Month: July 2022

The last stop on Grand New England Bus Tour was West Dover Vermont. This not to be confused with East Dover which is directly East of West Dover and would be smack in the middle of North or South Dover if, in fact, there were places named North Dover and South Dover.

          Which there aren’t.

          But, luckily West Dover is situated in a great location and that is Vermont itself. I cannot think of a region of Vermont that is not idyllic, they all possess that New England charm that is enhanced by the fact that there is really only one major interstate that runs through it, I-91 is shared with New Hampshire as it really hugs the Eastern border and runs north and south. I-89 kind of goes Southeast to Northwest and all of these roads still pass through farmlands, forests, and parks so, how bad can they be?

          West Dover was our destination as that is where Paula’s sister Barbara, lives. Mt. Snow is located right there and is one of the top  Southern New England ski resorts. And how fortuitous for Mt. Snow’s founder to be named Snow! That’s right, Mt. Snow is named not for a meteorological event, but for a person. It’s a good thing his name was not Occluded Front or, God forbid, Heat Wave!

          Another nice aspect of traveling the highways and byways of Vermont is that there aren’t any billboards. This lack of roadside view-clutter is quite nice, and not necessarily apparent, except when pointed out, then you say, “Nice! I knew something was different!” Anyway, the quaintness of Vermont is on overload which makes traveling those back roads so much nicer, albeit a bit slower.

          We decided to take a trip up to Quechee Gorge, aka Vermont’s Grand Canyon  (of sorts). Quechee is the remnant of some incredible retreating glacier event occurring about 13,000 years ago. Then the Ottauquechee River ( say that threes times fast!) did its thing, and we are left with a very nice place to visit! I can only imagine how pretty this is in the Fall, after a rain, which would make it flow a tad faster.

          Most of our time in Vermont was spent just visiting, which we need from time to time. It was a nice, relaxing time with no schedule to peck away at us to complete. From here it’s back to Yetter’s Parking Lot and RV Resort until we head down the Shore the following week.

          Until then……

I feel bad about dragging you all to Art Appreciation 101 class with me, especially when you are on your Summer Break and definitely did not want to go to Summer School!

          So, to make it up to you I’ve enrolled us in class more fitting to our “We’d rather be on Vacation than go to Summer School” mood.

          Get your swimmies on cuz we’re all goin’ Lobsterin’!

          We’ve spent the last two days over on the coast. For those of you that have experienced the Maine Coast between Boothbay Harbor and Bar Harbor, well…… you know how special it is. Our little group decided that if we were ever fortunate enough to have a home situated on a bluff above this coastline, with the requisite views of the bays and islands, that it was, in fact, possible to stay there forever, have your meals brought to you and never leave your seat.

          That may be a slight exaggeration, but only slightly!  😊

          Going over to that area of Maine every year from where our RV site is located, is definitely something to look forward to. But, trying not to replicate previous experiences can be a daunting task. Everyone is not enamored with the same things, even though they involve the Coast. I, on the other hand, could sit and watch the harbor in Camden like it was my job! The boats that frequent these waters are as classical as they get. There are so many old wooden windjammers, schooners, sloops, and the like, that just like the views in Big Sur, the next one seems better that the last.        There are no bad ones! Just variations of awesome!

          We took a trip southward past Bath, and its ship works. There has been a ship building industry in Bath since the Revolutionary War and even now you can see US Navy destroyers being serviced and assembled in the Bath Iron Works shipyard.

          Our destination was Bailey Island, the last island at the end of a road that works it way south  connecting several islands along the way. In this part of Maine, the landforms may remind you of fingers stretched southward, the myriad of narrow bays being the space between them. So, as you travel down one of these ‘fingers’ quite often the rugged coastline makes an appearance and teases you with one view being better than the last.

          At the end of this road is a gift shop situated high on a knoll overlooking Casco Bay. The name of this shop is Land’s End. Actually, this shop is one of the better seaside souvenirs and chachkies shops that I’ve been to. It’s been family owned and operated since 1959 and not unlike a Western trading post, it features about sixty Maine crafters and their wares.

          “But wait!” you exclaim. “I’ve traveled all this way….. I wanted to buy some polo shirts, a bathing suit, and some nifty footwear! There’s nothing here that even remotely resembles anything in your catalog!”

