OK so we were on the road again, on our next leg, full of the promise of all the great and amazing things that we were about to discover… so exciting!
We had been camping and road tripping through Europe for almost 9 weeks we had learnt so much and were total professionals on the whole camping thing. So why did our first night on the road in the US end up resembling something like our first night camping in Europe??
We wanted to head north up the Maine coast to the Rockland ‘International Lobster Festival’ – sounds a little too yummingly awesome to miss. Too far to do in one hit we broke up our journey to stay in a random place called Concord, west of Boston. The weather unfortunately was deteriorating fast and we decided that it was a little too wet for camping. No worries because there were several hundred highway motels and hotels and every major exit. We lobbed into the closest one were shocked to find out that it was booked out and were told that every (and they stressed every) hotel in a 40 mile radius was also booked out – what the?? How could that be possible? Surely not every hotel? Some desperate searching online revealed that it was the case and the only two rooms still available at the dodgy roadside motel were charging $120 a night for bedbugs and blocked plug holes!! What the hell?? We learnt the hard way that anything near NY and Boston in summer on the weekend would always be booked. Even motel bedbugs.
Thus we found ourselves arriving at a campsite at 10pm putting up our tent in the rain and wind, sitting in our car and having grapes for dinner (Thanks Peg for your survival pack!!). Oh sigh!
We arrived in Rockland for the ‘International Lobster Festival’ with all the visions of our last amazing lobster experience in the States. The weather continued to be below average (to put it nicely), which should have been a sign of things to come. “International”, we have painfully discovered is a term that Americans tend to use a little too freely. The “International” Lobster Festival was little more than a collection of tents selling local wares. There was the lobster tent where we could buy our lobster for $20 (bargain!). This would have been quite nice as it was by the water and the very boats that just this morning caught the lobsters – however, the weather was crap! And eating fresh lobster in the cold rain just doesn’t taste as nice.
We found a nice motel close by and a cosy pub in the town of Belfast (our bets were on that a town named Belfast must have the cosy pub were needed). We drank the local brew and settled in for the night to watch our team (the Sox) beat the Yankees. The real American pub was fabulously cosy enough to remove those first night camping blues and rainy lobster lunch.
The next day was a brilliant day and we travelled up the Maine coast to experience what all the hype is about. The Maine coast was a beautiful and nicely balanced mix a costal vistas, steaming lobster pounds and sweet picturesque Americana towns; all the while sporting original salty characters from the fishing scene and little reminders that things there can get very bleak, hard and rugged. Ok, so by now you can kinda guess that Maine is known for its lobster. We did the ultimate though (just because we could and it was cheap J ), we headed to Trenton to the local lobster pound and had lobster (and beer, because they go so well) for breakfast. The sun was shining and it tasted oh, so good!! We were in heaven.
Over the next couple of days we had a wonderful time staying and exploring the Acadia National Park (thanks Mark for the tip). We really got one with nature and hiked, had campfire dinners and had a genuine great time amongst some of the wonderful seascapes and countryside… we of course also had lobster. Yes, we were having our own little ‘Lobster-fest’, and soon becoming connoisseurs.
We had a couple of days of amazing weather in Acadia and then, just as we left, it rained…… and rained…and rained. It seemed to rain for the whole time we were driving up the coast towards Canada and Prince Edward Island. In an attempt to dodge the crappy weather, we spent another night under roof in a B&B near the Bay of Fundy. As we continued up the coast of New Brunswick, it was not long before we arrived at Prince Edward Island, and Anne (with an ‘E’) country.
Word of warning though… before heading over the (pretty amazing bridge) to Prince Edward Island, be prepared to pay a they hefty toll of $43!!! Enough to make Duncan and I look for an alternative, unfortunately the Ferry was more expensive and the water a little cold for swimming. Easily the most expensive toll we have ever paid!
Prince Edward Island was another of those big tick items for me. I fell in love with the place (as with most girls) after reading and watching Anne of Green Gables. Duncan was bemused that every time I mentioned Prince Edward Island every female without fail would reply with “oooh Anne of Green Gables”. For my whole childhood I wanted to live there, as it looked so beautiful! I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to my hefty expectations. And I have to admit I was a little surprised when it did, I want to live there even more now!
I luurrve PEI! The right combination of open land, great towns and cool and funky atmosphere (if you avoid the kitsch Anne souvenir stores and the Gables Amusement Park). ‘The House’ is exactly how L. M. Montgomery described it in the book and it was really cool to see the foundation of the house that she wrote most of her books. However, away from the Gables focus PEI still has so much! Best highlight and experience for us was happening upon a pub in downtown Charlottetown where some fabulous, thumping folk music was being played. The type that you couldn’t help but get up a do your own Irish jig (after a few Kilkenny’s) we staggered out at 2 am – after having bought the bands CD and swearing that we would follow them to their next gig destination in Nova Scotia.
Our send off to PEI (sigh) was to have seafood at the Oyster Shack by the water (no lobster this time – could it be that we were lobstered out??) – the perfect send off to a simple, perfect little Island!
