Onward to Maine!

After leaving Virginia, we got on the interstate and headed up to Maine. We spent the night near Albany, NY and arrived in Ogonquit, ME the next day. Their rocky rugged coast is definitely NOT what we are used to! It was low tide, so we climbed way out on the rocks. We ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant and were treated to similar views all during our meal.

Our reservations in Acadia began the next day, so we were off again! By this time, we had moved every night for 5 consecutive nights, so we were ready to stay put for a while.

Mabry Mill

This is an original mill that we have visited many times. There were several people there practicing "old" crafts and skills, and I got to try my hand at spinning. It is not as easy as it looks, but I have a hank of extremely lumpy yarn to show for my efforts. It was fun and I would like to try it again someday.

Michie Tavern

Michie Tavern is a compound of shops and eateries adjacent to Monticello. Although the folks at Monticello are VERY quick to tell you that they are not affiliated in any way, I think the two are very complimentary to each other. Michie Tavern is original to the area, during Jefferson's time, but was moved to this site fairly recently. They served a delicious southern style lunch, served buffet style, all you can eat.

The interior of the tavern

Only geeks take pictures of their food, guess I qualify! Note the pewter plates and cups.

After that meal, this was truly "necessary"!

Monticello

Monday, June 28. Both of us have been interested in visiting Thomas Jefferson's estate for some time, but the trips never worked out. This year, we made it happen. We were not allowed to take photos of the inside of the house, but I took plenty of the grounds and gardens.

This is Mulberry Lane. In Jefferson's time, slave cabins would have lined each side of these trees. This was also the location of the blacksmith shop, brick making shop and other industries the plantation required.

The kitchen, set up as it would have been in that era. They even had sound effects, of women talking, humming songs, etc, just as they probably would have been doing then.

Underneath the house, was a network of storage and workrooms, including the wine cellar. Jefferson ordered wine from Europe, and one invoice showed that he ordered over 400 cases at once. When he entertained, a slave was stationed in the wine cellar, and when Jefferson wanted more wine, he would send the empty bottle down via a dumbwaiter, and the slave would replace it with a full one, selected earlier by Jefferson. The slave was allowed to finished whatever was in the bottle, so this was considered a good job amoung the slaves.

The gardens with a view. Today, heirloom vegetables are still grown, and the employees share the harvest.


An heirloom artichoke, and a bee butt!

Northeast coast trip, part one

Friday, June 25, 6am, we pulled out of our driveway, with our new camper behind us. It was to be our home for the next 5 weeks. The general plan was to drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, then head to Maine and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. We had a rather loose itinerary because we knew Sarah would be arriving at some point, and that we would want to get to KY soon after that happened.



We camped that night near Balsam, NC and then realized that we were very close to the house David spent the summer in, several years ago. On Saturday we traveled up the Parkway, stopping often to admire the view. Although somewhat hazy (they are called the Smokey Mountains for a reason!), it was nice and cool, with great views.
On Sunday, we met Steve's sister and her family for breakfast, then continued on our journey.