          “Whoa! Slow down Mr. Persnickety Punctuation! Take a good look at the name….. it’s not Lands’….. it is Land’s. Now then, can I interest you in something of a seashell keyring?”

          (Ask to see my new keyring next time we se each other.)

          A photo or two at the end and we reversed our course and headed for Cooks Lobster and Ale House on the other side of the island. On our way we stopped at a little cove for some genuine Maine dockside photos. See below.

Finishing up at the cove we hit Cook’s just before it got busy. This landmark has been here since 1955, having had just two owners. As you may imagine, the cheeseburgers are just fabulous here!

          Not!

          I believe that it is local crime (misdemeanor) to order anything but seafood (especially lobster!) at an establishment like this one that even has its own boats, docks, and processing wharf!

          It was a great lunch!

          After lunch we walked out back to view the Cribstone Bridge. Don’t ask me how we stumble onto these random places, but this particular bridge is the only one like it in the States and ostensibly, the entire world. (They are holding final judgement on that last claim in case some remote undiscovered indigenous peoples in some unknown jungle on an undiscovered island somewhere have built a bridge of this type.)

          The engineering in this structure is quite genius. Using the locally quarried granite, they cut pieces that resembled long, rectangular logs and then just started stacking them up resembling a not-quite finished game of Jenga. No cement was used to fasten anything together as the sheer weight of each slab laid on each other, and having plenty of space between them to allow the waves and tides to flow freely through them….. well, lets just say that it’s been there since 1925 and only had a few minor repairs. Show me a current bridge that can last that long, and I’ll eat a lobster!

          I left Paula, April, and Brian seated on one of the benches overlooking the bridge area while I went to investigate a gorgeous Friendship Sloop.

This kind of sailboat is a true Maine original, having had its genesis in the little town of Friendship, located about halfway between Boothbay Harbor and Port Clyde. The originals all date from the mid-late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. This particular boat was from 1905. Her owners gave me permission to go down the ways and view her up close. You all get to do the same, courtesy of these photographs. Once you get to know Friendship Sloops and their classic, dare I say iconic, lines, you can easily pick them out from amongst their other sailing sisters.

After lunch we went in search of the Giant’s Stairs. This is a natural rock formation directly on the coast. The result of some long-ago volcanic activity, it makes for a dramatic coastline and has some nice cliff-top hiking paths.

          We left the Bailey Island area in search of some Ice Cream! Who doesn’t need another 1000 calories after eating lobster and fries for lunch! We came across Pammy’s Ice Cream, a cute little place. Outside service only,  it was very busy and nicely staffed. Strictly cash, no cards, only open in the summer, winters in Florida…. What can be better than ice cream, cash, and Florida Winters! What a business model!

          The next day everyone came on the Lobster Expedition. We booked passage on a lobster boat out of Camden Harbor.

The outing lasted about an hour and a half and included pulling three lobster traps with some local sightseeing mixed in. We all got a lesson in the proper way to bait, secure, and re-set these traps. They are not the old wooden ones anymore. Those were made of oak, got waterlogged and very heavy. These newer ones are made of vinyl wrapped wire and have several safety features built in. Not for the lobstermen, for the critters!

          Just in case a trap gets its line run over or is lost in any other way, they don’t want the trapped deep-sea denizens to be held for life. They have made “Escape Hatches” that after a reasonable period of time, these hatches kind of dissolve so that the lobsters and all their friends can be set free.

          Some other common sense conservation practices involve obviously size, and Mommies! When it is determined that a female lobster is carrying eggs (which are very visible underneath her) she is released but not before a small “notch” is cut into her tail so that if she is re-caught she has been identified as a bona-fide ‘Mom’ which helps insure the future of their industry. The variables of successful lobstering depend on all things that cannot be seen underwater. Water temps, depth, season, etc. all wreak havoc on a lobsterman’s way of making a living.

          We pulled three traps that day and only got one lobster and that one was too small, so back into the drink she went!

          Another lunch was had in Camden which included Lobster Bisque (why not?) and then we stopped at a seafood market for some fresh scallops and haddock that were planned for dinner.

          Pan-seared scallops and beer-battered haddock…..  I rest my case.

