Acadia National Park

  Our arrival yesterday to America's favorite National Park gave the Tin Zen Den and company a feeling of accomplishement.  Navigation and travel was uneventful,  we were even confident enough to go on an excursion to a neighboring town in pursuit of a small generator for our "apartment".
  We have been dry camping for 6 days now. In other words, no water or electric hookups and we have had essentially no cellular coverage. As you would imagine, the campsites here in Maine are thickly forrested, so our solar panels on the roof have been useless to us.  Hence, the need for a gasoline powered generator.  Now we are able to recharge our batteries in order to use the water pump, keep our phones and computers charged, and to use small appliances. Ahhhh, life is good!
  Last night Randy and I decided to give the fresh, local lobster another try. The lobster roll we had in Freeport was somewhat of a disappointment. It was the size of a ballpark hotdog but was priced anywhere from $15-$20.  This time, we bought the lobster from a local lobster pound and prepared it at home.  The lobsters were 1 1/2 lbs each and cost $44. Not what I would consider inexpensive, but certainly the freshness of the lobster was incomparable to what can be purchased at a seafood market anywhere else outside of Maine. It was much more flavorful than what I have sampled before and now I am a fan (but only if it is locally caught)!
  This is my favorite meal we have prepared so far while on the road. I hope you will give it a try.  I found the recipe online on Yahoo.

Grilled Lobster with Cilantro-Chile Butter

Rich, herbal cilantro butter spiked with chiles is the perfect dressing for elegantly simple grilled lobster.

SERVES 2–4

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz. unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp. minced cilantro
4 Fresno or Holland chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 lime, zested and quartered
2 2-lb. live lobsters
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, stir together butter, cilantro, chiles, and lime zest; set aside. Using a heavy cleaver, split each lobster in half lengthwise through its head and tail. Scoop out and discard the yellow-green innards and cut off the claws. Transfer the lobster halves, shell side down, to a baking sheet; crack the lobster claws and transfer them to the baking sheet. Drizzle lobster halves and claws with oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium-high. (Alternatively, heat a 12” cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat.) Place lobster halves (flesh side down) and claws on grill and cook for 5 minutes. Turn over lobster halves and claws and spread each with some of the cilantro–chile butter; continue cooking until cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Serve with lime wedges.

Our site at Blackwoods Campground

Resting while on a bike ride circling Acadia National Park

Picking wild blueberries

Seashore when the tide is out

Some photos taken while hiking up Cadillac Mountain

Good First Impression Maine

  Yesterday was finally a short leg for us on this epic, but overall long trip. It was a short 3 hour hop from Sturbridge, Massachusetts and extremely scenic, especially after reaching the Maine state line.  It took several hours before it registered with Ranman and me that we had actually MADE it.
   I, being head navigator, did not have an especially good day. We missed our first exit because the interstate sign did not match the directions being provided by the Maps app. Drat!!! When I finally made a turn to go back, I chose a residential street that was very lovely and charming. Unfortunately, Ranman followed me and I had no idea how or where we were going to turn around that 20 ft truck (Larry) and the 31 ft TZD!  After driving around for 10 minutes, Maps was finally able to route us in a short loop and back out to the main road. Whew, that was a real nail biter! Thankfully, I could not hear Ranman cursing at me as we were driving around aimlessly and the rest of the trip was uneventful.
  We arrived around midafternoon and after a quick huddle, had no trouble positioning TZD for a tremendous waterfront view of Casco Bay. Our roving apartment is at Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport, Maine. The farm is a nonprofit organization owned by the University of Maine. It practices organic farming and is a fun educational tool for children and adults, alike.  Farm tours allow you to visit the organic gardens, barnyard and take a haywagon ride.
  Although I would strongly recommend the farm's campground, it is pretty pricey and is the most expensive place we have stayed at, with our rustic waterfront site (no hookups) costing almost $60/night. There is an abundance of scenic camping
  For those of you that are familiar with outdoor sporting goods, you may recognize this town as the home of LL Bean.  Mainstreet is a tourist's destination with lot's of familiar retailers but it had a very quaint feel, much like you would expect in a New England village.

We had our first lobster roll waterfront at Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster in South Freeport

Wells State Park, Massachusetts

  This last leg of our trip before our final ascent to Maine has taken its toll on our chief driver, Ranman. After a grueling 7 1/2 hour drive, he scraped the bottom of TZD on the curb as he was rounding a turn toward our campsite.  Poor guy, he was tired and hungry and was just in a hurry to set up camp. We learned a valuable lesson to scout out the lay of the campground in Austin before driving the Airstream to our assigned spot.
  One of the rear stabilizing jacks was scraped up so badly it wouldn't extend out to do its job. Ranman was able to remove the jack and then demangled it with some pliers, a hammer, and a whole lot of brut strength.  After attaching it, the stabilizer worked perfectly. Ranman is now working his way up to be chief mechanic :-). Our list of minor repairs that need to be done at the Airstream service center in Ohio is growing.

  The featured restaurant according to our research is a "Southern Barbecue" joint.  I should have known from its location in Massachusettes that it would just be average.

