We are parked at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort in Hermon, Maine, near Bangor, having arrived here Thursday night (May 30th). Getting ready to enter Canada tomorrow has involved an oil change for the Chev, grocery shopping, and drinking the wine that would have put us over our Canadian Custom's limit. This is a pleasant and neatly organized RV park, as was the Boston Minuteman RV park in Littleton, Massachusetts, where we camped the night of May 29. The use of our Passport America membership at this park makes an economical staging stop (50 percent off the regular rate). The scenery through New York, Massachusetts, and Maine is beautiful with lush greenery and views of well-kept farms, including small dairy operations. These smaller farms offer a welcome contrast to the huge grain farms of the Mid-West.

We have found a couple of great restaurants in the last few days. We had great Thai food at the Mango Restaurant in Littleton, Massachusett,s and wonderful home cooking at the Hermon Family Restaurant here at our resort. But we are really looking forward to the lobster, cod, and other seafoods in the Maritimes.

On the night of May 28 we camped at the highly overrated Coast to Coast (CC) Frosty Acres RV and Camping Resort near Schenectady, New York. Because we used our CC membership we were assigned second class spots that were soggy, wet and muddy, even though we could see high and dry lots reserved for the park's regular members. They were not helpful in getting us to our sites and setting up our rigs, many of the electrical connections had a reverse polarity and/or ground fault problems, and the management was non-cooperative regarding receiving mail. We have become more and more disappointed with CC and Resorts Parks International (RPI) over the several years that we have been members. The parks that honor CC and RPI rates are often located far from services along remote country roads, and they too frequently assign less than desirable sites because of our membership. It's probably time to end those associations!

We camped at the Skyline Resorts near Darien Center, New York, on the night of May 27. This was a nice enough park--not overrated, but kind of pricey. We drove in fog and light rain most of the morning of the 28th on our way to the "park from hell" in Schenectady. Still the drive was scenic and pleasant. We tried to stay on US 20 but encountered too many bridges that had clearances too close to the height (12'8") of our rigs and too many small towns. So we gave up and motored up to the NY Throughway about half way to Schenectady.

We arrived in Jefferson, Ohio, May 23 and stayed there until May 26. Great wine and covered bridge country. We have seen many covered bridges on the west coast, especially in Oregon, but these having been built much earlier were more exciting. I was particularly interested in the construction techniques and materials used for these bridges. For instance, the Mechanicsville Road bridge was built over the Grand River in 1867.

Mechanicsville Road Bridge

It is the oldest bridge and has the longest single span (156 feet) of any covered bridge in Ashtabula County. The Howe Truss has an arch constructed of 15 layers of 2" x 8" lumber and it is encased by large beams which form the X's of the truss. The arch extends across the entire span of the bridge.

 Mechanicsville Road Bridge Howe Truss Arch

The Harpersfield Road bridge was built in 1868 and it is the second longest covered bridge in Ohio. This two-span Howe Truss bridge is 228 feet in length and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The flood of 1913 washed soil away from the north end of the bridge and changed the river channel; a steel bridge was attached to the covered  bridge after the flood and a walkway was added in 1991-92.

Harpersfield Road Bridge

We visited and shopped in old town Ashtabula and watched a lift bridge being raised for passage of boats on an inlet off of Lake Erie. The steel bridge span was about 200 feet in length and the entire span was rotated upward at one end by a huge concrete counterweight. We tried to get a close up shot of a nearby lighthouse in Ashtabula but no road approached it. This is the best we could do.

Astabula, Ohio Light House      

Finally, we ate at the Deer's Leap Winery, in Geneva, Ohio. This winery is relatively new and the restaurant has a great menu and kind of a watering hole to showcase local talent for the entertainment. We did drag the strip in Geneva on Memorial Day--thousands of people and hundreds of Harleys, carnivals and picnics, bands and bathing suits. It was a warm ideal weekend to usher in the Summer season. It reminded us of Long Beach, a strip city on the Washington Coast.

We are excited to be entering the main focus of our trip--the Maritime Provinces! We'll enter New Brunswick tomorrow.