Trip report--Arkansas to Maine

[gspot01]

The hiking here is simply stunning! Today we leave and start heading south again towards Portland/Freeport.

[gspot01]

Stop #7: one night stay at Cedar Haven Family Campground close to Freeport. Not a destination but perfectly adequate for a stopover.

[PSUFan1]

How long is your total trip in days?

[gspot01]

26 days. Been gone 17 so far.

Met a retired guy tonight in a neighboring campsite from Austin, TX who has been gone 11 weeks and is driving to Acadia. Said he'd be back home sometime in September. He seemed amazed that we had driven it in four days. Wish I could afford that kind of time, but I'm luckier than most, I guess.

[gspot01]

Last night in Maine. Basket of fried clams and scallops at a dockside restaurant I can't pronounce in south Freeport. Tomorrow it's onwards to Pennsylvania.

[TKN 516]

Really enjoying the pictures and the posts that you are sharing. We had such a good time last year. But never enough time to see all we wanted to.

[gspot01]

Originally Posted by TKN 516

Really enjoying the pictures and the posts that you are sharing. We had such a good time last year. But never enough time to see all we wanted to.

Funny, DW and I were just talking during the drive how you could spend a lifetime there and probably still not experience it all. I would gladly come back someday. Just wish it wasn't such such long way away.

[gspot01]

Stop #8: one nighter at Clayton Park Recreation Area outside Scranton, PA.

[CZNEDY]

Nice trip report gspot. Nothing like seeing the ocean when your traveling. Or as we call it here in Mass, The ochun

[n-e-d]

Originally Posted by CZNEDY

Nice trip report gspot. Nothing like seeing the ocean when your traveling. Or as we call it here in Mass, The ochun

X2 ...ned from Woosta

Just wondering gspot were all your campsites reserved?

[gspot01]

Originally Posted by n-e-d

X2 ...ned from Woosta

Just wondering gspot were all your campsites reserved?

Yes. Personally, I have more of a retiree-mindset where you might just drive until you're ready to stop, stay as long as you feel like, then move on to wherever you feel the longing to go.

But DW, she's a planner. Spontaneity and the feeling of being out of control are very stressful to her, despite my assurances that most everything will usually work out in a satisfactory manner.

After 24 years of marriage, we've reached a compromise: if we go together, I allow for a little planning. If I go somewhere by myself, I allow myself to wander. All good.

So, I booked all the sites in April after we had committed to the trip. The Maine sites were easy. I don't think those folks up there had even begun to think about their season yet, which I learned runs roughly from July 4 to Labor Day. Most of the CGs we visited were still relatively empty.

On the plus side, I was telling DW about the neighboring retirees who are spending the summer exploring the east coast and moving around as they feel like it. DW seemed intrigued. Maybe by the time we retire she'll be open to that style also.

[gspot01]

Stop #9: Two-night stay at a beautiful site overlooking a "holler" (that would be "wooded ravine" for those not from my neck of the woods) at the Charlottesville KOA, VA.

Purpose is to see Jefferson's home (Monticello) and take a break from 1000 miles of driving over the last 3 days.

[gspot01]

Monticello

[gspot01]

Stop #10: one night at Soaring Eagle CG in Lenoir City, TN (close to Knoxville). Not even unhooking. Packed in here like sardines, but at this point, who cares? Boy, welcome back, humidity!

[CZNEDY]

Thanks for the trip reports and pics gspot. Hope you enjoyed the trip.

[TKN 516]

Hope you had a great trip. I have enjoyed the pictures and commentary that you provided. Sure is making we want to go back to Maine. It was a beautiful drive up there and back.

We are headed to Indiana today. A short stop in Kentucky for a couple of days to explore the area. Around Corbin Kentucky.

Safe travels!!

[BandJCarm]

I thank you for posting all this. This kind of thing, and helping others, and getting help, is why I come to this site.......not so much to hear whines about quality or dealers (though I bet if I wanted to, I could validly do that better than almost anyone here). Great pics and stories.

Here I sit in S.E. Arkansas with the camper parked in the yard, and swatting skeeters the size of turkeys. I get to leave for the "Nawth" July 31....

[gspot01]

Last stop: 3 nights visiting family in my hometown, Birmingham, AL, before heading back home to Arkansas on July 4. No campground and no pic since we're staying with family--the rig is parked out front on the street, unoccupied.

So, with that, I don't plan on any more updates to this thread. We have had an awesome trip, and it has come to a bittersweet end. On the one hand, we've had a lot of fun and seen/experienced some awesome things. On the other, we're all tired of living in a cramped camper for the last five weeks and looking forward to the relative luxury of the sticks-n-bricks. Plus, the 400-mile days are taking a toll on this aging body.

It has been a real pleasure reporting here on our trip. I'm genuinely glad to read that many of you have enjoyed the updates. That's the whole reason I stuck with it--because I also enjoy reading similar threads about your travels, as well as the "Show us your 201x campsites." I do agree that we could use more of these types of posts on this forum to share the joys of rv-ing, not just the complaints.

Now I plan on giving it a week's break to rest and take care of some business at home before heading back out by myself in mid-July to wander around a bit before I have to go back to work the second week of August. Unless it's too hot

Safe travels, everyone!

[n-e-d]

Congrats great thread

[PSUFan1]

Originally Posted by n-e-d

Congrats great thread

X2. Enjoyed the trip log and also a pic of our site in Bar Harbor for our trip in August. Take care.