Camden | Rockport | Rockland

Rockland, Maine: We are slowly making our way up the Coast of Maine. I am certain it is very beautiful here, but with all the rain, fog and clouds, it is difficult to tell. It was 42 degrees this morning when we left Boothbay Harbor! I did find interesting signs to amuse me along our drive this morning - "Prints Charming" print shop, "Hands of Thyme" herb farm and "Yankee Clipper" dog grooming.

We are camped for a few days in Rockland, Maine. There are several communities here that seem to run together - Rockland, Rockport and Camden. The towns are charming, the houses are ancient and meticulously maintained - all of them painted white, Cape Cod style and I assume with similar floor plans. Everything is very green and lush and the lilacs are outstanding. I think because of our North-bound route, we will see blooming lilacs for several more weeks.

After settling in, we drove the Honda to Rockland to visit the Farnsworth Museum. This art center features the work of Andrew, N.C., and Jamie Wyeth, and is now exhibiting famous Maine artists. The Farnsworth Museum has several Homers, a few Norman Rockwell paintings, and surprisingly, two Andy Warhol drawings. The facility is very nice and quite modern and we enjoyed our afternoon seeing the more cultured side of Maine. The little town of Rockport is bustling - every shop is gearing up for the tourist onslaught this weekend.

After visiting Rockland, we drove north to Camden and visited the State Park on the bay. Just beautiful, but absolutely pouring and SO COLD! We went into Camden and visited a noted needlework shop (I only was there for thirty minutes!), Stonewall Kitchen, where I learned the lady who makes the kitchen soaps for Williams-Sonoma and Stonewall Kitchen lives in New Hampshire and until recently made her wares in her own kitchen! We also shopped at Camden's famous grocer, French & Brawn, (smoked trout) and then headed over to Cappy's Chowder House on Main Street for a cocktail. We ended up at Cappy's for several hours and had an early dinner there, as we met the most interesting people! (I just love it when this happens!)

First of all I must say Camden is simply crawling with cute boys. I asked the butcher a question at the market and simply had to do a double-take, he was so handsome. Then at Cappy's, another cute boy was our bartender. Cappy's Chowder House is the sort of place I would usually walk past, but we had read how nice it was inside, and how it is where the "locals" hang out, etc. It is basically a (smoke-free!) tavern, but serves delicious food. They have big bowls of popcorn on the bar and a crock pot full of buffalo wings - all free - just help yourself. DT tried their Lobster Beer from Bangor. No, it doesn't taste of lobster, but is a bit reddish in color. I had the exotic Bud Light. Two men from Austria were seated to DT's left at the bar and a couple from England was seated to my right. The Austrians were delivering a huge (the mast is 85-feet) sail boat to a port in Canada and they were a little confused as to where they needed to go - on land - to visit a friend. DT actually went out to the car and brought in our atlas and the three of them pored over the maps. There was a bit of a language problem, which I surely could have helped, but I was busy.

I was chatting up the nicest couple from England. They have a 44' sail boat and last year they left England, sailed down the Spanish coast, to Africa, the Canary Islands and then over to the Caribbean, where they have spent the past few months. Now they have quickly sailed up to Maine and will slowly make their way south, enjoying the American east coast. They are our age, and are on a 5-year Odyssey. It is amazing, but living in a 40-foot RV and a 44-foot boat are very similar. The only thing they don't have is a washer/dryer! (She said they have two buckets!) They also have two bedrooms, with the living area in the middle. (No need to worry about driver or passenger seats in a sail boat.) She told us they have enough food on board for 3 to 4 months (plus gallons of wine and beer - they are English, after all) and have their own desalination machine on board! They have no generator, but use solar panels and the engine to charge their batteries... but she said they rarely use their engine. What a fascinating life they are leading! They have no set itinerary; just decide where the wind will blow them. We had a very nice time with them - so nice to meet such interesting people. But like all travelers here, we are all waiting for better weather. Even the adorable bartender, a big Red Sox fan, said this weather is starting to drive him nuts, and swears it usually isn't this cold.

RV Park: Megunticook Campground by the Sea near Rockport, Maine