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Jerry’s turn!  Thanks so much, as usual, for taking the time to keep up with us!  

While enjoying the sunrise I find myself nibbling on SF Boudin Bakery sourdough bread! (worked at Colombo Bakery years ago but that’s another story). How did we come by our sourdough bread? Glad you asked! Turn back the clock to earlier this week to a conversation with Susan’s sister, Betsy, Gladys who took care of Susan’s mother for close to 10 years as her care provider, and their friend Jan as they planned their trip from California to Bangor.  Gladys called and asked us what she could bring from Northern CA. I asked for sourdough bread and to my amazement she showed up with not one loaf of heavenly SF area sourdough, but two… yes count them two loaves of sourdough bread! I opened a bag and inhaled the yeasty, and slightly sour smell that curled my toes.

But, let me backup a bit further. Labor Day Weekend we had a very fun Sunday with our friends, Scott and Linda at a Elk’s Club car show fundraiser.  It was fun just hanging with them and checking out all the cars, buying raffle tickets and supporting their charity of choice. Children’s Cancer.  Susan actually won two raffle prizes.  

We attended their Labor Day BBQ with their family! It is humbling to have people who have adopted us and treat us like family! Maine is a special place! There is only one thing preventing us from settling down here. The winters can be rough! After we visit Florida, we will have a better understanding of what is available for us to acquire a permanent resident to winter over and travel back to Maine for the summers. The staff and owner of the RV park we are staying at pack up and head to Florida October 15^th for the winter. We are hoping our new friends will visit us while we are in Florida.

Linda and Scott helped play tour guide with our company and took us to visit Treworgy Family Orchards, which is a local farm where you can pick blueberries, raspberries and various varieties of apples, and even pet the goats and donkey. We also saw baby chicks, and various infant animals, all cute! When we drove into the parking lot I was instantly taken back to the apple orchards in Northern California! Great memories!

We have a favorite restaurant that we have visited several times, Mason’s Brewing Company on the Penobscot river in Brewer. We sit outside, enjoying the view of the Bangor skyline and river while enjoying creative food. We are not food critics, we know what we like and will visit the same restaurant when we find great food and service!  We did take our company there the first night they arrived and then back again after apple picking.  It’s that good for two days in a row! 

Susan will be sharing more about our visit with family and friends in next week’s blog

On a different note, we have been asked numerous times how we handle medical issues.  Well,  I had a check up with a great doctor here in Bangor. All systems look good! FYI, attending to our medical needs can be a bit challenging while living in a RV and traveling the great USA! We have a healthcare plan that provides coverage for us in all 50 states! We carry our medical records with us, helping our provider better understand us. We have to plan ahead and book appointments well in advance of our arrival to a particular location. Our next long stay will be in St. Augustine, FL for three months. We plan on seeing specialists and dealing with our dental needs. As we are both on Medicare now, life is a little easier and the costs have dropped. As we age the reality of life is: we will need to be close to medical services. Ha, the process of aging!

We have a few weeks left in Maine, before we head south to winter in Florida. We still have a lot to do and explore while here.  We’ll be going to Acadia National Park a few more times, as we have more company coming from the Bay Area, and we cannot wait!  On top of that, we’re just finding fun things to do with Scott and Linda.

Some of my thoughts about Maine: 

1. I will never be a Patriots fan.
2. We will never be Mainers, (you must be born here)
3. People talk funny (they think we talk funny too)
4. People take the time to talk
5. People aren’t stressed out
6. If you are befriended by a Mainer; it is for life! 

We are currently making plans for while we are in Florida later in the year.  We hope to participate as judges of BBQ competitions while in Florida. Great adventures await! Leave us comments, ask questions, subscribe to our You tube channel, yes you have to have a Gmail account, but you don’t have to use it. We hope to see you somewhere from the road!  Let us know where you are and we would love to stop by your city and visit! 

Just one more: adventure with our new friends Scott and Linda!

Jerry here!  Back for my take on this week’s two trips to Acadia National Park.

Early in the planning stages of our adventure Susan and I decided Acadia National Park would be on our list. It took us 14 months and a trip across the good old USA to finally make it to Maine! To date we have visited Acadia two times. Our first trip we rode our electric bikes on one of the many carriage roads, then hiked around Jordan Pond.  Let me say, that was not an easy hike as we were led to believe.  Especially for Susan!  There were MANY boulders that we had to climb over.  MANY!!!  I was very worried about Susan’s knee, but she was a trooper and kept telling me to suck it up and start climbing. She never ceases to amaze me. Throw in a meal at the Jordan Pond Restaurant and it added up to a great day! While we were enjoying our meal we made a toast to Acadia! I got choked up, ya i’m an old softy! I was proud of our accomplishment of making it to Acadia.  

On our second visit to Acadia we went straight to the Bass Harbor LightHouse, just south of the town of SouthWest Harbor. This lighthouse is an easy hike from the parking lot to the lighthouse perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. We were surprised to learn the light was out of commission. The docent told us the light had to be sent to Australia for repairs! Susan and I stood watching the ocean at the overlook at the lighthouse. It was a great moment of beautiful scenery and an awesome feeling of accomplishment of making it across the states.

After our visit to the lighthouse we headed to Bar Harbor about 30 minutes away. A pleasant drive through parts of Acadia national park. The park is beautiful! Plenty of sea shore scenery along with incredible lakes! 

We have a large dual wheel truck, which is a challenge to park no matter where we travel. But parking in Bar Harbor was particularly tough due to the narrow streets in this old sea port! We finally found parking and started our sightseeing tour. We found the waterfront and the Shore Trail. We walked the trail enjoying the ocean view and the mansions on the waterfront. 

