Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Rain: But Not Like Mid-Atlantic
Still having a great time -- we've been on the road just over three weeks and have already seen a lot of sights.
On Sunday we took a leisurely drive in Vermont on a two-lane state road that ran through some pretty farming valleys. We camped in a lakeside park in Williamstown, Vermont for two nights.
There was a steady, light rain all day Monday. We spent most of the day in the Honda checking out the surrounding area. Except for some showers a couple of weeks ago, this was the first rain of the trip.
Tuesday we headed out for two nights in Bangor Maine. About half way there, the "low water" light came on in the motorhome, indicating we were about a gallon low on coolant. There was a slow leak, so we detoured to Westbrook, Maine, the location of the nearest Freightliner dealer. Fortunately we had enough spare coolant on hand (2 gallons) to get there without an engine shutdown. We arrived about 3:00 p.m. but were told it would be several hours before they could get to the coach. (Nice thing about Freightliner service facilities -- most are open until midnight.)
The service manager gave us directions to the Portland Head Light -- claimed to be the most photographed lighthouse in the U.S. -- and to a nice country restaurant to which he was planning to take his visiting sister than evening. We did this sightseeing, ate a good dinner (and saw the service manager and his sister), and spent some time (and money) in Border's Bookstore before returning the to service facility at 9:00 p.m. The problem had simply been a loose hose clamp, so we were back in business. We dry-camped in the dealer's parking lot Tuesday night, then left this morning for a short drive to Bangor. Light rain again this afternoon. The evening news says there are floods throughout the mid-Atlantic, so we have been fortunate to be as far north as we are.
My knee has been slightly swollen for about a week, so I went to a local doc-in-a-box while we are still in the states. Nothing serious, just unhappy cartilage (probably from all the walking last week at Niagara Falls), so I have a prescription for anti-inflammatory pills to take for 10 days.
Tomorrow a.m. we head out for St. Andrews, New Brunswick. We are arriving a day early -- our seven-week caravan through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland has its organizational meeting in St. Andrews on Friday afternoon. I don't know what the availability of internet access will be in the maritime provinces -- I will update the blog whenever possible.
