Tuesday through Friday, Sept. 22 through 25, at Richmond

We're at Richmond all this week to watch the cycling world championships.

Tuesday, 9-22 watched individual time trials. In the morning it was the Junior (<19) men, and in the afternoon it was the elite women's championship. We found a good parking place near the course downtown and rode our bike a few blocks to a point on the course where the riders came by us several times, then moved near the starting gate to see the  starts of the last portion of the juniors. In the afternoon we stayed near the finish line where there was  giant screen TV to keep us posted on the standings. The American woman Kristin Armstrong (no relation) was among the early starters and had the fastest time until near the end of the day, but the last few riders were the strongest. The top places were separated by only a few seconds.

Wednesday was the individual time trial championship for elite men (these are the guys you see in the Tour de France). We found the same parking place as yesterday and rode to the Convention Center where there was a BikeFest expo with lots of interesting booths and freebies. We had a good lunch and then watched the race, which was well underway. We've been travelling every summer for the last several years, so today's big names in the pro ranks are mostly unknown to us. An exception is Taylor Phinney, an American. He has good genes: his father is Davis Phinney, one of the top U.S. pros from the 1980's, and his mother is Connie Carpenter Phinney, olympic gold medal winner in the cycling road race in '84. Taylor may end up being even more successful as a pro cyclist than his parents. We shall see; but he didn't do at all well in today's time trial.

Thursday was a practice day for the racers on the road race circuit course downtown. We weren't interested in watching them practice, and we didn't want to get in their way by 'unofficially' riding on the course (though Ron and Cheryl did). So we drove to a few miles southeast of town and did a 40-mile ride on the new Capital Bicycle Trail. A real pleasure to ride on a bike trail which is so new the tree roots haven't buckled the pavement yet.

Friday: Road race for junior women in the morning and men under 23 in the afternoon. We again were lucky to find a parking place on the street near the course, and rode our bike the rest of the way. We'd intended to move around to different places on the course, but found ourselves by a steep cobblestone hill with a good view of the riders, and stayed all day. The American girl, Chloe Dygert, who had won the junior women's time trial the other day by a wide margin, also won today's road race decisively, and the time trial's runner-up, American Emma White, was second again in the road race. A very impressive performance. In the men under 23 race in the afternoon, it turned out we were standing by the parents of one of the leading riders, Davide Maretinelli from Italy. They didn't speak much English but it gave us someone to cheer for. Davide fell out of the lead group late in the race with mechanical problems, but came back to threaten again at the end. Didn't win, though.

Great fun to watch the best of the best in these races. I especially admire the women who show great talent and complete dedication even though there is no pot of gold in the pro ranks for them. They do it for love of the sport.

Fri thru Mon 9-18 thru 21

We're at Richmond to watch the cycling world championships.

Friday- nothing going on yet. We drove downtown, walked along start/finish area, chatted with Shimano support crew, scouted the area of the individual time trial for a good spot to watch from and a place to park. Then drove out of town a few miles south to scout the team time trial course for a good place to watch that tomorrow. Back at camp, Ron and Cheryl had tickets for us to the opening ceremony; we drove them downtown, found parking with some difficulty, walked to the ceremony venue park. Not much of a ceremony; mostly speeches by local officials, mayor, governor, senator, and UCI president. But they did have the Richmond Symphony there plus a pop singer. Wound up with 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th- rousing.

Saturday- No actual races today but team time trial practice in a.m. and individual time trial practice in the afternoon. We parked a couple of miles from the ttt course, rode the bike to the course, watched a while, rode a newly-built bike trail which parallels the course several miles to downtown, watched individual time trial practice a while (different course). Enjoyed the riding and spectating. Weather clear and warm.

