Driving the Coast
Day 11:
We slept a little later this morning, but not long after sunrise. We met some people at the shower house who had been to the place we were headed a little later in our trip in West Virginia and were thrilled to talk to us about it. They had been in the winter and told us all about their snow adventures there. We were excited for more exploration ahead. We spent a little time at the campsite and took off for a day on Highway 1.
We drove down the coast and our first stop was Penobscot Narrows Bridge which has an observation tower at the top and overlooks Fort Knox. We took photos riverside and moved along to Belfast where we stopped at a little diner. I finally had the lobster roll I promised myself – I’ve wanted to try one for so long. Jeff tried a lobster omelet and the boys had burgers, of course. We stopped in some shops, walked by the harbor, and checked out the town a little. It was cute and historic. We window shopped some galleries. We spent a lot of time in the Green Store. It had a lot environmentally friendly/sustainable gear and wares from local makers. There was a whole wall of glass bottles on shelves and beneath were tubs of refillable soaps and lotions. There were solar lanterns, candles and composting tips. The lady behind the counter rang a bell every time someone made a purchase and didn’t use a bag. It was quaint and crunchy and a fun stop. We drove through Camden Maine and wished we had made a stop there. It was another beautiful and historic coastal town. It was bustling with people. It appears Camden has a state park with a campground so may be a place we look into in the future.
We landed for the night at a hotel in Portsmouth New Hampshire. We fell in love with this town. It reminded me a little of some of the European towns we’ve been to with its brick and cobblestone and the streets going this way and that, the signs on the buildings hanging above large glass display windows facing passersby and diners on the sidewalk. Jeff says it’s because it’s colonial New England. I suppose he’s right, we came over and built what we knew. I suppose there was a beauty to the history of it all. It is easier to appreciate for me when I am in Europe thinking my ancestors were there, but I suppose there were wars and pillaging and enslavement in our history there too. Some recent, some ancient. It’s a bit like the forefathers and philosophers, the way we overlook the sins of men to advance their good work. We are learning even now that MLK may have had a shady past. No one is perfect. We have to separate the flesh from the idea. It’s like getting in the flow and feeling like it comes from somewhere else, a collective or spiritual place outside ourselves. If it is part of some other, how can we connect it to the person who translates it into being. They have done the work of educating themselves in their trade, which isn’t to be understated, been open to the message, and able to convey it into whatever craft they have chosen. But they are not the maker of the flow, only the messenger. Similarly, progress can be teased from the acts and appreciated in one hand while making amends in the other.
So we walked the old streets of Portsmouth with its new shops and waterside restaurants. We ate at the River House and watched the Little League World Series (on the television/phone). Sam and I shared an excellent meal of fish and chips and shrimp salad. We swam at the hotel pool and slept in comfortable beds without pitching a tent or rolling out sleeping bags for the first time in 10 nights.
