After Maine

Well, it was a wonderful visit to Maine.  As always, the drive up was lovely.  Much of the way you are driving through unpopulated woodland.  It’s beautiful to me, and I love seeing nature.  It was also great fun to watch the changing of the colors on the trees.  In northeast Connecticut, the trees were really close to peak colors, Massachusetts was greener, southern Maine was a little more colorful, but north of Augusta was truly colorful. 

With the two pups we stopped three times.  If they didn’t need to go but since I did, they went out, too.  Plus I needed to eat. 

Gas was more expensive, but at least I didn’t need to fill up again. 

We reached the Paul Bunyan campground around 6:30. The site was very nice, wooded and next to the pond.  Since we’re past mosquito season, being near the pond was nice.  Jerry met me there and helped me disconnect the little trailer, and I backed in.  We were set for our temporary home.

I set up the dog pen and it took me three days to Tyson-proof it.  He’s a little Houdini sometimes.  I need to get more metal stakes to drive into the ground and keep it upright. 

So, I spent at least part of every day with Jerry and then Jerry and Grace, and Paula (and her family) and Todd (and his girlfriend) and it was wonderful.  Todd came over and checked out Rigbee with me then came by again and dropped of a TON of wonderful camper items, including polish, toilet paper, cutting board for over the stove, etcetera!! 

The gps I bought from Shopgoodwill.com doesn’t work.  Very frustrating.  Luckily, while I ran out of data after watching most of the Uconn Football game Saturday, I already knew the way home, once I found I95 South in Bangor. 

Grace looks very good.  I was relieved to see her looking so well.  We almost lost her last spring, and her hands will never be what they once were.  Still, we have her and she still has her wonderful sense of humor.  If I didn’t know, and didn’t see her hands, I wouldn’t know.  She and Jerry are Very Important to me. 

So, we had a wonderful week in beautiful Maine.  So good to go, so good to come home.

A small park, next to the Penobscot River. 

Tripp pillows his head on Tyson's rump, on the camper sofa.

Maine...

Sending Crazy Cousin Louise Away       

 

CCL was going to Maine to visit cousins.  It’s good for her to get away for a while.  It has been a tough year.  So, I started to prep the camper.  Still no oven/microwave, the generator door is still damaged, and I’m really pissed off about that.  But, Rigbee is going to Maine.  I put the old toaster oven in where the micro/oven was and picked up some dinners at October Kitchen.  It’s good to go.  I hope.

I’ve noticed that the hitch ball is a tad high for the teeny tiny trailer, so I picked up another receiver with a 6” drop.  The new one is fits a 2 inch receiver, which is the proper size for Rigbee.  The current one belongs to Figure, the Rogue and it’s 1 inch whatever, so I had a converter to reduce the size of the hitch receiver from 2 inches to 1 and whatever.  Well, that little piece has been in there a while and had no intention of coming out.  I used WD40 and my little sledge hammer, and still no dice.  So, where do you go for info?  The Internet!!!

I watched a couple of videos, and laughed as people used acetylene torches and melted the metal (and usually part of the attached vehicle) to remove stuck hitches.  First of all, I don’t have an acetylene torch and secondly, I don’t want to melt Rigbee, thirdly, I’d like to have that converter in case I need it again.  But heat is the way to go.  Nope, not a blow dryer, I used a propane torch.  It’s what I have, know how to use, and after about 15 minutes of heating the darned thing came out.  YAY!!! 

I’m so proud of myself.

Funny how such a small thing could make me so happy.  So today when I connected up the little trailer, I was delighted to see that the drop was much more appropriate.  It actually rides level instead of canted.  But the drama was not done.  I knew I had another 1 7/8 inch ball, but had no idea where I put it when I cleaned off the kitchen counter top where it was hanging out for months.  It only took me a half-hour or so to remember where I put it and the hitch pins.  

Hitch receivers and hitch balls are heavy.  It’s a royal pain to put them together.  I just hope I got it all tight enough.

It’s almost packed, now.  A couple of last minute items left including egg salad and bacon!

This morning I couldn’t find the keys.  They were missing.  I searched everywhere. They are always in the basket on the back of the kitchen door.  Since I’d just used them YESTERDAY and the day before they should have been right on the top with the jumble of lock keys.  But not there.  Not in the pocket of my pants, no where to be found.

Because they were in the bottom of the basket on the back of the kitchen door. 

Oh, well.  They’re off to Maine.