          I’m sure that you all are very excited that you have enrolled in this year’s mid-summer semester’s course, Art Appreciation 101.

          Settle down, we will get to that soon enough.

          We find ourselves back in the wilds of Maine, at our second campground, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park.

          I kid you not. In fact, Boo-Boo just ran past me carrying a Picnic Basket.

          Our first campground, The Birches, on Lake Unpronounceable (see last year’s post from 7/24 titled ‘Maine, Lobster, et al’ ) did not have room for us for more than 3 days, so we moved eleven miles down the road to this one. And while we did not get the much-envied R-20 site at The Birches, the one that we were in was very nice, also with full views of that Lake.

          Over here at Jellystone, we are totally in the woods. This may be the most remote and private site that we have ever been in. ‘Private’ being a relative word here because I am sure that the mosquitos take exception at not being considered as our neighbors.

          We are back in Maine to visit Paula’s son Brian, his wife April, and the kids Stella, Jay, and Jay’s steady, Jayden. All really great kids, it’s good to see everyone again.

          There are several outings planned, all over on the Coast, (which is in the running for the “If You Had to Sit in One Place For The Rest of Your Life…..” prize) and, in good time, worthy of their own future posts.

          But back to today’s Subject and Lesson, Art Appreciation 101. One of the larger towns on the Maine Coast is Rockland. It has a significant harbor with a lighthouse at the end of a long breakwater and a very considerable downtown who’s original 1800’s architecture has been well preserved. Rockland is also the home of The Farnsworth Art Museum and Wyeth Center.

          The key words in that title are ‘Art’ and ‘Wyeth’.

          I am fairly sure that most, if not all, of you are familiar with the Wyeth family’s artwork. If not by name, at least by sight.

          The progenitor of this family is N.C. Wyeth, whose artwork illustrated many an early 1900’s editions of books such as, Robinson Crusoe, Kidnapped, Treasure Island, The Last of the Mohicans….. and the list goes on. His works were as dramatic as their subjects and earned him his well-deserved praise and success.

          In 1917, his son Andrew was born. And as he grew he found himself in his father’s studio being taught the basics of art. While N.C. was not a task master, he did insist that young Andrew become acquainted with the various methodology and techniques of painting and sketching. Apparently N.C. did his job well because Andrew grew into one of the most (if not the most) successful American artists of the 20^th century. If you are not familiar with Andrew, you will be after I show you his most famous painting, Christina’s World.

          See, I told you that you would know that one!

          This is where the ‘Art Appreciation’ enters our lesson and it’s all personal and very subjective. I say subjective because we don’t get to decide what is Art and what isn’t. We do get to decide what kind of art we like. Most of us are not fans of Modern Art, i.e., those large canvases with the paint just strewn about (in our opinion) somewhat randomly until the desired point is reached. From that extreme to a highly detailed ‘Pen and Ink’ sketch of a locomotive, works of art are obviously many and varied.

          Ok Don… so where are you taking us?

          Here is that answer. If you’ve gotten this far into this post (and many others) you have by now realized that I like to learn things. Back in the 1990’s I was first introduced to the Wyeth’s, and especially Andrew, just by way of being in this part of Maine. The Wyeth family summered here. They had a home in Cushing where Andrew met his neighbors, many of which became subjects of his paintings. Christina Olson of Christina’s World lived nearby with her brother. Obviously she was the subject of that painting, as was that house. The house and grounds are still there, part of art history and can be toured. Many of Andrew’s paintings are of different parts of that house.

          So, while up here visiting I became interested in Andrew’s works. I learned how he approached a subject, studied it, did preliminary sketches and ‘studies’ as he called them and when he was satisfied, he finished the final work. This was a revelation to me. I always pictured artists standing in front of a subject, funny hat tilted to one side, and replicating exactly what was in front of them. Well, that is one of the ways to paint, but another is left to the artist’s interpretation, and they get to paint what they want, they get at add, or subtract, whatever they want, in order to have their painting to express what they want it to when it is finished. Somewhat like an author who use words to paint a picture in our mind, an artist uses pictures to paint words (emotions?) in our minds.

          And we get to interpret those words for ourselves.

          That revelation was when I began to really appreciate art.

          I dove into Andrew’s works, bought several books, and wished that I were rich enough to afford one of his paintings. Alas, I would need to be content with the reproductions that were in those books that I bought.

