Farewell, Acadia!

We’ve just returned from our annual two week vacation at the Northampton Beach Campground on Great Lake Sacandaga.  Managing to snag a reservation in this park is always difficult; reserving a waterfront site is even more so.  Diligence and perseverance are required, but the time and effort spent securing a campsite is well worth the effort.  Believe me, we exerted quite the effort.  Many days, there were four of us with fingers poised on the “Book Now” button on ReserveAmerica; at one point, all five of us were trying for one particular campsite.  No luck that time, but we did triumph – eventually.

A view of the inlet and on out to the lake from the kids' campsite

Ryan and Anya, our son and daughter-in-law, camped at their own site with our former travel trailer.  Our daughter, Kyra, was there briefly, as allowed by her work schedule.  Although Alan was the one to secure our waterfront campsite, we gave it to the kids.  The Jayco, with its big dinette window on the curb side, was better suited to take advantage of the site (and the sights) than our Outdoors RV trailer with its big windows on the back and street side.  We were camped across the road, but took full advantage of “the neighbors’” excellent location, dragging our camp chairs and our morning coffee over to their site without apology.  (They assured us we were always welcome.  Had we not been, I’m not sure that would have stopped us.)  The views of both the lake and the never-disappointing entertainment at the boat launch were spectacular!  The weather was not as cooperative as we would have liked, but a good time was had by all.  We enjoyed boating and biking, coffee around the campfire and kayaking.  There may or may not have been a couple of trips to the local ice cream stand.  The day of departure is a challenge for all of us, because nobody wants to leave.  Whining, complaining and sniffling are not uncommon occurrences, and we all drag our feet when saying goodbye to the lake.  Now that we’re home, with the laundry done and the bills paid, let’s get back to our adventures in Maine over the Memorial Day weekend.

The Big Chicken Barn & Other Adventures in Mid-Coast Maine

I’ve said before that it doesn’t take much to make us happy.  A pretty and private campsite, a leisurely cup of coffee, scenic vistas, intriguing walking or biking paths, the sound of running water or ocean waves, fresh regional foods – all can be easily enjoyed without much effort or expense.  When we arrive at a destination, it’s often with a scavenger hunt type of list loaded with places that we think we’ll find interesting, good possibilities for a picnic lunch with a view and fun-filled activities we might want to try.  We’ve survived many an outing on nothing more than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola bars and iced tea or water, but those PBJs are quickly swapped out for regional foods and unique dining opportunities that we come across by happenstance.

On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Alan and I began our day with another scavenger hunt list.  We have no idea whether or not other tourists do anything similar and, frankly, we don’t care.  To each his own.  Our particular brand of exploring suits us just fine, and we happily set out with our list of destinations.  The list included a couple of towns west of Ellsworth (the Gateway to Down East), so maybe we should consider Sunday’s adventures to be Up West.  Or Out West.  Never mind.  Instead of going “that a way,” we decided to head “this a way.”