We noticed there were two Cruise ships anchored in the harbor. We were told to try to avoid days when the ships arrive to avoid the crowds downtown. We weren’t surprised by the crowds, it wasn’t too bad! We found a brewery for lunch and had a mediocre meal. The price was high. I joked to Susan that this was like going to Carmel, California! We window shopped, dropping into a shop or two. We were not excited to pay the inflated tourist prices, BUT we agreed that we deserved ice cream! Yummy! Susan found a great dairy free ice cream made with Almond Milk!

So far we are amazed at how friendly Mainers are! We have been adopted by new friends Scott and Linda! From the moment we met them they treated us like family! Along with endless recommendations for things to do! Susan and I were humbled when we were invited to Scott and Linda’s annual Labor Day BBQ party with their family.  They have had us over for dinner and we have had them to the campground for dinner.  It’s been so nice to spend time with like minded people.  

It’s puzzling to me how we meet such amazing people! We try to treat people the way we want to be treated. Maybe that’s the secret! Scott is taking me fishing to one of the local ponds, and Linda is taking Susan to her favorite shops in the Bangor area.  I’ll follow up on the fishing trip and I know Susan will share her shopping experience!  It’s been a while since she’s been shopping without me tagging along!  Girl time!  

Our trips to Acadia have helped us prepare for a visit from Susan’s sister, Betsy, Gladys (the care provider who took care of Susan’s mom for close to 10 years before she passed and is like family) and Betsy’s best friend, Jan.  They are arriving on Wednesday and staying for a few days.  There will be a report on the adventures we enjoyed!

Just One More….National Park (well, there are many we need to get to on our adventures)

Jerry let me write the blog this week.  Ha Ha.  He’s really getting quite good at writing, and it’s always so nice to get his perspective of our journey.  Thank you so much for joining us this week as we continue our summer in Maine.

As Jerry mentioned last week we left the Freeport area and headed to Bangor.  We were both a bit sad leaving the area as we had been there 2 months.  That was the first time we had stayed that long in one area.  It was really nice being in one area that long as we really took advantage of the area and saw and experienced so much.  

When you stay that long in one place, you really get to know the area so well.  We got to the point where we didn’t need to use the GPS so much. We even learned the aisles of the grocery store (you get what I mean!!), enjoyed our favorite restaurants more than once, went to all the local festivals, and concerts and met really amazing new friends.

Now onto the next adventure: Northern Maine.  We are in a town called Hermon which is right outside of Bangor (pronounced Bangah.  There are no r’s in Maine) While staying in Freeport, Jerry, as usual, got to talking to a couple in the RV park one weekend that actually lives in Hermon, Linda and Scott.  In fact, Scott did some electrical work at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort we are staying in.  They live about 2 miles from the park.  

While in Freeport, we went out to dinner with them and really enjoyed spending time with them.  The day we arrived in Hermon, we called them and they invited us over for dinner.  Both Jerry and I realized it had been 8 months since we had been in someone’s home and sat at a dining table.  It’s the little things we remember experiencing this lifestyle.

Linda and Scott wanted to take us to one of their favorite Lobster Shacks, called Claws, in Rockland.  On the way there we stopped in Belfast, which is known for its antique buildings, historic district, restaurants, and marina.  The presidential yacht, The Sequoia, a 1925 motor yacht that served 8 presidents, is dry docked there.  President Jimmy Carter sold it in 1977 and a local custom boat building company in Belfast was tapped for the restoration by the current owner.  Supposedly, it hasn’t been worked on in years.  It’s wrapped up tight and you can only see the bottom of it.  Still quite interesting.

We also saw a houseboat that was made of steel cargo containers.  That was pretty interesting.  Come to find out there is a surplus of used shipping containers in the US that is repurposing them into homes, offices, modular buildings, dorms and emergency shelters.  Check it out!! 

We then drove to Rockland for lunch and ate at Claws!   What a great Lobstah Shack!!  We had been told of this place by a few people and were so excited to try it.  It did not disappoint!  In fact, I told Jerry it was my favorite “shack” so far.  Loved the ambiance and of course the lobstah roll (they had gluten free rolls) was delicious, and Jerry had a haddock sandwich that was really good.  

After that, Linda and Scott took us to Camden.  What a beautiful town.  It is known as the “Jewel of the Maine Coast”.  It has a beautiful harbor, fun stores and the Camden Public Library is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  A really fun afternoon.

We are so fortunate to have met Linda and Scott.  We look forward to experiencing “their” Maine and getting to really know the area.

Our plan is to visit Acadia National Park this coming week.  Cannot wait to share that with you!  

Just One More….Maine town to explore!  (too many to count) 

Jerry decided he wanted to write the blog this week to finalize his feelings and thoughts about Southern Maine.  As usual, we so appreciate you taking the time to stay in touch with us! 

Sadly, we are leaving Cedar Haven RV Campground, Freeport Maine. Our next destination is Bangor Maine just over 2 hours north of us. We are sad about leaving due to having had the experience of a lifetime. 

We have explored many, beautiful coastal communities, and lighthouses and of course eaten as much seafood as we can. We ate LOBSTA four days in a row when we arrived in Maine. Then realized we would have to get jobs if we wanted to keep eating LOBSTA everyday!

Let’s talk about Cedar Haven RV campground. First the park is built in an incredible forest! We were able to enjoy nice, quiet walks in the forest of the campground. This is a great place for families with a pond with plenty of water toys and tons of toys to play with. I took pictures of the custom carved logs throughout the park. Please enjoy the talent and incredible artistry.

