Mr SMT requests full setup photos

This is how we roll.

What is with the white? And modifications to the Jeep.

New, to us, vehicles

White, white, and more white.

We live in the southern US.  It is fricking HOT in the summer.

And the spring (usually).

And the fall.

Winter is the most reasonable season in the south.  It most closely resembles spring and fall in the rest of the country (barring Hawaii).

Why would you ever buy a vehicle that will get hotter than necessary in an already hot environment?  I couldn't tell you.  I do not find black sexy, I find it sweltering.  I want a vehicle that is the coolest temperature wise.

And I get that by ensuring that it absorbs the least amount of heat from the sun (i.e. most reflective).  That color is white (or light metallics that are reflective).

So, in looking at the horrendous color offerings by Jeep this year, and the recent past, the only viable option was white.  I could have gotten a white painted top, but that was an additional $1700 from the dealership.  So I got a black top instead.  And it was burning my fingertips while I sat inside on a hot sunny day.

The interior of the hardtop is painted white.  It does not help.

My local body shop did this for me.

Half the cost and twice as pretty as the dealership's offer.  :)

This has reduced the internal temperature a great deal.  And the interior is now scorch free in the middle of the day.  Awesome!

Major modification 1, done!

We've also:

 There's a bunch of underarmor in these boxes. 

 And a new bumper, because ... towing.

Hood locks, because the engine compartment is totally unprotected otherwise.

A locking gas cap, see above explanation.

A console cover to hold and protect my sunglasses.

Because every passenger thinks the console is an arm rest.

So I can't access anything stored there.

Armor/Shielding

Apparently, we will be off-roading in this vehicle, hence the under armor.  I'll believe it when I see it.  I'm not saying this will be a road warrior, but serious off-roading?  The SO got hives on a logging road in the SUV earlier this year.  Granted, it was a heavily traveled, heavily rained upon, highly pitted logging road in Oregon.  But still.  Hives.  Vapors.

The dog and I were fine.  But then again, we probably would not have had to figure out how to unstick us if we had gotten stuck.  Without a winch.  Without a shovel.  Okay, he made the right decision to turn around.

When you glance under the body, you see a pretty solid layer of aluminum shielding, thanks to lots of pennies doled out to Rock Hard 4x4.  

The thing(s) left unprotected?  The differentials ... on BOTH axles.  Because, apparently, off-roaders don't feel the need to protect the differentials.  Except for the tires and wheels, the differentials are the lowest hanging fruit.  And they aren't in line.  Oh, no.  The differentials are offset from one axle to the other.  

As a woman, I do not understand male logic.  EYE ROLL!

Maine and Oceanfront Camping at Reach Knolls

 

 

October 1

Let’s blow this overpriced, under-serviced Popsicle stand (Rhode Island) and head north.

How does Maine sound? Yes, let us go back.  (We visited in 2009.  Probably the first state we fell in love with once we started traveling with dogs.)

How does Oceanfront Camping at Reach Knolls sound? Hm, intriguing. Let’s take two days to get there, we can stop for the night at just about any rest area or casino or truck stop. 

Yay, buddy. 

Except, 7 hours later, we find ourselves navigating that campground in the DARK, because Mr. SMT just wanted to drive on through. Ugh!

We arrive tired, irritable, and hungry. Luckily, Carol flags us down in her golf cart and gives us the warmest welcome you can imagine.

We take temporary shelter in one of the open spots until we get a better view in the dayIight, and eventually choose site 12, which is a tent site, but has a large enough pad for both vehicles and plenty of living space left over. 🙂

There’s beautifully built and maintained "pit toilets" all over the site, several places to get potable water, and an onsite dump station.

I have no trouble with pit toilets, I’ve never understood the reasoning behind "let us foul good drinkable water with our human waste products." That is crazy thinking right there.

 

A couple Oceanfront Campground views

Oct 2 

Hang at Campground, move to new spot

Walk the beach

 

Low tide

 

High tide

Oct 3

Run with pups

Oct 4

Visit Eggemoggin Country Store and buy groceries, postcards, organic cotton tourist t-shirt, and dog biscuits.

Visit Stonington for a Lobster lunch at Harbor Cafe, I had veggie pasta, lotsa pasta, teensy veggies ... I asked for more and they provided for no additional charge (peas, red pepper, carrot, broccoli, and water chestnut mix). 

Write postcards for home and mail 'em out (because if I don't do it today, I'll get home with them STILL in my purse).

Walk along the Harbor front.

Lovely place to visit with easy to find parking at this time of year!

Oct 5

Get camper washed by Downeast Mobile Power Wash, Adam was a great guy. He knows his tools and applies them carefully.

