No cameras, no cell phones.....

Bath Iron Works, once a family-owned shipyard, is now privately owned by General Dynamics, the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world. No cameras, and no cell phones are allowed on the trolley-led tour; see great photos at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_Iron_Works. It is a highly secured facility, as Navy destroyers and other military ships are built here.


Ships are built in “modules” in huge hangar-style bays. Moved from one bay to the next, as each module is completely outfitted, it is rolled into the yard, assembled to other modules, then rolled (this is a massive undertaking) into the enormous dry dock. The dock is then winched out into the Kennebec River, and lowered in the water. The new ship is driven out, and down through the mouth of the Kennebec River at Popham Beach. 

We saw the construction-in-process of the DDG 1000, and an almost complete DDG106, the “Jason Dunham” (named for the Medal of Honor marine who gave his life, saving many fellow marines in Iraq). The DD stands for Destroyer, and the G stands for Guided Missile-equipped.


My descriptions may be somewhat simplified – the design engineer who led the tour was very technical. But we enjoyed immensely our visit to BIW. (Navy folks, note:  http://www.hazegray.org/news/archive2001a.htm also has excellent photos of ships-in progress at Bath Iron Works.)

At the Maine Maritime Museum, less than half a mile from BIW, there are several buildings displaying the history of the Maine ship-building and fishing industries.


 
We especially enjoyed exploring the sailing ship, Sherman Zwicker, docked there. It was in service as a haddock fishing vessel for several decades. It has a cargo-holding (fish) capacity of 320,000 pounds.

Tom was quite impressed with the engine! 
www.schoonermuseum.org 
This website has awesome photos of the Sherman Zwicker fully rigged and under sail.

Lynn was impressed with the girth of the lines!

Tonight, Christelle, Brian, and Max met us in the lovely small town of Hallowell, Maine, for a great dinner at “The Liberal Cup."

We were in Bath, Maine today, and outside most of the day. Due to that, my hayfever gave me fits, so I'll write tomorrow about our tour of the Bath Iron Works, where they build Navy destroyers, and other military ships, and about our visit to the Maine Maritime Museum. 
 
But now, I just need to take some Benedryl and conk out!

September 27, 2009

Up here, people know where to get the best deals on the freshest lobster. Advertising doesn't need to be ostentatious.

Max stayed with us last night in the motor home, sleeping on the pull-out sofa. He was plenty warm and cozy in the sheets, covered with cotton quilt and L. L. Bean Hudson Bay wool blanket. The blanket we found many years ago in a neighbor's throw-away pile! After dry cleaning, this handsome blanket has served us quite well as we have traveled to the colder climates across the country.

Well, today, Sunday, was cloudy and rainy - gloomy, actually - but Max, Tom, and Lynn had a fun "play-day" all day. Starting off with the domino game "Mexican Train," we then had an "Uno" tournament, followed by a Monopoly Marathon (Lynn once swore she would never play Monopoly ever again; well, that was before having a grandchild).

(This photo was taken at Hyde School, in Bath, Maine, where the Saturday track meet was held. This is also a 9th-12th boarding school, and has an absolutely stunning campus).

We delivered Max to his parents at 5 p.m. at the dining hall at Kents Hill, where we all shared a lovely dinner together. Meals served at the dining hall (3 times daily) are tasty and nicely varied. Faculty, families, and students all congregate at the same time, dine, and have pleasant social interaction. Students from other countries can be heard conversing in their various languages. As an adviser, Brian has dinner once a week with his "advisees", students who come to him with questions, problems, etc. Advisers keep the same advisees all four years that they are students at Kents Hill. This is a great comfort to parents who send their high school teenagers off to a boarding school, out from under their watchful care.

On the walk back to Brian-Christelle-Max's apartment, Lynn collected a beaucoup of bright red, yellow, and orange leaves. (I confess to being a leaf fanatic).

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Well, I'm making lotsa memories to last until we can see our Max again. Here we are at Kents Hill's first cross-country competition of the season. Brian is the cross-country track coach, and has brought this team back from near extinction to being a real contender. They did well in this meet, and I loved seeing the players call Brian '"Coach Beard," and observing the respect and interaction between him and the team. Brian loved running cross-country in high school, and now he is teaching it to the next generation. As you can see, we are all bundled up. Although the day was crystal clear, blue-blue skies and sun-shimmers in the trees, the temperature was upper 50s. We all returned to the school and dined in the dining hall - lasagna, vegetables, and a great salad bar.

