Day 40 – Hermon, Maine

A routine departure from our home at the Wild Duck, though Don said it was a little tight negotiating some of the turns in the road out of the place.  When we got out to our hookup point, outside the park, a couple out for their morning walk stopped to ask us some questions about motorhoming.  Geri and Don replied with their usual positive attitudes about the travel style, until the man asked about fuel mileage.  Don tried to take the Fifth Amendment, but finally had to admit that moving your home and your car along the road was costing about 7 miles per gallon.  Don’t know if they were calling their local RV dealer that morning; kinda doubt it. 

We headed north on I-295 for close to an hour, until we were stopped by a toll booth, which meant that we had been dumped back onto the I-95.  The 295 had been, for the most part, a fairly smooth and gentle roadway; returning to the 95 reminded us that our tolls were probably spent on digging new potholes.  We made an entirely successful fuel stop at what we presently believe is the only true truck stop in the state, in a little town called Fairfield.  If you went by the highway signs, you wouldn’t even know it was there.  Don was pleased to have a full tank, at last. 

After a lot of discussion between Geri and Don, it was decided to try to get into a RV Park called the Pumpkin Patch, just outside of Bangor.  This decision evolved out of comparison of rival Parks’ site sizes, location, WiFi offerings, and other criteria.  In the end, however, it seemed to boil down to who had cable TV in case we couldn’t catch the satellite.  Geri programmed Garmy to guide us in to the Pumpkin Patch, but, unfortunately, was on the cell phone when Garmy told Don to take an offramp from the 95, leading us on a path that may have been a mile or two shorter than the recommended route, but kept us on narrow, poorly maintained rural roads for over ten miles.  All was forgiven once we got there, though, as the Park looks to be a very nice one, with lots of grass for me, fun places for walking, and big, roomy sites. 

After we got set up, we headed into Bangor for a look-see.  We found it to be a very attractive small town, with a lot of older, well-maintained buildings in the downtown area, theaters and interesting shops and restaurants, many examples of spectacular church architecture, and some lovely residential districts.  Looks like a fun town!  Don got hung up looking for a memorial to the USS Maine, the ship whose demise caused the start of the Spanish-American War, searching for it in a lot places that it wasn’t, while Geri kept telling him that she thought she had saw what might have been the memorial just as we entered the downtown area.  When he finally took her cue, they were able to pull up right in front of the memorial, where he took photos of the bow filigree and crest that was salvaged from the hulk; I’m sure he’ll post one. 

We returned to the coach to do our dinners, which consisted of leftover clams and French fries for them, and some pork with my kibble for me.  Geri took me out for a good walk afterward, very enjoyable.  I think we’ll have a good time here.  Worked with Don on the blog for awhile, got some treats, went to bed.  So did they.  See ya in the manyana!