the Holiday Inn. But the Holiday Inn does have a bar and a full restaurant downstairs, the Hampton doesn't.

... you ordered outside at a window and then either ate under some tarps outside or in the small dining area. It was starting to drizzle by this time so we opted to eat inside. The place was very busy. You could order a full lobster dinner ... whole lobster, steamed clams, new potatoes and corn for $21.95 at another window but I didn't find out about that until after I'd ordered my scallops. I figure I'll get my quota of lobster and to be honest I like scallops about ...

... pleasant and there was little wind. I made the trail in 1.5 hours and took a break at the Ranger's hut. As the sun was setting and the scenery was changing from the monochromatic gray to a soft rust color I started my descent of the Sherburn Trail. It was a pleasant descent through 10" of fresh powder. I got to the trail head and my car just as the light was giving way to the night. This time I'll get an early start. I am taking Christine on her first foray ...

the tick war has begun! ticks are disgusting creatures that can give you lyme disease, but even if they dont do that they bite you and suck your blood. and they are everywhere in maine, yay! i got bitten by one today which was just brilliant. thankfully it hadnt started to suck my blood yet but several people tried to pull it out before nurse nancy ...

... we have to train them all up before the campers arrive. the cabins are really cool and they have really nice showers and toilets in them. the food is really amazing. for breakfast this morning they had a really amazing selection of homemade pastries and hot chocolate - yum! i will try and get back to this within the next few days to give more details but im kinda im the middle of an impromptu game of trivial persuit, although it is american so i know nothing! will get back soon...

... answer a few questions I keep getting asked. Are things different? Most definitely. Have I changed? I think so. Was it worth it? I would have paid twice as much. How much did you spend? Not really sure but it will be nice to get paychecks again. How is the world? Fantastic, go and see it. Would I do it again? Faster than "in a heartbeat" Are you done traveling? Well I'm allowed back in the EU September 21st ...