I must admit that I slept really well in the nice bed last night. I woke up to bright sun, but the air had a definite autumnal chill.
The first thing I did in the morning was to go check out the grounds of the Tarry-a-While Inn. The main house was on a nice large piece of ground, but the real attraction was down the hill. Their property went right down to Highland Lake where they had a beach, picnic tables, kayaks, fire pits and a roped off swimming area. I can see that it would be a popular spot to vacation at.
Walking back up the hill to the Inn, I met Donna. She was the sister of Dan Richards who is the owner and who offered me the room. I must have looked pretty pathetic yesterday riding toward Bridgton. Donna also saw me riding and though just as Dan that she should offer me a place to stay. So that morning, I insisted that we talk a bit so I could find out some history of their family and properly thank them for their generosity.
Running the Inn was a true family endeavor for them. Donna offered to make a breakfast for me, but I said that was too much. After talking till 10:00 Donna had things to do and I needed to be on the road.
This part of Maine has a lot of long skinny lakes. You ride from one to the next and to the towns that are associated with each one. The roads that go between these lakes and towns are rolling hills, except that you cannot really roll from one hill to the next. The hills are short but STEEP and your momentum from one hill to the next doesn’t even come close to letting you coast over the next. After doing this all day for a few days was taking a toll on my legs.
Later in the day, I got to Brunswick, ME. It was late enough and I was tired enough that I looked to find a campground for the evening. I found my way to the Thomas Point Beach campground. The beach however was on the BAY. Meaning that the water I was looking at was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
While I could not actually see the ocean, it really felt like a major milestone on the trip. The ocean was SO SO close now.
I actually got to cook dinner in the sun of the day which was a nice change from recent other dinners. The sun was setting around 7:00 now so that was taking a real adjustment in my timing, especially now that I was on the other side of the equinox.
Looking at salt water today means that the trip is starting to get to the last days now. That means that each day will be extra exciting now. I slept looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.
Ahhhh. How I have enjoyed your blog with the adventure, kindness of others, the beauty, and of course cycling. Like a good book that is hard to stop reading, I’m a little saddened that this wonderful “book” is coming to an end.