Even more Maine

Thursday, we started to get serious about our hurricane preparations. I got started early, cooking some stew meat, cutting up vegetables and loading the slow cooker for a several future dinners. Then it was off to the grocery store for last minute items before the rush of locals hit the road. I also filled the car with gas. Later, Suz and I headed to The Helm restaurant on US1 for lunch then visited the local Maine Sport store, kind of a mini-Bass Pro Shop. Both of us needed semi-winter jackets and we found what we were looking for. The rest of the afternoon we worked around the coach, doing wash and generally getting ready to pull up stakes should the weather demand such. Around 4, I headed down to Rockland to meet Bob Leach at The Waterworks. Returning home, the beef stew was done and dinner was served - delicious!

We watched the The Weather Channel most of the evening trying to figure out where Irene was going to go and how strong she would be when she reached Maine. I worse came to worse, we were prepared to leave Maine Friday and head toward New York, but it appeared as though Irene's path was moving a bit West and we would be heading right into the path if we left.

Friday was a beautiful day, and Irene seems to be heading further West. The hurricane is also forecast to be no more than a tropical depression by the time it hits Maine. As such, we decided to stay in Maine with an option to move to Augusta to get away from the coast. without a doubt we will move from the Camden Hills RV Resort before the storm hits due to the number of trees in the park. At the very least, we will move to our next stop, Saltwater Campground, which is way above sea level and has no trees close to the RV sites. Saturday will tell the tale.

Late in the morning, Suz, Dixie and I took a drive down route 131 to the tip of the St. George Peninsula. We passed through the picturesque villages of Tennants Harbor and would up in the lobster fishing village of Port Clyde, where we visited the Marshall Point lighthouse. Heading back North, we stopped at Doug's Seafood for a giant lobster roll, then it was up route 73 to Owls Head and Rockland.

We now know that Dixie gets car sick, so we headed back to the coach to drop her off before heading back to Owls Head to see its lighthouse, then meet Bob and Sheila at The Waterworks for happy hour. . Then it was be home again for the rest of the tortellini or beef stew, or both, and another dose of The Weather Channel. As an aside, have you ever noticed how The Weather Channel loves to sensationalize weather events. They are in their glory reporting all the minute details of hurricanes or other storms over and over again. A bit tiresome in my opinion.

Saturday arrived to a foggy day, but no wind. It is eerily quiet as we wait for the onset of the hurricane. The latest word is that it has landed in North Carolina as a category 1, giving us some hope that it will be a moderate windstorm by the time it hits upper New England. Time will tell. At this time, we plan to stay in the area, moving to our new campground sometime this afternoon. Of course we will keep watching The Weather Channel. Until the next posting, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog