Royal Anchor Resort Old Orchard Beach

... Horton’s, Wendy’s, MacDonalds, etc

· The highway signs in Massachusetts are displayed on a sign resembling a Pilgrim hat.

Things we Learned:

· All service centers have an elaborate fire suppression system built above the pumps. If a fire did start, the area would be immediately covered in foam. Ingenious!


Portland, Maine, United States jimcabay

... Horton’s, Wendy’s, MacDonalds, etc

· The highway signs in Massachusetts are displayed on a sign resembling a Pilgrim hat.

Things we Learned:

· All service centers have an elaborate fire suppression system built above the pumps. If a fire did start, the area would be immediately covered in foam. Ingenious!


Portland, Maine, United States jimcabay

... our travels with you through this blog and hope it goes successfully. One of our audiences will be Sophie and Isabelle's classes...."hello fellow classmates/teachers". We hope to bring to this blog our personal experiences and reactions as well as some history and educational value. The girls would also like to challenge the classes with periodic questions about our destination to see if the classes can come up with the answers.

... in the city. From small mom and pop boutiques to outstanding malls, Portland has the upper hand on upscale shopping. You will definitely see your share of dazzling jewelry and fine art, and there is no better place to see it than in the fabulous museums and art galleries. The Portland Museum of Art and the Bayview Gallery are two of the premier establishments in town, and the equally delightful Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum is always a treat. You can ...

... in the late 1700'S to the 1930"s. The Shakers had rather odd beliefs including celibacy. The men and women worked alongside each other but were separated in the dining and bedroom areas. Needless to say the Shakers have literally all died out except for 3 very elderly members still living in the community. We visited a larger Shaker Community in Hancock, Massachucetts in 2003. The Shakers are a very interesting group! We drove back ...

... silverware, not plastic like Bar Harbor! It was yummy!

Tomorrow it is down the coast to Boston, and our favorite restaurant, Durgin Park. If you haven't been there, Google it. It has been there since Columbus discovered Boston, and the list of celebrities that have eaten there covers the walls. It is no-frills and long picnic tables with butcher paper. It's kinda like Dick's last resort with history!

Be good to each other and stay dry.

... words, I'd be lost for them. As it is, I had to content myself with saying, 'wow' and 'ooh' a lot. If I had a camera, I definitely would've taken some photos. But I don't, so I didn't.

That's kind of been me for the last few days really; stopping at places that sounded interesting and then trying to find a motel when I've started to feel tired. It's all been very liberating, which ...

... had no idea there were so many! but you can only see them by boat, and turns out maine has the longest coastline of any of the 50 states (i'm pretty sure this is what chris told me). some islands have lots of houses on them, plus a few stores, maybe a school. some kids have to take a ferry to the mainland for school in portland. but some islands are privately owned and have only 1 or 2 houses on them. if maine wasn't ...

... this time to Home Depot for some insulation for the bus. We also stopped in at a motor spares shop for some spares and had a very interesting conversation regarding rear fog lights, or rather the total lack of them in the US. One guy in particular could not get his head around why such a thing would be necessary. If it’s foggy and someone runs into the back of you, you just claim against his or her ...

... picked Oneonta, because the Soccer Hall of Fame is there, and as you know, that's a bit of an obsession with me. We may not have Internet access every day, but I'll try and write an entry every day, which I'll upload when we do have access. Till then, Mike