We Finally Made It To Maine!

After our work was done in North Carolina we said our see-ya-laters to Ron's folks and headed towards the DC area.  Yep, Emmett was patiently waiting to see us :-)  We planned a quick 3 night stop on our way to Maine.  We knew we'd be seeing Emmett on the way back west so I was okay with this quick visit.

Saturday morning Emmett and his folks came over to our place at Cherry Hill RV Park to play in the water.  What fun!  Emmett would rather play with his water bottle but we all had smiles on our faces :-)

I think I was the most excited one at the splash pads!  I was really looking forward to it and even put on my bathing suit first thing in the morning :-) LOL

Sunday we went over to Mike and Jessica's apartment.  Jessica was out with friends for the first hour so we took Emmett across the street to the playground.  He sure enjoys slides with Dad and sticks of all sizes.   He's becoming more independent and he's developing such a cute personality!  My heart melts when he doesn't hesitate whenever I ask for a hug :-))

The next morning we hitched up Raven and steered North East to states yet undiscovered by both Ron and myself.  How exciting!  After two more one night stops we made it to Homestead by the River in Biddeford, Maine.  A smaller park but it's perfect for our nearby work in Standish.  We added an extra night here so we could explore the area.  Maybe we'd get to see something beautiful while out and about!

Another successful repair under our belts!

Our customer came by when we were on site and told us about Sebago Lake, the second largest lake in the state of Maine.  It was literally right down the street from the school.  When our repairs were complete, we took the 15 minute drive.  What an impressive area!

we are at the furthest southern tip of the lake

WOW!  That was the first word out of our mouths.  We felt so small when we saw the lake map on the marque board.

Sebago Lake is used as a fresh water source for the city of Portland and bodily contact is prohibited in this particular area so no wading allowed.  That's okay, we still got to explore a length of abandoned railroad track.

 

    
 










The tracks took us a short ways away to a small fishing dock.  The water was so clear and calm.  If we had a kayak, this would be a good launching point. According to Wikipedia, Sebago Lake has a shoreline of 105 miles.  A power boat would be perfect to get to some of the farther away remote areas.

The following morning was our play day :-)  I studied the informational pamphlets that the campground owner shared with us and decided on a plan of attack.  First up was a life size Chocolate Mousse Moose.

Housed at Len Libby Chocolatier is Lenny, the worlds only life sized chocolate moose.  It's quite a sight.  Lenny is displayed in a diorama depicting a Maine cabin with a lake backdrop.  Along with Lenny are his three chocolate bear friends, Libby, Cocoa and Chips.

Ron and I bought some tasty treats for ourselves.  Ron also bought himself a new coffee mug which he's been using every morning :-)

Next up was Fort Williams Park located in the coastal town of Cape Elizabeth.  Gorgeous!  The weather was perfect for flying a kite and a few families were out doing just that on the large grassy fields surrounding the 90-acre park.

our first view of the most photographed lighthouse in America

The Portland Head Light is the focal point but there is so much more to this park.  We could've easily spent more time here!  We ventured to the off leash dog area and found a building that was an artillery in a previous life.  The old abandoned bunkers were gated but we could still view some of the interior spaces.  We took a long walk along the shoreline and found other equally impressive views of the iconic lighthouse. 

getting a goofy shot of Ron :-)

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while he gets a goofy shot of me :-)

  
As much as we enjoyed the lighthouse and the off leash dog area, we still had one more stop to make before leaving this part of Maine.  LL Bean has it's flag ship store just a little further north.

front of the main store

We both wear our LL Bean fleece lined jeans during the winter months and we wanted to see the campus where it all started.  It's actually a group of stores, each specializing in something.  There's the main store which sells clothing, fishing and hunting gear, camping gear and pet items.  They even have an indoor archery range.   We enjoyed perusing through everything but our only purchase was a pair of sunglasses.  

there's quite an interesting story behind these two moose

Across the way is the bike, boat & ski store which sells biking clothes, bikes (of course), and similarly related items.  We didn't see ski apparel so I assume the selection changes with the seasons.  There's a home store that we didn't visit.  The discovery park in the center of the campus was showing a family movie while we were there.  People had brought their lawn chairs and were enjoying the movie.  How cool is that?!  Yes, leashed and well mannered pets can come into each of the stores.   

Our final stop for the day was Jameson Tavern.  According to their website, the tavern was built in 1779.  It was originally a home, then a tavern, then an inn, then back to various family homes before being purchased in 1981 by the current owners.  It is also said to be haunted.  Thankfully, neither Ron nor I had a ghostly encounter! 

Rufus was welcomed to sit with us.  Lucky for us the wind had died down and the patio seating out front was perfect.  We aren't lovers of lobster (oh well, more for you) so we each had a burger and french fries.  Ron enjoyed his locally crafted Shipyard Lager on tap.  We left stuffed and Rufus also enjoyed his taste of the burgers :-)

By the time we got home it was nearly bedtime.  Tomorrow we'll be heading to another bucket list place for us: Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park!  Next posting I'll share photos of that portion of our Maine exploration.

As always, click on the photos to see a larger view.