What will we miss? Glad you asked! We are going to miss the seafood, friendly people, ocean scenery, lighthouses, forests, oyster and clam festivals, the laid-back attitude… mmm what else?! “Lilly’s Asian Food” next to L.L. Bean, our go to stop and eat great dumplings and shrimp noodles! HOW MANY TIMES….!! When we said goodbye Lilly gave me a hug!

It’s fun meeting people during our journey. We know our lifestyle is not for everyone, and when you meet people who enjoy full time RVing, there is an instant bond! We share the same experiences, good and bad. We are excited to learn where our new buddies have visited and hear their opinions. Guys talk about road conditions, RV maintenance, fuel prices etc. Women will talk about everything!  Then Susan and I will get back to our home and compare conversations. It’s one of our favorite things to do when we meet new friends.

Talking about fuel prices, this morning I was so excited!  I filled up Hunky (our truck) with diesel for $4.99 a gallon!  Can  you believe that?  I haven’t seen that price in months.  First time in a very long time I was able to fill up for under $100.00!!  Our biggest expense for sure!!  

Getting back to meeting new people. We ask questions about favorite locations they have visited. If their adventure sounds appealing, we add it to our ‘let’s visit someday list’.

We don’t watch or listen to news and are sometimes surprised when someone tells us about some breaking news event! Do we miss listening to the news? Ha! No way!  We both read a couple of online newsletters every morning and trust me, that’s enough for us!  

So, what do we do to entertain ourselves?  A lot of reading. I read the Bosch Crime series, and the CJ Box Joe Pickett series. I am currently reading the Lonesome Dove Series by Larry McMurtry while watching the Lonesome Dove television series! I am slowly expanding my interest in novels. I was never interested in reading the works of great writers. However, after reading Lonesome Dove I have decided to read everything Larry McMurtry has written. Please share your favorite author with us.

Susan loves to binge watch shows, as we stream everything. Another thing we compare with friends, are the shows we must watch.  If you haven’t watched “Dope Sick” on Hulu, we highly recommend it!  Look it up if you haven’t heard of it.  All about the opioid epidemic.  It will open your eyes to Big Pharma companies!  

Susan is an avid reader!  She reads and listens to audible.  Not surprising she reads over 4 books a month on average.  Need recommendations for books?  Ask Susan!

As we end our time in Southern Maine we are excited to extend our journey as we move north. We pulled into our site today after eating at Lilly’s and met a couple that had just arrived next door. We started chit chatting and discovered some coincidences. 

Carol and Bob just came from the same RV campground we are heading to!  The Pumpkin Patch RV Resort in Hermon, Maine.  They shared their experiences and gave us advice about where to go, and things to see! Just like having a freshly published guide book!  Acadia National Park is the number one place we have to visit according to them.  

We met another couple who were staying at Cedar Haven for a few days who LIVE in Hermon, Maine which is right outside Bangor. Linda and Scott have offered to show us around the Bangor area and of course share all what we need to see while we are here. Can’t wait to spend time with them.

Come to find out they are going to be close to us in St. Augustine, FL in Dec & Jan. We will definitely meet up with them sometime then. They are people we really want to get to know.

We are going to miss Southern Maine!  But, we know we will be back as both Susan and I decided that this has been our favorite state so far. But, let’s get real, we have many more states to visit and we will be doing that starting Oct 3rd.

In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy Maine for another 6 weeks! 

Just One More….couple to meet

Jerry Here!! Susan and I have decided to share the blog duties. We believe and hope you appreciate the different perspectives from each of us! Thank you for continually supporting our blog!

Wrapping up Freeport, Maine.

We will have called Cedar Haven RV Campground our home for 8 weeks.  We met Rodney, the park manager, on day one as we followed him to our campsite. After setting up Rodney stopped by to check on us. His New England accent was incredible, absolutely no R’s.  He exuded childlike enthusiasm for life. One of the souls you rarely meet but when you do your life has been affected!

After Rodney left, Susan asked me if I understood him? We both broke down laughing hysterically admitting we weren’t sure what he said!! (since we’ve been here so long, we now have no problem understanding him) Rodney is a bear of man who loves to talk and tell stories! Our favorite Rodney story is about an elderly couple that camps in October, and stays for a month every year. The last time this couple arrived Rodney noticed the couple hugging just before they backed their RV into a site. Rodney waited until the couple was done parking and asked why they hugged when they got out of their truck. The couple answered, we have learned to make-up before we have a fight! Just so you know, people who RV understand this statement. Backing up a RV really plays havoc on a marriage.

That story melted our hearts! We like to watch couples as they park their rig. Sometimes it is easy with no problem! Then there is the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s, a huge argument with one partner going for a cool down walk! Maybe that is Jerry and Susan’s story… Have we provided entertainment when we back in? More than likely!!  

Years ago, when we first started RVing (part-time), Susan would go into the campground office to register us. There was always someone who would come out and help me park if we were in a back in. Years later when we started this adventure, Susan finally shared with me that she would ask someone in the office every single time to “PLEASE save my marriage and come help my husband park”. I believe she still does this even now. 

We are getting close to ending our 8 weeks stay in the Freeport Maine area: the home of L.L. Bean! This portion of our journey has been on our minds since 2018 when we visited Portland. That was my first trip to Maine, but it was an adventure into Susan’s past! Susan’s parents lived in Old Orchard Beach, Maine and would migrate to California as the seasons changed!

Our next adventure will be leaving the warmer southern Maine area, and heading north to the city of Bangor, a much cooler location. Here is where we will explore Acadia National Park, including riding our electric bikes. If Acadia lives up to a fraction of the hype it will be worth it. The drive is 2 ½ hours. piece of cake! Speaking of roads, I read a story about I 95 being the deadliest highway in America! Great!!! We will be on I 95 from Bangor Maine to St. Augustine, Florida starting Oct 3^rd.

