50 States Day 150

50 States, Day 150  Manchester, NH to Augusta, Maine   166 miles

 

"Accept responsibility for your life.  Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else."

~Les Brown



 

After five days in nice motels and walking the sunny California beaches, you'd think we would want to stay there, but while we enjoyed the land of fruits and nuts immensely, we couldn't wait to get back to the scooter, the ride and the adventure. Funny when you're not married to a clock. We got in, settled and off to sleep at one a.m. then woke refreshed at nine. So far, no jet lag-we’ll just move times later.


The (PP!) Holiday Inn Express really treated us well. And coincidentally, we stayed in one in San Diego also. The bike and trailer awaited us in the parking lot, and after five days of neglect, it fired right up. Off to Maine, state number twenty-three.




Our expectations for Maine have been high since day one. Seeing the beaches of the Atlantic, visiting lighthouses, and eating lobstah. That's how they pronounced it here. Wow, these people have accents. Just after entering this fine state, we met a plethora of people at the Visitors Center and entered into engaging conversations. They certainly were friendly. And the weather! Today topped out at seventy with clear skies, wind free and gorgeous.



We talked about the fall colors, at least so far, they have disappointed. With a few brilliant exceptions, many trees just turn brown. Locals suspect the dry climate may cause them to lose their luster. Perhaps a few more weeks will pleasantly surprise us.


Actually, the roads, while rural and tree lined, rimmed with beauty, disappoint a bit too, as they don't take much advantage of the coast. Should you want seacoast, you better ride there. Quilter Girl and I turned down 1Aand took a loop that provided beaches, sand and scenery.




Back on Highway 1, we cruised along when I spotted a sign for a quilt shop, so I hauled on the brakes, scoring many precious points with QG. We rolled in to a lovely home converted to a quaint shop. QG trotted up the stairs, her purse and credit card ready for action and-Nooooooooo!


Closed on Tuesdays.


Unbelievable. You would think, with a season from May through October, a quilt shop would be open every day. But no. She took it in stride however, and I my retained points. And I didn't have to look at a thousand bolts of fabric.  Kennebunk sports flower laden streets with an abundance of quaint little shops. We saved time and money and rode right through. With our late start, we needed to ride and get close to Augusta for the capitol tour tomorrow.




We located a convenient KOA and set the tent up. Amazing, after five days, some things are still wet from the last storm. The cover seems to keep wet out (somewhat), but hold it in even better. Once the tent is erected however, things dry out remarkably well. And it's supposed to rain tomorrow.


And now...after a three state hiatus...back by popular demand....Quilter Girl!






Wow, Maine is beautiful!  This is the state I have been looking forward to the most and I am not disappointed.  At one stoplight I took pictures of three very cool houses, click, and click, click as fast as I could before the light changed.  We don't have a clear plan for our time here, but have lots of information thanks to the helpful people at the Visitors Center.  Tonight we will read and plan.


One of my frustrations is finding restaurants.  I want to try them all, which isn't possible, so searching for a place to eat gets annoying.  Today we got off the freeway because the sign had a knife and fork on it and found MickyD's, Burger King and Wendy's,  I didn't come to Maine to eat at any of those places!  We turned around and found a tavern that made a very good Cobb salad for me and Seafood Gumbo for Kevin.  Of course, the next exits were full of fun places but we did well today.  

QG





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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