          While going through one, I turned the page and there before me was a full spread of one of his works titled, Her Room. It is a painting of the living room of his wife Betsey and his home on the St. George River in Cushing, Maine. The story goes something like this.

          Their kids were out in a boat and there was some anticipation and consternation about that day. The hour was getting late as can be seen by the shadows cast through the windows. Suddenly the wind blew the door open with a bang and that moment was frozen in Andrew’s mind.

          This became the inspiration for the painting.

          And… this is the fun part; I get to decide if Andrew was successful in conveying those feelings of that day in that particular work of art. For me, that anticipatory open door with the long shadows, coupled with the islands seen in the background through the windows, and the simplicity of the room itself draws one back to that open door, waiting for the kids to finally enter.

          Well, by now you know who my favorite artist is and which of his works affects me the most.

          While we were in Rockland I was able to visit the Farnsworth where they had a very nice exhibit of Andrew’s preliminary sketches of several of his works. And… across the street at the Wyeth Center there were more examples of his and his family’s artwork (his son Jamie is also an accomplished artist).

          But alas, no Her Room.

          I went back across the street to the Farnsworth and asked the desk person how I would be able to get information on particular pieces and where they may be exhibited in whatever art museum. She asked me which piece I was referring to and I said , Her Room.

          She looked up at me and said with a smile, “Why, it’s across the street at the Wyeth Center!”

          I gave her what was probably an incredulous look as I said, “I was just over there, I’m sure that I wouldn’t have missed it!”

          “Let me call over there, “ she replied.

          Phone in hand…..        

                   “Upstairs?”

                   “Hmmm…. Not enough staff today?”

                   “Ok, I see…. Thank you“

          “Unfortunately sir, we don’t have enough staff today to open all of the exhibits…. insurance regulations, I hope you understand. Maybe tomorrow? We will know by opening time if we have enough staff for the day.”

          Doing some quick calculations, I realized that with Rockland being over an hour away already, and not being able to find out until opening time, well that would take up most of the day.

          “Ok, Thank you.”

          “Where are you from sir?”

          “Texas.”

          So close, yet so far…..  Maybe next year.

This past week has been filled with lots of fun stuff, details that are worthy of reporting to all of you.

          So far, this summer has been pretty much replay of last summer.

          That is a statement, not a complaint.

          Being able to visit with friends and family multiple times without traveling to the ends of the earth, has given us a bit of a breather as it were. It’s not that we are tired of traveling, We aren’t! It’s just that traveling all the time comes with its own set of issues as you may imagine. The only saving grace part of this type of traveling is that we are always at home.

          We are just big turtles, carrying our shell around with us.

          We have had a few nifty things that came to fruition in the last week or so and these are the details that I said that were worth reporting to all of you.

          I should tell you that I am writing this from the Cape Ann Campsite, the same place that we stayed last year when we visited my son Donny and his family. It is just down the road from Manchester-by-the-Sea, their hometown. This part of the trip east was definitely planned as it included the hand-off of the finally finished model of the USS Constitution to them.

          As with any carefully laid out plan, thought out well in advance, and timed to perfection to include a generous built-in bumper of extra time, something did, in fact, go kerflooey.

          The custom-made display case was not ready in time for me to do a final installation. So, in an effort to keep the Model safe and clean, I devised a temporary case that is wrapped with a plastic wrap that is normally used for food in your refrigerator. Needless to say, it leaves something to be desired! But it is safe and in its final place of display, never more to be bounced around in the Motorhome!

          When the case is finally ready to hold its cargo I’ll travel back up and finish the installation, which is fine with me as that means that I get to visit again!

          While we were there, Donny took is all out for a harbor tour. It’s a nice, long, and narrow harbor, one that gives plenty of shelter when those Nor’easter’s blow up. We were also able to glimpse some of the coastal homes that dot the shoreline. These puppies are incredible in their size and grandeur, many of them built back in that Gilded Age that we are all so fond of. And yes, they come with  the requisite price tag that you can only imagine.

          Before we headed on this New England leg of the Summer Hiatus, there were two other significant happenings that coincidently were directly next door to each other.

