On the Road Again...

A quick overview: we've got about two weeks to spend on vacation this year and we're planning to spend most of it along the New England coast, mostly in Maine.

We left Virginia yesterday late afternoon and spent the night with my parents in New Jersey. That saved us four hours of driving time today, plus we got to see my folks and had my favorite pizza - Manville Pizza - for a late night snack. And this morning, I picked up a dozen fabulous donuts and six hard rolls from Manville Bakery. There really is nothing like a good local New Jersey bakery.

Okay, back to the trip. We have reservations for most of the trip, minus the first five days. We're flexible until Sunday, when we need to show up at the KOA campground in Bar Harbor, Maine. So this morning, we headed north with the goal of finding a place in Massachusetts to stop along the way and go from there.

We had an unventful drive into New York and then Connecticut on Route 287 to 87 to 84. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel (and made it out without the kids buying anything!) and topped off the gas tank. Then we got onto Route 90 toward Boston, heading to our decided stop of Gloucester, Massachusetts, along the coast, about 30 miles north of Boston. As soon as we got closer to Boston, the traffic jam started. There are reasons one should not drive in Boston, and I'll extend that to no one should drive within about 20 miles of Boston either. Too many cars on the road for some people to try to bob and weave their way through traffic.

It was a crawl for awhile, but then we turned off on Route 128 toward Gloucester and the ride was much more pleasant.

I found the Cape Ann Camp Site online using the terrific RV.net website. They have web forums with campground reviews and other great tips. We called the campground from the road and booked a site for the night, figuring if we wanted to stay another night, we would.

The campground has been around since 1949. It's not like a KOA campground with lots of activities and amenities, but it sits right across from a watery marsh and just down the road from a public beach. It's very wooded and has large boulders scattered throughout, including near our campsite. Very relaxing and quiet - and perfect for tonight.

The lady who drove Jeff through the campground in a golf cart to show him a few sites from which to pick pointed out one site with five little tents and said that group is made up of a bunch of guys who are riding their bikes from Quebec to Florida. Ambitious...

We arrived around 5:00 p.m. and took some time to stretch our legs from the long drive. We had been in the RV since 9:45 a.m., not counting the hour for lunch. We didn't set up much - just pulled out some chairs and rolled out the awning.

The kids climbed on boulders and kicked the soccer ball around while Jeff did some work (he's not technically on vacation). It was still hot and humid here, so instead of cooking, everyone got to pick from leftover pizza, sandwiches and fruit. Ruth made microwave popcorn. Jeff and Henry threw the football around until the mosquitos showed up, and then the kids laid down to watch a movie before bed.

Tomorrow we'll go check out Gloucester and visit Rockport, one of my favorite little seaside towns. I haven't been there for about 20 years, and Jeff has never been there. Then we'll continue to head north and find a place to stay, maybe in the midcoast of Maine, for a couple days on our way north to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. After Acadia, we'll come back south and spend some time at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, and then make our way back home.

I put two pictures in the slide show box over on the right, and will add some more tomorrow.

Thanks for checking out the blog and following our trip.