Thank You for Visiting; New England is Now Closed

Jill's Journal: Have you ever been in a store at closing time? They might give a warning or two over the intercom system before finally saying something to the effect of, “Thank you for shopping with us. Please bring your purchases to the counter immediately. We are now closed.”

New England has given us those warnings in the form of some freezing weather, but now they’re effectively dimming the lights, locking the doors, and waiting not so patiently for us to find our way to the exit.

It seems the few campgrounds that are still open will officially close on the 31st. Consistent freezing temperatures, particularly at night, are supposed to start tomorrow. We've also been warned that tomorrow the water is going to be turned off until spring at this campground. Checks with others this far north all say the same thing. They’ve already gotten snow up here and the 10-day forecast calls for plenty more of it.

We have no desire to leave New England yet – we haven’t even made it to Vermont or New Hampshire! – but I think these campground owners know better than we do. We need at least five or six weeks to properly see Vermont, New Hampshire, and Western Massachusetts. Much to my dismay especially, it’s going to have to wait. If it becomes a huge struggle to find an open campground and to find something as vital to daily existence as water, there’s no point in fighting it. Rob reminds me that Maine has become one of his top five favorite states and promises we’ll be back in the area soon. The organized soul in me hates that we can’t completely check this area off our “list,” but neither of us can wait to come back. And the girls don't care where we are; they find adventure everywhere.

Tomorrow we’ll make a major push south. If all goes well, we’ll land in upstate New York below the Adirondack Mountains before dusk.