After Boston, we headed up the coast to Portland, Maine. Although technically Maine was under traveler quarantine, no one checked us. Staying in our own RV, it isn’t difficult to self-quarantine!

Originally, we had planned to meet family members in Portland for the Fourth of July week. Unfortunately, they had to COVID-cancel. Bummer. Maine was also essentially shut-down when we arrived, but we spent a lot of time exploring many of the coastal towns. We could view light houses, rocky shores and sandy beaches. The Maine coast is really beautiful. One of the towns we explored was Kennebunkport, longtime summer retreat of the Bush family. We couldn’t see any occupants, but we could see the black secret service SUV’s parked at the entrance!

We took full advantage of the abundance of fresh and local seafood during our month here. We found a fabulous Portland seafood market and placed online orders at least weekly. You picked a pick up time, texted upon arrival, and a masked/gloved attendant brought your bagged order out to your vehicle. We ate local mussels, fresh fish, and lobster lobster lobster! We also tried lobster rolls at three separate places, including the famous Red’s Eats on US 1. By the end of the stay, we were pretty much lobstered out.

During the month, Maine started to gradually open up. We were able to take advantage of some outdoor dining, shop at the Freeport outlet stores, and visit the Portland museum of art (for free!). We visited several local breweries – some with outdoor “tastings” and others with just take-out. Some of the local beer was quite nice.

We were also able to take a whale watching tour (saw one) and hop a ferry to nearby Peaks Island. We took our bicycles and cycled around the island for a different perspective of Casco Bay.

We couldn’t do everything we had originally planned, but we made the most of our time there!

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Leaving Portland, we headed up the coast to beautiful Acadia National Park. We only spent a week here, which was just adequate to explore all sides of this stunning park. We cycled the carriage roads, hiked the Bubbles, rode the perimeter on the motorcycle, and explored picturesque Bar Harbor. We had the opportunity to meet one of Jeff’s longtime friends for dinner, which was quite a treat. (She had relocated from Miami to Maine some years ago.)

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Since we were within reach of the Canadian border, we motorcycled up to the border crossing at tiny Calais, Maine. Like Moses at the Promised Land, we could see into Canada, but not cross over during these COVID days.

Continuing on, we began our westward trek …..