We start off the morning with cereal all around so we can leave--or "bug out" as I had come to think of it--early. The term is a military one for packing up quickly and leaving a location. Oh, MASH! The things I learned from you. Between securing all our stuff (more about that later), sweeping out the RV, and emptying the dreaded black/gray water, these mornings had the feel of a military operation. At 7:30, our neighbors sit in their outdoor 'cocktail lounge' smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. Rob gives them our firewood because you're not supposed to bring out-of-state wood to campgrounds. Something trivial about non-native bugs crossing state borders and decimating forests. They are bewildered. After all, it's Friday and the party's just starting.
Our route takes us through Southern New Hampshire which is very old-fashioned beachy. We pass fish shacks and boat stores and tons of fast food places. We finally get up the courage to stop for gas when we see a huge Getty station looming on our right (no awkward over-the-lines left--YAY!). There's a BK sharing the parking lot and although no one in our family is a fan of it anymore, we decide to grab a quick lunch so we can get back on the road without stopping again. If you have never ordered a salad at a rural fast food place, you should. It's worth it just for the look of total incomprehension on the server's face. You want a what? Is that even on the menu? Needless to say, Mary and I eat our grilled chicken 'Caesar Salad' with grim determination and Peter does not fare much better with his 'buffalo wings.' We should have stuck with the burgers like Rob and Charlie. After all, it isn't called Salad King.
After a long slog on Route 1, catching glimpses of water here and there, we arrive in Eastport around 6:30 PM. Once again, Google Maps has lied to us. The check in building is also the onsite restaurant called, The Old Sow. In my opinion, this is a terrible name for a restaurant, but no one is asking my opinion. They are all busy salivating over the menu which features freshly caught seafood like lobster and haddock. Also, something called Lobster Strudel which sounds all kinds of awesome. Under the description is this bit of hubris: We are the only place that has this and it is well worth the wait. What a statement! I guess it's well worth the $18 price, as well.
Peter and Charlie being cooperative at set up.We decide to set up quickly and then eat. As we approach our site, a chorus of 'wows' issues from the back of the RV. Spread before us is the magnificent Bay of Fundy at low tide. It should smell, well, low tide-y, but it smells incredible. It's like nothing I had ever smelled before. Almost citrusy. I know that's weird, but it's true.
The view from our RV.
Dinner is amazing. Charlie and Mary have serious cases of Lobster Envy, having ordered other dishes. The owner comes out to greet us and ask about our dinner. He's also the lobsterman who caught the two-pounders before us that morning. How's that for fresh? After waddling back to our RV, Rob makes a campfire and we hang a bit until these little hoppy bugs on our feet send us back inside. One last look at the bay, coming into high tide now, reveals a group of black-headed seals slipping across in front of us, presumably to head out to the big water for the night. We tuck in for the night and fall asleep to the sound of breaching whales and lapping water. Heaven.
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