Highly recommended.

Oct 6

Signs all over Stonington mention their Friday Farmer’s Market, so we made sure to drive in and see what they got.

So excited.

Lots of cars.

Park here. 

Sacks for purchases - check!

Dogs - check!

Drippy nose indicates Mr. SMT is coming down with something - check!

Walk, walk, walk.

???

No market. Anywhere.

Apparently, we don’t do markets in non-tourist seasons. Ugh. I’ve seen massive tomatoes in local gardens.  Don't the locals attend the market?

Ah, well.

Head into town, Blue Hill, and hit the grocery store instead. Tradewinds is AWESOME! If this was my only grocery store, I could be happy! 

Call little brother and wish him a happy birthday.

Oct 7

Mr. SMT’s sick. And I’m coming down with it. Hang close to home.

Oct 8 

Kira’s getting sicker. Hang close to Home.

Oct 9 

I cannot breath. I hate being sick.

Pups are happy to help me nap.

Move to tent site 8. More open, more water view, more activity. Slightly longer walk for water, shorter walk to toilet and trash.

Himself just wanted a change. I think he would try every site given enough time. Just because.

Oct 10

I can breath! Yay!!!

Acadia National Park at Winter Harbor, Schoodic Penninsula.

This area is so gorgeous.

We stop by Viking Lumber to refill propane, our first refill of the only bottle we’ve used. We cook with it daily, but we only heat so much water and run the furnace rarely.

One month, in fall, for a propane canister. Not bad. Propane cost = 4.3 gallons at a total of $13.98.

Some guy makes screeching cat noises at my dogs while we are waiting in the lumberyard parking lot. (Head smack ... really?) He thinks it is hilarious when they jump. Ugh, why can’t guys grow up?

I’m noticing a theme here ... lobster, lobster, and lobster.  (Oh, there's an occasional clam as well.)

Back to Tradewinds for groceries. Sometimes, I think it would be cheaper to pick up pizzas! 🤣

Mr. SMT gets his flu shot ... I never do. He always reaches fever pitch, "gotta get my flu shot NOW" flustered after going down with a cold.

One more day before we head out. 😢 I wanna stay.

October 11

We drive around Blue Hill Peninsula to get a better feel for the place, and to look at properties for sale.

Acquaintances, casual friends, and the rare (non-blood related) family are happy to tell me where I should or should not move. I am regularly regaled by the things I will HATE moving into a northern climate: Black fly season, mosquito season, winter.

Well, Black flies, yes, this will be new-ish.  We've run into them on our travels.

Mosquitos ... our mosquito season in the south lasts about 363 days a year. I think having a "season" will be a nice change.

Winter. Nope, I’ve never lived in/with snow (traveling does not count). But, I’ve got a vehicle that can handle it, and I do not get stir crazy at home very quickly. I once spent close to a month cooped up in my house (before I ate as much fresh food as I do now) and I did not lose my marbles. Assuming I had the marbles before, I kept them.

I get that it is not fun fighting snow when you need to get to work. 

But the next person who responds to my moving musings with, "Oh, you don’t want to move THERE!" is likely to get an avalanching emotional response. Just sayin’.

Back to Blue Hill and Oceanfront Campgrounds at Reach Knolls. This area feels like home. You know the neighbors, they know you, you gather around campfires together, you learn from your friends, and you feel welcomed.

This is the feeling I’ve sought. I found that in Corvallis/Philomath, Oregon, but I cannot afford to live there. We have million dollar tastes with a fraction of the budget!

Blue Hill is off the beaten path, not heavily touristed in the summer, and has a fairly moderate winter ... considering it is Maine, and looking at its latitude 44 degrees N, shared with: France, Italy, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Mongolia, Japan, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. 

 

Yes, I should stock up on woolen garments. Or, rather, THICKER woolen garments!

I almost feel like a member of the family up here. 

Tick count 8 picked off dogs, 7 at the crawling stage, only one had bitten down (no engorgement). I also killed a couple ticks in Pennsylvania. Our pups are tick magnets, and I believe it is due to their short coats. That body heat is a siren’s call to blood sucking parasites.

Cleanliness of OCRK

We lived in 3 different sites, and I picked up one piece of trash in the ENTIRE campground. ONE!!! 

Campground office offers: coffee, showers (including an outdoor shower!), area information, DVD and book library, WIFI, and an outdoor commercial sink for washing dishes (dogs, babies, etc).

The pit toilets are, by far, among the cleanest toilets I have ever made use of, including some of those rare granite covered flush joints with attendants that practically wash your hands for you afterward.

 

 I could live here.  Easily.