Sunday- Stopped near downtown for church, then after a hearty breakfast drove around to our vantage point for the team time trial. For all the other races this week the riders will represent their countries, but for the ttt they will race for their regular professional teams. The course started north of town, passed through downtown, then made a loop and retraced its route back downtown to the finish. We chose the spot where the southern loop diverged and came back together, so we could see riders going both directions. It turned out to be a relatively popular spot; not crowded, but there was a video camera up on a platform and it was also an intermediate time check point. The spot was adjacent to a 7-11 and buildings with overhangs, so there were snacks and shade available. The elite women's team trial was in the late morning, and the men's in the afternoon. I had the start list from the newspaper, so I noted the times the teams passed and was able to keep track of who was ahead. During my racing days there were many instances of race officials messing up the timing and scoring of time trials, and I'd always griped that they made it too complicated. They just had to write down the times each one started and when they finished. Get two people doing that and you have a check against mistakes. That's all there is to it. Today I put myself to the test, with the added complications of having teams coming by in both directions. It worked out just as easily as I thought. The teams passing on the return from the loop only had about 4 miles left to the finish, so I knew pretty much what the results were before the last riders even finished. They supposedly had live video streaming on the internet but I was not able to get it, so my scoring was the only progress information we had there. A moment of excitement: one of the top contending men's teams, Tinkoff Saxo, got tangled up and crashed right in front of us. They got up and finished, but their race was history. At the time of their crash they were leading by about 10 seconds, and if they had not crashed they would have ended in the top five. A fun day for us, but S was very tired by the time we got home.

Monday- There was time trial racing today for junior women and men under 23, but we took a rest day and got some chores done. We were having trouble with one of the stove burners flaring up and were able to get a service man out to fix it. And the tire with the slow leak, which we have had fixed twice, was still leaking, so we went to a tire place and had the spare put on. if we get a flat the tire now in the spare position will not have much pressure in it, but we do have a little emergency compressor (thanks, Matt for the gift from a couple of years ago), so we should be OK. We'll get a new wheel for the leaky tire when we get home. Tomorrow there are more time trials including the elite women. There was some light rain this afternoon, which slowed down the late starters among the racers. Tomorrow's forecast includes 30% chance of showers. Note on today's results: an American girl, Chloe Dygert, won the junior women's time trial by a huge margin: over a minute in a 20-minute race. 2nd was also an American girl.

Thur. 9-17

About 2 hours today to get to our campground north of Richmond. I made reservations here last fall, as soon as we decided to make the trip. We'll be here for 2 weeks, so I was hoping the place would turn out to be at least clean and comfortable. Well, it is that and more. When registering, I told the manager we'd be away for four days next week, leaving the trailer here. I hoped they'd have somewhere we could park it, at a reduced cost. But she said we should just leave it in our site and wouldn't be charged at all for those four days. And while she was at it, she gave us a discount for the other days we'll be here, even though I thought their $30 rate was pretty reasonable. Our campsite is adjacent to the office/community room, which is good because they have free waffles there every morning, except Thursdays (like today) when they have free hot dogs and such stuff. The showers and laundry room are also in that HQ building. This is all true. We've been in over 70 campgrounds this summer, and none approach this for comfort, amenities, and freebies. Only negative is that the campground is right beside I-95, so we get traffic noise, but it isn't loud and I don't expect it will bother us.

Soon after we set up camp, we were surprised when old cycling friends from Florida, Ron and Cheryl Adams, pulled into the next site with their big new RV rig. If these bike races are anything like the Olympics in '96, we may see other people we know as well.

Don't know if I'll have anything of general interest to add to this blog for the next few days. Tomorrow night is the opening ceremony and the Adamses have extra tickets for us. Saturday is a practice day for time trial teams and individual racers. Sunday through Wednesday are time trials, and Thursday through next Sunday are road races over a mostly-downtown circuit. Should be fun to watch. Our general plan is to park where we can and then get around by bike. The weather forecast for the next ten days is for no rain and temperatures of 60-80. 

Wednesday, Sept. 16 to Cape Charles, Va.

Before leaving Assateague this morning, we spent an hour in the canoe paddling around tidal marshes and a small island out in the bay. By the time we came back and drove out of the park we had seen three bands of horses. Funny, an ordinary horse in a pasture would keep my attention for a few seconds, if that. But these little wild ones are something else. They don't do anything spectacular; they mostly graze on marsh grass or grass along the roads or campgrounds. What seems to make them different is that they take no notice of people at all. I'm sure they'd react if they were threatened in some way, but as far as I can see they show no fear of or interest in people. They just amble around in groups and mind their own business.

