Two Finals Ports in Maine: Driveway Surf in Searsport & L.L Bean Overnight in Freeport

When we envisioned our summer in the northeast, we had lofty goals of spending ample time in all of the key areas and perhaps even ducking up into Canada for a few weeks.

In particular, we thought we’d have plenty of time to spend a month or more in Maine.

Alas, a nomad’s eyes are usually bigger than their calendar.

Our amazing stop at Schoodic Peninsula ended up marking our northern most point this journey, and our turn around spot for heading back south.

This post covers September 6-10.

Driveway Surfing in Searsport

We met our long time followers Fred & Kathy earlier this year down in Quartzsite. As we were planning our northern summer excursion, they reached out inviting us to park at their summer home along the Maine coastline.

They told us they had two big vacant lots they owned next-door, so there should be plenty of room to park the bus for as long as we like.

We made a leisurely drive from Schoodic to an hour south to Searsport – stopping in Ellsworth for a grocery stock up, and a quick lunch stop at the Fort Knox bridge.

We kinda overbought frozen stuff we couldn’t cram into the freezer, so we just put a frozen pizza in the convection oven to bake while we drove – our awesome electrical setup allows us to do such things.

When we arrived to Searsport, what we had failed to realize is that Fred & Kathy travel in a trailer that has much more leveling capacity than our bus – and their land is anything but level.

Thankfully they had a bunch of extra boards (our high tech leveling system), and we were able to find a spot that worked without causing us to stumble down the hallway, or needing to bungee ourselves to our desks to keep us from rolling away in our office chairs.

Ironically, a package that met up with us was our new LevelMatePro that our buddies Peter &  John had just reviewed on their blog. They’re currently completely sold out due to the publicity (way to go RV Geeks!). But keep your eye on this gizmo, it’s pretty nifty. It syncs to our iPhones, so at least we know how many inches we’re off and can better predict how many boards we need to get out.

Once we were all leveled, we had a delightful time getting to know Fred and Kathy better, and exploring their area of the world.

Fred is a home wine maker, and was thrilled to have wine drinkers to share his craft with (which of course means we did end up stumbling down our hallway after all.)

And as serendipity would have it, our prior hosts Bob & Lynne from China Lake were out and about RVing in their Roadtrek and discovered we were just a mile away.

Fred & Kathy extended an invitation to host happy hour, which gave us the opportunity to introduce our friends to each other.

All and all, a great stay with visits to nearby coastal towns, converged meals and a wee bit of wine.

Thanks guys!

L.L. Bean – Freeport, Maine

We had several suggestions to stop in the Flagship L.L. Bean campus in Freeport, Maine. The visitor’s center across the street keeps a RV parking lot that allows for overnight parking. Confirming this on OvernightRVParking.com, we decided to head that way with the warning that this lot is easy to get trapped in.

It’s basically several (very unlevel) lanes that can stack 3 RVs each, and if you get behind someone who is not leaving anytime soon, you might be stuck until they do.

When we arrived, the lot was pretty much full.

But we noticed RVs parked in the lot across the street. As luck would have it, a frequent RV visitor to the area was also just arriving, and filled us in that while RV parking wasn’t allowed in any of the ‘white striped’ lots (as indicated by the posted signs) – this ‘yellow striped’ lot was still good.

We decided that was good enough for us.

We spent the day checking out the numerous outlet shops in the area (usually not our thing).

But we waited for the big adventure until after the crowds cleared.

You see, the flagship campus is open 24/7.  Perfect for us night owls!

So late late in the evening, we headed over to wander around the cavernous LL Bean stores. It was much more chill than during the day, and we practically had the place to ourselves.

We ended up each purchasing a sweater jacket, and Chris got a pair of shorts and me a pair of shoes. They all come with a lifetime warranty.

We had no problems at all staying overnight in the very quiet lot (which has an Amtrak train route that passes through only a couple times a day). And in the morning, we continued south to our next destination.

What’s Up Next

Ok, we totally didn’t leave enough time for exploring Maine and felt our visit was way too short. We’ll have to remedy that at a later date.

Next stop was Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts, and then on in to Rhode Island!  We’re getting this blog caught up, gosh darnit!

Almost there… thanks for hanging in there with us!

Blasts from the Past

And today’s ‘blasts from the past’ for those looking for more topical posts while we focus on catching up the travelogues..

 

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We believe safety is a feeling, not a condition. Here’s our thoughts on traveling full time, and feeling safe — whether it be ravenous bears, intruders, bad weather, accidents or mythical fire breathing dragons chasing you down.

Regardless of what lifestyle choices you make — stationary or mobile — there are inherent risks. How much you let the threat impact you is generally a choice.

”Caution: Living is Dangerous to Your Health”

Feeling Safe While Traveling in a RV Full Time

 

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Which of the four major carriers — Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or T-Mobile — are best for RVers? Each offers unique things that can make them attractive for cellular and data services.

We keep this article updated as the carriers change up their plans, so you can cross compare the options. This also includes a 20 minute video going over the major differences between them.

The Four Carriers — Which are Best for RVers?