Sleepy New England

Jill's Journal: We are in the sweetest town: Bethel, Maine. It was a roundabout way of getting here, but well worth the trip.

Yesterday morning, we were about to leave Bangor when the wind kicked up. Wind gusts of 40mph do not bode well for a 13-foot tall trailer on the road, so we did the sensible thing and stayed put. Everyone has seen tractor trailers tipped over on the side of the road, in addition to the occasional motorhome, and we had no desire to add to that statistic.

A free day in the Bangor area gave us a beautiful drive through the countryside en route to Leonard’s Mills in Bradley, a logging operation/living history site. Naturally, it was closed for the season!


And then, since we were out anyway, we decided to enjoy a lunch out…and learned an important lesson: when in a region, stick to the food the region is known for! We were tempted by a Mexican restaurant since it’s been months since we’ve had Mexican food. Oh.my. I must share my newfound knowledge with anyone who will listen: don’t eat Mexican food in Maine! This is very important. :) It was most probably the worst meal we’ve had on this trip, which is the only reason I even mention it.

This morning we said farewell to Bangor and headed almost directly west across Maine on a bumpy two-lane road (no freeways or interstates here!) to our destination of Dixfield. When we arrived at the campground where we had reservations, it was all but an abandoned empty field. To their credit, they did have a note on the door saying to pick any spot and they’d knock on the door for payment at some point. But we just didn’t feel comfortable with it and continued on.

Another 40 minutes down the road, we found a lovely campground in the darling little town of Bethel. We’re one of two campers here, have a playground for the girls right outside our door, and enjoy gorgeous mountain views. This is the New England I envisioned far from the coast: mountains/foothills, white-steepled churches, covered bridges, sleepy towns. Picture perfect and so peaceful.