We have been having trouble with a slow leak in the right rear tire of the Suburban. We thought we'd gotten it fixed on Cape Cod but whatever they did had no effect. Today we found a tire shop in the little town of Berlin, Md. (BER lin, if you please). They found a crack in the wheel which was allowing air to seep out along the rim. I was ready to buy a new wheel, or at least have them mount the tire on the spare's rim. But they put a sealant around the leak and at least for the rest of the day it seems to be holding air. So far, so good. They recommend we get a new wheel when we get home, but in the meantime it is safe to drive on.

A couple of hours of driving took us down to near the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, in Virginia now. We stopped at a large campground which is winding down for the end of the season. We got a campsite directly on the Chesapeake Bay. The view is beautiful. We can just barely see across the bay to the western shore. Some large ships are moving up and down the bay, and others are anchored in the distance. This evening I launched the canoe and paddled around the calm shallow water for a while by myself, and when the sun went down we got one of the most spectacular sunsets we've ever seen, blazing red.

Tomorrow we'll be at Richmond, where we'll stay for two weeks (except for a side trip to Williamsburg) while we see the cycling world championships and join in a tandem bike rally. So this is the last night of our "Seacoast Tour", which has taken us out the St. Lawrence and the Gaspe, along the coast of New Brunswick, over to Prince Edward Island, to Cape Breton, Newfoundland, and Labrador, finally reaching the easternmost point in mainland North America, back down to Southern Nova Scotia, along New Brunswick's southern coast, down the coast of New England, and along the shore all the way to the Virginia Capes. It has been a great tour, and we aren't tired of it. But we are tired. It will be good to stay in one place for a while and shift gears on our activities.

Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 14/15

Monday: Our campground was only a few minutes from the Cape May ferry across Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware. The morning was cool and clear, with a strong wind from the SW which made for a bouncy 15-mile ride, even for the relatively large ferry. Once ashore in Delaware, we took the shoreside highway and passed through numerous beach towns but continuous beach development. Passing into Maryland we continued south until after Ocean City an inlet forced us across the bay to the Eastern Shore mainland, then back out to Assateague Island, a National Seashore. We stopped at the visitor center and asked about camping. The woman replied, "There are two parks. For the Assateague State Park Campground you make reservations one year ahead. At the National Seashore campground you make reservations six months ahead". "But ma'am, the sign outside says both parks have vacancy." "Well, yes, they do, you can camp there, but not with reservations". "Huh?" Anyway, we got a good campsite, not on the beach but overlooking the inland bay. Assateague is a 37-mile barrier island famous for its wild horses. We thought we might be lucky and see one, but it turns out they are pretty much everywhere. The horses have been wild on the island for about 300 years, and have reverted to the social system of 'aboriginal' wild horses everywhere: small bands consisting of a harem of mares, one dominant stallion which protects and defends them, and a dominant mare which makes all the decisions about where they go and what they do. The horses are small and stocky, and pay little attention to people unless they are bothered. There are about 90 horses, and they keep the population in check by birth-control darts. There are also lots of white tail deer and a population of introduced Sitka deer. After setting up camp we took a nature walk on a marsh nearby, which was full of life: crabs, fish, birds, even a couple of deer and a horse. We drove into town for dinner, mediocre. During the evening we heard a whinney and found there was a lone horse wandering past our trailer. We'll stay here an extra day.

Tuesday: In the morning we took a leisurely bike ride around the park and back to the visitor center. On the way we could see a group of wild horses grazing on the marsh grass near the bay shore.  After lunch we took two more nature trail walks, one through a pine forest and another along the dunes.

It almost happended that Assateague was developed like barrier islands farther north. In the 1950's a paved road was built the length of the island and the land was subdivided into thousands of building sites, with a master plan that would have included hotels, marinas, everything. A storm in 1962 wiped the island clean- houses and all- and the National Park Service turned it into a park in 1965. We saw traces of the old road on the dunes walk this afternoon. Most of the island can now be reached only by boat, except that in the winter ATV's are allowed on the beach. A beautiful place. Said to be many mosquitos, no-see-ums, and horseflies, but we haven't been bothered by them at all.