Susan celebrated her birthday here in Southern Maine. One of the things she asked for was a 90-minute massage! She got a great massage by David at Heal Massage and Therapy in Brunswick. Then we went for a great lunch at a restaurant called Muddy Rudder.  Susan had a piece of Maine blueberry pie!!  (yes, I’m telling on her) Ok, ok…  Let’s say we both enjoyed her birthday pie AND ice cream! This is a big, big big birthday (hint Medicare started)!! Shhhh don’t tell anyone!

What we have learned so far in Maine: A local told me to use the word “Wicked” constantly. There are no R’s in a Mainer’s vocabulary. Everyone reminds us we will never be Mainer’s! We weren’t born here!  They call people who are not Mainers, “from away.” That said, Mainer’s are open, honest and welcoming! There is very little crime, and their way of life is laid back! There are a lot of good jobs from the military industrial complex. We have met retirees of various industries who are living very comfortably!

Another word we learned is “camp”. It is used by people here to describe a second home. For example, we are going up to the camp for a week. When I heard about a camp, I thought about campfires, tents etc.…. Come to find out a camp is a second house used for getaways and vacations! Who knew?

We will miss Freeport and Southern Maine as we have really come to know the area and have met great new friends here.  This is the longest we have stayed in one place so far.  We no longer need GPS to get to so many places.  That’s when you know you are getting familiar with an area.  We will be back!  

Just One More….City in Maine to explore.  Here we come Bangor!

Make sure to check out our latest YouTube Video!!!

Welcome back to another week with The Sappingtions! Hard to believe we have been on the road for 13 months.  We appreciate your continued support and hope we have entertained you, educated you a bit, and most of all, made you smile.

When this blog is posted, it will be my birthday. August 6th. Trust me, I’m not telling you this to get birthday wishes.  I’m telling you this because there is more to just me celebrating on August 6th.  If you want to send me birthday wishes, however, I will be glad to accept them!  Thank you in advance.  

I was born on my sister’s 4th birthday.  She wanted a brother and told my parents that she wanted me sent back since it was her birthday present and to get her a brother.  Yep, my welcome into the family!  Many years later, my sister gave birth to her son, my nephew, on our birthdays.  Of course once he was born, it was all about him as a little guy as it should be.   The good news is, we will never forget each other’s birthdays. 

We do not know any differently (other than my sister who had 4 years of just her) and we have always tried to be together on our birthday.  There have been times we have not in the past with vacations or work schedules, but we did succeed more than we didn’t, of course, until Jerry and I started this lifestyle.  

One of our favorite places to celebrate was Fenton’s Ice Cream Parlor in Piedmont, CA.  It is a favorite of ours.  It was our splurge day.  My sister and I would always share their crab salad sandwich, with fries of course, and each get our favorite ice cream. My nephew would get whatever he wanted. It was our annual celebration and we loved every minute of it.  Whoever could join us would.  

Last year Jerry and I were in Oregon just starting our journey.  That was very tough as it was all so new.  The first time away from family is always the most difficult.  We did FaceTime together which was so great.  We then met a wonderful couple, Fran & Greg, who lived in the area we were staying at, and we went out to a fantastic Thai restaurant to celebrate in Eugene, OR.  Thank goodness for Fran & Greg. They made my birthday very special last year.

This year we started celebrating early as this is a BIG birthday for me.  I know you are dying to have me tell you how old I am.  Well, let me give you a hint: I started Medicare Aug 1st.  How the heck did this happen?  Seriously, it’s crazy!  I am not mature enough to be this age.

This is a different birthday as my sister is traveling to the Arctic Circle and will be celebrating her birthday with the people on her tour. She does not have any cell or wifi.  I wished her a happy birthday before she took off.   My nephew will be at a wedding with his fiance’ in CA and, of course, I am in Maine.  Hopefully, we will be able to speak sometime over the weekend.  

Jerry and I started the birthday week festivities last Saturday driving to Auburn, Maine to meet some new friends that live there.  We met Chuck and Angela in Harpswell, Maine at the lobsta shack, called Erica’s, and decided we had to meet up again.  This time we met them at Mac’s Seafood, which is a very funky place. It’s also a fish market that sells amazing lobsta, clams, you name it.  It was awesome.  Both Jerry and I had a whole lobsta, 12 clams, corn, and potatoes.  Great way to start off the birthday week.

That evening we went to the L.L.Bean concert series and were among quite a few young ladies at the Maddie & Tae concert.  Had no idea who these performers were. We quickly learned that their demographics were teen girls.  They were very talented (do I sound like my parents?  I think so) and we actually enjoyed them.  

On Sunday, we went to see the movie Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.  I loved it of course, with the amazing fashion from Dior.  The story line was great.  Even Jerry loved it. No violence, sex, drugs, etc.  Just a plain old feel good movie. 

The beginning of the week was filled with catching up on everyday stuff.  You know, bills, booking dr. appointments, etc.  Real life things you have to do whether your home is stationary or on wheels.  Always feels good when you accomplish the tasks that need to be done.

We had a great pre-birthday breakfast at Inn By the Sea in Cape Elizabeth on Wednesday.  In prior blogs from Maine, we talked about how we had stayed there in 2018 and absolutely loved it.  We went there for breakfast because they have the best breakfast potatoes I have ever had and we needed to go back to see if they were as good as we remembered. YEP, they were.  It was a beautiful day as we had breakfast while looking at the beach.  

We then went to the Portland waterfront area and just walked around and enjoyed Portland.  The best part was going to Trader Joes!!!  It’s the only TJ’s in Maine! Trust me, we stocked up and are planning on going back before we head up to Bangor. You should have seen us when we drove up! We both were doing a happy dance.

