Maine Attractions

Our family flew into Portland, so after picking them up we had a few hours to burn, and did a tour around Cape Elizabeth.



It's pretty hard to find a non-scenic lighthouse.













The next day we drove south down the coast to Ogunquit, where we admired ridiculously-priced oceanfront property and walked the beach. It was amazing how hard locals were working to to sun themselves on the beach, despite the wind and cool temps.

A short walk in a wildlife refuge.









Sunset at Kennebunkport. 

After meeting up with everyone the next day, we made the drive up to Acadia NP. An Island near the coast, about half of it is set aside as a national park. After booking an entry time (COVID-related), we drove into the park and found a good spot along the road to park. Unfortunately fog had moved in, spoiling some of the views. Below are some photos of the ocean path, still scenic though.





Here is Thunder Hole, sadly not enough swell for major noise making.

Hoping to get above the fog we decided on the steep/strenuous Beehive trail.





Lots of ladders and sheer drops, it was a fun climb/hike. Unfortunately, a member of our party discovered they were actually acrophobic! Not the best time to have a panic attack, but we all survived to tell the tale. 

Here is the view from the top; you can use your imagination to fill in some great sea and shore.

Our GPS is Sexist

By Jen.

 

I think I can claim that our GPS is sexist. It only responds to males. I am guessing it only had male programmers working on the voice command functions. I can get it to respond to me, but only if I speak at a lower frequency. And, no, it is not because I am louder. I tried louder; I tried softer. All that really matters is that I lower my pitch. So long as I use my “male” voice, it hears me, whether I am soft-spoken or shouting. Very annoying and a reminder why we need diversity in our workforces every time I use it. And, yes, we are finally using it again because we are finally traveling again! We are also well behind on our posts, so you will probably see quite a few popping up over the next few weeks. This post occurs over 9/26/2020 to 9/30/2020.

 

Improvements to the van included new windows and added insulation.

We also moved our toilet to under the bench seat (accessed via the door in the front). And added top access to area under the vertical cabinet.

Both of us lost our jobs to the pandemic economy. We have tried to find jobs, but unsuccessfully. So while we figure out our next move, we are going to enjoy ourselves in our country for a bit. This was harder than usual for us, as we hadn’t been shoring up US destinations, and the van wasn’t ready yet. We dedicated ourselves full-time to getting the van live-in ready again, and in a few months we set out for our first destination: Maine. I wanted to see Acadia National Park; I had heard somewhere that it was good. But, with me as the navigator, we never head in a straight line to our ultimate destination; I had some pit stops planned along the way.

 

We also upgraded our galley, gaining much more space and an additional drawer. New flooring was installed.

 

First up was my grandmother and aunt in Kentucky. I hadn’t seen them in over a year, so we stopped by overnight. Then I took us up to see the Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario. Of course, that meant a stop at Niagara Falls, which lies in-between!

 

Lake Erie.

 

I had been up to Niagara Falls in high school (more than 1.5 decades ago), but Jonathan had never been. Last time I was here, I mostly remember the tourist hoards. There were so many people, I had a hard time enjoying the falls. This time around, the crowds were so few you could actually social-distance, and have a chance at a few almost-tourist-free pics. Much more enjoyable!

 

There are small islands on the way to waterfall.

 

Fall time and some small falls.

Niagara Falls is split into 3 waterfalls. This is called American Falls.

Practicing safety protocols.

This one is Bridal Veil Falls, which is the smallest and hardest to capture a picture.

It is a really pretty area for being inside a city.

A black squirrel!

Horseshoe (or Canadian) Falls is the largest and falls in Canadian territory.

Some of the rapids leading to the falls.

This area of the river creates a giant whirlpool-like flow where the water completes a full circle in a counter-clockwise direction.

 

Jonathan doesn’t like the idea of going to the eastern USA as much, because it is more populated and has less state-owned ground. But, we are much more experienced at finding free camps these days, so it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. And, it has been an an interesting experience to see how the Northeast lives. Very different than the rest of the places we have been in the USA. For example, one of the more obvious ones was that there were more ornate wood houses and very few brick houses.

 

Fall colors!

Cute camping area in Ferris Lake Wild Forest in NY.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Year Update

Greetings All.  Sorry for the lack of updates for the last year.  I will try to get up to speed as briefly as reasonable.

So where have we been, and what have we been up to?  In rough chronological order.

Jen had a second surgery to correct endometriosis (Early 2020).  The second surgery was with a specialist ($$$$$), and the results from that have been good.

In June 2019 we accepted engineering positions in Charlotte NC.  Our primary goals were to rebuild our savings, and to bolster our early retirement target.

Like everyone our plans have been drastically changed by the pandemic.  Our target was to work for 2-3 years, and then take to the road again.  Just shy of a year I was laid off as a cost saving measure.  Jen's position followed shortly thereafter.  While we continue to hunt for jobs locally, we have accepted the fact that it may be some time before we can find employment again.  To add some additional complexity, we got the news on Jen's termination during the closing on a home.  Being the conservative folks we are, we had to let it go. 

The mindset of the traveler is one of flexibility and acceptance.  So we may end up in the wind for a bit, but we are well prepared.


What has happened to the van?  Well, he's been sitting quite a bit over the last year.  We have taken some outings, and enjoyed a few nights in the mountains.  Life and Jen's condition was the limiting factor for a while, then of course the pandemic brought its own restrictions.   We haven't been idle though, some big changes have been underway.

The major time sink was a 4WD conversion.  This was a custom job consisting of a front subframe with bespoke suspension, NP242 transfer case, Transmission main case swap, new driveshafts, and considerable CAD modeling.

This was a fairly involved project, the final result meets our needs.  The rear axle was swapped, and combined with a AWD+4WD transfer case and front/rear differential locks, the van is quite capable. 

The van has also received some new Arctic Tern windows.  These have integral shades and double pane panels.  Providing much better insulation, and ventilation.

We have other plans, including shower upgrades, a new gray water tank, and replacing the battery pack.

What will the future bring?  We aren't sure, our goals for the next few years have changed quite a bit, but you can be certain the road will find us, sooner or later.