Sunday, Sept. 13 to Cape May, NJ

The campground has canoe and kayak rentals, and carries people upriver to paddle back down. This morning the weather was clear, so we arranged with them to shuttle us with our canoe. By 10:30 we were on the river, Cedar Creek, which turned out to be clear, narrow, shallow, fast and winding. There were two groups kayaking who rode up to the put-in with us, but we launched ahead of them and never saw them afterward. The creek was great fun to paddle. Plenty of snags, logs and sharp turns, much like Juniper Run at home. No rocks; the creek runs through the Pine Barrens, which have sandy soil. The glaciers never got this far south to leave chunks of rock they'd picked up. The woods were thick with cedars, pines and red maples. And pines, too. The run was supposed to be three hours, but we reached the one-hour-to-go bridge after only one hour. So we changed gears and collected trash for the rest of the trip. Who would leave their trash beside a beautiful creek in the woods? Answer: many many people. One of the pieces of trash we picked up was a trash bag the canoe rental people give out. "What should we do with this trash bag, Helen? Whatever. Just throw it in the creek with the beer cans, I guess".

We drove to Cape May at the southern tip of the New Jersey shore, and we had plenty of time so we stuck to U.S. 9, which goes through all the little shore towns, instead of the Garden State Parkway. The Jersey shore is not especially picturesque, but once south of Barnegat there was increasing space between towns. Many are oriented toward boating and beaches. Down toward Cape May there are even some farms. Once we set up camp we drove around the historic center of Cape May, a good movie set for a 1900-era seaside resort. Lots of Victorian rooming houses and B&B's along the shore. Was here once before, by boat with the T's, but didn't see much of the town then.

Friday and Saturday, 9-12/13 Mystic Seaport and down to Jersey Shore

Friday- 9-11. I hope for Osama's sake there really is a Hell.
a.m. weather much better than yesterday. Misting rain which stopped by 9. Rest of the day was sunny in the 70's. Can't ask for more. Drove just a few miles to Mystic Seaport. My 4th visit, S's 3rd; neither of us has been there in a long while, though. Crowd was small and some evidence that the Seaport is quieting down their operation for the end of the season now that the summer-job college kids are gone, except for those in the still-active Williams Mystic Program. Was good to see the newly-restored Charles W. Morgan which took a cruise around New England last year, for the first time since the 1920's. Also enjoyed revisiting many of the same exhibits and boats we'd remembered. The small boat exhibit features catboats right now, and they did have some beauties. We took a harbor cruise in a launch operated by the Seaport, and the captain's commentary included the info that in an adjacent warehouse not open to the public they have about 500 boats stored. Imagine that- wouldn't it be wonderful to crawl through there? Mystic has a new exhibit hall with the theme of whaling. Very good stuff, but no match for New Bedford. The blacksmith in charge of the shipsmith exhibit doesn't remember son Peter, but he started there in 1990 which I think was after Pete was there. Several grand banks dories at dockside, and I would have enjoyed taking one out for a row but didn't have time or initiative to ask.

Saturday, 9-12 a travel day. We followed I-95 along the Conn. shore to New York, across the George Washington Bridge, and down the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Expressway to the campground we'd spotted online near Tom's River. Traffic wasn't too bad, and the driving was not exactly stressful, but the highways are no longer familiar to me so I had to stay alert, even with the help of GPS. Tolls on the NJ and Garden State were very high with the trailer, about $30. Consolation prize: we filled up the gas tank at Bayville, NJ for $1.94.9 per gallon, cheapest gas in many years. Worldwide economy must be really slow. Or maybe it's the supply effect of fracking in North Dakota. Arived at campground just in time for the rain and with just enough time to change clothes and go a few miles to a vigil Mass. Good to have that done.

Sign seen in a construction zone on the New Jersey Turnpike: "Put Bodies Down Before Moving". A sure sign of overregulation, if there ever was one. Imagine: Hey Vinney- Solly got a ticket on the Turnpike. Fix it, will ya? What they get him for? Throwing a stiff out of a moving vehicle. Ah- fagetaboudit.

The campground is near a good stream for canoeing. If the weather in the morning is better we may pay for a lift upstream to a put-in point and paddle back here. Not far to go tomorrow, just to Cape May. Next day we'll take the ferry across Delaware Bay and head further down the coast. Stay tuned.

