Greetings from New Hampshire! We again don’t have internet access at our site, so I am posting in the morning. Today’s song is by Lionel Richie, entitled “Just Go”. It’s just the way I feel. We should…just go.
We left Bar Harbor at 11 am Sunday, and it was about a 4 hour drive to Gorham, NH. The Obamas left way earlier – and they didn’t even call to say goodbye! We decided to travel down Route 2, instead of taking I95 and a faster route. It was exactly as I had hoped. Rt. 2 has a speed limit in most places of 55mph – so it moves – but it also slows down to 25mph when it winds through small, local towns. This is the only way to get a glimpse of actual, local life in the U.S. We saw such small, little towns – with a town center, a local grocery, small churches, little side of the road yard sales, and many farms along the way. The skies were bright blue, with puffy, huge white clouds, the sun was hot, and the scenery was the deepest shades of green. We rode the entire way without the air conditioning, with a delicious breeze keeping us comfortable. It was a terrific ride.
Along the way, we stopped for ice cream. That seems to be my one caloric treat when I travel, as I NEVER eat real ice cream. I don’t! I eat frozen yogurt (usually fat free), or fat free ice cream, but I never indulge in real ice cream. The milk in real ice cream, and my stomach are not usually on speaking terms, if ya know what I mean. Except, that is, when we are on vacation. So we stopped at a place by the name of “Annabelle’s”. We didn’t know it, but we were apparently at the BEST ice cream stop in America – if you listen to all the other customers and the owner!! As soon as we walked up, and we were perceived as being out-of- towners (I guess the small trailer in the parking lot must have given us away!), we started getting recommendations. And they didn’t just stop at “Get the Rocky Road” – they went into explicit detail on their favorites, the delicious tastes involved, the intricate blending of flavors – it was hard to keep a straight face! Rich decided on a peanut butter/peanut sauce/hot fudge/ vanilla ice cream combination. Sorry to say, I can’t remember the exact name of that concoction – those locals would be very disappointed. I had a simple sundae of real maple walnut ice cream and hot fudge – and I mean HOT fudge. It was fantastic. We sat down to eat there, giving Rich a driving break, and the owner made his way to us. He described to us how we are in the “homeland” of Gifford’s ice cream – world famous, supposedly – and this ice cream is better. He gave us the history of Annabelle’s (developed by a retired, Jewish optometrist, I think), the history of his buying the ice cream stop, his financial success, his family background – and if Rich hadn’t gotten up to go when he did, we might still be sitting there, listening! The man WAS very nice. And the ice cream was excellent!
We arrived at the Timberland Camping Area by about 3:45. It is a nice, a typical, tree covered campground – we have stayed in many like this one. It wasn’t as pretty or located as spectacularly as the one outside of Acadia. But it also was $24 LESS per night! When we camp, the average price per night is about $35.00. Here, we are paying $28 and change. This campground is directly on Route 2, and seems to be fine. When I made the reservation, the owner answered the phone. He was so personable – and told me he and his wife only bought the place 3 weeks ago! When I asked why he bought an RV park, his answer was great – “Because we got tired of workin’ for the man!” I love that!
We settled in, did laundry (can you believe it – I under-packed! The queen of the extra clothes!), Rich took a swim, and we ate dinner. The cable connection gets THREE channels only – CBS, NBC, and ABC. It is just like the old days!!! What would Mikaela say? Having only THREE channels to choose from make us…what DOES it make us? , Are we “down-trodden”, or are we lucky? Will it force us to enjoy other forms of entertainment – or will it depress us? Will it make our “camping” experience more authentic? Yes, it will. I have been depending on the cable connection mostly for news and weather on this trip. Listening to local news is just as entertaining as a sitcom! The local sports report in New Hampshire centered around the results of a low scale NASCAR race, with the top prize being $30,000. They also showed video and had interviews from the annual “Crawling Baby Contest”. Riveting!! Last summer, we really needed television for Mikaela. She sometimes needed to just zone out to the Disney channel. And I understand that. Without her along for the ride, sometimes the silence is so relaxing, that I don’t want the lack of sound disturbed by cable. I do have to say, that the only real drawback here, for me, is that there is no internet access at our site. We knew that when we booked the place – price and location sometimes win over convenience. That is why I am posting so late this morning. The hot spot is, once again, up by the office, which closes at 10 pm. I guess I am more dependent upon my electronic “fix” than anyone else in this family. Well, I never smoked, drank, or did drugs. “Facebook” is my drug of choice!
We sat quietly reading before we went to bed. Our “neighbors” campsite is directly out our back window. I wasn’t paying attention, but Rich heard their whole conversation. He started laughing – they were deep in discussion about their trips to Camping World, to Walmart, and their current problem with their RV “awning”. Real deep. If Rich rolled his eyes just one more time, they would have fallen off his face! I found it very funny! We finally fell asleep, and woke up wayyy later than I wanted. It is raining here this morning, so we are currently staying put.
The last trivia answer, about Rhinebeck, NY being in the news, centers around the fact that Chelsea Clinton’s wedding will take place there, on July 31st. Today’s trivia is from that gentleman at Annabelle’s. He told us we should take a detour from Route 2, and drive up “Summer Road” 13, to see really beautiful, local scenery. What is a “Summer Road”? Answer will be…whenever I get the next connection!
Plans for today are sketchy, especially because of the rain. Other than being wet, the weather is pretty bearable. They consider this a heat wave, but, we Jersey natives know a REAL heat wave when we see one! This is just what we call “summer”!
Hope to catch you tomorrow.
Marla and Rich
Z3 Cross Country 
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