My summer was a mixture of brief home stays and several short RV trips.  With the risk of Covid-19 still prevalent, I tried to stay close to home with trips mostly within the New England states.

First, was a trip in May out to Bethel, NY to visit the Woodstock Festival Site.  I wrote a short post about that trip which you can read here – My Visit to Woodstock.

South County, Rhode Island – June

Next up was a quick trip in early June to the south county of Rhode Island to get in some early summer beach time at the Charlestown Breachway.  This is one of my favorite places to take in the ocean and it’s just over 100 miles from my home,  I was able to score a waterfront site for 3 days..  It was cool but I pretty much had the place to myself.  This was the first of three trips to the Breachway this summer.

The beach roses where in full bloom.

A Spur of the Moment Trip to Maine – June

In mid June, I started having hankerings for some Maine seafood.  I was having recurring dreams about lobster rolls and fried clams.  Maine is only 3 hours away and with the RV, I always have a place to stay.  I had an open week and a quick weather check showed a good forecast.  So, I quickly decided to head to southern Maine for two days.  Anne’s not an RVer, but she was game to join me in my Maine seafood quest.

Within a few hours we were eating lobster by the ocean.  Yum.

This trip started out as a quick two day sojourn to satisfy a food craving.  It quickly turned into much more.  First, two days tuned into three so we could visit with some friends and see family.  We also got in some beach time at another favorite beach – Pine Point Beach in Scarboro.

Then some “since we’re already up here” thinking took over and we decided to travel north 90 miles to visit Anne’s Mom.  She always has an open spot in her driveway for my RV so that’s where we spent another 3 days.  Annie had her car so we spent some time up in Rangeley enjoying the lake and more fine food.

At the end of the week, I looked at my calendar and saw I had another open week.  That’s when more “since we’re already up here” thinking kicked in.  My brother mentioned that he was traveling to Aroostook County for a few days to do some 4 wheeling.  I grew up in Aroostook County and hadn’t been back in over 25 years.  It was about 200 miles away so I said what the heck, what’s another few days since I’m already half way there.

I had a very enjoyable visit to The County.  I traveled on Route 1 along the US Canadian border through the St. John River Valley.  Its a pretty part of Maine that few visit. I stayed at Arndt’s Aroostook River Lodge in Presque Isle and at Lakeview Campground in St. Agatha.  I got to link up and enjoy a dinner with my brother at St. Agatha.  Here’s a video I made of my trip to Aroostook County.

Western Massachusetts & New York – July

Last year, I took a short trip out to the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts.  I had such a good time that I decide to return this year in mid-July

I drove west on Route 2, which is called the Mohawk Trail.  It’s a very scenic road.  I stopped in Shelburne Falls and visited the Bridge of Flowers.  The Bridge is an old train trolley bridge that has been turned into a lovely green space.   It’s a must see destination for flower lovers.  Here’s a video of my visit.

My next stop was near the tiny village of Charlemont in the Berkshires.  I camped for three days in the Mohawk Trail State Forest.  This is a lovely primitive camping spot that sits along the Cold River.  I had three days of perfect summer time weather.  I got to enjoy some in-the-woods camping spending time reading, sitting by a campfire, and soaking the the Cold River.

My next stop on this trip was just over the border in New York.  I traveled to the southwest corner of Massachusetts and visited Taconic State Park – Copake Falls.  This is a lovely state park just across the border in New York.  It has a campground and many things to do (swimming, hiking, biking).  Bash Bish Falls, which is the highest waterfall in Massachusetts, is a short hike from the state park.  I made another video of this visit, which shows the highlights of this stop.

Back to Maine – August

I went back to Maine at the end of July for a quick reunion with my family and then again in mid August to visit Anne’s Mom in Phillips, ME.

Each summer the little town of Phillips puts on a weeklong celebration called the Phillips Old Home Days.  It’s a fun week of small town activities and events.  There’s a talent show, art show, parade, horse pulling, logging events, food events, family get togethers, and various fund raisers.  We try to attend each year.

At the end of Old Home Days, I went north to Rangeley and camped for a few days at Rangeley Lakes State Park.  It had been several years since I had visited this lovely place.  This was a nice place to sit by the lake and decompress from a busy week in Phillips.

Here a video of the state park.

Cape Cod & Charlestown Breachway – September

In early September we took a trip to the Cape Cod Canal and stayed at Scusset Beach State Reservation.  This is another favorite place.  Anne joined me and we got to do some biking along the canal and sitting by the water.

I wrapped up my summer with a final trip to the Charlestown Breachway in late September.   I got in some final beach time before we head to Florida for the winter.

Some of these trips were planned well in advance and others were just spur of the moment.  Overall, I had a great summer.  In looking back at these trips, I was reminded again that you don’t have to travel a across the country or to a different continent to find natural beauty and enjoyment.  Many times it just a few miles down the road from where you live.

I was blessed to do all that I did this summer.  Thank you God for letting me do all that I did and for creating these beautiful places.

 

 

PS:  This is only my 4th blog post this year.  I’m still journaling my travels but I’m using video more often.  So far this year, I’ve made 15 videos.  I enjoy using video to chronicle my journeys and tell my stories.  My YouTube channel – J. Dawg Videos – has over 1,500 subscribers.  That’s were I post most most of my content.