Now for the really fun event. We took the train to Boston early Friday morning for a food tour!    We actually had to set our alarms for 5:30 am.  It’s been a very long time since we set our alarms. We drove to our new friends Debbie and Glenn’s home to take the train with them.  The train left at 8:30 am and Debbie and Glenn live about 40 minutes from us.  So, it was an early morning!!!!!!

Debbie was so freaking cute. She brought a cooler bag on the train with Bloody Mary Fixings. You cannot believe all she put into those drinks!   They were delicious!  She also brought cherry tomatoes and cucumbers she picked from her garden that morning. She had a bag filled with treats for the train. All very healthy as we were going on a food tour after all!  It was about a 2 hour train ride which we enjoyed very much.  

The food tour was with Anthony from Boston’s Politically Incorrect Food Tour.  He was a hoot!!!!  He’s a local and was telling us there are only 2 local tour guides and the rest are outsiders as he says. We went to at least 8 different places.  Can I just tell you, we ate until we dropped.  We had pizza, stuffed rice balls, ravioli, caprese salad, lemon slush, Italian sandwich, and two desserts I cannot even pronounce.  YES, I TASTED EVERYTHING AND LOVED IT ALL.  And the best part is we walked over 3.5 miles! That helped a lot with all the food we ate. LOL   It was a bit warm in Boston, over 90 degrees. (You know how much I love the heat)  But who cares, it was so much fun and we learned a lot about the Italian section of Boston.  Highly recommend this tour when you are visiting Boston.  

For my actual birthday, Jerry booked a 90 min massage for me in the morning.  Then we are coming back to clean up and head over to the BlueBerry Festival in Freeport.  It doesn’t get better than that. (More about that next week) 

Honestly, do I have the most amazing husband or what?  I have said this before, I would NEVER have dreamed of living this lifestyle if it wasn’t for my husband.  He has given me the best birthday presents ever by indulging my dream of full-time RVing.  Yes, Jerry is a keeper!!

Just One More….birthday on the road (who knows how many more, but I’m game) 

Also, please make sure to check out our latest YouTube video below! We decided to switch things up a bit this week!

Jerry here this week!!!  Giving Susan some extra sleep.  Well, she does all the editing, so who am I kidding?   Thanks for joining us!

Last Sunday we saw the movie Elvis. Now the reason I’m telling you this is because we may be on a RV journey, but we are LIVING like everyone else only our house has wheels. Now that we are retired, we actually are going to the movies more. Especially when it’s too hot or raining! And the best part is we can go whenever we want! Gotta get that early bird special pricing!

Back to Elvis.  We got chills from the actor Austin Butler, who played Elvis. His singing and Elvis mannerisms were incredible. Susan and I believe his performance is Oscar worthy. Then there was Tom Hanks as the manager of Elvis, Colonel Tom Parker! Ok we are convinced if Tom Hanks is involved with a movie you should see it! Tom Hanks’ performance was what we expect from Tom Hanks! The colonel was a manipulative greedy SOB and drove Elvis to exhaustion. At one point the only way Elvis could perform was from injections from a scumbag doctor! 

Susan got chills when the movie documented Elvis performing at the International Hotel (now the Hilton Hotel) in Las Vegas. Susan attended his show in 1973 at this hotel.  She was 16.  Interesting story.  She had a friend visiting from New York.  Her parents used to go to Las Vegas ALL THE TIME as they lived in Southern CA and it was only a 4 hour drive.  When her dad found out that the friend LOVED Elvis, he booked a trip to Las Vegas.  Now, her dad and mom had no desire to see Elvis, and 16 year olds were not allowed in without a chaperone.  So, her dad grabbed a single guy that was in line buying tickets and told him he would pay for his ticket if he would sit with Susan and her friend.  Seriously, what a crazy story.  You certainly can’t do that these days.

Susan said it was an incredible show even though Elvis was a bit fluffy at the time.  It was near the end of his career and now we know why. The movie is a must see with great music and historic reenactments of some of Elvis’s greatest performances! There was a scene that brought Susan almost to tears when Elvis walked on stage in his all black leather outfit for a television performance.  She remembers watching that special.

There were alot of home videos that brought back memories of when we visited Graceland this year. That was a really great tour and we are so glad we did that prior to seeing the movie. The sad and tragic part of the movie was Elvis dying at 42. He should have lived much longer!

What else have we been doing? Glad you asked. We took a trip to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol Maine! Wow what a beautiful location! The lighthouse was built in 1812 and has been carefully maintained. We were able to climb inside to the top where the light actually is! Pretty cool!! Then on to Boothbay Harbor! Pronounced Boothbay Habar! Great town right on the water with lots of restaurants and tourist traps!  Had a great lunch outside facing the harbor. We have videos of this trip. Check them out below!

Susan found a fabulous top in a boutique that was right up her alley!   Susan has a rule, if you buy a piece of clothing you have to get rid of a piece of clothing.  Hey, there’s not a lot of room!!!  She’s doing a really great job of keeping to her rules.  

My thoughts on Maine! I know Maine is a small state which helps attitudes and how people treat each other! So far, everywhere we have gone; Clam, and Oyster festivals, farmer’s markets, brewries, various cities, people have been happy, friendly and treated us like long lost friends! People are happy with their lives. For example we met a local couple when we pulled up at a lobsta shack in Harpswell again on the coast! We ended up eating lunch with the couple and swapped stories! He is a pilot for UPS and has regular local routes he flys freight. We are meeting them for lunch this weekend to check out their area.

