Life in Our Corner of New England
The last few weeks have been one of those stretches when we packed a lot into a relatively short period of time. After a summer that seemed to revolve around gardens, house projects and trying to keep things alive, we managed to squeeze in some travel, welcome friends to Wolfeboro and spend a lot of time outside enjoying some pretty spectacular early fall weather.
Unfortunately, the drought that had been hanging around all summer followed us right into September. Everything was dry, the gardens were tired, and by this point I was pretty much tired of worrying about all of it too.
There were a few bright spots. The pole beans have been growing really well, and I've picked quite a few. They've turned out to be one of the easiest things I grew this year - no pests to fight with, no drama, just beans. I'll definitely grow them again.
And once again, the hydrangeas along the side of the barn have been the best performers of the year. While plenty of other things struggled through the dry summer, they just kept going and looked beautiful.
Other parts of the garden were already done for the season - or I was done with them. The Joe Pye weed had to be cut down, along with the Lemon Queen sunflower at the front of the house. After months of drought and dragging hoses around, I was more than ready to start putting parts of the garden to bed.
Just after Labor Day, there was a quick work trip tucked into the mix. The motorhome makes these trips a lot more enjoyable, especially when there’s time at the end of the day to find a local brewery, some good pizza and live music. This time, Bigelow Brewing, which is a Harvest Host, fit the bill nicely. Then it was back home and on to everything else September had in store.
Back home from the work trip, there wasn't much time before we were packing the motorhome again, this time for a two-night mid-week camping trip to Wissamki Campground with some Wolfeboro friends. The campground has a pretty pond and close enough to Portland to spend some time there but far enough away to feel like we were actually camping.
The first night was easy - casual food at the campsite followed by a campfire. The next day we headed into Portland and walked around the Old Port for a bit, stopped for lobster rolls and then made the essential trip to Harbor Fish Market. We picked up oysters and brought them back to camp, where we shucked them and enjoyed them right at the campsite.
That evening, Tom and the other two headed back into Portland to see Blackberry Smoke at the State Theatre. I happily stayed behind with Bell and Willy the cat; I caught up on some reading, watched a few of my favorite YouTube channels and thoroughly enjoyed a quiet evening.
There wasn't much downtime before the next event on the calendar — the first Weirs Rendezvous with the New England Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society.
For years, people have asked about bringing our annual boat show back to the Weirs, but the Wolfeboro show has become a pretty well-oiled machine. Instead, the club decided to try something new — a smaller, more casual gathering at the Weirs docks followed by a group run on Lake Winnipesaukee.
The weather couldn't have been better, and the docks looked pretty spectacular lined with antique and classic boats. We took Last Chance over for the morning, spent some time wandering the docks and visiting with everyone, and then several of the boats headed out together for a cruise around the lake. For a first-time event, it turned out to be a great day and something I hope we'll do again.
Next up, friends from Hilton Head/Virginia were headed our way for a few days, which gave me the motivation I needed to tackle the fall cleanup inside the house. After a summer spent mostly outdoors, it was time to clean everything up and start shifting the house into fall mode.
These friends had already been traveling in their motorhome for more than a week by the time they arrived in Wolfeboro, so they stayed at the Cottage on High. It gave them a chance to spread out, do some laundry and enjoy a little more room than the motorhome for a few days. They parked the motorhome at the cottage and settled in there, while still being just a walk through the woods from our house.
That arrangement worked especially well for the dogs. Our friends could walk Remi back and forth through the woods between the cottage and our house, where Bell was always ready for another visit. The two dogs had plenty of time to run, wrestle and generally wear each other out.
There was also an early-morning fishing excursion on Lake Winnipesaukee - very early by my standards. They left at 5:15 a.m. to meet a friend and get out on his boat. I happily volunteered for dog duty instead and had both Remi and Bell for several hours. This is when I confirmed that one dog is exactly the right number of dogs for us. 😂
A few fish were caught, but even better, our Virginia friends got to experience Winnipesaukee at sunrise, when the lake is quiet, peaceful and an entirely different place from the busy summer lake most visitors see.
Fortunately, not all of our boating required getting out of bed before sunrise. On another gorgeous day, we took Last Chance out on the lake and headed over to NazBar & Grill for lunch. Early fall boating is hard to beat. The lake is quieter; the weather can be absolutely beautiful and much of the summer craziness has disappeared.
