Ottawa

This time we went to Canada.  We've both been to Montreal before, but never went to Ontario.  Actually, we started by getting a route to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it showed us a way through Canada.  I figured that would be interesting and maybe this time we would actually see some wildlife besides our own two dogs.  Well, so far we just saw one deer on our way up through Vermont.

We left in the middle of the afternoon to make some headway.  And halfway through the ride G was too tired to drive so we stopped in a small rest-area in Sharon, VT.  There were a few big rigs, but it was quiet, cozy and free.

We bypassed Montreal because we've both been there a lot and figured with a trailer in tow it would probably be a mess.

We got into Ontario in the afternoon and didn't have a place in mind to stay.  I looked on my RV Parky app and found a great campground called Wesley Clover Park Campground.  It was small but woodsy and private.  We were actually next to a tiny little cottage that was empty.  It was a lovely place.  But all night long we heard some noise and finally realized it was the highway that we were just minutes from, even though we had to loop around and felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.  There were a lot of empty areas that we were able to walk the dogs.  There was so much wilderness I was a little apprehensive to walk my dogs alone, but did and still didn't see any bear or moose or elk.

The next morning we had our truck unhooked from the trailer and made our way into downtown Ottawa.  Of course it was rush hour, but we were on vacation and forget that everyone else has to work.  But, oh my goodness... OTTAWA IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CANADIAN TOWN I HAVE EVER SEEN.  I didn't get very many good pictures because there were so many busses along the sidewalk and it was way to busy to walk the dogs around.

Beautiful pictures to follow when I have amazing wifi.  Right now it's free and very sketchy.  I use to take wifi for granted.

Art Work in the middle of Ottawa

Learning From First Trip

So after our first week of RVing, we've started tweaking things up to make it easier.  We realized we need our coffee and we didn't always have electricity to plug our coffee maker in, or a place to go get coffee.  The first thing we got this time was a percolator.  This way we can use it on our propane stove or even a campfire if need be.  We also decided to not take too much food with us this time.  We did pretty well with the protein bars and some of the canned goods, but we seriously didn't get to use the oatmeal much because making it in a microwave in a paper bowl is NOT a very good idea.  And some of the other stuff seemed like a good idea, but when you have Maine lobster all around you it's hard to eat rice & beans.

 We also had all of our clothes in reusable shopping bags and ended up throwing other stuff on top so it was hard to get at them.  So I found these vegetable bins that should fit just the right amount of clothing for each of us.  And there's enough room to put some rolled up towels on the side. We will figure out what to put in front of these that will be easy to take out and keep these baskets in place.  And we had a cheap runner on the floor for the dogs to be able to jump onto the bed.  On the first day Domino's toenail ripped through it and it got dirty rather quickly.  So we bought these two entry mats that have rubber backing so they don't move.  And they will be easy to clean up and wipe down.  Hopefully round two of RVing will go smoother.  And if it doesn't, I'm sure we will learn some fun new ways to do things.

Travel Trailers Are Tricky

At Recompence Shore Campground we had a little mishap with the truck and camper.  We were looking at the map of the campground and it had lots of different areas.  We could tell where we were, but could not tell how to get back to the office to check out by 11am.  The campsites were enormous, but the roads to and from, not so much.  We went down a few wrong ways, which in a car or truck is just fine, all you have to do is turn around.  But here we had to backup with a 21' trailer behind us.  We were battling trees, large rocks and fence posts.  I was outside the truck and giving directions.  Either my directions were misleading or the drivers ears were shut (I'm not naming names)!  It took us 45 minutes to get to the office, yikes!

As you're turning the truck, the trailer goes the other way so if you turn too much they hit each other.  Most of the time you would stop and turn the wheel.  But this time we had so much stuff in the way we were caught between the trees, rocks and fences.  And all this because there was a bridge that had a sign on it that said, "No RV's allowed over bridge"! The bridge was probably only 6' long.  We did way more damage to our vehicles than we could have possibly done to that little bridge.

