We spent Friday evening and Saturday morning doing routine chores and getting ready to head out onto the road again. We pulled out of the campsite with Maine on our mind. It was about 11:00 and, as we were about to turn onto the main road, we realized Maine wasn’t the only thing on our minds. We also had visions of soft serve ice cream floating around – and so we did what everyone on vacation does – we had ice cream for second breakfast. We went back to Donnoley’s and discovered their Saturday flavor, which they make a surprise each week, was peanut butter and chocolate!

Our next stop was at Lake Champlain. We needed to catch a ride on a ferry to get across the lake. We paid our toll and then Cy drove the RV into its (very small) designated spot. When we got parked and as the ferry prepared ready to cross the lake, we noticed that the door to the RV was up against a wall. Cy wriggled his way out of the RV, I passed Ellie to him through the window, then squeezed out of the door myself. We walked to the railing and took it all in. The lake was gorgeous and Cy loved looking at all of the boats. We met some people who gave us travel tips for our time in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Once we made it across the lake, we drove for a few minutes, and then pulled over to have a picnic lunch in the RV. We drove the width of Vermont that afternoon, and then entered New Hampshire. Because of the mountainous terrain in New Hamphsire, there isn’t really an interstate that goes east to west in the state. Since we came into the northern part of the state, if we wanted to take an interstate toward Maine, we would have to go south almost the length of New Hampshire before cutting across east, and then back up. Instead, we decided to take smaller roads across the White Mountain National Forrest. We were hoping to make it about halfway across the state and find a grocery store parking lot to make camp in for the night.

Well. Let’s just say that the smaller roads in the mountains are home to very tiny towns. These tiny towns do not have parking lots that are friendly to 38 foot long RVs. And then, in our search for a place to park, we took a wrong turn. We drove for about 20 minutes before we finally found a place we could turn the RV around. While Cy unhooked the car from the tow dolly so that he could get the RV turned around, I prayed. Hard. Because we pulled over in what even Cy admitted wasn’t the friendliest spot he could have chosen. It was also getting dark on us and we had no cell service. Ellie enjoyed this whole process because she got to get out of the car seat and sit up front with me. She sang and reached for buttons and had a grand time, totally oblivious to the stress Cy and I were experiencing.

When we finally got turned around, we headed back in the right direction to the largest town we had encountered. It had a small grocery store with a parking lot that would fit about three Priuses. So that was out of the question. We tried to find their town center or square, hoping it had a larger parking lot. It consisted of an old, abandoned building, their historical society, and a church. Conveniently, it also boasted a large gravel offshoot next to the stop sign. We pulled onto the gravel, made a pot of macaroni, and went to bed.

The next morning, we got up and on the road in record time. We officially entered into the White Mountain National Forrest and put our rose colored glasses back on. Between the winding roads, the mountains, and the frequent Moose Crossing signs, we couldn’t help but enjoy the route. As we climbed higher and higher, we finally gained cell service again. Cy and I each had fantasy football drafts scheduled that day, so we were trying to figure out the times and where we could pull over. I know. Priorities.

As we got toward the top of the particularly mountainous stretch of road we were on, we came around a curve and discovered about a hundred cars parked along both sides of the road. Cy immediately pulled over because he just knew that there must be something scenic nearby that we wouldn’t want to miss out on. We strapped on our hiking boots, bundled up, and loaded Ellie into the backpack. We had stumbled upon a popular hiking destination. None of the trails were short enough for what Ellie (or I) could handle that day, plus it was cold and looked like the bottom might drop out of the clouds at any moment. So we just hiked a little portion of one of the main trails. It was beautiful! We took pictures, enjoyed the scenery, and encouraged a bunch of backpackers we passed.

As we headed back toward the RV it started sprinkling outside and had escalated into a rainstorm within 10 minutes of driving. We were thankful that the wipers on the RV worked, and not long after, crossed into Maine. At long last we had arrived in the state we had been hoping to reach since we set out! We spent an hour and a half or so at a McDonald’s so that Cy could participate in his two Fantasy Football drafts. Ellie was the apple of every elderly person’s eye that came into the building. They brought her a coloring sheet and crayons, and let her show off all of her cute tricks!

When we got back onto the road, we found the water plant that Cy needed to visit later that week for a business call. We ended our drive that day in Augusta and found a big Walmart parking lot to call home that night. It was pouring down rain, and we really needed to do a grocery run, but decided instead that we would splurge and have our weekly meal out of the RV. There was an Olive Garden right next to Walmart, so we dashed across the parking lot and enjoyed some Italian food. After our carb-loading session, we returned to the RV in time for me to do my Fantasy Football draft and then settle in for the night. As we fell asleep that night, we were giddy, partly because Cy and I had both secured Dak Prescott as our fantasy quarterbacks, but mostly because we knew that the next day we would arrive at Acadia National Park! How could life be any better?