Wednesday, 24 May 2006

Chewonki to Camden Hills RV Resort (Maine)

There was a light sprinkling of rain in the night to christen the new tent and the new morning was cloudy and sunny. I slept through my alarm so it wasn't until 9 am that I was packed and ready for the off. Maybe I overslept because the new tent is warmer and stuffier that I'm used to. I'm not sure I'd like to sleep in it with 2 people. I'll have to see if I can improve the ventilation.

From the campsite with it's views of Montsweag Bay, I headed back along the busy US 1 for a short distance to Mountain Road, which would enable me to cut across country and get back onto my cycling route. At the junction of the US 1 and Mountain Road was the Wiscasset Flea Market (Car boot sale) and I stopped for a breakfast sandwich and a cup of tea ($3.50) - it's so nice to be be able to sit out in the fresh air and eat. Most of the places I've eaten at are so enclosed, sometimes with no windows looking out at all. It was lovely and warm sitting in the sun watching the flea market, although there seemed to be a shortage of buyers on a Wednesday morning.

I cycled back up to the Old State Road and down into Wiscasset, which ambitiously claimed to be the "prettiest village in Maine". I'm not sure that I agree with that. Guess what - I spent an hour in the library. (I'm going to have to start censoring my library visits otherwise I'm going to have to rename my blog...!) I did set up a link to where I'd uploaded some of my photos, so for those of you interested...

I'd developed a bit of a headache so I thought some food might be a good idea and went to Sarah's Cafe overlooking the bridge, for some Haddock Chowder. It would be nice to have the opportunity to sample more of the seafood for which this area is famed.

I crossed the bridge from Wiscasset to Edgecomb; the route was on the busy US 1 most of the way to Newcastle, but the shoulder was wide and the traffic speed moderate, so it was never unpleasant. The afternoon had turned showery and my rainjacket was on and off a few times. Another shower was passing overhead as I crossed the bridge from Newcastle to Damariscotta, so I ducked into the Salt Bay Cafe for a tea. It's always a good excuse to take a break, meet people, and get some local information. Well sometimes. "Is there anything worth seeing or doing here in Damariscotta?" "No" "Well, I'll just be passing through then!"

[Went to the library]

From Damariscotta the route rejoins the US 1 and it was a thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable day. There were a couple of campsites marked on my map in the Damariscotta area, but I was having such a good time I thought I'd keep going. Big mistake. The route leaves the US 1 and hurtles down a long hill into Waldoboro; there is then a long and brutal climb up through Waldoboro and onwards up the Old Route One road. Stopping at the top to catch my breath I checked the back of my map to read the directions to the next campsite only to find that it was now closed. (I had marked the addenda to the map services on the back of my map but I hadn't thought to cross off the campsite on the map itself. Doh!) The next available campsite was another 16 miles from where I was rather than the 6 miles I was expecting. And wouldn't you know it, there was lots of up and down on the way. The only bad section of road was an uphill section on the US 1 just before Waldoboro where the shoulder disappears and becomes a crawler lane; but even the slowest lorry doesn't crawl uphill at 4 mph!

When I got to the Camden Hills RV Resort I found that it hadn't yet opened for the season. There was a guy there tidying up so I asked him if it would be alright if I could stay. He said it was up to me, he was just a friend of the owner helping out, and suggested I asked at a house nearby. There was no-one at the house, and in a little while the guy came around again. This time he was much friendlier and we had a bit of a chat about Ireland and Scotland. (which he loved) He said the owner of the campsite was English too and was sure it wouldn't be a problem if I stayed.

There was a restaurant nearby, the Rockport Diner, so I went there for something to eat (Deep fried clam with mash, squash and zucchini, $9.95) and so that I could use their facilities. (Which reminds me. I passed a B&B a couple of days ago that had a sign outside advertising their rooms with a list of the facilities such as, cable TV, internet access, efficiencies - what the heck are 'efficiencies'?)

Distance: 43.6 miles
Cycling time: 4:38
Total distance: 347.8 miles