Massachusetts – A Sad Day

At 2:15 this morning we heard the loud thump of a falling tree…

Massachusetts – Quabbin

We have much to discover in our new area especially now with warmer weather. So we started with the Quabbin Reservoir - since we live in one of the bordering towns. About 40% of Massachusetts gets its water from “the Quabbin.” Massachusetts claims that the Quabbin is “the largest man-made reservoir in the world devoted solely to water supply.”* (There’s always a way to claim a superlative.)

 

Quabbin Park

Most of the 118 miles of shoreline are inaccessible. The most popular section and only access by car is Quabbin Park (a park on the southeast shore of the reservoir), which, lucky for us, straddles our town.

Here’s a map of the park.

Quabbin Park has a visitor center, trails and an observation tower, as well as, much of the major infrastructure of the reservoir: Winsor Dam, Goodnough Dike, and the Quabbin Spillway.

Winsor Dam

One day when Carrie visited we saw the dam and observation tower and hiked around the area.

Carrie & Bill at the Quabbin

Observation Tower

It was a nice clear day to go to the tower.

Bill & Carrie near the Observation Tower

The Goodnough Dike

The park opens daily, but one icy day we found the gates closed. So we walked about a mile in on the park road to the dike and walked the dike loop (the purple route in the map above). A salt truck passed us, so we weren’t surprised when we returned to find the gates opened.

Barbara and an icy Quabbin.

the dike

Bill looking across the dike

Bill sometimes takes this route for his daily walk – 3.6 miles.

Bill walking along the dike

We’ll tell you more about the Quabbin in future posts.

* mwra.state.ma.us

Maine – A Night at L.L. Bean

Barbara loves Maine, L.L. Bean, and letterboxing, so several years ago when she heard of a letterboxing event at L.L. Bean’s flagship store in Freeport, Maine she signed up. The flagship store stays open 24 hours a day. A letterboxer who works at L.L. Bean got permission to host a letterboxing event in the store in the middle of the night in January. Letterboxes were hidden inside and outside the four store buildings. (One box was hidden under that boot statue!) Then late at night when the event began, people hunted for the boxes following clues hinting at the location of boxes. Each box contained a hand carved stamp and letterboxers stamp the images in their logbooks.

The event has taken place for several years. Here’s Barbara in Freeport in 2015 and 2016.

So this year we drove back from Florida in time for Barbara to attend the event again. She picked up some friends and headed to Maine looking for letterboxes along the way. Usually letterboxes are found on trails, but with the snow they sought indoor boxes – like one in a fun toy store in Portsmouth NH.

Here is the stamp image from another letterbox called “Life is Good in Maine,” found in the Life is Good shop in Portland ME.

They met other friends at a hotel in Freeport, went out to dinner, and then headed for L.L. Bean. At 8pm (which is pretty close to Barbara’s usual bedtime) they picked up the clue packet with clues arranged per store. For example one clue for the Home store said “a bushel of striped towels,” and there, in a basket of striped towels, was the box. Others were pretty tricky. One of the hardest ones said “15-2 for a skunk.” Fortunately one of Barbara’s friends figured that one out. Do you know what it means? [See answer at bottom.] Another hard one in the Hunt & Fishing store said “Bean’s Wooden Line Dryer.” Once we figured out that this antique for drying fishing line was on display, we found the box.

There were over 100 boxes with stamps in various categories. One was “Best of Maine,” with stamp images of many of the things Barbara loves, like: blueberries, lobster, Acadia National Park, Portland Head Lighthouse... Another was things that happened in 1912 (the year L.L. Bean was founded). Another was called “Produced of Maine.” Here are the stamps in that series.

 
Another was “Maine Lingo.” Here’s a stamp from that set. Can you figure out what these Mainers are saying? [See translation at bottom.]

Everyone stopped at midnight for the photo op. You might be able to spot Barbara way up on the left.

picture from Facebook

Barbara is not typically a night owl, but she and her group of friends stayed up until after 3:30am and found almost all the boxes.

They slept a couple hours in the hotel and then did some more letterboxing around the town of Freeport before heading for home.

*“15-2 for a skunk” is cribbage lingo, so the box was near cribbage games.

*Maine lingo: “Aya” is Air and “Ayuh” is their way of saying yes. :-)

*For more information on letterboxing, see Atlasquest.com or just ask Barbara about it.

