Back in the States

The morning got off to a great start.  Dogs had done their business and we were off to the ferry to St. John.  With reservation made the day before, we headed towards the dock and got in cue.  Sad to say, they had no coffee in the ticketing area, so that would have to wait.

It wasn't long before we were directed into the ferry.  Again, pulling what we needed and leaving the dogs in the car.  We got to park next to a truck hauling some wood.  One never knows what they will see being transported.  Don't they have wood in New Brunswick?

It wasn't too long before we were directed back to our vehicles to prepare to disembark.  In keeping with tradition, we headed towards Fredericton, the capitol of New Brunswick.  The weather was beautiful and there was excitement in the car about heading back towards the state.

We arrived at the Legislative Building of New Brunswick by mid day.  A few pix of the dogs before heading in and checking out the 100+ year old building. 

The building was ornate on the outside, not so much on the inside.  Sure, there were columns and tall rooms, but nothing like some of the other buildings we have seen with their gold and marble.  The only pic I took inside was of the small dome with a light fixture below it.  Certainly not as impressive as the domes in the states.

We headed out of Fredericton and towards the border crossing.  While the more direct route would have been to go to Houlton, we decided for the more scenic route of Canada's route 3 to America's Route 9 leading us to Bangor.  Call us weird, but why take the same road as the time before.  Always something new to see.

The border crossing was fairly busy, but within 15 minutes or so we were talking to the Office of Homeland Security in Calais, Maine.  Goodbye, Canada!  Hello, Internet!

Needless to say, we made it through the border crossing without much issue.  All of our papers were in order and the dogs were good, even when the security officers took a casual look at our boxes and cooler.  All good!

We traveled down Route 9 for quite some time.  My plan was to visit the state capitol building in Augusta before settling in for the night somewhere in Maine.  Between the border crossing, lunch and the winding road, we arrived at 4:15 PM, 15 minutes before the capitol building closed.

One of those mad dash moments began.  I had to get my Capitol Passbook stamped.  Tom dropped me off at the front door and then parked the car.  I ran in, forgetting the passbook.  I walked through the  building's innards and then met Tom in the back of the building, who proceeded to get the passbook.

Back in the building, I hustled to the front of the building again and finally got that stamp!  I took advantage of the few minutes I had left and took a few shots of the interior.  It was a nice building.  Stately but not over the top.  The rotunda was visible, but, in my humble opinion, was skewed by the set of stirs reaching the top, as you can see below. 

I proceeded to head outside to fine Tom talking to an older gentleman.  He was interested in the dogs and after giving them a treat (a chocolate one at  that - bad human) he introduced himself as a member of the governor's team.

We talked for a bit, asking us where we were from, even suggesting we move back to the East coast as they were losing too many people to the left coast.  He seemed to truly care about his state and his constituents as he talked more about the state.  I like to say, at this point, I have a friend in the governor's office.

There was one last thing to do before traveling on and that was the dogs.  They had spent a few too many hours in the car without much exercise.  After a few pictures of them and the capitol building, we headed across the street to the rest of the capitol grounds.  It was one huge expanse of grass with a few memorials scattered around.

The smell of squirrels was everywhere and the dogs were let go as they tried to follow the scents.  They had a good romp as we walked around looking for that perfect shot of the dome.  I don't know if we got it, but we did get a few nice ones.

Tom took over the driving from here.  I was on the search for a place to camp.  We filled up the gas tank and headed South while I downloaded pictures and worked on the budget.  I loved my portable office.  

I managed to find a campground fairly close to us and, with the sun dipping in the sky, not a moment too soon.  The directions were a bit odd.  It appeared that the Beaver Brook Campground was at the end of a residential section.  We followed the directions and found ourselves in a very wooded area on a lake.  AKA - bugs!

Nowhere else to go, we registered and entered through the locked gates.  The campground was more secure than Fort Knox, even asking for immunization records of Lu & BJ.  Really!  It was easier crossing the border than it was simply finding a place to pitch a tent.

After all of the paperwork, we finally found ourselves at our site.  It was good sized and offered water and electricity, both of which would be needed.  We set up the tent and then took the dogs for a walk before it got too dark.

There were lots of children around, riding bikes, coming back from the water park area or from their friends camps.  It was a bustling!  We walked around noting the long term seasonal people that had sites, over small pedestrian bridges spanning brooks and eventually to the lake.  The campground was very busy, considering it was a Tuesday.

We got back to our tent, played a few games of cribbage.  I beat Tom a few times before heading to bed.  Glad to be back in the states, I slept well.  Tomorrow will bring more adventures.  Where, though, would be the question.