Ranman is smiling because he hasn't tried the food yet

Central Pennsylvania

  After a somewhat frustrating start due to the well-meaning, but incomplete directions of some fellow campers, we are at Little Buffalo State Park. The park has a long history that can be traced back to the American Indians.  Buffalo once ranged in the area that is now enjoyed for its lake fishing, hiking, swimming, and camping in the summer.  There is also a public swimming pool, and several historic items of interest.
  If you desire to spend the night here, there are 40 campsites, camping cottages and a modern cabin that sleeps 12 people. The campsites mix RVs and tent campers--not necessarily a good thing for those that are trying to "rough it" on their camping outing. The campground sits on top of a mountain and is a little small.  The sites are closely spaced with not a lot of natural fauna. Our full hookup site was $39.50/night, not terribly expensive but I wish the setting was more woodsy.
  Remembering as a child when our family camped, I and my brothers wondered why people would ever want to camp in an RV.  Now as a much older adult with a husband and two dogs, I completely understand. Besides, if someone told me that I had to live in a tent and car camp while budget traveling the United States, I don't think we would be here today.  Life is just so much more pleasant with your own comfortable bed and a convenient bathroom while on the road.
  This morning Randy and I only hiked a portion of the 8 miles of interconnecting trails, which took about 2 1/2 hours.  The routes were short, but challenging because of the steep climbs. Its a good thing we fueled up with a great breakfast of Randy's famous buttermilk biscuits, turkey bacon, and yogurt with fresh blueberries and my homemade granola.

Featherweight Biscuits (Bon Appetit 1998)

Makes 12 biscuits

• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup chilled buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F. Sift first 6 ingredients into large bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; knead until smooth, about 8 turns. Roll out dough to 1-inch thickness. Using 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Gather scraps; roll out to 1-inch thickness and cut out additional biscuits.

Transfer biscuits to large ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Meeting Virginia

From Helen, Georgia the Tin Zen Den found its way to Virginia Highland Haven Airstream Park. Located on a mountain, the park has sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and temperatures ten degrees cooler than our last campground. It is laid out a lot like a small airfield, with one long street and 46 campsites facing the beautiful mountains. Although not as inexpensive as Top of Georgia, certainly more beautiful. Like TOG, this airstream park has a clubhouse, as well as nice laundry facilities. The grounds are nicely landscaped and there is a small apple orchard and waterfall below the camping area.  The hosts and residents are also very friendly, inviting us to enjoy live music our first evening, and an ice cream social and movie at the clubhouse, on our last.

Our neighborhood for two nights

 

Our view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the "front porch"

 
  My Mini Cooper Roadster, Austin has been a fantastic sightseeing vehicle when we have set up our "apartment" at the camp and are ready to do some exploring.  Even though we had a little rain drizzling, it didn't take away from the beauty and fresh air we enjoyed while we had the top down.

Sights along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Finally Making Our Way to Maine

  Well, Randy and I have officially been on the road since July 2nd. Our BFF Sara came all the way from Jacksonville, FL to visit us at an RV park in Pine Mountain, Ga. We had a great time cooking, eating, and hiking (no drinking, lol) over the holiday weekend.
Ranman, the grill master, smoked some BBQ ribs while I prepared some easy sides. I think Sara felt we were spending way too much time in the kitchen, but good food is very important to the foodies that we are!
 The campground was Pine Mountain RV Resort and was 3 miles away from Calloway Gardens. It was an above average RV park with a pool, playground, fitness room, retail store, and laundry facilities. Our site was supposed to be one of the best available with views of a small lake and pasture. It was a pricey $50/night, had an old picnic table, and our view was blocked by a fifth wheel our last two nights.  We would definitely not recommend the higher priced sites but would suggest this park for families.
 We had all intentions of going to Calloway but decided that the entrance fee was not worth the cost. We opted instead to do a couple of 3 mile hikes that were at Roosevelt State Park. These were short, but strenuous hikes up a mountain and can be done easily in one hour if you are fit.  
  Currently, R and I are at Top of Georgia Airstream Park near Helen, Ga. It is a nice park with full hookups for $12/night!  It is flanked by a small mountain and gurgling creeks. The sites are closely spaced and offer no privacy, but the budget price more than makes up for it. There are few campers here right now, so Randy and I were still able to find some seclusion.  
 An Airstream Rally had just ended when we arrived and campers have been enjoying watermelon leftover from the rally.   A four o'clock social is announced daily on the intercom system and our friendly park host, Bob will continue to serve it until all the watermelon is gone. 
 There has been a change of plans. Originally, a stop at Tennessee Cumberland Plateau Campground was our intention, but we have decided to skip ahead to another Airstream park in Virginia. Our Maine camping reservations are approaching fast and we want to keep our driving time under 6 hours a day with a rest day in between.

This playground and park stands next to the creek and is dedicated to a past president of the Georgia Unit of the WBCCI.

A creek runs behind our bedroom window.

Our campsite, C9.

Randy enjoying an evening dog walk with Peggy.

Slowly Moving Down the Road

  Well, June 17th was the last day we spent in Chumuckla. The daytime temperatures in the Pensacola area are reaching well into the 90's and a single air conditioning unit was not meeting our comfort needs.  Even though our Airstream is only about 200 sq feet of living space, it requires its two ac units to maintain a comfortable atmosphere while you are camping in the full, blazing sun. It took us 6 weeks before we realized this. Our early days of living in the trailer occured in the beginning of summer when many days were overcast and cloudy due to the rain.
  We are now being hosted by some more dear friends John and Dang in Navarre, Florida. Navarre is an hour away, east of Pensacola.  It is a small town that reminds me of Pensacola in our early days there, over 20 years ago. Their neighborhood association has a fantastic recreational area on the sound that encompasses about 70 acres.  It is about the size of the farm we just left, but has so much more for us to do.  Just to mention a few of the amenities....in addition to the fishing pier and picnic areas, there are two swimming pools, tennis courts, a full sized gym and aerobics room, and a rec room with pool tables.  Last, but not least, we can use both of our ac units because of the 50 amp hookups here in their small RV park. Fabulous!!!!  Randy and I feel like we are in heaven, although he claims that he misses being camped next to the barn (but not the gnats, LOL).
  Unfortunately, the drive to Pensacola for Randy is longer but we only need to be in Florida until July 2nd before we make our way towards Maine. Yay!!!!

The water view from our campsite


                                                                                                 

  

The backdrop to the Tin Zen Den