Not the view from my campsite, but it would have been the view from my cousin’s campsite, if she’d been able to come
Today’s my last day at the Recompence Campground in Freeport, Maine. In about 33 minutes, I’m going to finish packing up Serenity, dump the tanks, and head into town to do a tiny bit of shopping. I’m not much of a shopper, but a) I’m at the town famous for its LL Bean store, and b) I really don’t own enough clothes suitable for a life of camping.
When I started this adventure, I don’t think I was thinking of it as a camping adventure so much as a traveling adventure. When I pictured myself doing things, it was some hiking in forests, sure, but plenty of rambling around pleasant sidewalks and parks, visiting friends. I imagined myself parked in a Seattle city street, taking the dogs out for coffee, and camped at my brother’s garden house, wandering around his blueberry patch. I’m sure there will be plenty of those things, but there is also lots of traditional camping, which means waking up into chilly weather and late evening campfires. In other words, I have a desperate need for fewer pretty tank tops and more practical layering items.
I found a pair of really great shoes with toes (hiking boots, actually) in PA after a bit of a search. I kept dragging my SIL out to shoe stores and rejecting everything in them. I’m sure she thinks I’m the pickiest shoe shopper that has ever lived. And I also found a lightweight jacket at a thrift store there. But I own nothing waterproof. Like, nothing. A cute umbrella, but not a single item of waterproof clothing. Also, for that matter, not much in the way of warm clothes. I have a soft jacket that I bought right before leaving Florida, but my conclusion today — when it was 50 degrees and sunny while I was walking the dog — is that it is perfect for 50 and up. Any chillier and I would have been shivering.
So, yes, LL Bean is on my agenda. I also want to stop at a really good grocery store, the Bow Street Market, that I found last week. I have been regretting skipping the chocolate cupcakes ever since. It was a four pack and I really don’t need four gluten-free cupcakes, but on the other hand, four gluten-free desserts is better than none.
And then I’m off to Rockport, MA — auto-correct made me try four times to get that name, right! — for a few days.
Mostly I didn’t do the things in Maine that I wanted to do. I need to get better and faster about packing up Serenity so that it doesn’t feel like an overwhelming job when I want to make a quick run somewhere. I had always intended to get a good lobster meal here — it’s Maine, it’s practically mandatory! — and I’d even picked out the restaurant, but every time four o’clock rolled around and I thought about packing up to get moving, it was so much easier to just stay where I was. I also need to find some better solution for bringing B with us. We never touched the ocean! But he can’t walk as far as Zelda can. He gets tired and he has bad joints and… yeah. We took many nice strolls around the campground loop, but we never made it to the water.
That said, however, Maine was pretty lovely. The weather has been extremely obliging: enough of a chill in the air that I can pretend I felt fall, a little bit of rain, which is always enjoyable when I’m cozy inside Serenity, and a lot of beautiful blue sky. And my writing time is up, so on to the road I go!
Was the campground actually on the ocean? If so, I would love to know the name and city. Which reminds me, did you know there is a campground in AZ – I think outside of Tucson – that has an observatory that is open to the campers for a couple of hours every night. The person who told me about it had camped there when there was something really interesting in the sky.
I think you are doing really well in your period of adjustment to your life in Serenity. It must be frustrating, though, feeling like you have limitations you didn’t expect.
Hope your writing time went well.Thanks for the feedback on my short story.
It was Recompence Campground in Freeport, Maine. I think I should start tagging my posts with the campground names, so I can find them again later!
After 1 yr now in my Vanda, I can tell you that for chilly mornings something suitable to wrap yourself in is most useful as you walk to campground shower for a nice long warm hair washing and shower! Also i have a lightweight down jacket that folds into its pocket. It was my go to for winter wear even in FL panhandle. Put a good waterproof jacket over that and even setting up or taking down in a chilly rain is not that bad. Fingerless gloves are a big help too. And then there are the cuddle duds for long underwear…something i found important! Finally, there are times that I too find I just don’t feel like moving at the end of the day to go out… So I try to schedule one active and then one lazy day. On the active day I’ll eat dinner out before going back to the campsite and a lot of times instead of dinner out. I will treat myself to s nice lunch out and order something to take back with me for dinner. It is all fun learning what works for you… Enjoy it all!