Recompence Shore CampGround

This place is more than just a campground Recompence Shore Campground freeportcamping.com.  It is also an organic farm on the ocean, sells vegetables and has a dairy farm with a camp and school for kids.  It's right next to Wolf's Neck State Park Mainetrailfinder.com.  The campsites have water and electricity if you aren't on the ocean, that's what we got.  Today we went to visit the farm and check out the ocean views. We had a very large campsite with a huge open area that the dogs could run around in if we could have unleashed them.  Instead we took them through the trails in the woods on our way to the farm.

Domino & Dallas are loving the cows.

Recompence Shore Campground, Freeport, Maine

This is an awesome place to camp with children. They have so many things going on to teach children about farming.  They also have farm to plate meals on certain days, hay rides & let a few people help with feeding the farm animals.  I wish I knew about this place when my boys were little

The sheep were talking to my dogs.  I don't think they knew what they were and didn't know what to do with them.  I thought for sure Domino would want to go after them and try and herd them.  I know he likes herding us.  And they also had ducks that weren't caged and my dogs just walked by and didn't do a thing.  It was awesome and not stressful like I thought it would be bringing them into the barn.  All the people there were very accommodating and friendly.

Something New To Learn Each Day

Well, I didn't have internet for two days.  I thought I could write my blog and just not publish it.  I guess I was wrong.

We have been seeing some beautiful scenery.  But still no wildlife, unless you count our dogs.  We even stayed inside Acadia National Park for two nights and only saw chipmunks.  How does that happen??

It rained the two days we stayed in the park it was like being in a rainforest. We met a few people from across the way.  One guy was very friendly and liked our dogs, and the other one kept walking by and staring at our dogs without saying hi.  I don't tend to trust people that don't like my dogs.

Today Was A Day Of Beauty

The day started out wonderfully as all days should.  I saw the sunrise from my bedroom window.

We finally got into Acadia National Park.  It is a thing of beauty.  We hiked a lot and walked around some beautiful areas. And we saw an odd thing too.

Jordan Lake in Acadia Park Maine

South Bubble Mountain I guess. Sorry for the blurriness, we were driving with traffic behind us.

After driving and hiking through the Northern part of Acadia, we drove around the Southern part.  It took awhile to get there because you have to drive up the peninsula to go down the other peninsula.  It's not as scenic with mountains, but there are a lot of ocean sites to see.  And we were looking for lobster.  Because how can you come to Maine and not eat lobster and blueberry pie.  We went to one place that said they weren't doing takeout orders on Saturday.  I don't know what the big deal was, but after Gary was grumpy for a little while with his low blood sugar we drove on.  So glad the other place didn't do takeout because we found an awesome place that had a goat and outside tables that we could sit with the dogs.  And we could watch the cook steam the steamers.  It was an awesome and fun place.  The cook was originally from Lowell and was very friendly.  

Then for some reason, as we were driving closer to our camp ground, Bar Harbor Campground, we saw the most random thing.  A bagpiper in full regalia playing the pipes on a rock on the beach.  It was beautiful.

And here is the random awesomeness we saw on a beach in Bar Harbor Maine.  I took a video of part of it, but it won't upload just now.  And it looks like it has on my family kilt.

Oh The Places We Go

Last night we stayed at Searsport Shores Ocean Campground.  It was lovely.  It had electricity and water and free wifi.  But our water hose didn't reach and Gary was having a hard time getting the camper close enough so we went with the water we had in the tank and filled up our holding tank this morning. It cost about $70 for the one night and was nice, but expensive.  Tonight we are staying at the Bar Harbor CampGround and it is supposedly right on the water.  But there is a large cliff and woods separating us.  Although we can see the water. This place is only $30 a night.

If you look hard enough you can see the ocean!

This was the fire we were having.  It was really windy out and thought it might not be a good idea.  It was not, so Gary put it out after awhile with some bottled water.  We also finally tried opening up the awning with a few little snags.

Gary was trying to start the fire with a firestarter like they do in Naked And Afraid.  He cut his hand while opening the package.  I laughed when he wasn't looking.  It didn't work, but we did meet our neighbors from Connecticut who kindly brought over a real lighter, but Gary already had one ready and we talked for a bit.  I have only met nice people in Maine and some of them are just visiting.  A man that works in the deli actually walked down an aisle at Hannaford's to help be find something because I looked confused.  Now that's customer service the Maine way.