After leaving the stunning Acadia National Park, Dave, Murphy and I made our way south to Scarborough, just south of Portland, Maine. I loved this town! Thanks to guidance from our dear friend Louise Worster, who lived in this area at one time, we visited the nearby Portland Head Light, the most photographed lighthouse in our country, and the “Twin lights”, twin lighthouses. One of the “twins” is now a private residence and the other an automated working lighthouse. We also visited nearby Old Orchard Beach, which the sign says is “Maine’s premier beach resort community”. Unfortunately, we visited on September 12th and it closed for the season right after Labor Day. Dratz!
Our campground in Scarborough was on a marsh and we had a beautiful view out our windows with hiking trails for Murphy to enjoy. We tasted potato donuts from Holy Donuts, I guess it is a staple in the area. I’m not sure they were my favorite donuts I’ve had on the trip, but we tried them. As Scarborough was our last stop in Maine, we enjoyed lobster rolls and stopped by Len Libby Candies, home of a 1700-pound chocolate Moose. I am so glad I didn’t know just how good their chocolates were until we had left the next day or I would have bought a lot more!
Next, we headed to Vermont, traveling through the very high White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dave and I made a note to come back and explore this area during another trip. We arrived at Happy Hills Maple Farm, our first Harvest Hosts stay. Harvest Hosts is an organization where various hosts let you stay overnight for no charge at their place a business. There are wineries, breweries & distilleries, farms, museums, and golf courses. The only ask is that you buy something from the host. Lisa, the host at Happy Hills Maple Farm warmly greeted us, directed us to our campsite, provided guidance to a local hiking spot, and provided a tour of their maple syrup processing operations the next morning. She and her husband own 400 acres which they farm. The amount of work that goes into tapping each of their 21,000 trees, sitting up lines to retrieve the sap, transporting the sap to their “sugar shack” and then producing the maple syrup is incredible. I will never complain about paying premium dollar for “real” maple syrup again. And, I will always try to support small maple farms in the future. Happy Hills Maple Farm does sell through their website, so they may have a new customer. As usual, Murphy found a stick and had a great time playing on the farm.
Our last stop in Vermont was at Burlington at a campground with gorgeous views of Lake Champlain. Next to the campground was the Burlington Greenway (a multi-use trail for walking, jogging, and biking), North Beach (no dogs allowed on the sand though), and nearby hiking trails. The biking trail includes a “bike ferry” to transport riders across a 200’ cut in the lake between islands.
In addition to biking and hiking, our stay at Burlington included a stop at an apple orchard to purchase freshly picked apples and tastings at two Cideries – Citizen Cider and Woodchuck Cider. Thanks to our looper friends, Jon & DeeDee aboard War Eagle, we learned about Woodchuck Cider in a nearby town of Middlebury, which they stopped at during their loop this year. I loved the town of Middlebury and the ciders at Woodchuck were quite delicious. Dave and I bought several kinds to replenish our cider stock. Middlebury and another nearby town of Vergennes had waterfalls which we stopped at for photo ops. Thanks to DeeDee for the helpful hints!
We are beginning to head south, but not too quickly as it is still quite hot in Florida. It’s been chilly in Vermont, with the lows in the mid-40’s and highs in the mid-60’s. We’ve already had to use the heat in our RV.
Thanks for following along on our 2022 RV travels.
Cider loving Brenda, its getting a bit chilly here Dave, and let’s go swimming even if it is cold Murphy.
PS – I forgot to mention apple cider donuts. They were SO much better than potato donuts (sorry Maine). We first found them while driving through New Hampshire and found them in many other places in Vermont. But the ones we had at a road side stop were the best by far!
What fantastic pics! Thank you, thank you! Restores my faith that there really are beautiful spots to visit.
Wait, wait, – was that a chocolate donut and a chocolate lab in the same shot?
” I will never complain about paying premium dollar for “real” maple syrup again” !! -So well said.
Life is too short for the fake stuff!
Enjoy, and don’t be in too much of a rush south. Still a sauna here (although there is a hint of fall coming) 😉
Wes