The Maine Event...

Are ya'll ready for a double post? Here is the most recent one but be sure to catch second post -- heaven forbid you miss out on a White family reunion...

Well, folks, we are now back to the core three, Caleb, Kelly and Elizabeth, and carrying all of our gear on our bikes. It took awhile to get used to the weight and balance of the bike with the panniers on, but we managed, as old habits don't die easily (thankfully in this case.) That morning a few miles into our ride we said goodbye to Vermont and entered into New Hampshire. It was a shorter day of riding as that afternoon we spent doing laundry. Thanks to the rain and humidity of the past few days, our clothes remained in a perpetual state of dampness. Our clothes had definitley settled into the permafunk stage -- something nobody should have to live with, let alone wear, carry, sleep in, or share with others in the supermarket.

After our clothes were washed, people were no longer afraid to approach us. Robert, a guy who in the past had toured from Portland, Maine, to Detroit, Michigan, came up and asked us about our trip and where we were camping. The truth was we weren't really sure as it was a Saturday night and all local camping spots were full. So, we were expecting to find a nice spot on US Forest Land, which is legal by the way, and enjoy a minimal resources night (where did you put the t.p., Liz?!). But, that was unnecessary as Robert invited us to spend the night at the Tufts Mountain Center a few miles south of Lincoln, NH, where he was the caretaker. We graciously accepted and enjoyed the company of a half dozen past and current Tufts Univeristy of Boston, MA, folk. They had a sweet place in the mountains and we were left wondering why St. Olaf doesn't have an equivalent. It was great.

The next day we tackled our last mountain pass, New Hampshire's Kancamangus Pass, a 2,855 foot jobber nestled in the White Mountains. We had heard it was a difficult climb, even some horror stories, and so we weren't exactly super excited about it. But, it turned out it wasn't bad at all; we even found it somewhat easy. It was a beautiful ride and we enjoyed every minute of it. Late that afternoon we left New Hampsire and entered into Maine. For this whole trip, Maine was something so far away we never even thought about it. And now, here we were! It was a peciluar feeling. We were so slow in getting there it seemed as if it snuck up on us. Yet it was about time. It was quite the dichotomy of emotions.

That night we didn't have many camping options so late in the afternoon we planned on pushing on another twenty some miles to a campground on a lake. But, along the way we came across Camp Tapawingo, an all-girls summer camp near Sweden, Maine. So, we stopped in and asked if we could pitch a tent there. Although they had an end of the summer ceremony taking place that night, they took us in a placed us in a more remote place of the camp. The site was a great one, right on a lake which we love. There we enjoyed a quiet evening and camped for the first time with no modern services, i.e. without a picnic table, running water, or toilet let alone an outhouse, but who's keeping track? We even undomesticated Elizabeth and made her cook over fire. She was too impatient and we all chewed on charred on the outside/undercooked on the inside chicken. Surprisingly this was our first time "tenting" and we enjoyed the change of pace.


While searching for a place to stay, two days away from the coast, we luckily stumbled upon the nicest lady in the world -- Mary Ann. She gladly told us directions to her home, drove off and then showed us a place to pitch the tents, along the river in Green, Maine. We promptly jumped into the river, cooled ourselves off, and then went inside for a great taco salad. Thanks Caleb for the idea, his mother for the recipe, Mary Ann for the cooking, and the dogs for moral support. They have a standard poodle named Ritz and a Chiwawa (!) named Salsa (!). Salsa rules the nest, in all her glory, while Ritz gets petted. His life is definitely controlled by something 1/10 his size. Poor guy. Thanks so much to such a wonderful family. A post card or two for this croud, for sure...

So, I guess this brings us to the present. We are finally in Maine and only have about 200 miles to go until we hit Bar Harbor. We are so close we are beginning to lick our lips in anticipation of all the fresh lobster we are going to eat, which we have decided we are going to have it every night. It's going to be great!

Lastly, we would like to wish a very HAPPY 50th (50! FIFTY!) Wedding Anniversary to Bob and Audrey Bohlman, Caleb's grandparents. You two rock!

Still Pedaling Along and so darn close,

Caleb, Kelly and Elizabeth

Bike.