          The first one was the Grand Opening of the Wawa that occupies the site of the “beloved” Chatterbox. Those words are not mine. They were written by Rob Jennings of the Star Ledger and NJ.com in his final article documenting the transition of our corner in Augusta from one entity to another.

          The folks at Wawa, who I have been in contact with the entire time, were gracious enough to ask me to help out with the festivities on that day. I was given the honor of making the first ceremonial Hoagie and helped with the ribbon cutting. They also had the local First Responders present for a Hoagie Building Contest where when they were finished, each department was given a check for $1000.00. Wawa also gave $1000.00 to SCARC. This was in addition to the $2000.00 that they gave SCARC at the  Groundbreaking Ceremony. This is why we were so comfortable turning over our corner to them, they truly get themselves imbedded in their local communities.

          The second event was held on the following day. Friday saw a new Cruise Night born over at our friends, Ideal Farms, who were our neighbors for those fifteen years. The First Annual Ideal Farms / Chatterbox ‘Good Old Days’ Cruise Night and Reunion was a huge success!

          Shortly after we arrived back in New Jersey, Ben from Ideal mentioned to me that he was thinking about having a “one off” Cruise Night. I suggested that he hold it on a Friday night as that night does not interfere with any other local cruise night. And, if he wanted, it was OK to throw the Chatterbox name in there to garner some additional attention and parlay our long-standing good will in that arena into a possible great turnout for his night. All we would need was good weather as there was no rain date scheduled.

          Well, we were not disappointed!

(The Cruise Night photos, (actually there are about a hundred!) were taken by our friend Ken ‘Bandit’ Smith…… Thanks Ken!)

          Even before the scheduled 4:00 PM start time, cars started to pour in. The front lot quickly filled so the newly mowed back lawn area was pressed into service. Much to my delight, Ben had procured a new Gravely 72” Zero-Turn, Ultra-Professional, Easy-Glide, Hydraulic Cushioned Seating, and Big-Ass Motor, complete with cupholders and Racing Stripes (not really on the Stripes, but it ran like it should have some!) As you may recall from last year’s post, (see August 20, 2021 Ideal Farms Garden Center and RV Resort) I love to mow, and I was able to use my old mower from the Chatterbox which Ben had purchased from me.

          That baby is now a fond, distant memory as I have been given carte-blanche to mow to my hearts content on the new Mower Monster!

          In fact, I have had the pleasure of mowing four different lawns this year (so far!). I am the current Official Mower at Yetter’s Diner and when Tommy and his family went to Greece on vacation, I took over at his house also. I had that one looking like Yankee Stadium by the time he returned! In addition to those, our friends John and Dianne (where we sometimes park in Lafayette) also have a new mower. I convinced John that I needed/wanted a test drive, so out into the back lawn I went! Not wanting to leave it with a mowed strip or two, I gladly finished his back lawn also.

          It has been a “Mower Summer to Remember” so far!

          Our next stop will be the wilds of Maine to visit Paula’s son Brian and his family. There are several outings planned so far, one to the Farnsworth, an art museum in the harbor town of Rockland, concentrating on my favs, the Wyeth’s, and we are planning to go out on a lobster boat and learn how to snag these critters for a delicious dinner. Unfortunately, the Lucious Lobsters are the property of the boat and if we want these particular Claw-Daddies we will need to purchase them and “pot” them ourselves.

          It may be easier to just go and order a few at the local Lobster Shanty!

          Film at 11.

Day 103

          I have found the answer to one of the oldest and most asked queries that confound our collective lives.

          The Question:

          “Where does the time go?”

          The Answer:

          (Virtual drum-roll please……)

          Into the Past!

          I know that because here we are parked in the Yetter’s Diner parking lot.  We arrived here on Day 58 of this Eastern Sojourn and here we are on Day 103, still parked in our reserved spot!

          This is probably the most difficult post that I’ve written to date for several reasons.

          The first is that if you go all the way back to my first missive on this topic I implored all of you to slap me around if these tales became too personal,  or dare I say, too egotistical. So, In order to hold myself to this self-imposed boundary, I have not written anything since that 58^th day of our trip.

          We haven’t had any big adventures, which brings me to the next reason why I’ve been “silent”……

          Well….. again…. we haven’t had any big adventures!

          What we have been doing for all this time is practice being “Retired”.