We learned some disturbing facts about the airline industry, when Covid hit there were massive retirements especially from pilots. Which is showing up today in flight cancellations and delays. He remarked that United has shrunk to less than 45% of its size prior to Covid! Tough times for the airline industry!

We had a great day this week visiting our new friends Glenn and Debbie at their beautiful farm not too far from us. They have chickens, and lots of veggie gardens and just overall beautiful property. We were sent home with fresh eggs and lots of veggies!! Debbie sent me home with 3 tomato plants. I have a garden again!!! We had a great lunch together and Susan helped them with some RV trip planning. Again, this is one of the great perks of traveling. Meeting such amazing people.

Next Friday we are taking the train to Boston with Debbie and Glenn to experience a food tour! It’s about a 2 hour trip. They have never been on a food tour and I have never been to Boston. Susan has and is so excited to be going back. Especially going on a food tour. More about that in next week’s blog.

We were so excited that Amy and Paul, our friends we met in Driggs, ID last August, came to visit us this week.  We ended up seeing them 3 times while they were in Maine!  We took them on a Brewery Tour in Freeport.  There are 3 Breweries here.  We had the best time with them.  We also took them to L.L.Bean as they had never been.  It was fun playing tour guide!  The great part is, we will be seeing them again in St. Augustine, FL in December!  

We are loving being in one place for all this time.  I am finally feeling more relaxed and enjoying life.  Especially as we continue exploring Maine.

Just One More…..Movie (more to come!)

Welcome back!  Thanks so much for taking the time to keep up with us!  It means so much to us! 

This lifestyle is truly amazing.  But as you have read in some of the past blogs, it’s not always fun and exciting. I will say that the pros do outweigh the cons. However, this can be a very lonely lifestyle. Missing friends and family is a constant. Yes, this is the life we chose, and we knew this was going to happen. However, it doesn’t make it any easier.

Last weekend was a family event in the Bay Area.  The minute I was told the date way back in Jan/Feb, I immediately started looking at flights for July.  I was completely blown away! To travel from Portland, Maine to the Bay Area (looking at all the airports) it was over $2000 round-trip. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the flight back was over 17-24 hours. Meaning 2 – 3 layovers. To say I was shocked is an understatement.  

When we decided to embark on this adventure (yes, I used the A word), I told everyone that we would just jump on a plane….  That is so not the case these days.  But, I digress.  Let me continue the saga.

I decided I had plenty of time to continue watching the flights and I was convinced I would find something as we got closer to July.  I even enlisted one of our extended family members who is a travel agent to help check flights for me.  In the meantime the continued news about the airlines canceling flights, people not showing up to work, or not enough employees, was raging.  People getting stuck and not able to get home due to their connecting flights canceling was really freaking me out.  Just so you know, there are NO direct flights to The Bay Area from Portland, and yes, we looked at flights out of Boston.  Trust me, we looked at every possibility. 

The flights lowered to $1700.00 per person, and still 17-24 hours to get back.  We finally had to make the really tough decision not to go.  Not an easy decision.  We let everyone know we weren’t going to make it.  Of course, everyone completely understood.  Still sucked!!  To say I was beyond disappointed is an understatement.  Heck, I was not just disappointed, but really sad.  

I needed something to help me get through Saturday, so, instead, we went to the Clam Festival in Yarmouth, Maine.  What a wonderful event.  Honestly, Jerry and I felt we were in Mayberry RFD.  For those of you who don’t understand that reference or are too young to remember that TV show, it means we were in small town America.  It was a beautiful city with lots of vendors, lots of music and food. They had clam shucking competitions, police dog demonstrations, firefighters showing off their fire engines, and just overall fun.

This is the first time since we have been on this journey and have gone to a festival/event that there was absolutely NO political agenda, signs, banners or anything.  It was so incredibly refreshing to just enjoy what the day was about: CLAMS!   

We were so excited to find out our friends Amy and Paul, who we met in Driggs, ID last August (check out that video) were in Maine!! We were parked next to them for the very first rally we ever attended. We hit it off and promised to keep in touch and meet up somewhere in the country. We’v met them for lunch a couple of times: once in Wells, Maine, and this week in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The exciting thing is we will be seeing them next week as they will be visiting us here in Freeport. It is so great to see them and spend time catching up on our travels. Our plan is to see them again in St. Augustine, FL at the end of the year. If you watched our live event, Amy and Paul were kind enough to be guests that evening. We just love them!!

Just a side note; Old Orchard Beach is where my parents lived in the 80’s. They would come stay with me in the winter when I Iived in Huntington Beach, CA. They lived at Marcott Motor Court in a great cabin.  We drove over there to take a look. It is still the adorable place my folks lived all those years ago.  

We had another wonderful experience this week meeting new friends. Debbie and Glenn, who follow our blog, reached out and told us they live in Maine and would love to meet us, as they are starting their RV adventures.  They are not going full-time, but will be traveling months at a time.  Debbie had even offered to let us stay on their farm while we were in Maine.  They live about 35-40 minutes from Freeport.  

We were so excited to meet them.  Just the fact that someone was reading our blog and wanted to meet us was so thrilling to us!  They came over for lunch to our RV and brought LOBSTA!!!!  Debbie made the most delicious LOBSTA rolls, and Glenn brought Jerry home brewed beer.  We really enjoyed spending the day with them giving them ideas and suggestions on RVing: where to go, stay and eat, but most of all, getting to know them. I keep saying, that’s what this journey is all about for us: meeting the most amazing people.

