Back in the Good Ol' US of A and Bangor

It is only a short thirty minute trip to the border crossing from St. Andrew, NB. We only had two cars in front of us. The guard was polite and after stepping into our rig to check the bathroom for stowaways and our fridge for undeclared fruits and vegetables, we were cleared for entry and made our way to Bangor where we will spend four days or rest and some sightseeing. We also picked up a Starlink Mini dish so we will not be without internet when we travel! So far, I love it.

We talked about going to Bar Harbor and Acadia, but decided to stay in Bangor to get some work done that is needed on the RV and to just take it easy. We spent one day driving around Bangor and seeing the sights. One of the places, probably the best known, is Stephen King's house.

What could be more appropriate than an older Victorian house surrounded by a fence with a gate made to look like spiderwebs and crowned by bats on either side. Stephen King and his wife, Tabitha, do not reside here now. The house was given to his charitable foundation, houses an archive of his work and also serves as a writers retreat. The King's now reside in Portland, ME.

The gargoyles or bats that guard the gate to the house.

A view over the fence, notice the sculpture carved from the trunk of an old ash tree to the left.

The sculpture carving the tree. It was a 300 year old ash that was dying and needed to be cut down. Tabitha, Kings wife, wanted to make something that would keep the tree "alive" so to speak and she contracted with Josh Landry, a noted Maine chainsaw artist to create her vision. Here he is in the process.

Close up of the tree trunk during the carving process. These image were provided by News Center Maine.

The finished work some five years later as we photographed it. It definitely goes with the house.

After getting some stuff done, other stuff left undone, we decided to head for Newport RI and take a trip down memory lane. I was assigned to Newport Navel Base for Quartermasters School after Coast Guard boot camp some 50+ years ago. We loved living there then and wanted to see the area so off we went. Along the way, we took a round about route to avoid the Boston Traffic and the grinding traffic on I-95. We will see you there!