The active and the lazy day is a good idea. I’m definitely finding that I need to have a busy day after a couple days in the campground, otherwise I start to feel cooped up. And great advice on the warm clothes! I bought a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a windbreaker and a sweatshirt between LL Bean and North Face, so I’m a little bit more supplied. And of course today it feels like it’s about 80 degrees!
Thanks for the suggestions! I definitely did some good shopping at LL Bean and North Face — I got a windbreaker, a fleece sweatshirt, a long-sleeved shirt and two pairs of pants. Capris and shorts can only take you so far. 🙂 Plus, I found a pillow cover to hold my sheets! Serenity’s looking very homey!
(Oops, sorry for the double comment — my browser wasn’t updating!)
I can sympathize with poor little B — my hips have hurt like crazy today. I had a couple of moments of pain free existence after the adjustment at the chiropractor’s, but by the time i got home, everything went south again. :/ I’m set to go back in 2 weeks, but will most likely call tomorrow and ask for my Friday appt. back! LOL — I had canceled it when I went in today instead of this Friday and now I know I’ll really need it by then (if not sooner). Your photo reminds me of the drive along the edge of the lake in Yellowstone. You can see bits of the lake between the trees so it becomes an illusion. Nice… I agree with Judy, Judy, Judy — you’ve done outstanding adjusting to life on the road in Serenity. And once again I have to thank you for taking me along on your road trip. I told Robert this afternoon that it must be that time of year — I get itchy feet and feel like traveling. We’ve always gone somewhere on a short trip for our wedding anniversary, which will be next month, so perhaps that’s what’s got me thinking I’d like to go somewhere. But then, I told him that if all goes well, we’ll be going to AZ at the end of October. That’ll work!
Ah, was it you that was having trouble commenting? I thought it was a new Carol on Facebook! But I’m sorry to hear your joints are hurting. Mine are, too, but I know it’s because of the delicious sugar and nightshades I’ve been eating. I need to cut those out again. As for the travel, you should go for it! Grab those opportunities while you can. 🙂
have you thought of maybe a little vespa or a scooter something that can be attached to the back serenity and can be used for quick trips? maybe even a bike..
i am enjoying your adventures, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for commenting! I’m glad you’re enjoying reading. I definitely am thinking about something smaller, I just haven’t figured out what it should be yet. I have a bike rack, but I need to be able to lift a bike almost over my head to put it on the bike rack, so unless I find a super lightweight bike, it’s not as much use to me as I hoped it would be. Although it does make a handy drying rack for wet towels. 🙂 But a scooter or a heavier bike would require a tow device/trailer and I want to get used to driving Serenity as she is before I take on that challenge. Backing up, especially, is an art that I feel like I need more practice in before I take on the challenge of something behind me while I back up!
I’ve seen what looks like a open grid shelf on the back of campers. People use them for wheelchairs and the like. I wonder if something like that would work for a scooter. That way there would be no trailer just a consciousness if an extra 2 ft or so when backing up…
plus have the bike rack lowered,,, whats with tall people anyway 😉
Tall people or strong people! Unfortunately, lowering the bike rack would have the bikes blocking the license plate, so you’re not allowed to. But yes, I could use the shelf style. As she is, though, Serenity is exactly the size of a standard parking spot, 21 feet, so I can supposedly park her legally anywhere, even parallel parking spots on city streets. Adding two feet to the back makes her non-standard, so I lose that ability. Not sure I’m ready to give it up yet, although the obvious compromise would be that I get to drive the scooter on city streets, which might be easier anyway!