Day 32/33 - Onward to Maine

So Ben and Jerry's was amazing. The tour guide was pretty funny and made good use of lots of dairy puns, which was entertaining. It was just 4$ for the tour, which seemed quite worth it. It lasted about a half hour, and they gave out a pre-determined flavour of ice cream at the end. It was Lemon and White Chocolate, which was actually very good, and was one of their experimental flavors. Kylie was kind enough to drive us, so we didn't have to worry about parking. We took some good pictures, and then headed back to the RV to head out.

We left Kylie's house, and headed due east for our longest drive yet, approaching 5 hours. We ended up in Agusta, Maine, which was much smaller than I thought it would be. We found the camper-friendly walmart fairly easily, although it wasn't a 24 hour one. It was near some restaurants, and we were both quite hungry, so we opted for Olive Garden, as it was the closest, and we had a gift card :). We slept fine at the walmart, and headed out in the morning to check out the Maine State Museum downtown, which was pretty sweet. It was an impressive array of archaeology exhibits, and detailed a large amount of history of the state. They even had a 'Patents of Maine' section, which was neat, since I was on my lunch break for the museum tour.

After the tour, we hit a repair shop. The mechanic on the phone said he would do a brief diagnosis for free in the parking lot, just to see if our noise was significant and needed immediate attention, or if we could press on. Nearly all of the shops in the area were very busy for snow tire season still, so we were thankful that he would take a look for free. We were especially thankful, since the last mechanic we stopped at for a 'free' inspection cost me $50 for nothing. It only took 3 minutes of his time, and he said it was likely a loose spring within our right brake drum, and could press on.

Our next stop was Pemaquid Point, which was a referral from my boss. It was a pleasant spot, and we arrived just at sunset, which has been happening earlier by the day. It is one of his favourite spots in the world, and it was kind enough of him to share. I unfortunately had to finish work as the sun was setting, and couldn't get out to explore much while it was still daylight.

After the sun set, we called a few restaurants, as we really wanted to find some lobster rolls. I promised Sarah they existed, and that we would eat them, but alas, every single place was closed for the season (or was out of power from the storm) save for one restaurant, which was 'reservations only.' I called them up anyway, and to my delight they had power and were open. Their menu claimed they had lobster rolls, so we gave it a try and made a reservation. The soonest one they could take was nearly an hour away, and the place was about 15 minutes away, so I finished up work, and put on a fancier shirt. Upon arrival, we found a spot big eough for our rig, and headed inside only to find that they had just changed to their 'winter' menu that very day, and were no longer serving lobster rolls. I was bummed enough to want to leave, but we were hungry, and they did still have Lobster Mac n Cheese, so we gave that a try and split the entree, and had a few apps. The food was tasty, and they sure were busy, but again, they were the only spot in town that was open. We didn't have much of a plan for a place to stay, as there were no walmarts around, and it was kind of rural despite being on the water. I thought that staying in the driveway of a house for sale would work, as the owners did not appear to be home, and we would just say that we're going to an 'open house' there in the morning or something. There were several 'house for sale' realty signs around, so we picked one, and headed down a tiny gravel road. I was worried we were going to get stuck, so upon nearing the end of the road, we began trying to turn around, and a kind old man came out to ask if we needed help, or what the hell we were doing there. He helped us to back out, and told us just to go back to the lighthouse parking lot, as no one was likely to bother us for parking there since it was the off-season. We gladly took his advice, and navigated in the dark back to the lighthouse. There were two detours off of the tiny road due to fallen trees, which were suspended by power lines like they were laying in hammocks.

When we arrived, the moon was high and nearly full, so you could still see the water, and the stars seemed quite bright as well. We took some night-time pictures with the DSLR of the stars, which made it seem as though it was daylight outside. It made for some neat pictures. We slept well with the waves crashing just feet from our camper, which was pretty cool.

The next morning, we woke up to clear skies, and we enjoyed the sights. It was the first (and only so far) morning that we woke up to see the sunrise, which was pretty sweet. We got some great pictures, and I did a time-lapse on the iPhone, which came out well. We walked down to the beach for more pictures, to build some rock towers, and to grab a rock for our collection.

Prior to hitting the road, a skunk came out of the bushes, and we watched him hangout for a few hours, just sunning himself on the cliffside, and rooting around for bugs in the grass. It was nice to see a skunk alive for a chance, rather than on the side of the road.

Our ride was now due south-east, officially making the turn to head towards home, rather than farther away from it. We made it to Portland, ME around 1 or so, and had made a reservation for a Brewery Tour of Shipyard Brewing, which we narrowly made on time. Parking in downtown Portland was a bit of a challenge for our large vehicle, but we eventually found some spots that were designed for RVs just outside of the ferry terminal, which allowed free 2 hour parking. We rushed over to the Shipyard tasting room, and even were a few minutes early, as the tour began late. We had a small group of just three couples, including ourselves. The tour was conducted quite professionally, with the 'Trade Brewer' giving the tour. he had been working there 19 of the 26 years it had been open, and seemed to really know his industry. It was somehow the most involved brewery tour I think I'd ever been on, taking us through each room of the facility, and explaining everything from the brewing process, down to the packaging and sales of the beers. I was impressed, and the beer was also quite tasty. Pumpkinhead fresh from the brewery was quite amazing.

After our tour, we asked about local places that would have a lobster roll, and got a few recommendations, but one was stressed hard by a customer, who seemed to know his lobster, so we gave it a go. We went back to the RV briefly to check on the critters, and to move the RV over a spot or two, since it was a good two hours since we had left it there. We then enjoyed the best lobster sandwich on the planet, or at least that I've experienced so far. It was even better since it was Sarah's first, so it was perfect she was able to have a really good one for her first. After the meal, we headed onward towards Allegash Brewing, as well as Foundation Brewing, which were adjacent to each other on the other side of town. We made it just before closing, so we were able to enjoy a brief flight before heading over to Foundation. I picked up my first hat of the trip from Foundation Brewing, which is pretty sweet.

After we had our fill, we headed to the local walmart for the night, and parked next to a converted bus which had a whole family living inside. The bus even had a wood burning stove and fireplace, which was pretty neat. We slept fine, had some Dunkin in the morning, and headed onward - until we went to leave the lot, and it sounded like our brakes were locked up...not good. We called around to shops, but most were closing soon. Our ABS light had come on as well, and that, in addition to the grinding noise, made us not want to continue. Thus, we found a shop not far down the road, and made our way there. They were skeptical that it would fit in their bay, but they managed. Turns out we were just low on brake fluid, likely indicating a leak. They added some new brake fluid for free, and of course the noise didn't happen for them, so we headed out without any issues.