Thursday, Sept. 10 Woods Hole MA to Mystic, CT

a.m. drove to New Bedford to see whaling museum there. On the way it began to rain. In New Bedford it took a few minutes to find a place to park our rig. Started to parallel park in two vacant spaces, but the man with the next parked car behind was so alarmed at the idea, I moved on. Did find a place only a block from the visitor center. Since I was there last (1960) the whole downtown area has become a National Historic Site. New Bedford was the #1 whaling port in the world in the period from about 1845 to 1890, and one of the wealthies cities in the world during that time. Evidence of that still shows. Also a major immigrant destination for Portuguese and Cape Verdeans and Azoreans, most of whom came to work the whaleships. We moved on to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, an old institution with a huge collection of whaling artifacts and a 1/2 size model of a whaleship. Fortunately it is all indoors, because by then it was raining with a will. Also of note in the museum is a huge collection of scrimshaw. The museum overall is a little bit of hodgepodge compared with new museums but all their displays are in good condition and the interpretive information is excellent. Spent about two hours there, and could have stayed much longer. When I was there in 1960 the tour guide was an old Indian man who had actually served as a crewman on a sailing whaleship. I remember his tales of his hard life did not make me wish I'd also been a whaler.

We moved on and followed the coast through Rhode Island to Mystic CT where we'll visit their seaport museum tomorrow. Raining buckets. The first really rainy day in a month; the forecast for tomorrow is not great but better.

Wed. 9-9 Martha's Vinyard

This morning we rode the bike 5 miles to Woods Hole, where we caught the 45 min. ferry to Martha's Vinyard. Sunny and warm, not much to see on the crossing except one small 3-masted schooner,  with the masts increasing in height from forward to aft. With the highest mast aft, what would you call the three masts? By the way, the 6-masted Wyoming named theirs fore, main, mizzen, jigger, driver and spanker. In the case of the one 7-master that was built, the second to last mast was the pusher. I'll bet they actually referred to them by number.

On Martha's Vinyard we rode around Oak Bluffs and Vinyard Haven towns for a little while, but the streets aren't good for cycling: narrow and full of boutiques and shoppers. We rode along the coast for a few miles, mostly on a paved bike trail, to Edgartown, a very pretty town. Strong wind on our nose getting there, however. Locked bike and walked a trail out to a little lighthouse. Edgartown's harbor has about six identical beautiful keelboats moored, about 30', no cabin trunk, long overhangs. Rode further south to Katama Beach, then looped back north. Stopped for lunch at a small private airstrip with a diner. S had an open faced roasted mushroom sandwich, and I had a fried oyster roll. Rode through a state park with paved bike trails and worked our way back to the ferry. Martha's Vinyard is larger than I expected, about the size of a county. To ride all the way around would be about 60 miles, too far for the time we were out there. Anyway, back at campground by 5:30 after 46 miles of riding. Had killed our appetites with ice cream while waiting for the return ferry, went to bed without any supper.

Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 7 and 8 at Sea Pines, Brewster MA

Monday: Labor Day.    And S's birthday.

a.m. took canoe to Long Pond, a 3-mile lake in the middle of Cape Cod peninsula. We'd checked out the lake 2 days ago, and found a small beach park where we could almost launch directly from the car top. Windy conditions, and we didn't want to get caught downwind of the take-out, so we paddled along shore to the windward end of the lake. Many vacation homes on the lakefront, some elaborate but some very simple. Most haven't been shut down for the season. A warm, sunny day, so lots of people swimming and boating. Once opposite our put-in we turned around and circled the windward end of the lake again. Total about 3 miles. A good workout, a very pretty lake. Clear and warm.