Florida – Indian River Habitat for Humanity

We drove to Florida to see Barbara’s dad and participate in a Habitat for Humanity build as “Care-a-Vanners.” You can read about Care-a-Vanners in our post from last year.

We’ve volunteered with this Indian River Habitat affiliate before, but this time our trailer was located behind the ReStore.

We hadn’t been to the ReStore before, so were surprised when we arrived late at night to see the entrance blocked off.

That threw us off momentarily. Are we allowed to go in? Is the gate locked? Do we need to wake up the other RVers to let us in? Fortunately Bill figured out how to open the gate and we parked our trailer.

RV spots behind the ReStore – our trailer is on the right

Last year we both worked on the Fellsmere job site constructing homes; this year Bill worked on the same job site, while Barbara worked in the ReStore. The ReStore is a donation center.

People donate all sorts of stuff. Proceeds from the sale of the items go to building houses for people who need extra help beginning home ownership. Barbara primarily tried to transform heaps of linens into salable merchandise.

The items varied from junk to high end furniture, from 25¢ to $1,000+ items, and from very well used to brand new.  What do you think of this chair?

Barbara worked with some super hard-working and encouraging co-workers. Fellow Care-a-Vanners, Ina and Ty, transformed the hardware department.

In the meantime Bill worked at the construction site. It was cool to see last year’s homes now occupied by the families who helped build them.  

One of the owners stopped by the job site and when Bill congratulated her on her finished home, she beamed and gave him a hug.

pictures from last year when Sharon first worked on the job site

(Now she owns her own home!)

Bill worked on one of two new homes, building exterior walls, making shed trusses, and installing house trusses.

He also participated in a Wall Raising, a ceremony celebrating the start of the build.

the Wall Raising

(Bill on left in blue vest, Supervisor Ricardo in blue in the middle)

Last year, we really appreciated the Fellsmere build supervisor and this year was no different. Somehow he finds significant work for volunteers and home buyers of all abilities, manages the construction, and builds a high-quality home. Some of the volunteers were familiar and some were new but all were really nice people.

We enjoyed our time here, loved working with this group of people, and feel like we are making a difference by helping out. We also were glad to have the opportunity to see Barbara’s family, as well!

2017 Year in Review

We started the year in Florida full-time RVing and doing a Habitat for Humanity build.

EAST COAST TRIP

Then we slowly headed to Massachusetts, mostly hugging the coast, visiting historic places, scenic spots, and some friends and family.

Barbara at a garden on Saint Simons Island GA

Bill at Outer Banks NC

Bill & Barbara at

Wright Brothers National Memorial NC

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS TRIP

We went back south, then took another trip heading slowly north – this time following the Appalachian Mountains. Friends joined us exploring & letterboxing in northern Georgia. Then we hiked and enjoyed the scenery as we drove the entire Blue Ridge Parkway from the Smokey Mountains to the Shenandoahs.

Barbara & Bill at Clingmans Dome, Smokey Mountains National Park NC

our car & trailer along the Blue Ridge Parkway NC

Sunset from Shenandoah National Park VA

We had lots of special moments on both of these trips like spotting a wild horse, watching dolphins play, finding the first US letterbox with Mama Wolf, meeting another Escape 19 full-timing couple, finding a yellow Lady Slipper, and the list goes on, but we particularly treasure the times we spent with the people we met along the way.

MOVING IN

We started the summer looking at real estate, squeezing in trips to Ohio and Maine before finally buying a house.

Barbara, Bill & Carrie at Acadia National Park ME

our new house

VOLUNTEERING

Then we scrambled to finish all the paperwork and move in before leaving for South Carolina as we committed to a 3-month volunteer stint at Kings Mountain National Military Park. So we spent the fall there, learning about the Revolutionary War battles in the Carolinas, volunteering, and exploring the area.

Barbara & Bill at Kings Mountain National Military Park SC

THE GIRLS

Kate and Carrie share an apartment in Boston. Kate waitressed and taught herself computer skills. She and her boyfriend, Josh, traveled out west and Kate adopted a rescue dog, Tina.

 

Carrie graduated from Boston College and then traveled in Eastern Europe. She’s now working at an economic consulting firm in Boston.