We will be seeing Debbie and Glen a few times (we hope) before we leave the area, as we have decided to stay in Freeport until August 19th instead of going to Vermont.  One day, as we were driving back from Harpswell, Maine, Jerry looked at me and said, “can we just stay here and not go to Vermont?”  He has loved not having to tow our home and is relaxing so much for the first time in a while…. Sure, why not stay in Maine?  It will save us $$$ on fuel and we really love it here.  There is still so much to do and see and now we have met a wonderful couple that we are looking forward to getting to know.

I was supposed to see my cousin who moved from the Bay Area to Vermont which I was really looking forward to.  I reached out to her and let her know that we weren’t coming.  She told me there’s a good possibility she and her husband will be coming to Acadia National Park in Sept to go camping.  I sure hope they do! 

Spending time with friends this week really helped me get through my feelings of missing my family.  As I said, we are so blessed and grateful that we are living this lifestyle.  We truly are having the most amazing time.  Sometimes we have to really look around and see what’s in front of you and know everything will be ok!  

Just One More…..couple to meet! (hope that never ends)

Make sure to check out our latest video below!

Jerry’s at it again!  I love it when he wants to contribute to our blog! Thanks for joining us this week!

OUR RETURN TO MAINE!

Why are we in Maine? Let me explain…. In 2018 Susan, my incredible wife, and best friend won a sales contest and put together an all expense paid trip to Portland, Maine. The Inn by the Sea, just north of Portland, was our hotel for our stay. This hotel is incredible! It is a short walk to the ocean where we found a beautiful beach! The food was incredible. Susan was especially fond of the breakfast potatoes! 

From our hotel we drove into the surrounding areas! Everywhere we drove, the more excited we were with the scenery! The charming homes with large lots and incredible forests captured our hearts! Our hotel was a short drive to the Portland Head Lighthouse, found within Fort Williams Park! Our exploration took us into the city of Portland where we met friends of Susan’s parents for lunch at the Portland waterfront.

This couple gave us maps and suggestions on where to visit. Portland is an incredible city known as a foodie heaven! They were voted the #1 food city by Bon Appetit Magazine. We enjoyed a food tour of various restaurants along with the history of the various sites. Our tour guide turned out to be from Berkeley California, the world is very small sometimes! 

Can you say seafood? Oysters, Clams, Scallops, and of course LOBSTA! One of our favorite places was Red’s Eats Lobsta Shack in the quaint town of Wiscasset (you got to say that with a full New England accent). Back to the Lobsta Shack! We had no idea how popular this place was! It was raining, cold and close to a blizzard condition! But I braved the horrible conditions and stood in line for days/maybe weeks. While Susan sat in a warm car and sneaked into a restaurant to use their bathroom! Was the wait worth it? What do you think I’m going to say? HELL YA IT WAS WORTH IT!

As we drove around the countryside, I heard advertisements for a country fair! Well, we had to do that, and it proved to be quite the adventure! Let’s just say Susan is a city girl and not familiar with the various chores farm animals are required to perform. There were gasps and tears as Susan sighed, “the poor horsey,” and people sitting next to us said, “they’re just getting warmed up!”  Country fairs bring out the American competitive spirit in the farmers and ranchers. Like “my steer is bigger than your steer” or “my horse can pull more than your horse”! I smiled and enjoyed the entertainment.

Fast forward to NOW, we are in southern Maine, just north of Portland, in the quaint town of Freeport, glamping at Cedar Haven RV resort. Home of the “Bean”… that’s LL Bean for the uninitiated. The Bean is the hub of this city! Shopping 24/7, free concerts, and restaurants surround the Bean. So far, we have enjoyed the 4^th of July parade in a small town in the USA! A real hoot! My favorite was the Shriners and their mini go-carts and trikes that slip and slide! I’m a guy..varoom, smell the exhaust!! 

Let’s check some boxes! Check, we went back to Red’s Eats. Say it with me, Wiscasset!  We were in line before the Lobsta Shack opened! No rain and there are bathrooms! Now that’s progress!

Red’s Eats is famous not only for its food but has been on many food shows and visited by many celebs! The owner gave us the 411 on that latest celeb visit from the show Somebody Feed Phil, a hilarious eating show around the world. All of the celebs have stood in line with the rest of the ordinary peeps with the exception of one! Yup Top Gun himself! No lines for me baby! “I feel the need, the need for speed” Ok check that box! Lobsta from Reds! Lobster is not cheap. After four days of eating lobster we decided to curtail our feasting or find jobs to feed our habit! 

Keeping track of what we repeat from our 2018 expedition. Moving on we reached out to our friends that live here and asked if they would like to get together for a meal! They informed us of the latest covid infection rate and passed on getting together! We didn’t hold it against them. They are older and should take care of themselves! “That’s all I have to say about that!” Ala Forrest Gump.

Susan and I took a trip down south to Fort Williams Park and Portland Lighthouse. It is just as beautiful as our first trip here in 2018. We stopped at the Inn by the Sea and walked in like we belonged there! We strolled out to the beach and picked up shells. Look mommy what I found! Susan booked a date and time for breakfast and confirmed they still served her favorite tators. If you are keeping track of how many things we have to do to fully fill our 2018 agenda, there are two left; country fair and visit Portland.

We thought about booking a food tour of Portland again until they told us the price! YIKES! Skip that! We are hoping to find a country fair and enjoy all Maine has to offer. How long do you have to stay here before you can call yourself a Mainer? Our dream is to have a place to call our own in Maine and visit during the agreeable spring and summer months. The weather has been perfect with no humidity!

We looked at a few houses, to get an idea of what the market is like. We were working with a real estate agent until she called us to let us know she caught Covid! We all know the next variants are here. We are set up for another booster and will continue getting boosters as this bug mutates. Hey, remember the Flu. Seems we changed the Flu for the Covid. 

