Beaches with a View

Our trip towards Maine was primarily routed on Interstate 95 and offered just a few interesting views so we decided to go off the beaten path, stop for lunch in York, Maine and check out what the coastal nearby city offered. This ended up being an excellent choice as we were able to park our RV in an open beachfront lot and make the 3-mile walk up to Nubble Beach and Lighthouse. The smell of the crisp, clean air along with the spectacular views made the walk effortless (even though it was almost entirely uphill). After taking in the sights and eating our lunch, we headed to find our overnight parking.

One of the cheaper ways to travel in an RV is to occasionally “boondock” during destination points. This eliminates having to set up and pay for electricity/water camping sites or hotel rooms yet instead run the RV on a generator and propane. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in New Hampshire that allowed for free overnight parking. As a token of our gratitude, we elected to have dinner there and met a very friendly hostess named Pat. She shared her own story of wanting to sell her house, purchase an RV and begin traveling. Pat enthusiastically invited herself to come take a look at our rig so we provided the tour. One thing that has consistently occurred on this trip is having random strangers walk up to us and tell us about their previous RV travels, desires for taking more trips or simply ask us about technical RV questions. While I'm certainly not the most social person, it has been nice sharing stories and helping others who have the same interest as we do. And for clarification, Darryl typically does most the talking.

In the morning, our next goal was to find a Planet Fitness along with the route so we could get in a little cardio and strength training. Oh, and to, of course, SHOWER! With our hour workout completed, we headed towards Vermont. The next three hours proved to be a test of Darryl and my marriage. As I have mentioned we are still new to the Motorhome with tow experience, so often, we are figuring things out as we go along, which as a side note, does not always make me feel safe and in control. Even with all the proper planning, we have had to adjust for issues outside of our control, i.e., exits closed, Waze incorrect mileage calculations and routes, severe weather, etc. Anyway, back to the disruption of marital bliss we experienced. As we climbed up towards 2400 feet and descended along miles of mountain roadway through Vermont, the RV engine was working overtime to adjust to the upgrades, declines, and weight of towing. As a sign of its effort, the engine continued to make unnerving sounds much like the ones I was making as Darryl maneuvered his way while the tapping brakes, adjusting the tow haul feature and pressing the gas pedal to gain upward momentum. Although Darryl tried to reassure me everything was working as it was supposed to, in my mind, the engine was about to drop right out of the hood due to extreme requests we were asking of it. Needless to say, that didn’t happen and we decided to call it a day and locate an overnight parking spot.

After a quiet evening and sleep in the Applebee’s parking lot, we headed to Le Roy, NY.