The fishing theme continued when we stopped at The Wolfetrap for dinner and happened to run into Charlie Moore, the Mad Fisherman. Our fishing friends immediately knew who he was, and Charlie couldn't have been nicer about stopping for photos and chatting for a bit. Tom got in on it too, of course. It was one of those completely unplanned Wolfeboro moments that made their visit even more fun.
There was also plenty of time spent doing absolutely nothing particularly productive in the Barn Lounge - drinks, good food and catching up. Pretty much what the Barn Lounge was made for. There were far too many moments to include throughout the post, so I’ve added a photo gallery below. Remi and Bell, in particular, gave us plenty of material.
A Barn Lounge jam session was on the agenda for one evening, along with some local friends who also knew our visitors from Hilton Head. One of our Virginia friends plays banjo and acoustic guitar, but he can also play drums, so he took the drummer's seat while the other two guys played guitar.
The ladies joined in with a few attempts at singing, and it quickly became apparent that none of us will be earning a living with our voices. Nobody cared. The music was fun, the singing was questionable, and there was a lot of laughing - which made for a pretty great night in the Barn Lounge.
We made a trip to Castle in the Clouds, where we walked through the woods to one of the overlooks with a beautiful view of Lake Winnipesaukee and then had lunch at the Carriage House. It was another one of those perfect early fall days in New Hampshire.
After several days in Wolfeboro, we switched gears again, packed the motorhomes and headed north to Maine together. Our friends live in Virginia, but her mom has a camp in Whiting, near Lubec, and their family has been coming to this part of Maine for more than 30 years. So while we know the Lubec area pretty well, they've been coming to this corner of Maine for a very long time.
Our first stop together was Big Lake RV Park in Washington County. Although the campground is technically on Big Lake, you don't see the lake from the campsites. Instead, the sites are spread out across a large, level grassy field that was once farmland. The owners eventually gave up farming and turned the property into a campground, which explains the unusually spacious sites and wide-open feel.
A wooded path leads from the campground down to Big Lake, where you can enjoy the views, spend some time on the little beach or launch a kayak if you choose. We were mostly content to walk down and enjoy the scenery.
One couple went fishing while the rest of us did some exploring. We found a pretty wooded trail that led down to the water. Nothing strenuous and nothing overly planned, which was just fine with us. The beach is Dawn Marie Beach on Wabassus Lake Downeast Lakes Water Trail - Maine Trail Finder. We later learned that we had driven our Jeeps on a snowmobile/ATV trail, which explains why it was so bumpy and seemed so far off the beaten path.
Back at the campground, everyone settled in for the evening while Bell and Remi resumed their vacation-long wrestling match. There were campfires, cocktails and plenty of time sitting around doing very little — which, after a day of exploring and fishing, was exactly where we wanted to be.
From Big Lake we continued east to Sunset Point RV Park in Lubec, a campground we've stayed at before and an area we already know and love.
Lubec remains one of our favorite corners of Maine. It's quiet, a little quirky, beautiful and about as far Down East as you can get without crossing into Canada. We've explored Lubec and Eastport on a previous motorhome trip, so I'll link that post here (Exploring the Charm of Lubec and Eastport, Maine: A Motorhome Adventure) rather than repeat everything we've already written about the area.
This time we weren't trying to see everything. We'd already done much of that, and our friends have been coming to the area for decades. We could just enjoy being back, do a little exploring, spend time with friends and settle into our waterfront campsite.
The last few weeks ended up being a little bit of everything - drought and gardening, camping trips to Maine, Portland and fresh oysters, getting the house ready for company, friends visiting from Virginia, dogs running through the woods, sunrise fishing, boating on Winnipesaukee, lunches out, evenings in the Barn Lounge, questionable singing and another motorhome trip north to Down East Maine.
After spending so much of the summer close to home, it felt good to get back on the road. And it was a great way to start fall.
Looking back at all of this, it's pretty obvious how much the motorhome makes possible for us. It turns work trips, quick getaways and longer trips with friends into something that's relatively easy to do — and this month, we certainly put it to good use.
Thanks, as always, for following along with us. I’ll be putting together videos from our recent excursions, so be sure to subscribe to our Wine & Whiskey Travelers YouTube channel to follow along there too. We never quite know where we're headed next — or what we'll get into along the way — but that's part of the fun. Until next time!
One video uploaded. I'll get two more uploaded later after I make them.
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