When we leave Maine, our stay here will be the longest of any State! Yes, we love it! The scenery is beautiful, from the ocean to the rolling hills with endless forests! We have ventured into towns around us for farmers markets, festivals, and chasing our favorite oyster farmer Emily’s Oysters from Bath. We have visited oyster festivals and today we will go to the annual Clam Festival in Yarmouth. 

One of our favorite towns was Harpswell. It is only 25 minutes from the campground. It’s right on the water and incredibly beautiful. We met a couple who just moved to Maine a few months ago. It was great to hear their story of why they are in Maine. We enjoyed lunch together with them at Erica’s Seafood right on the harbor. Yes, we had to have another lobsta roll. We waited long enough, it was time to indulge again.

A fun surprise happened this past week: a visit from our friend Judy. Judy lives in Brentwood, CA where we lived before we started this journey.  We actually met Judy through an RV club when Susan asked a question online. Judy answered the question and we found out we were a few miles from each other. Judy has been RVing for many years. She lost her husband last year and had decided to sprinkle his ashes across the country. Judy is traveling solo in her class C RV.  She came to visit for a few days and we were so happy to see her.  Judy enjoyed Freeport, and of course we took her to one of our favorite seafood shacks!  

So, what is it about Maine that speaks to us? The weather, people, food, scenery, …all of it! It will be sad when we pack up and head south. We will have great memories, along with lots of video and pictures to remind us of our great adventure here in Maine!  

Full time living is not for everyone, a massive amount of planning and strategizing is required. We have to drive on routes that are RV safe, while planning stops at various locations along our route to our next long term stay! The task is handled by Susan, the concierge, tour guide, trip planner, route manager… you name it! This adventure would not happen without my pookie! I am the luckiest man on the planet!

Just One More…trip to Maine (I have a feeling we will be back)

Make sure to check out our latest YouTube Video Below!

The “Adventure” Continues

Thank you for joining us for another week as we, officially, start our 2nd year as full-time RVers. Yes, we are still going strong!  In fact, we decided we love each other more every day experiencing this amazing lifestyle together.  AHHHHH!

We are so fortunate to be in Maine in July.  The weather is amazing.  Nothing over 80 degrees.  In fact, this week has been in the 70’s!  The evenings cool down to a comfortable 55 for great sleeping weather.  I know, I know, don’t rub it in for all of you experiencing horrible heat.  

One of the big issues for me when we decided to embark on this journey was to try and follow 70 degrees.  It hasn’t always been successful, but we sure are giving it our best effort.  I have always said, I would rather be cold than hot.  Especially after the first 4 months of this adventure.  We hit every heat wave and fire from June 2021 – Oct 2021.  Truly, I am over the heat.  When we left Brentwood and then Sacramento, we had over 112 degree days.  DONE!

During the 4th of July parade in Freeport, we overheard locals talking about how hot it was over the weekend and how happy they were that it was nice and cool for the parade.  We laughed as it was only 84 degrees last weekend.  But, for Mainers, that is HOT!   I’m definitely in the right state for July.  We are heading to Vermont on August 1st, and the weather there is about the same as of right now!  I do see a couple of 85 and 86 degree days, but I will not complain about that!!

Speaking of the 4th of July, we are so conditioned with Bay Area traffic and crowds that Jerry and I had our seats set up at 9:00 am for the parade. The parade started at 10:00 and there was plenty of parking and places to sit.  This is a very tough habit to change.  We are always so early to events as we want to make sure we find a place to park or to beat the traffic.  Especially driving the huge truck around.  So far, we haven’t had any issues, but knowing us, we will always be early.  Gives us a chance to explore or to meet new people.

The Freeport parade was adorable! It was about 35 min long.  We were shocked how short it was.  We are used to tons of kids riding their decorated tricycles for hours.  It was really cool seeing the locals coming out to support the different businesses, especially L.L.Bean.  They are the number one employee here in this area.  They do an amazing job of community involvement.

That evening, we went to an amazing outdoor concert in the L.L.Bean Discovery Park featuring Pink Martini. We had never heard of them, but they were so good! We are new fans. Ari Shapiro from NPR was a guest singer. Who knew? We had the best time. After that, they did an amazing laser show instead of fireworks to help keep down the pollution in the area. We LOVED it. The music was beyond awesome and the laser show was truly incredible. We looked at each other and kept saying how much fun we were having. It was a great 4th of July celebration.

We have been touring around the area this week and decided to go to Portland. We had been there in 2018 and stayed in Cape Elizabeth at the Inn By the Sea. This is a magical place! We had to go back to see it again as it was one of our favorite vacations.

Cape Elizabeth has one of the most sought after lighthouses called Portland Head Light.  We had visited this in 2018 as well and couldn’t wait to go see it again.  It did not disappoint.  It was a very windy day, but it was as beautiful as we remembered.  We walked all over Fort Williams Park, which is where it is located, and just enjoyed the ocean and playing tourist.  We plan on going back for a picnic lunch.  We also plan on visiting as many lighthouses as we can while we are here.  This coming week we will be taking many day trips.  Freeport is so well located.  It’s 18 min from Portland which we will be going back this week to spend the day just walking around.  

We are still enjoying all the incredible seafood that Maine has to offer.  Lots of oysters and shrimp.  Saving up for lobster again. LOL.  We have many restaurants that were suggested to us by locals in smaller towns and villages that we will be visiting for lobster.  Cannot wait for that.  Next weekend will be the Clam Festival in Yarmouth!  OH BOY!!!  

Lots more of Maine coming your way in the next few weeks, then on to Vermont!

Just One More….lighthouse (trust me, there are so many here!)

Make sure to check out our latest YouTube Video below!