Max came home with us for a sleep-over, and had a great time playing Mexican Train with Tom and me. Do you know that little stinker won all three games!

My camera and photos retrieved, I'll now post info from 9-25-09:

We started out for Bath, Maine, for the day, but somehow landed first in Freeport. We did a small amount of shopping, then headed for Bath. Two lively Maine ladies we met on the street in Freeport told us about Renny’s Department Store in Bath, where we could find lobster pots, and “Gilmore’s Fish Market,” where we could buy fresh lobster. So we went to Renny’s, AND to Gilmore’s in Bath. Lobster pot was found, and purchased, along with other items. Then, at Gilmore's, four fresh Maine lobsters were plucked out of the tank, at $4.99/lb, for dinner tonight.

We liked Bath. It is an old, salty, seaside New England town. The houses are white, square, with two or three “extensions,” close to the street, small yard space, humble, and homey. We did not have time to see docks or ships, but we would like very much to return and explore more of this town.

Back at Kents Hill, the Beard family enjoyed lobster races on the kitchen floor, but then, dunk the lobsters into the pot, and viola, a delicious meal was consumed. The two ladies in Freeport had been generous with their advice - Cook the “lobstahs” in boiling water for 15-20 minutes.

After dinner, outside the windows of Brian/Christelle/Max’s apartment, a colorful sunset was displayed. Pink/blue, and a slight darkening of the sky from the kitchen window. Then the living room window facing west, displayed red-orange colors, and all this in preparation for the half-moon rising, which was provocative – I imagine a full moon over Kents Hill School grounds must be a truly enchanting sight to see.

Lots more Maine news coming.......but I left my camera at Brian's apartment, when we went to cook and devour a fresh lobster dinner last night! So as soon as the photos are downloaded, I'll complete this post. lb





(Added later): While I'm waiting to retrieve my photos, I'll insert some history about the area. In 1971, Tom and I spent two weeks camping our way to New England. Here is Tom in front of the original L. L. Bean store, after we stocked up on camping supplies. The building was renovated in the mid-seventies.  Can you identify the 1971 Tom, and the 2009 Tom?

On that same trip, we drove to the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. At over 6200 feet, Mt. Washington is the highest peak in Northeastern U. S., and is known for its erratic and dangerous weather changes. We caught it on a rare sunny (up there) day, but the temperature with the wind chill was about 26 degrees! Mount Washington can be seen from the Kents Hill campus.

Jim Beard's 95th Birthday

Happy Birthday, Dad! 95 years................ and going strong.

An amazing day. Christelle came over to spend the day. We used the birch bark found yesterday to make a most distinctive waste basket for Brian's classroom.

Papi Tom picked up Max at school, and brought him back to the campsite. An hour of Badminton ensuued, and Max, who has improved greatly over the last few days, easily won the match. The weather was impeccably clear, and temperatures were diving. Dinner was served on the picnic table, and then a campfire was prepared. Marshmallows were competitively roasted. Max and Christelle had excellent entries.

A couple from the campsite across from us walked over with a bag of firewood and said they would like to join us. They had chairs in hand! Christelle and Max needed to leave soon after. Pat and Mary Lou, stayed for about an hour talking about their motor home travels. It was interesting, but it was getting colder and colder, so we doused the campfire, and said goodnight.

Earlier, there was a beautiful sunset over the lake, complete with chortling loons................. And after the campfire, the stars were bright as I've ever seen them here. A lovely state is this Maine.

September 23, 2009

We picked up Christelle at 9 a.m. and went to Freeport, Maine, to shop at L. L. Bean. Christelle needed to find winter items for Max, and Tom and Lynn needed to pick up items they had monogrammed several days ago. Christelle and Lynn lunched on Lobster Rolls................so  very yummy! We saw lots of lobster and moose knicknacks, and lots of postcards for Lynn to send home (whenever time permits!). After collecting Max from school, we were on the road home when we spotted a felled white birch tree. I told Tom to ssttoppp and we got out to retrieve birch bark to .... uh, make stuff with, like containers, post cards, etc. Nearby the fallen tree, Max found a really cool skeleton of the lower spine of some animal -  he was so excited. We drove by the home that Will and Amanda Rhem own, on Lovejoy Pond, which is the same lake Kents Hill School borders. They have even canoed from their home to the school.

