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Our refuge in Maine

Friday, October 21st, 2011

October 1st -3rd

After a long day “on the road”, we finally arrived in York Beach, the final destination of our U.S.A. road trip. We were meeting one of my good friends from my B.U. days, Jacquie, at her parents’ house. They had graciously agreed to let us leave our car there for a few weeks while we returned to France. Since I last saw Jacquie at her wedding three years ago, she’s had two beautiful little girls. We arrived around 8pm, just as the girls had got to sleep. We went to a yummy seafood restaurant for dinner (the specialty of the Maine Coast) and caught up old times and future plans.

The next morning, Jacquie’s parents, Mary Lou and Jean-Marie spoiled us with a big American breakfast. They were my adoptive family when I was in college and I spent a lot of holidays with them because it wasn’t always easy to return to Florida.

The weather was terrible- It was pouring rain. So, we took advantage of the day to relax and prepare our suitcases for our trip to Europe. I also spent a little time looking at job offers online. Jacquie had given me some leads. Finally, I really started to imagine what the next stage of our life might be like.

On Monday, the day of our flight to Europe, we woke up to a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and the sky was blue. We needed some fresh air before going to the airport so we took a walk to see the York lighthouse, a classic New England lighthouse that sits on a rock off the mainland.  To access it the guardian has to take a funicular which is suspended in the air above the ocean.

Mid-afternoon, Mary Lou and Jean-Marie drove us to the bus in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We took a very swanky bus to Logan Airport in Boston. We had some extra time so I called my mom and spent some time catching up on email. Finally it was time to board the plane to Reykjavik, Iceland. I don’t think it had even occurred to me that we were going to a new country that we had never visited before or that our trip in the United States was coming to an end.

The Final Sprint: 4 states in one day

Friday, October 21st, 2011

October 1st

We started the day with a cozy Saturday morning breakfast with Michelle and Noah (Toby had left early for work)- warm bagels and cream cheese and a real cappuccino. After a rainy night, the clouds were starting to break up and we could see a little sunshine and blue sky. Hopefully, Michelle would be able to take a long walk outside with Noah to enjoy the day. We had a long day on the road ahead of us.   Our first stop was near Worcester, Massachusetts. We stopped at Wal-Mart to do a little Christmas shopping (legos and electronics for the family in France.) We had a quick lunch at Subway (it was too cold to picnic outside.) Then we crossed the state of Massachusetts. We finally arrived in Gloucester, where we had an appointment with our future landlord to visit our apartment. We rented a short-term apartment for a couple of months to give us some time to get organized and find a job. Gloucester is a cute little fishing village. It’s also the oldest port in the U.S. and our apartment is in the basement of a house on top of a hill overlooking the ocean. It seems like the perfect place to recharge our batteries for a couple of months while we organize our life “post the big trip.”

From Gloucester, we followed the coast up to York, Maine. It was a slow road, slower than we expected, so we cut back to the highway 95. Just at the New Hampshire border, we made a stop at the state liquor store to buy some more gifts for the family in France. New Hampshire doesn’t tax liquor so it’s the cheapest in the region. I guess we’ll make the trip up from time to time to restock our “bar.” We finally arrived in Maine. Four states in one day: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.  It’s a big change from the West where you could spend days driving across the same state.

The road to Connecticut and reunion in Prospect

Friday, October 21st, 2011
September 29th-30th After more than seven months of sleeping in a tent, our final night of camping was at a KOA in eastern Pennsylvania. The days were quickly growing shorter and by the time we had put up the tent and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Harper’s Ferry and Gettysburg, PA

Friday, October 21st, 2011
September 28th-29th When we left Shenandoah the plan was to drive straight up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I was studying the map and saw that Harpers Ferry, West Virginia was on our route so we decided to make a small stop to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Exploring Shenandoah

Thursday, October 20th, 2011
September 27th-28th Shenandoah National Park, one of the first big East Coast parks, is within 100 miles of Washington D.C. and is a popular destination for many city dwellers looking for a breath of fresh air. The most popular time to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Discovering Thomas Jefferson and Shenandoah National Park

Thursday, October 20th, 2011
September 26th Chronologically, our American history tour was starting to make a big zigzag. The next stop on our trip was Monticello, the beloved home of Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States. From my childhood, I remembered visiting ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Shirley Plantation and Richmond, VA

Thursday, October 20th, 2011
September 25th We checked out of our hotel (back to camping) and continued the road north. We stopped at Shirley Plantation on the James River. It is the oldest still functioning plantation in the United States and has stayed in the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg, VA

Thursday, September 29th, 2011
September 24th We were staying a couple of miles from Colonial Williamsburg so we decided to venture there on Saturday morning. We were overwhelmed by the Disneyland-esque visitor center and $40 admission fee to the sites, so we decided to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Yorktown, where the American Revolution was won

Thursday, September 29th, 2011
September 23rd Since we had covered a good distance the evening before, we decided to drive to Yorktown in one straight shot (about three hours.) We even stopped at a fast food restaurant for lunch (unusual for us, but reflective ... [Continue reading this entry]

Road to Charleston, South Carolina

Thursday, September 29th, 2011
September 20th-22nd We left Jacksonville after lunch just as the clouds were rolling in. We were hoping to drive all the way to Charleston before evening, but that was a little optimistic. We stopped on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia at ... [Continue reading this entry]