Maplewood Inn & Motel Casco

... June’s Comments:

The drive to Portland was quick – we only stopped for gas and fast food. The visit with Tom, Denise and Foster from Thursday to Monday was well worth the long drive. We took two days to drive back to Milton. Besides Montreal, the weather was very mild and the trees sported their usual fall colors for this time of year.

... June’s Comments:

The drive to Portland was quick – we only stopped for gas and fast food. The visit with Tom, Denise and Foster from Thursday to Monday was well worth the long drive. We took two days to drive back to Milton. Besides Montreal, the weather was very mild and the trees sported their usual fall colors for this time of year.

Ni hao! (Hello in Chinese...pronounced "knee how")

We are now one week away from our departure and realizing that next week at this time we will be in the air over the Pacific and headed to China! The accumulating of stuff is coming to an end and the real packing is beginning. The girls love the whole packing thing...their mother...not so much. Excitement is in the air as the count down begins.

We are looking forward to ...

Overview

Portland has an amazing history that stretches back over 350 years, and this wonderful town has blossomed into the largest city in Maine. This close-knit community is second only to San Francisco when it comes to restaurants per capita. Old brick buildings and cobblestone streets still exist, and the blend of past and present in Portland is exhilarating. In addition to the prevalence of dining facilities, there are an unbelievable number of stores and shopping ...

... just as well, as the welcoming sign on entering New Hampshire, carries the tag-line, "Live free or die." I see what they're trying to say, I think, but there are maybe other ways of saying it. I'm still alive so I must have been living free enough for the people of that particular state. Anyway, it all makes a nice change from my usual 9-5 desk job.

So aside from lots of driving ...

i never knew what a great city portland, maine is! it is beautiful and has great restaurants. what more can you ask from a city?

we pulled into the harbor just after sunset--there was a lot of traffic in the channel with fishing boats and shrimping boats and lobtah boats. we docked at a slip and went for an amazing dinner at Street (i highly suggest it!).

the next day we set sail around all the little islands ...

On Sunday, September 13th, volunteers gathered in South Portland near the Maine mall for Volunteer Day. The mission for the day was to clean up trash, build a bridge, finish a kiosk and other tasks related to building walking trails for SP residents to enjoy. The best thing to me was the range of ages who participated -- from very young of 4 or 5 to young at heart of any age!

... Right!!

After lunch, Mel continued to do more laundry and Neil proceeded to take the bus apart in order to fit the insulation that SDCVW had omitted to put back in. Hopefully from now on, the temperature inside the bus will be warmer than that outside!


Miles travelled: 25

Total miles travelled: 14519

Days on road: 133

States visited: 29

National Parks visited: 20

... about Kansas and I think we'll all be ready to be home when it is time. This week we are slowing way down. Tomorrow (Sunday) we head for the southern Maine coast and will stay there for 3 or 4 days before heading to Long Island to see Matt's family. Everyone have a Happy Father's Day - we are treating Matt to a Maine Lobster dinner to celebrate!

... Boston was a lovely city to walk. One particular monument (for the holocaust) was 6 glass towers with the numbers of all detainees on the towers, with a short paragraph, of someone story on each tower. I also visited two of The National Park Services sites. One being Bunker Hill where the USA forces fought against the British for the first time. Bunker Hill also had a musket firing exhibition, with a chat and then complimentary pizza. The second site was a decommissioned ...