After lunch we drove just a couple of miles to Old Sea Pines Inn. S attended Sea Pines Camp in summers from age about 6 to 11, and boarding school at Sea Pines School for about 5th through 8th grade. The school closed, and the camp was sold off to developers in the 1970's. The school property has been a B&B since 1977. S has happy memories of her years there. Our room happened to be the one where a couple of lonely weeks quarantined for whooping cough. The inn has preserved most of the original architecture and dormitory areas although we weren't able to look into all the rooms. Of course, they are all upscale compared to kids' dorms in the 50's. There has been major expansion of dining and common areas, and the inn (1850's vintage) is in excellent repair. They have pictures and documents from the old days and S even found herself listed on the roster of 1956 campers. Some of her old friends have come back over the years and signed a guest book. Sometimes it is not good to go back to a place you remember fondly, but in this case S really enjoyed it.

Mike, Pete, Melissa and Alison all called to wish S a Happy Birthday, and it was fun to talk with them. We feel like we've been out of touch; more than we've needed to be. Also a welcome birthday message from friend Susie T.

Tuesday, Sept. 8

Matt called a.m. to wish S Happy Birthday, completing the brood of well-wishers.

We had lost some pressure in one of the Suburban's tires, so early in the morning we took it to a nearby gas station, left it to be checked out, and walked back to Old Sea Pines Inn for breakfast. A good breakfast it was, too. By noon the tire was fixed, so we retrieved the car and set off for Hyannis to visit the JFK Hyannis Museum. The town is very congested and we couldn't find parking space with the trailer, but we cruised by the museum and could see that it didn't amount to much. So we skipped the museum, had lunch in town (did find parking there), and drove to campground near Woods Hole. The plan for tomorrow is to bike to the Martha's Vinyard ferry, spend the day seeing that island by bike, and return to this campground at the end of the day. Then head for points west and south. Our only fixed goal is to be at Richmond by Sept. 17th.

Sunday, Sept. 6 at Cape Cod

Not as chilly as yesterday morning, temp in high 50's when we awoke, nearing 70 by the time we set off on the bike. Rode 2 miles on cross-cape rte 137, then got on the rail-trail and headed east. A few miles to Nickerson State Park where we picked up a trail map. Several paved bike trails go about 3/4 of the way around the large park. The trails are winding, sometimes steep, and great fun to ride. S remembers the park from her childhood. To complete the circuit we'd have had to ride several hundred yards on a hiking trail and another mile or two on a horse trail. We weren't anxious to go on those, and besides, bikes aren't allowed on them. So we made it an out-and-back. We were able to take a couple of alternative trails, and every route looks different from the other direction anyway, so we ended up with about eleven fun miles in the park. We stopped at a nearby restaurant for lunch, with a sign out front:"College kids gone, patio and bouncer closed for the season". Then back on the trail and rode to First Encounter Beach, where the Pilgrims first put a boat ashore. That beach was also a frequent excursion destination for S when she was at school here. Low tide, and people were as much as 1/2 mile out on the beach toward the ocean. We walked out there, and could see the tide start to rise, with the shoreline moving inland at a little slower than walking pace. No danger, since the beach grade is slow gradual. Back at the campsite after total 32 miles riding at 3:30. Wanted to visit the Kennedy museum at Hyannis, but too late; called it a day. Beautiful weather for us and for locals celebrating end of summer. School started last week around here. A few locust trees starting to show red foliage, also a few blackgums and sassafrass trees. But only a few. Mostly still summer-green.

Saturday, 9-5 to Cape Cod

a.m. temperature 52. Coolest morning in three weeks, but it soon warmed up to mid 70's.

Leaving our campsite this morning near the New Hampshire border north of Boston, I coded the TomTom GPS to get us around the city and out to Brewster on Cape Cod. The recommended route didn't follow the old Route 128 ring or the outer I 495 ring. It showed a route right through the middle of the city. That had to be wrong. I did the same exercise with Google Maps and got the same answer. What do I know? If I'm so smart, why ask? So we went witht the program. All I can report is that Boston got something for its billions spent on the Big Dig tunnel. We breezed through the city almost without slowing down at all.

Shortly after noon we were at the campground where we have reserved the next three days. Brewster is where S attended boarding school and also summer camp for several years. She's anxious to see the school, now a B&B, and a couple of other places she remembers enjoying.

