2012 Big Truck Across the Northeast, Day 4

If you've been reading this blog at all, you know that the days generally start with some sort of playground visit and some day planning.  Today wasn't much different, except as we are learning with the new setup, there is a bit more of a pre-flight checklist. 

While I was trying to make sure we didn't leave our Jeep behind us on the highway, a dude with a fairly thick Philly accent came up and asked if he could take a picture of our setup.  I found it a bit ironic, because we had ogled some other dude's setup (wait - that came out all wrong) at Traverse City State Park 2 years ago.  That day was the origin of our plan, and this guy had the same idea.  He took a few pics, said thanks, and was on his way. See what positives come from dudes ogling other dudes setups?  Time to move on...

Since we had a great day in Newport, and had a lot of things to see in Maine, we decided our visit to Boston was going to follow the Clark W. Griswold model of seeing famous landmarks.

After a harrowing drive through downtown Boston (construction in tunnels + arrogant Masshole drivers * a lumbering RV = BP of 270 over 180), we got to the Tobin bridge (see below)

...without a glimpse of these guys, or even a mention of Southies, Yawkey Way, the SAWX, or duck boats.

A couple of hours north of Boston, as you spend about 9 minutes in New Hampshire on the way to Maine, there is a brewery of some significance called Red Hook.  They've been around since '81 (yes, I was already about 30 then) in Washington state, and this one was built in '96.  We stopped for lunch, and any place that is cool enough to incorporate Groundskeeper Willie into their decor is good by me.

Soon we were on our way, but as we got closer to Freeport, ME, we decided we would check out the world headquarters of L.L. Bean.  Now, as we found out, neither of us are very big fans of their products.  I have a ton of respect for the work that Leon L Bean did for the outdoor sporting community, but I cannot see a catalog or walk through a store without thinking of the ridiculous product descriptions from the J. Peterman collection.



After killing a few hours in Freeport, we got back on the road and ran squarely into this.  Who would have thought that at 5pm on a Friday night heading into a state whose motto is "Vacationland", that the traffic would be this bad?



Once we got to the state park, it was a welcome relief (albeit a bit of a shock) to see a pretty small, gravel site in the middle of the woods.  We set up shop pretty quickly, then wandered over to the 'playground', which was actually 2 swingsets.  No matter, as Jordan found the greatest thing for a 4 year old ever.  Other kids.  Here she is discussing the finer points of universal health care with her new pals, Viola and Eloise.

2 final notes before I call it a night.  Our park ranger couldn't have been nicer, but that does not change the fact that my ears told me I was listening to the female Ted Kennedy.  The Maine accent is, er-ah, different.



OK  - the final topic has me a bit creeped out.  2 sites down from us is a far-too-old gentleman with a fairly non-descript tent campsite, until you realize that he is driving AN ICE CREAM TRUCK!!!!  There are many reasons I can think of that a dude driving an ice cream truck would be forced to run his truck out of a state park campground, and none of them are "He seems like a fine member of our community whom I would trust interacting with small children."  He might as well be Sweet Tooth (who, by the way, is the only character worth choosing in the original Twisted Metal).



Enough digression, tomorrow begins our full scale assault on the Maine tourist hotspots.  We may even get some hiking in.  Stay tuned.