Welcome to New Hampshire--and finally Maine!

We are way behind in getting travel posts published this summer because we're having too much fun traveling! So we won't be confused about when each "wandering" happened, we'll start each blog with its actual date.

August 9, 2022

We were on the move again this morning, and we were checking off not just one--but two new states for the motor home. We have been camped just 26 miles away from the New Hampshire state line. This morning we drove by its state border sign that had an English "Welcome" and French "Bienvenue." We must be getting close to Canada since we are seeing French for the first time. After just 26 miles on the road, we stopped in at the New Hampshire Visitor Center. We're not planning to tour this state now, but we needed information for when we are in the northern part of this state in about three weeks. 

We drove another 14 miles and stopped again! This time it was to fill up with diesel. Mark found a cheaper New Hampshire truck stop before we crossed into the next state. It's a sad day when $4.08 per gallon is a bargain, but that is by far the cheapest fill-up this summer! Our most expensive was $5.90 per gallon. Ouch! This is definitely going to be the most expensive year for fuel. In another 9 miles we crossed the Piscataqua River, with the Maine State line right in the middle of the bridge. Their state sign points out that Maine's nickname is Vacationland. We guess that we are finally on vacation! While we have seen a lot of beautiful places already this summer, it has always felt like Maine was our real destination this year. We're finally here!

We're planning to be in Maine for several weeks, so we stopped in at the state visitor center for advice. That means that we had a third stop on this short travel day. It was the first time that a state travel center person told us, "Don't worry about what you don't get to see." They obviously can't tell you about everything that you must see in this sizable state. A sign at the visitor center pointed out all the foreign-sounding towns in Maine. This looks like we're going to have an international experience here.

While the turnpike going north into Maine would have been faster, we have experienced some of the high prices that are charged to motor homes towing a pickup. So we always opt to stay off the toll roads if possible. We are headed up the legendary Highway 1 for 31 more miles today. Highway 1 will take us through all the little fishing villages and coastal towns along the shore. It also takes us through some crazy traffic as we wind through these little touristy towns. We had a 10-minute slow down through Ogunquit, and another 11-minute slow down through Wells Beach, with bumper-to-bumper traffic.

It's a good thing that we enjoy seeing these little touristy ocean towns and their beautiful flowers at a very slow speed.

The drive today was only 78 miles, but it took us four hours with all our stops and slow downs. Our destination was another Boondockers Welcome spot in Biddeford, Maine. This one is unusual because it is not at a house, it is at a church. They have a large parking lot that doesn't get used during the week, and they make three spots available to RV travelers. One spot even has electricity. We had hoped to get that spot, but it was taken by another RV during our stay. So we are in the shade, running our generator twice a day to keep our batteries happy. We were worrying about the heat with no air-conditioning and the high temperature today was 90 degrees. But we had a nice rain shower that cooled us down to 68 degrees. After the shower was over, we set out on a little Maine coastal drive in the now-cool weather. We started at the Maine Audubon Trail in Biddeford. The shower today meant that most of the trail was pretty soggy.

But we persevered through the mud puddles until the trail took us out onto our first Maine rocky shore.

We're here to see the lighthouse on the peninsula across from us. If you squint your eyes and hold the computer real close, you can see it behind Denisa in the picture below.

Or we could just use the zoom lens, to bring the Wood Island Lighthouse to you.

We also stopped at the Blowing Cave Park. People come here to watch the water come through the hole in the rocks when big waves hit the shore at the right angle and the right tide level. That's a lot of things that have to happen just right in order for the blowing cave to blow. Those things weren't happening today. So we didn't get a great picture. But this is also where you can get the best view of the Bush Compound at Walker's Point. It's there behind Mark, on the next peninsula.

Again, we'll use the zoom to show a little closer picture of the house where George H.W. and Barbara Bush used to live. We have a high school friend whose husband was a secret serviceman protecting the Bush family. So they spent a lot of time here in Kennebunkport. We sent this picture to them, because they haven't been back since President and Mrs. Bush died and he got a different secret service assignment.

The Bushes are loved here in Kennebunkport, and this memorial to "Our friend and 41st President" was placed by the viewing area where we were standing. It is an "anchor to windward--as he was for our nation and world during four years of tumultuous and historic change, so too has Kennebunkport served as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast to him."

We also drove through the charming little town of Kennebunkport, and had to giggle when the predominant street in town was named, "Maine Street." We love it that they added the "e" to the end of the traditional Main Street. We were surprised at the throngs of tourists in town on a Tuesday evening. We had heard that this southern part of Maine was crowded, and that is true. It's been a good travel day, where we were welcomed to New Hampshire, and finally got to Maine!