After lunch we dressed out and got on the bike to explore the area. We'll leave visiting old haunts for the next two days. We checked out Long Pond in mid-cape, which has a good spot where we can launch the canoe, and we followed a paved rail-to-trail which crossed to the ocean side of the cape and NW to Chatham. Back the same way, total 30 miles. Good ride. That left us enough time to wash up and dress for church, a little chapel only 2 miles away. This is their last Sunday for the season, but there's a parent parish only 5 miles south.

After we leave Cape Cod we're hoping to visit the Adams (both) historical site south of Boston, but they have a parking garage which may not have the 9' clearance we need. Will have to check about that before we commit.

Thur. and Fri. Sept. 3 and 4 Boothbay Harbor, ME to Bath, ME and Salisbury, MA

Thursday, 9-3: Not many miles to cover today, so we kept alert for scenic or interesting sidelights. Drove from Boothbay Harbor back up the long peninsula to the coast, then back down the next peninsula to Popham Beach and Ft. Popham. Not many people get down there. Popham beach is just inside the mouth of the Kennebec River, a pretty, tiny fishing village. There was a lobster boat heading out with a steadying sail set. I've seen a few boats with steadying sails rigged, but this was the first one set. The fort was built in the Civil War to protect the river, which leads up to the important shipbuilding city of Bath. It was garrisoned again in the Spanish American War and WWI. Built of granite, well preserved in form of 2-story semicircle with gun ports facing out over the river mouth. Great accoustics inside the fort, and just enough room for a small concert. Don't know if they ever use it for that. Back up that peninsula to Bath, and stopped at Maine Maritime Museum, built on the grounds of Percy and Small Shipyard, 1895 to 1920, which built 40 large coasting schooners, including the 6-masted Wyoming, the largest wooden ship ever built in U.S. at about 325' and about 3500 tons. Many of the original shipyard buildings are still there, including the mold loft, blacksmith shop and lumber mill. Many old tools and machines. A full-size sculpture on the site of Wyoming's building way showing the shape of the stern and stem. Incredibly big. They finished it in 9 months and launched it fully rigged and equipped: raise the sails and sail away. Much to see, and we spent most of the afternoon there. Perhaps the best maritime museum we've ever seen, other than Mystic. Leaving the museum, passed Bath Iron Works where they build Navy ships. Went through our neighbor Jan's childhood hometown of Brunswick, Me. and snapped a few pictures for her. Drove past beautiful campus of Bowdoin College right in town of Brunswick. Circled around Portland and reached Kennebunkport. Too late to cook dinner so we went in to town, walked around to see it. Small town, full of boutiques and jewelry shops and very well dressed people. Too much money in any one place can at times not be a good thing. Pretty harbor. Had a very good dinner, not over the top.

While we were at the Maritime Museum, we had thunder and lightning and a little rain. First real rain in a couple of weeks.

Friday, 9-4: Air distinctly cool and fresh this morning, with a good breeze. Sign of season changing? Last few days we've seen a few branches of Red Maple trees with fall colors. Think we'll be too far south too soon to see much fall foliage. Another short mileage day. Drove a little out of our way to Ft. McClary at Kittery, Me. Various fort buildings from 1600's to Civil War. Lots and lots of sailboats moored in the river and coves of Kittery, across river from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Google tried to send us up a one-way street in downtown Portsmouth, which was exciting. In Portsmouth visited Strawbery Banke (original name of city of Portsmouth)Museum where an old neighborhood has been preserved of houses and shops dating back as far as 1670. Furnished to correspond with various times right up to 1950's. Interesting buildings and stories. Good display of old tools. Leaving Portsmouth, a very attractive center city with lots of 19th century houses and other buildings, we turned to our TomTom GPS. It did just as badly as Google, directing us to turn up a pedestrian street so narrow I think you could reach out and touch buildings on both sides. Didn't fall for that; not completely lacking in common sense. On to campground just over state line in Salisbury, Mass.

Saturday, 8-29 to Wednesday, 9-2 Deer Isle, Camden, and Boothbay Harbor, Me.

Been negligent about writing up the blog. I've kept notes, but that's no substitute: often overlooks the most interesting items. Anyway,

Saturday, 8-29. Drove from Mt. Desert Island to Deer Isle. Not more than 15 miles as the crow flies, but 1 1/2 hours of driving. Checked into Old Quarry Adventures campground near Stonington. The campground's main business is kayak rentals to people heading to offshore islands to camp. We launched the canoe and paddled for an hour and a half among rocks and inlets. Didn't venture far offshore because of a moderate chop and a headwind we'd face returning. Drove 2 miles into Stonington to check out the church so we'd know when and where to go in the morning.

