We slept in a bit at Vacationland, and then made our first travel decision of the trip. We had watched the weather reports, and saw that the next storm coming across the states was moving faster than first anticipated, and beating it south would mean two very full days of driving; from upstate Maine to somewhere around New York City, and then into the heart of East Coast madness to Virginia at least, going through or near the snow filled cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore. We looked at Dixie's paw, our still sleepy eyes, the questionable furnace, and the bins that needed attention, and decided that spending another slow day in Brewer, getting a bit more rest and finding a good vet for Dixie, was the thing to do. So we eased into the day, sorted and repacked some things, and took our bearings. We later found an excellent local Vet only minutes away who could see us without an appointment. After a bit of a wait where we heard nothing but praise from the other patrons, we had Dixie's paw gently shaved, then checked carefully. She had torn the rough outer surface off of her pad, but there was no serious cut, and no sign of infection. The part that was injured didn't contact the ground during normal walking, and it was only walking in snow that put this very sensitive soft skin in contact with the freezing cold that caused her to hobble on three legs. Our previous night's inspection made us hope that this was the case, but having an expert confirm our diagnosis, and relieve our fears was what we needed. Later that afternoon we explored the town a bit, met a number of the longer term residents in this sprawling motel complex ( a number of people seemed either to be weekly stay working people, or monthly stay residents possibly on Social Assistance. But in winter in northern Maine, trying to make a go in the motel business when there aren't many takers for your luxury suites, renting a number of the back rooms for a lower, but steady income, probably makes the difference between making it to the next tourist season or not), and just continued to rest up from the weeks of pre-departure madness. We walked Dixie that night on the dry paved parking lot, waving to some of our new friends walking their dogs, and settled in early for another good night's sleep.
The next morning bright and early, we loaded the van, said goodbye and thanks to the owners, giving them a gift of a PEI garlic, and headed towards Freeport and LL Bean's. We had a very stale dated refund check, and also wanted to see the 2010 version of this iconic store. Having not been there in years, and remembering way back when the original old house was incorporated into a larger retail space, we were amazed at the shopping experience that this once sleepy little town had become. The town has now become a center for outlet stores of many, many major brands, anchored by LL Bean, that still is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Bean's one store is now five, with a huge many leveled retail space covering all of the original property, plus separate buildings for boating, skiing, hunting and fishing, and home products, plus an additional outlet store of their own marked down, discontinued, or returned products. But in spite of how it sounds, it actually was a pleasant and rewarding stop. The store itself was incredibly well stocked with their high quality products, and the numerous green shirted staff were helpful, friendly, and personable. There lifetime guarantee and emphasis on customer satisfaction still was functioning smoothly, and soon we had a gift card to replace our several year old refund check we have never used. All of the winter clothing was on 30% off, and for that week only, many things had an additional 30% reduction. We chatted and wandered around, saw the trout swimming in the indoor pools, the taxidermy moose in the windows,used the washrooms, and were enticed by the abundance of wonderful stuff everywhere. But we were good, and eventually both left with new down vests to replace our patched and faded old ones, at a price more than 50% off, and covered by our newly issued gift card. We also found a little solar or crank powered am /fm/ weather radio, for half off, and a wonderful folding camp table, the final one, a floor model, again at less than half price. So soon we were sitting in the parking lot at our new table, listening to our radio, wearing our new down vests, for less than $50 cash and a very old $50 credit note. What a deal. The sun was shining, and we headed down the road, realizing the next time through we could park there overnight without a hassle, and again enjoy their hospitality and amazingly friendly shopping experience. It was a huge store, that somehow hasn't lost touch with providing service and products of a very high standard.
We cruised down the highway, and on into Massachusetts. We stopped to fill up on gas, had to prepay before pumping, and had the pleasant surprise of getting change back from a fifty dollar bill for a full tank of gas. Our last fill up in Canada had been almost $80, so even with the exchange, driving down the highway was going to be easier on our pockets . Our next stop on our shopping adventure was in Framingham, Mass, where we knew both a Trader Joe's and a Chipotle's existed within miles of each other. Trader Joe's again is a big chain of food stores with not only a heart and soul, but also two buck Chuck. They sell a line of award winning California wines under the Charles Shaw label, and on our last trip, you could get a very drinkable bottle of wine for $2...hence two buck chuck. Here on the east coast, 8 years later, it is now three dollars, but hey, a case of palatable wine for $36, makes you want to by a pallet. With our wine cellar full, we then drove on to Chipotles, a chain of fast food restaurants that features high quality, freshly made mexican food. The vegies are local, the beef and chicken are free range and hormone free, the guacamole is fresh and good, the service is fast and friendly, and this one also had margaritas and mexican beer. We had a burrito each, shared a beer, got a salad bowl to go, and headed back down the highway. We made it into Connecticut when the sun was setting, and decided to spend the night at the state information center just across the border. The person on duty advised us that the next blizzard was due to hit by noon the next day, and we might want to bypass the big cities by heading west on 84 to central Pennsylvania, but we were welcome to park there for the night, as the building and restrooms were open 24 hours. Back at the trailer we found that the furnace had quit altogether, the pilot would light, but the main furnace would shut down five seconds after firing. So we dug out our back up catalytic Buddy Heater, piled on the covers, and settled in for another cold night on the side of the road.
