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Lodging Summary
Gas Summary
Cranston, RI Sun. 8/25 80100-80597 (497 mi)
Left home about 6:30 and made good time through Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Stopped for lunch about 11:30 at Barley Creek BP,
where they were just setting
up for the county "wing-off", complete with a great Rock band called Bad Influence.
I was tempted to stay and listen to them all afternoon, but pressed on about 1:30.
When I got back on route, the traffic was horrendous up 209, so I turned around
and re-routed myself along the freeway. Fine for a while, but roads (202) through
New York were very slow. Cleared up at Danbury, but hit Sunday afternoon Rush-hour (?)
until 691. Had a good dinner at
Willimantic BP around dusk. Headed out for final
45 miles to Cranston, arriving about 9:30. Had a very nice visit with Nancy Rudolph,
turning in around 11:30.
Wells, ME Mon. 8/26 80597-80767 (270 mi)
Got up around 7:30 and had a very nice visit with Nancy until about 10:30.
Drove by 900 Park Avenue where Poppa used to live, before heading on to
Providence and, after a lot of searching thru 1-way streets, had lunch at
Trinity Brewing. Drove around Providence a little more, stopping for a
quick one at
Union Station Brewing Co. before heading out of town.
Made good time to Waltham and the
Watch City BC for another quick pint.
Left about 3:30 to beat the Boston rush-hour and rode up to Newburyport
to see if I could meet up with Barb Schnorf. Found their house and spent
about half an hour with their neighbor, Dan. Tried calling them but got no answer.
Left about 5:00 and headed up rte 1 to Portsmouth, where I had dinner at the
Portsmouth BC. No return call from Barb so I continued on to find a campsite.
Got on 103 and started looking (in the dark), but didn't find anything until
York Beach (which was too expensive). Kept going, passing on another camp before
settling on one in Wells. Rode up to Kennebunkport and
Federal Jacks BP for a
couple of nightcaps, where I met another guy who had done brewery tours in Maine
as well, so I got some good info. Got back to camp, set up, and sat by the fire
of two couples of students from Montreal and Quebec City 'till 1:00 AM.
Belfast, ME Tue. 8/27 80767-80914 (147 mi)
Got up, packed up, and had a great workout at the camp gym and a swim in the pool. Rode to Old Orchard Beach and the Whale's Tail BP (bust) and then on to South Portland for lunch at the Sebago BC next to the Mall. Proceeded to Portland where I walked around the old port district (a very nice shopping area) and a quick pint at
Gritty McDuff's BP. Left about 2:00 and headed up 95 to rte 1 coastal
(searched a little in Topsham for Sea Dog BC, but to no avail). Kept going to
Camden, where I found the other
Sea Dog BC. Had happy hour beers and many wings.
Talked to Will, a local, self proclaimed political activist and CD bootlegger.
He invited me to camp behind his log cabin in Lincolnville just up the road before
he left to play pool (for free, after having his dinner of free wings).
I stopped by his cabin behind Red Barn Antiques. What a place! I had a deliverance
moment and quickly continued up the road! Got to
Belfast Bay BP for a very nice
dinner and a good chat with the brewer and owner about the BP industry in Maine.
Good Beers! They recommended an inexpensive camp just a mile up the road, so that's
where I landed, crashing about 10:30.
Saint John, NB Wed. 8/28 80914-81200 (286 mi)
Packed up and had a great breakfast at the "Full Plate" before heading on to Bar Harbor.
Arrived at Atlantic Brewing (as recommended by Pat from Belfast) about noon.
Talked to Ron, the tour guide, and Garrett, the bartender from PEI. They gave me
good info on the best sights on the island (as well as two other breweries).
Took their advice and went up Cadillac Mountain for spectacular scenery.
BHBC was closed for tasting (they were busy brewing), and
Jack Russel's didn't
open until 5:00, so I went back to Atlantic after driving around the island for a tour.
Hung out with Bryce, the head brewer, for an hour after the tour, and then got a
lot of good info on PEI from Garrett. They advised a back way to Saint John, so
I headed out about 4:30. Hit "rush hour" back to Ellsworth, but clear sailing
from there to the border on rte 9. Crossed into Canada just before dusk and got
to Saint John after dark. Bumped into
Tapps BP while looking for the campground.
Had a good chat with Chris the bartender and a first-hand tour of the brewery by Tom,
the head brewer. Closed the place down before heading up to the campground right
in town around 2:00 am, wondering if I could make the ferry in the morning or end
up driving around.
Contact me at: rf6gunz@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2002, Rick Fletcher