Deer Isle is a chain of islands linked to the mainland by bridges and causeways. Stonington is at the south end, a picturesque seafaring town with little of the  glitz of Bar Harbor. Most of the boats in the harbor are lobster boats, nearing the end of the season. More remote offshore islands have lobster seasons which extend all winter, because lobsters move into deeper water. I get the impression that the lobster fishery isn't as closely regulated as it is in Canada.

Sunday, 8-30: Drove into Stonington for 8 o'clock Mass, then to a cafe in town for breakfast. Plan for the day was to rent a sailboat. The campground has several, including two pretty little O'Days. But there was little wind so we held off on that. We took a walk in the old granite quarry on top of the hill behind the campground. It operated from about 1895 to 1960's. They still quarry granite on one of the offshore islands and barge it in. Still waiting for wind to pick up, read John Grisham's Bleacher, which I'd picked up in town from a free book rack outside a shop. Finished off the whole book, but still no wind and now it's too late. Disappointing; looks like a great place for a day sail, gunkholing around many small islands. Also continued to read Saul Bellow's More Die of Heartbreak, and reread a slim book of the two Icelandic Vinland Sagas. The sagas themselves are easy and entertaining reading, and the book has a lot of background information. It turns out that L'Anse aux Meadows, the Norse site at the north end of Newfoundland, was definitely one of their camps during the three expeditions over the years 999 to 1009, but can not be the place they gave the name Vinland to. Vinland had grape vines, self-propogating grain, and butternut trees, none of which grow that far north. No other Norse site has been found in North America, so Vinland is yet to be found. The book's notes make a case that it might have been on Prince Edward Island or across the Northumberland Strait on the coast of New Brunswick. Wherever the site was it may have been destroyed by later settlement, so we may never know.

So- a lazy day, but not an unpleasant one.

Monday, 8-31: Drove to Camden. On the way, stopped at Bucksport on the Penobscot River, where there is a new cable-stayed bridge by the same engineers as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. We took an elevator to the top of one of the towers and had a great view of the river, towns, and surrounding countryside. Right next door is Fort Knox which we also toured. The fort was built in the early 19th century following the War of 1812 when the British recaptured (and annexed!) eastern Maine. The fort was still not complete by the Civil War, at which time it was hurriedly "fortified" in reaction to a buildup of British troops and ships in Canada and the fear that the British might intervene on the side of the Confederacy. I had no idea of that. Afterward, the fort languished and spent most of its career with a garrison of just one man.

At Camden we took a short hike toward the top of the mountain behind Camden Hills State Park, where we camped years ago on our way to the Maritimes.

Tuesday, 9-1: Went into Camden, walked the waterfront, and signed up for a day sail on a schooner, the Surprise. A 48 footer built in 1918 as a yacht on the lines of a Gloucester fishing schooner. Very pretty boat and in pristine condition. Enjoyed the outing, but not enough wind to really sail. And when we did have a little wind, they didn't trim the sails accordingly; just kept them sheeted in even though we were on a light beam reach. Probably didn't want the booms moving around. Helped with halyards. Capt and mate made a big deal of my knowing how to coil and stow lines. After the cruise we did some grocery shopping and then drove to the top of Mt. Battie for a spectacular view of Camden harbor and Penobscot Bay. We could see across to Deer Isle.

Wednesday, 9-2 Moved on toward Boothbay Harbor, only a short distance. Stopped briefly at Rockland where there were two large charter schooners, including American Eagle, on which son Peter crewed one summer. After setting up camp we drove in to Boothbay Harbor but did not stay: hard to find parking and we could see what we wanted to from the car: a pretty town and fine natural harbor. Lots of lobsterboats but no schooners or other boats of note. Headed back to camp and set out on a good canoe paddle. Went 1 1/2 miles down a tidal river (high tide) too. Before dinner, S took advantage of the nearness of the campground's laundry.