These New England country roads meander past such lovely property, and charming homesteads. So many stone fences, so many small vegetable gardens, so many pine trees, and huge piles of firewood. And the mailboxes - they don't have just a mailbox, they add to the post corn stalks, or scarecrows, or a large container of flowers. In winter, Lovejoy Pond freezes, and people can ice skate, and run their snow mobiles on it!


We stopped at "Tubby's" , Wayne, Maine, for delicious ice cream. This is a small-town-independent store, that is visited by huge crowds of people in the warm months. Then we deposited Christelle and Max at Kents Hill. We saw Brian for a few moments after he did his cross country run with the track team, and before he needed to attend a faculty meeting.
Max really wanted us to stay and play but we had to return to the motor home to thoroughly clean off the dust of our travels - a long-overdue task, plus lots of clothes needed washing - you know, the usual home duties. 

This is such a charming natural area of our country. People are happy, laid-back, polite. We have been so impressed with the lifestyle here ......... content, need-based, and un-stressed.

Today, we did a lot of errands. Augusta is only about 15 miles away, but the drive is very rural and beautiful. We went to the post office, the copy shop, Staples, Radio Shack, and the lumber store. We arrived at Kents Hill in time to accompany Christelle to Max’s school. He was entrenched in the Book Fair room, and we could hardly tear him away. Back at Kents Hill, Tom did some work on their satellite reception. Christelle cooked up some apple slices from apples they picked in an orchard across the road. Brian ran in from his last class, and changed quickly to go off and run with the cross-country students. Max took off to play with friends on the “turf.” This truly is a great environment for Brian, Christelle, and Max.

Back at the campsite, Tom and I sat at the picnic table, watching loons with the binoculars, and making some phone calls to good friends back home. The loons produce a most interesting song……………it’s hard to describe, but it’s something like………. oooooowooowooowahhhhhhhooooow. Anyway, the loons know how to say it.

September 21, 2009

We collected Max at Readfield Elememtary and brought him to our campsite where he immediately wanted to build a campfire. But since it was so warm and bright outside,  we persuaded him to play "Mexican Train" instead. Then we had about 30 minutes of Badminton, and a dandelion-blowing contest , before we left for the dining hall dinner at Kents Hill with Brian and Christelle. We were joined by Will and Amanda Rhem, teachers at Kents Hill. Will and Brian were First Graders together at St. Thomas Episcopal, Houston, so we have known Will since he was six-years-old. They are in their second year at Kents Hill and hve adapted quite well to the culture, environment , and lifestyle here.

September 20, 2009

Another beautiful, sunny, cool day. We met Brian, Christelle and Max at the Apple Festival across the road from Kents Hill School.

They gave us a tour of the campus, where we saw the century-and-a-half-old buildings,

and Brian's classroom. Christelle and Brian repainted the room, added curtains, polished old brass door knobs, and made the room very French-friendly. Brian has a "Smart Board" which is a huge screen displaying internet access, and can be manipulated by direct contact on the screen. He displays his lessons, and has students do French exercises directly from the board. It is an amazing teaching tool - one that I would love to have had in my classrooms so many years ago. Brian is fortunate to have students that are very interested in French, small classes, and a very supportive academic community.

Here is the incredible indoor athletic facility. It includes this Olympic-size ice rink, a basketball court, and a fully equipped weight/workout room.

And we took a walk with "Red", the dog of good friend Will Rhem. Christelle told us there were over a dozen dogs of staff families on campus, plus lots of children. A couple of the kids are in Max's first-grade classroom at Readfield Elementary School.

Max came home to our campsite, with us.  He rode his bicycle, played at least two hours of badminton,

helped Papi Tom build a fire, and roasted marshmallows.

When his parents arrived with pizza, we all had dinner around the campfire. Max found the Big Dipper, and located the Little Dipper and its North Star. The younger Beards left to traverse the country roads back to Kents Hill, but we will see them when we can this coming week. Twenty French exchange students have arrived to spend 10 days at the school, and Brian is in charge of them, so he will be quite involved with that. Tomorrow we will pick Max up at his elementary school, and bring him back to "camp" with us, and just enjoy him as much as possible while we have this opportunity.