          And yes, Retirement is everything that it is cracked up to be!

          By and large, the most discussed topic of any given day is another age-old question, “What do want for breakfast, lunch, dinner, Happy Hour…..” etc.

          Those answers are far more elusive than any question or theorem posed by Mr. Einstein and his cronies. Hence our never-ending expeditions to Shop Rite, Aldi’s, and Trader Joes.

          I leave the big decisions of what to procure for our meals pretty much up to Miss Paula. If it were left up to me, I would just have the same thing all the time. Back in the day, when my Dad had a restaurant down in Wayne, I made the same thing for lunch every day for a year, a Grilled Cheese and Bacon. When that year was finished, I switched it up for the next year and made myself a Bacon Cheeseburger. On the days that I didn’t work, a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich would satisfy me very nicely. I find that saving my Thinking Powers for the Big Decisions works best for me and I don’t waste Brain Cells and Neuron Synapses on the little stuff, like “What should I eat Today?”

          Thankfully, Paula is not this way, and she revels in scouring the Trader Joes Face Book Page for healthy new menu ideas and Five-Star Recommendations! It is because of her and her perusal of each products Nutritional Data that I do not have an additional fifty pounds hanging on my already overweight chassis. Thankfully we can bypass those truck weigh stations that are on the highways because we are not a commercial vehicle. It would be very embarrassing to be hauled out of the motorhome and made to stand on those big scales and have all of the DOT workers yell at me because I have illegally added too much “Retirement Weight”!

          “So Don, what have you both been doing since Day 58?”

          I can answer that one!

          Besides practicing the retirement thing, we have been visiting friends and family around the area. We made a trip to Cooperstown and Lake Otsego to visit Barb, one of Paula’s oldest (in terms of longevity, not age!) friends. Barb turned her boat over to me so that I could patrol  the lake and make sure that it was safe for everyone else.

          It was.

          We also went down the Shore to Ortley Beach for a mini–Family Reunion with some of Paula’s cousins and their ever-growing families. There were six little tykes there, two of which were of the teeny-tiny variety, with one on the way.

          There were a few noisy times as you may imagine! We also had Splash with us, who we were dog-sitting for while Matt, her son, and his family went on a cruise.

          Paula made a trip to Vermont for Barbara’s birthday, and I went to Manchester-by-the-Sea to ready the bay window where the Constitution model will reside, it needed a sill extension and it came out very nicely, if I do say so myself! We encountered some wood rot in the window which made it a bit more complicated, but the finished product is better than the original!

          There were Ballet/Dance recitals to be attended on both sides and they were flawless. Memorial Day we spent with Matt and his family at their Swim Club in Chatham where I took over the grilling duties…. Sorry, I can’t’ help it!

          Around Sussex County we have a Car Show planned with Ideal Farms hosting it. The word on the street is favorable as the Chatterbox name was thrown in there for nostalgic effect and if the weather cooperates, we should have a very successful Friday evening. The Wawa is also scheduled to open on the former Chatterbox site, and I have been invited to be involved on that day. There will be a “Hoagies for Hero’s” event where we will be “Guest Building” sandwiches and the proceeds will be donated to the SCARC Foundation. Wawa has taken over my seat on that Board and I couldn’t be happier!

          Tommy and his family, (our hosts at Yetter’s)  took a trip to Greece so I volunteered to mow the lawn here at Yetter’s and also at his house. I’ve also been mowing over at Ideal Farms in preparation for the Car Show on July 15^th. Ben from Ideal has obtained a brandy-new Gravely 72” Zero-Turn Mower that is the best one I have ever used! I make excuses for mowing so that I can ride on it!

          We’ve filled in the rest of the time with the obligatory Doctor’s visits and the like. We are also preparing for our New England leg of this trip East so we can visit Paula’s son Brian and his family in Maine, her sister Barbara in Vermont, and my son Donny and his family in Massachusetts, when we will finally deliver the USS Constitution model that I have been working on for the past four years.

          This weekend we will be in Annapolis visiting my friend Martin Ritter, who was the owner of Ritter Food where I worked for all the time before the Chatterbox.

          So now you’re all up to date, The weeks ahead may bring some interesting things from New England, so “Stay Tuned” is the mantra of the day!