Sad news, our camera has broken. Sigh, so many fun memories not being captured. It works very sparingly, and when it does the focus is horrible. But we're charging the battery right now so cross your fingers that helps the situation.
Let's see, last time we left off we were in Maine and eating a lot of lobster. We went on a hike up Champlain Mountain and saw some amazing views, but alas...no camera. I guess you'll just have to mentally picture a 180 degree view of the bay spotted with islands. Perhaps the best part of the hike were the wild blueberries that ran along both sides of the trail. At one point Morgan came around the corner and there I was, sitting in the middle of the trail eating handfuls of blueberries. That was definitely my favorite hike of the trip. Our final day in Maine was spent doing laundry once again. We got rained on a lot in Maine so we had a lot of damp, dirty clothing to wash. As we were driving out of town we saw signs everywhere welcoming the Obamas to town and cops were swarming the place. It looks like we picked a good day to leave.
New Hampshire is treating us well. We're really enjoying some nice lazy time, our camp site is our favorite so far with lots of privacy and a brook running through the back of it. The creek is a lot of fun with rock slides and swimming spots, we've even bathed in it which Morgan desperately needed. The water is a bit on the cold side (seriously probably 50 degrees) so you can't stay in too long and still feel all of your limbs. Charlie is a compolete water dog now, we went fishing yesterday and he spent the whole day splashing around in the river and trying to eat the fish that Morgan caught. We ate a tasty dinner of fresh-caught trout last night with asparagus. We continue to eat well (probably a little too well for how much we've laid around lately).
Our campground is a few miles south of Gorham, NH so we're relatively close to civilization (they have a WalMart!). It's been raining off and on here so we've had to spend a lot of time huddled under the canopy tent, but we have a deck of cards and plenty of reading to keep us busy. We have 2 more nights here before we head to the Adirondacks on Wednesday. We'll do our best to do interesting things with our remaining 2 days in NH so the blog will be at least mildly interesting. The mountains surrounding us are breathtaking, maybe we'll get out there and explore them this afternoon. We do have a few pics from before our camera broke...once again, here's the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
Hopefully our camera will start cooperating, we'll post again in New York!!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Stops 2 - 4: Pennsylvania to Maine
Hello from Maine!!! Whew, it's been a long couple of travelin' days. We headed out from Shenandoah and stopped in Hickory Run State Park in Pennsylvania. Meh, PA did not quite agree with me. We stayed at a family campground and it was a bit overcrowded but we managed to get in some decent hiking time before we headed to Massachusetts and Harold Parker State Park. We enjoyed our whole stay here, all 1 night of it. It was a quick sleep and then pack up again for our long drive to Maine. We decided to spice things up a bit by taking Route 1 along the ocean to Acadia rather then staying on the highway and we had a blast winding through the little coastal towns.
First things first, we stopped and took a stroll in Kennebunkport. Next up was a pit stop for our first lobster rolls...oh my gosh AMAZING. We're trying to eat lobster every day if we can, and so far we're sticking to it. Today we accidentally found this place right on the pier where you pointed out the lobster you wanted (they were swimming in a tank in front of us) and they boiled it for you and you just tore it apart with your hands. We annihilated those little guys (mine's name was Steven and Morgan named his Funtown). I felt kinda bad pointing out little Steven knowing his time was about up, but man did he taste good. I think you'll see in the pictures, there was NOTHING edible left on those lobsters, I had to stop Morgan from eating the eyes!
So far we're loving Maine. Every road is full of harbor views and shingled sea cottages. We had a nice little hike to the beach last night and are looking forward to a full day of hiking tomorrow. Right now I'm in a laundromat in Southwest Harbor washing our thoroughly soiled clothes, so we should have a nice night of being not quite so stinky (yay!).
Just a little side note for you: It has been so funny watching Morgan try to use his southern charm up here in the north, it's not quite working out for him. He actually had one lady get upset when he called her mam (apparently it mean's "you're old" up here). I'm trying to teach him to be more direct and not to take too long saying what he wants to say...but he can't quite seem to get the hang of it. Oh well, it's definitely entertaining for me! Once again, check out the following link for pics and we'll post again in a few days:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
First things first, we stopped and took a stroll in Kennebunkport. Next up was a pit stop for our first lobster rolls...oh my gosh AMAZING. We're trying to eat lobster every day if we can, and so far we're sticking to it. Today we accidentally found this place right on the pier where you pointed out the lobster you wanted (they were swimming in a tank in front of us) and they boiled it for you and you just tore it apart with your hands. We annihilated those little guys (mine's name was Steven and Morgan named his Funtown). I felt kinda bad pointing out little Steven knowing his time was about up, but man did he taste good. I think you'll see in the pictures, there was NOTHING edible left on those lobsters, I had to stop Morgan from eating the eyes!
So far we're loving Maine. Every road is full of harbor views and shingled sea cottages. We had a nice little hike to the beach last night and are looking forward to a full day of hiking tomorrow. Right now I'm in a laundromat in Southwest Harbor washing our thoroughly soiled clothes, so we should have a nice night of being not quite so stinky (yay!).