And the winner is......

Nancy Squires correctly answered the question, "What does the 'L. L.' in "L. L. Bean" stand for? She said, "Leon Leonwood" - and she wins a postcard from L. L. Bean, displaying the famous Big Boot. Congratulations Nancy!

Included in the website where Nancy found her answer, was the information that Mr. L. L. Bean once took a business class at Kents Hill School, where Brian now lives and teaches.

September 19, 2009

The soccer match was won by Max’s team. It was a gloriously sunny, crisp chilly day, which would have been wonderful, but my autumn allergies were in full swing today. Nevertheless we had a full day – most of Brian’s and Christelle’s items that we had transported here, were unloaded, and walked up to their fourth floor apartment. Here is a photo of the view from their living room:

This morning an exciting event took place. We heard loud bird cries outside of the motor home. Thinking it was Canadian geese migrating over the campground, we went outside to see them. But the noise was made by two loons, who were chasing away an eagle! The eagle was attempting to grab their baby loon for breakfast.

Tonight, after dining at “The Weathervane” restaurant in Winthrop, Maine, with Brian, Christelle, and Max, Tom and I drove through the countryside back to the motor home. We could see lights on in many of the homes tucked back into the wooded hillsides. People are already stocking their sheds and porches with huge piles of firewood. The stars were clear and close. So was the Milky Way, something we don’t get to see in the city.

L. L. Bean

We overnighted in the L. L. Bean parking lot. It was cold last night! We got up early, though and went to the store which never closes. Do you know what the "L. L." stands for in L. L. Bean? If you do, leave me a comment at the end of this post.If you're the first with the correct answer, I'll send you an L. L. Bean postcard. Lynn stocked up on turtlenecks, and Tom found some shirts, which he had monogramed, for free!

The day is crisp, cool, and clear. We drove to the campground near Kents Hill and set up for the next several days. Then we were off to see our family! The campus of Kents Hill School is beautiful. Brian, Christelle and Max live in a lovely, sunny apartment on the fourth floor of a boys' dormitory. The views from all the windows are stunning - trees (which will soon turn brilliant colors), water, mountains, athletic fields, and other grand old buildings from the mid 1800s.

Max gave me the biggest hug ever. We brought him home to the motor home for a good old fashioned overnight, and we will see him play soccer tomorrow.

September 16, 2009

We gingerly backed out of our spot, early, this rainy morning, and continued north, through Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and stopped at Exit #1 in Pennsylvania.

We feel quite confident about our signal communications: I stand on the left rear of the motor home, backing up on foot as he backs up the 35,000 lb. vehicle. I use hand/arm signals so he knows when to veer left, right, straight back, or stop. He does not move one inch unless he sees me in the rear view mirror. I watch for ruts, rocks, tree branches, low wires, and other motor homes, as Tom works his way out of some tricky situations. Only once did we injure someone’s motor home – a rear-view mirror was snapped off. Oh, and then Tom scraped our tail light off, on a metal pillar. And then there was the time he “wrapped” the motor home around a tree and scraped the graphic off the side. I was there each time, so I am not blameless.

Back to our trip - Tom and I both have observed that Tennessee has the absolutely most friendliest folks (sorry ‘bout the grammar ya’ll). Both of us have been waited on by helpful, pleasant servers everywhere in Tennessee. This has been our experience every time we’ve been in this state.

Virginia – the interstate scenery here is beautiful! Years ago, when Tom first drove through the state, he remarked that in Virginia, every hill has a “purpose.” This time, I decided to test that theory. Here are the results: every hill had something on it – a barn, a house, a truck, a flag, a tree, a grove of trees, a tobacco crop. Those were more common; least common was a prison, and a scarecrow.

Tom set the tomtom to make a noise whenever we approach a gas station. So the monotony of interstate driving is now broken with “Bonnnnng….CUCKoo,” at most exits.

Another free overnight – we are in a parking lot across from an RV center in Pennsyvania. Hope you stay with us – the adventures will soon begin, but first, we have to put these 2500 miles behind us.

