Photo by The Joneses Lobsters – yum yum! Ralph and Gisela were able to enjoy some fine Maine lobsters while visiting with Ralph's sister in Searsport, Maine. — — — E-mail Gisela — — — SLIDE SHOW: Great sights with friends & family in Maine & Conn.
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

Before we came here we spent time in Maine and Connecticut.

In Maine we visited Ralph’s sister Ruth and her husband Welles. Would you believe their last name is Fargo – guess his parents had a sense of humor? It was a very nice visit especially since Ruth finished chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer a few months ago and is on the way to recovery.

They live in Searsport a small town on the upper part of the Penobscot Bay just south of Bar Harbor. Like most towns on the New England coast, it has always had a connection to the sea, like ship building, receiving cargo, sailing ships and commercial fishing. Now it is more of a tourist town with small hotels and quaint bed and breakfasts for a typical Maine vacation; busy in the summertime and quiet during the winter.

Welles drove us up and down the coastline through some very beautiful areas, small harbors, wharfs, state parks and Sea Island, the largest uninhabited island on the East Coast.

We also had a couple of wonderful seafood dinners – there is nothing better than Maine lobster. Ruth also fed us well. She enjoys cooking when she has company and cooking she did. Ralph loved it, especially since I am trying my best to keep him –and me too – on a diet. If we had stayed much longer our RV wouldn’t have been the only thing "rolling" down the highway.

One interesting visit we made in Maine was the Maine State Prison Showroom in Thomaston. The state prison in Warren has a woodworking program which provides a means of learning a marketable skill, job skills, work ethics and responsibility, as well as earning money to help with their re-entry into the work place. All items in the store were handcrafted by the inmates. There were hundred of items all carved from wood: coffee and end tables, cabinets, stools, lot of nautical items such as boats, lamps, ship wheels.

We spent at least an hour in the showroom looking at everything – really amazing. I bought a very pretty candy dish. Unfortunately, but understandably, I couldn’t take any pictures inside the showroom except the one of the large statue in the window, a motorcycle with rider and passenger – again all carved from wood.

Next visit was with Ralph’s daughter Dawn, her husband Ed and kids Brenden (16), Amber (almost 5), and Cailey (3 1/2). They live in West Haven and we stayed in a campground nearby. We had a wonderful time with them, a bit hectic due to two sweet, adorable AND very active girls.

Brenden spent one night in the RV with us and we thoroughly enjoyed having some special time with him. Dawn and the girls spent the other nights with us and that was also very special. Poor Dawn and girls had to get up early for Amber to go to kindergarten, while Ralph and I were still snoozing.

In the afternoon everyone came up for dinner and to enjoyed sitting around the fire roasting marshmallows and Smore’s.

One morning Ed went fishing and came back with two large sea bass that he then cleaned and filet. That evening we had sea bass grilled over the open fire– yum, yum. We still have two packages of the bass in our freezer for some special dinners.

We didn’t do any sightseeing since Ralph and I had been to West Haven many times before. This week was for enjoying being with family and especially spending time with the grandchildren. They grow up so fast. It is hard to believe Brenden will graduate in two years and Amber is in kindergarten already.

We were sorry to leave the kids and hope to be able to come back to the New England area again next year, hopefully when the weather is more conducive to RV life.