Just a little side note for you: It has been so funny watching Morgan try to use his southern charm up here in the north, it's not quite working out for him. He actually had one lady get upset when he called her mam (apparently it mean's "you're old" up here). I'm trying to teach him to be more direct and not to take too long saying what he wants to say...but he can't quite seem to get the hang of it. Oh well, it's definitely entertaining for me! Once again, check out the following link for pics and we'll post again in a few days:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
Friday, July 9, 2010
Stop 1: Shenandoah
We’ve had a fun few days in Shenandoah, and it all started with a bear sighting. As soon as we drove into the campground on the first night, we noticed a crowd gathered around a baby black bear. Since then we have seen 3 more bears, Morgan saw one when he was on a hike with Charlie, I ran across one sitting right in the middle of a trail and a guy in front of us almost hit one with his truck. We had deer wander up to our camp quite often, and we had an annoying raven that would start cackling at about 6 every morning. Oh the joys of nature.
Apart from our animal sightings we’ve had a blast hiking around Shenandoah. A local guy told us about one trail that we did on Wednesday, lets just say it was a bit out of our league. Neither one of us have EVER done anything that strenuous. It was a little less than 2 miles, straight down a mountain. At the end of the trail was a natural rock slide that Morgan had some fun on (I was busy trying to catch my breath and stop my legs from shaking) and a swimming hole. After a little relaxation it was straight back up the mountain, Charlie handled it much better than we did! I think hiking is by far his favorite outdoor activity, that and growling at passerby at the campsite. Char spends most of his days lounging under the picnic table and hiking, so far he’s absolutely loving it.
We finally feel like we’ve gotten the hang of things around the campsite. Morgan wakes up early and takes Charlie on a little hike, then we make breakfast and sit around awhile. We go for a longer hike in the middle of the day, then back to the campsite for quiet time (reading/napping). We’ve been having so much fun cooking in our dutch oven. So far the menus have included pork chops n’ potatoes, hotdogs with grilled peppers, buscuits and gravy with fried eggs and the usual camp fair of sandwiches and such. We met some great neighbors Emma Lou and Elwood along with their son Jimmy and his wife Coleen, and they’ve been keeping us fed with fresh cinnamon rolls, ice cream and plenty of hot coffee in the mornings. Emma Lou actually shed a few tears when we rolled away early this morning, but we got their address and promised to keep in touch.
We wouldn’t change a thing about our first week (except maybe a few less gnat swarms dive bombing our eyes), but we’re really looking forward to the next couple stops: Hickory Run in Pensylvania for 2 days then Harold Parker Natural Area in Massachusetts for a couple days. So far so good, Morgan is pleasantly surprised with how little I’ve been complaining. We’ll be back with updates in a couple days!
Here’s a link to some Shenandoah pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
Apart from our animal sightings we’ve had a blast hiking around Shenandoah. A local guy told us about one trail that we did on Wednesday, lets just say it was a bit out of our league. Neither one of us have EVER done anything that strenuous. It was a little less than 2 miles, straight down a mountain. At the end of the trail was a natural rock slide that Morgan had some fun on (I was busy trying to catch my breath and stop my legs from shaking) and a swimming hole. After a little relaxation it was straight back up the mountain, Charlie handled it much better than we did! I think hiking is by far his favorite outdoor activity, that and growling at passerby at the campsite. Char spends most of his days lounging under the picnic table and hiking, so far he’s absolutely loving it.
We finally feel like we’ve gotten the hang of things around the campsite. Morgan wakes up early and takes Charlie on a little hike, then we make breakfast and sit around awhile. We go for a longer hike in the middle of the day, then back to the campsite for quiet time (reading/napping). We’ve been having so much fun cooking in our dutch oven. So far the menus have included pork chops n’ potatoes, hotdogs with grilled peppers, buscuits and gravy with fried eggs and the usual camp fair of sandwiches and such. We met some great neighbors Emma Lou and Elwood along with their son Jimmy and his wife Coleen, and they’ve been keeping us fed with fresh cinnamon rolls, ice cream and plenty of hot coffee in the mornings. Emma Lou actually shed a few tears when we rolled away early this morning, but we got their address and promised to keep in touch.
We wouldn’t change a thing about our first week (except maybe a few less gnat swarms dive bombing our eyes), but we’re really looking forward to the next couple stops: Hickory Run in Pensylvania for 2 days then Harold Parker Natural Area in Massachusetts for a couple days. So far so good, Morgan is pleasantly surprised with how little I’ve been complaining. We’ll be back with updates in a couple days!
Here’s a link to some Shenandoah pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
Thursday, July 1, 2010
For anyone who cares (that means you mom & dad), follow this link for a few pics of our HUMBLE abode (remember, it's a work in progress!):
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
http://picasaweb.google.com/nikki.mkelley
Hi friends and family! Well, Morgan and I finally arrived in JC (short for Johnson City, duh) and we're...mostly tired and excited, among other emotions. At the request of several unmentionable family members (you know who you are), Morgan and I are going to attempt to share details of our upcoming adventures with anyone who is curious about where we are and what we're doing all day every day.
So, we've unloaded the moving van and we're slowly getting situated in our new *tiny* place. We're heading to Gallatin tomorrow for a 4th of July celebration with Morgan's family and then we'll be on the road for about 4 weeks. For those of you who don't know, the plan is to head up the east coast camping along the way. We'll end up in Acadia National Park in Maine and then high tail it through Vermont, New Hampshire and upstate New York, then back to JC so I can go to grad school and Morgan can work/write. Should be an interesting ride...stay tuned!
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