(440 miles)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

So, we traversed Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York,  Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and into Maine, where we stopped at Freeport, ME, in the L. L. Bean parking lot where motor homes may overnight. We LOVE free overnight camping. Even though we don’t have electricity or other services (this is known as “dry camping”), we do have a generator, so if we are careful, we can watch T.V., turn on lights, and plug in our computers. The four nights we’ve been gone, we’ve spent a total of $12.50 on overnight fees.

L. L. Bean is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They don’t have locks on their doors! We are anxious to see our Max and his parents, but we really need several hours of sleep, some “down time,” and a little tour through the Bean shops before we head towards Kents Hill tomorrow. Tom drove 12 hours today and is exhausted. We’ve been constantly on the road since Monday morning, and have driven 2000 miles. And motor home driving is definitely more stressful than driving in the Hyundai, or the Jeep. But…………….we are looking forward so much to tomorrow and seeing MAX, Christelle, and Brian.

(578 miles)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Did you think we were lost in the wilds of Maine? No, we have only just now crossed the state line into Maine, and this the first time we have access to internet. We are stopped at the Maine Welcome Center, and have to leave soon, so I'll write as much as I can. Photos will have to be posted later.

September 14, 2009


What can I say about I-10 east from Houston. ………. It’s long, it’s flat, it’s unremarkable, except for maybe the stretch through the swamps in Louisiana. It does get exciting when the semis barrel past us leaving about 2 inches between our respective rear-view mirrors.

The last exit before leaving Texas is 877. That’s almost 900 miles between El Paso and the Sabine River. This is a wide state!

The black flies are out in droves; this time of year they always travel in “pairs”, and dozens of them find their way to our windshield, 32 square feet of glass. The wind blows their fluffly bodies and they look like dancing cadavers. Sorry, but on I-10 east, there’s not much else to notice.

Yet, each mile brings us closer to Max…………

After 8 hours of driving, we arrived in Poplarville, MS. and stopped at a “Passport America” campground. We have joined a couple of motor home organizations for the sole purpose of reduced camping fees; some have been wonderful, and some are pretty awful. This one, ”Haas Cienda Ranch,” is pretty much okay – no frills, but 50-amp service (very good), and a nice place to stop for one night. Non-members pay $25/night. As Passport members we pay $12.50. We get a roomy grassy space to park the motor home, and plug-in to 50-amp electricity (which means we can use our air conditioning, hair dryer, AND coffee pot all at the same time!) A win-win situation: the land owner gets $12.50; we get a comfortable night’s rest.

(400 miles)

September 15, 2009

We were up and pulling out of Haas Cienda at 7 a.m. The interstate highways north through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee are quite nice to drive.…..very little construction, almost no billboards except in the cities, and exits are very well marked.

Still, we have to drive those miles one at a time. Our preference is not to drive eight or nine hours a day until we reach our destination. We prefer to drive a few hours, stop overnight, see the area, take it easy, and eventually arrive where we are going. But this trip we need to get on up to Maine, love on our family, deliver our cargo, hopefully see fall colors, kayak on the lakes, hug Max a dozen times a day, see the school, Kents Hill, and then head south before the campgrounds close for the winter. More on that later.

Today, though, was another long day of driving with nothing exciting to report. We are stopping at the ForeTravel service facility in Knoxville, TN. No fee to overnight there!

On a few occasions in my life, I have seen an angel, though I did not know it at the time. They come in all shapes and sizes. Tonight, we saw one who came to our rescue as we were lost on a quite narrow country road, searching for our overnight destination. The friendly Tennessean, complete with a thick drawl, pot belly, long graying hair, and glowing cigarette, noticed our 12-feet tall, 40-feet long plus-tow-car rig, on this dead end road, and knew we were in trouble. He pulled along side and told Tom to follow him to a church parking lot, where we could turn around, then led us to our destination, and even talked with the security guard to allow us into the facility. Then he just disappeared.

(550 miles)

September 12, 2009

Welcome back to our blog of travels. We have been preparing to leave for Maine. The motor home needed new batteries, and Tom had to be sure the essentials were in good working order, mainly, the refridgerator, and the heater. Temperatures in Maine are quite a bit lower than Houston. Check in from time to time and see info and photos of our trip.