Maine (Gouldsboro/Corea)

We arrived in Gouldsboro/Corea Maine on 26 October 2023 for three nights. Our dear friends from Preston Maryland, Bob and Bitsy, graciously let us park our camper in their Maine driveway and they even provided power and water! To boot, we had an awesome water view with lobster boats floating by in the distance behind their beautiful home! Our first night there, Bob and Bitsy served us 2lb lobsters for dinner and there was enough for two lobsters per person! It was all delicious with a spectacular view and great company.

We discovered a problem with our kitchen slide-out the day we arrived in Maine. Unfortunately, we spent most of our first full day (Friday) troubleshooting with Grand Design over the phone. The GD technician did provide a way to override the motor so that the slide would go out. We got what we needed out of our fridge (which is not accessible with kitchen slide in) and put that in our ice chest, then overrode the motor again to bring the slide in. Living with the kitchen slide in is inconvenient, but not impossible to live with. We can access our freezer, but cannot access the fridge, nor cleaning supplies under the sink on the island. We can use our stove burners, fireplace (which we needed) and watch TV, so what more could we want?

After we had determined what the problem was and reached a reasonable workaround, we did some research to find a certified Grand Design service provider. Those are few and far between. In short, we decided to wait till we arrive in Jacksonville FL on 21 November to bring our fifth wheel into the place we bought it from. They have a "Keep You Camping" program which fits you in to assess your problem and provide a plan of action on a "walk in" basis. We just have to call a couple of days before we're in Jacksonville to let them know we're coming and what the problem is.

So after lunch on Friday, Bob and Bitsy drove us around Corea/Gouldsboro and Acadia National Park. They were wonderful tour guides and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenic drive. That night Bitsy cooked a wonderful roast! Bob and Bitsy invited their (retired and native) neighbors Tim and Shirley from next door. We had a great evening of laughs, fellowship and fun. Tim and Shirley are great people too and were very entertaining and fun to be with.

On Saturday 28 October 2023 we got an early start (7am) to drive about 160 miles to see Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (declared in 2019 during the Obama administration) and Baxter State Park. Bob and Bitsy have a German wire hair Griffin dog, Skeeter, who is a part of their family, so Skeeter came too. It was a wonderful day!

We had hoped to see wildlife on our journey that day, but all we saw was a roadkill moose on the Interstate, a live young buck and a live Ruffed Grouse. We stopped at an Oriental restaurant in Bangor on the way home for dinner. It was another delicious meal, and with full tummies and an hour yet to get home, we were all spent by the time we got back around 8:30pm. It was a good tired after a great day with good friends and seeing beautiful sights.