Night and Day!

Day 4

Ashland, NH to Boothbay, ME

165 mi, 7 1/4hrs

Diesel $182, 69 gal

So, as I was saying, the campground from H-E-double toothpicks!  First of all, we have never seen so many rugrats in one place.  OMG, the place was full of them. Apparently, none of the residents have ever seen anything of Harvey's magnitude, let alone a motorized vehicle, as they 
tend to flock in the roadway and only glance your way (with their high foreheads and squinty eyes) without moving out of the middle of the road.  

Anyway, our girls were not allowed near the lake, the beach, the boat ramp, etc. so they were easily entertained with marrow bones.  Would you look at the concentration!!  Kept them busy for a good hour-and-a-half.

But, enough about Yogi Bear's Yellowstone Campground (oooh, forgot to mention that Yogi himself takes a golf cart out and raises and lowers the flag each day at sunrise and sunset!)

V. exciting.

Anyhoo, the absolute highlight of the day was arriving at our niece Ryder's camp, Little Wohelo.  First, we stopped at The Mosquito, the ice cream place Ryder introduced us to last year. We left Harvey and took the truck to Little Wohelo.  

We picked up Ryder (OMG she is so beautiful, so tall, looks just like my Mom when she was little and so SMART and FUN!)  

Along with Ryder, we got Catherine AND, I am not making this up, Sophie (a blond) and Lucy (a brunette).  I SWEAR I am NOT MAKING THIS UP!  Awesome.

So, we all went to visit Harvey and the girls (our Sophie and Lucy) and have ice cream at The Mosquito.

Here they all are:  from left to right:  Lucy, RYDER, Sophie and Catherine.  How cute are they?  

Our Lucy and Sophie of course are begging for ice cream within an inch of their lives.  So well behaved, so calm, so well trained.  NOT!

It was wonderful to see Ryder and her friends and after returning them to camp, we made a beeline for East Boothbay, arriving just in time for sunset.

Cheers!

Camp Sangamon!

Day 3

Bomoseen, VT to Ashland, NH

118 mi, 6 hrs

Surprise, surprise, we couldn't get Josh out of his sleeping bag yesterday morning and this morning he was up at the crack of 7:00 raring to go. Wonder why? Sangamon, that why!

Here is the road to Sangamon and here is the lodge at the end of the road.  I said to Josh, that lodge was not that color last year was it? He said NO!

Apparently, last Sunday, a rival camp - the girls camp next door is prime suspect - painted the lodge this lovely shade of pink in the dark of night.  Pretty funny to see parents dropping off their sons to all this pinkness!

Josh is up the hill this year which is definitely a sign of status and only available to the older boys.  The CIT's  meet our car and carry Josh's trunk, pack and sleeping bag up to his cabin and act as our escorts. V. cool.  

 

This year he is in Chateau Blow and to say it is primitive is the understatement of the decade.  If I had to spend two weeks here, I would open a vein.  However, I am not a 15 year old boy (thank goodness.) and apparently it is very appealing to that species.

Anyhoo, no screens or windows or heat or electricity.  A canvas bunk, sleeping bag, non-deet mosquito repellent and a huge stone fireplace.  Woo Hoo!  Heaven on earth.

Shyrel, I wanted to make sure you saw the fire extinguisher by the fireplace.  Ta da!  So we said goodbye to Josh and will update you in two weeks when we pick him up and he will probably be another 2 inches taller.  Have fun, Josh!

Tonight we are at Yogi Bear's campground and let me tell you, what a nightmare!  But I'll tell you all about that later.  (Think hoards of very small children in a large swimming pool with very cloudy water. Zoiks!)

hey! it's cow appreciation day!

Day 2

Epsom, NH to Bomoseen, VT

157 mi, 4 1/2 hrs

Diesel $131, 52 gal

Beautiful New England summer day today as we 

headed west thru NH and Vermont. Here is Concord, such a nice little city.

We crossed the river into Vermont and saw this steeplejack when we took a wrong turn and when we stopped for lunch at Queechee Gorge, I snapped a picture of this poster.

 

Come on, people!  It is time!  Appreciate the COW! Hello.

Circle 9 Campground - yikes!

So, I had a terrible time finding us a campground halfway to Josh's camp and finally found a vacancy here at the good ol' Circle 9.  

We pulled in around 4pm and Jeff said, I see why they have vacancies.  This was our first view of the place.   I am sitting outside now on the computer and surreptitiously snap this woman and her dog - our neighbors - as I overhear: DO YOAH DUTIES! DO YOAH DUTIES!  STOP BAHKIN'!  STOP BAHKIN'!!

Lovely. 

What a difference a year makes!

Day 1

Boothbay, ME to Epsom, NH

136 mi, 4 1/4 mi

Here is a picture of our departure last year, and then this year!  The boy has grown!!  He's not a little kid anymore, that's for sure!

The other picture is where we stopped for lunch at "A Taste of Maine" which was just okay - good chowda though.  

You can really see how much Josh has matured in that picture and how handsome he looks in his new glasses.  I bet he will hate me saying that.  ha  It was like pulling teeth to get him to pose.  15 years old - and he's good at it!

Good morning Sunshine!

Today, we take nephew, Josh, to Camp Sangamon in Vermont.  Here he is with the beauteous Sophie this morning.  I'm sure his accommodations at camp will be just as sumptuous - NOT!  At camp he will sleep on a canvas bunk in a cabin with no screens or windows or lights - just a fireplace. Shall I tell you about the latrine? No.  So, sleep in today Josh, on that soft comfy queen size mattress and prepare to be dined upon by mosquitoes and oh yeah, have just the best summer of your life!

This is for you Todd

OK, so we're not on Harvey at the moment but our friend, Todd of King Eider Pub, needed some closure, reminding me that I never did a final post after we arrived home.

I particularly like this first picture.  We were eager to get out to the Lake after unpacking Harvey and settling in East Boothbay.  Oh, how bad could the black flies be, we asked.  Here is the answer.  Man, that looks painful! You should have seen it the next morning - glued shut!

Here you have Jeff relaxing in front of the fire as his eye swells, and the next shot is the view out our back door - (thru the window; no way I was going outdoors what with the black flies!)

Now, Todd, the next pictures are of the little backpack I designed and sewed for our great-niece, Genevieve.  How cute is that!?

And, lastly, here you have the beauty, Sophie.

OK, Todd?  Oh, btw, we got tired of being prisoners in our own home and came back to East Boothbay where we'll stay until the black flies are no more...