We woke the next morning, refreshed and invigorated. Getting dressed in a tiny, freezing cold trailer will do that to you. The morning info person said, yup, heavy snows hitting the whole east coast by noon, good luck, and sent us out to ponder our next move. I decided to try to contact old friends of mine in southern Connecticut, and despite not having seen them in years, they welcomed our call, said they were both working at home for the day due to the impending storm, and come on down, and hide out with them. We drove the two hours to their place, and pulled up to their house just as the snow was starting to accumulate on the ground. Colin and Myra are dear friends from years ago. Colin studied Industrial design, and has returned to school to become a licensed architect, Myra has taught music and art to young children in various schools over the years, and they both are wonderful musicians who love traditional folk and Irish music. So there home is overflowing with books and art and instruments and craft supplies and Valentines and memories and love. They were both incredibly busy, but somehow found the time to make us feel welcome and at home. We told stories over several shared meals, shoveled snow together, looked at old pictures of young hippies when I was the best man at their wedding almost 40 years ago, and wondered where does the time go. We went to bed (while Colin stayed up most of the night to finish a presentation he was doing for school the next day), and settled in for a much warmer night's sleep.
The next morning the snow had ended, so first Colin headed to work, then school, Myra headed in another direction to teach her young students their music for the day, and we loaded up and headed further west and South to see what the highways would hold for us this day. We decided to take the advice of the info person two nights before, and bypassed the corridor through the major cities by going across the Tappan Zee bridge north of NYC and then heading through a small part of New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. The highways were clear and the sun was shining as we crossed over the mighty Hudson River and aimed west. We made it to Pennsylvania with ease, and pulled into the state info area there to stretch, walk the dog, and check the road conditions. The snow was deeper here than in Connecticut, but the roads had been clear and dry most of the way. Unfortunately, we learned that the road we hoped to take further west was still closed from the day before, as the winds across the flat farm lands just past Allentown were slowing down the snow clearing efforts. So we ate lunch in our mobile kitchen, chatted with other traveller's waiting for the delayed opening of the highway, and generally amused ourselves and made new friends in the early afternoon, sunny parking lot. Two hours later, we got the all clear signal, and headed out with the cars and trucks who all were waiting for the same good news. We carried on through the beautiful countryside, seeing large farms with huge barns adorned with the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs. Some were obviously hand painted, but Donna noted that several barns had identical ones, so obviously what used to be individual statements by each farmer, were now in some cases mass produced kitch to jazz up gentlemen farms. Oh well, what can ya do. We passed through Harrisburg, the state capital (I guess when Philadelphia is in the east, and Pittsburgh is over 300 miles to the west, you choose Harrisburg in the middle to house the state government), and then as it was getting dark, rolled into Carlisle to find a motel for the night. With a furnace that wasn't working, a gimpy dawg, and mile weary humans, a warm motel seemed again the right choice. Carlisle is at a crossroads of two major interstate highways, and also is a major truck stop, and car show area, so vehicles, bad restaurants, and relatively cheap motels were everywhere. Our third try was a Howard Johnson's that was relatively scent free, had WiFi, and had quiet rooms around in the back with a large safe parking lot for Dixie to get some off lead exercise. Again, Donna fired up the stove in the trailer, we had a wonderful home cooked meal, and again did some more catching up on our missed sleep from the weeks past.
The next morning, it was again clear and bright, so it was back on the highways, bending south and west. We passed briefly into Maryland and then West Virginia, and stopped again at the state info center in Winchester, Virginia to see if Highway 81 through the Shenandoah Valley was passable. The good news was that 81 was clear all the way, but 77 which would take us east over the Blue Mountains was closed due to heavy snow and high winds. So we headed east and south sooner, seeking out the flat lands and Route 95 which we had avoided so far, and put aside the highway through the mountains and valleys of Virginia for another time in better weather. As we got farther south, the snow had gotten deeper, and the winter driving experience of the local drivers was getting thinner, so we decided to stay on the safest, most travelled highway, Route 95, which starts in Houlton Maine and takes you all the way to Miami, if you so desire. We took smaller roads to get there, then joined it at Fredericksburg, and took it through Richmond, and all the way to Emporia, just before the North Carolina border. The traveling was fast and easy, but you sure didn't see much other than cities, trucks, cars, and things off in the distance. But our goal was to get past the snow as safely and quickly as possible, without killing ourselves. In Emporia, we realized we finally were past the worst of the weather, as the most recent storm had passed further north. We decided to do a final night in a small motel in the quiet town center on the old 301, and see what the morning would bring. Another Donna miracle meal, a long walk with the dog, and another good night's sleep ended the dash past the blizzards of 2010.
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