Making Progress ... and hope for more.

Today has been one of those laid-low-stay-in-your jammies kind of days. The wind has been howling, the rain has been pelting down, and the temp hasn't moved much all day ... hovering around 50 degrees. Just the kind of day to take care of those projects on your list that don't require venturing outside. It has been raining fairly steady now for a coupe of days and we are sure glad this nor'easter has been a rain event and not snow. Otherwise we would be digging out for weeks!

Some good news ... the painters arrived on Tuesday to start on the job I wanted done. The bad news .. they only got about 2 hours of work done before the rains came. At least the job is started so perhaps they can get 'er done before November shows up.

Remember way back in July when I was getting the lights wired up for towing the new Fusion I mentioned that dealing with the Fusion's LED tail lights added a few complications to the process? Although the lights worked as expected when we did our test tow earlier this month I still wasn't happy with the brightness of my tail light solution. As you may remember ... I had no difficulty getting the turn signals and brake lights to work but I had to install and wire some LEDs in the red lens section of the tail light assembly to get the tail light function to work. Unfortunately those LEDs just don't put out the brightness I would like. So I moved on to plan "D."  Plan "D" involved purchasing a nifty chrome license plate frame that has a row of LEDs at the bottom - specifically designed for trailer use with two brightness settings. I installed the frame a few days ago and wired the LEDs to the "bright" setting. The results were much better!! Nobody will miss seeing the rear of the Fusion now!

So ... Winne is in storage but ready to roll at a moments notice (although I would still like to get some new tires on her before we head south) and the Fusion is all ready to be towed. 63 days and a Wake Up!!

I reckon my next fall project (besides the constant battle with leaves) is to get the Chevelle cleaned up and in storage. With all the other stuff we had to cram in to the summer months the Chevelle didn't get driven much (again) ... but she will be ready and willing again next summer. 

Then there is the Yamaha. I'll probably wait until sometime just before Thanksgiving to do the pre-painting disassembly. I know, it seems like such a shame to take apart a perfectly good running machine ... but sometimes you have to go backwards in order to make forward improvements.

Mmmm ... that sorta reminds me of the upcoming election. Sometimes you have to experience the bad times .. and be shocked with how bad things really are ... so that you will be jolted into movement in a more productive direction. I certainly hope America is awake now ... they certainly should be by now!

More Fall Chores

Another week gone by ... another week of fall chores ... and another week closer to the end of election season.

I spent most of my week getting Winne cleaned, winterized, and back in storage and then I moved on to a bit of home repair I have been putting off for several years.

You may recall that I painted our house a few summers ago ... or should I say I painted the lower portion of our house. I did not paint the gable ends of the house because 1) I don't have a ladder tall enough, 2) it really looks like a lot of work climbing up and down that ladder tens of dozens of times to scrape, prime, and then finally paint those tongue 'n groove vertical boards, and 3) the more I look at it - the older I get.

I finally did get a couple of local contractors to give me an estimate on getting the work done a couple of months ago. Unfortunately the contractor of choice told me he couldn't get to it until late October at best. Even more unfortunately - I took a good look at the north side where the breezeway roof attaches to the house and where the snow tends to collect and melt slowly ... and found that several boards were getting rotten. No problem sez me -- I will simply get some similar boards and replace them!

Let's see now -- those boards are not only tongue 'n groove but they have a "scallop" milled on one end ... and they were installed in about 1960. Shouldn't be hard to find some matching boards right? Several days later, several phone calls later, and a hundred mile round trip drive on a lovely fall day and I had the boards I needed. Piece of Cake!

The good news is I got the necessary boards cut, fit, primed, and replaced today -- right before the rains move in tomorrow.

Now if I can only get that contractor over here to finish the painting. Although I could change my mind and do it myself.

Nah ....

2 Maine Antiques

For those of you who care ... and the rest of you too ... I thought you would like to know that the Yamaha not only lives, breathes, and smokes (like any good two-cycle engine should) -- but she also is now a legal source of transportation!

After receiving a number of new rubber replacement pieces and getting those installed, getting the new seat installed, and cleaning out the rust from inside the fuel tank and filling it with some fresh gas I figured I might as well insure it - register it - and take it for a test ride or two before taking it apart for more winter-time restoration work.

After installing the new "Antique" Motorcycle plate yesterday I strapped on an old helmet I still had from a previous life and hit the road. I'm sure the folks here in my neighborhood found a new reason to wonder about that old retired guy that lives down the road, and I'm sure a few drivers on Maine Street and Route 201 were wondering what the heck that thing was that was smoking (literally) down the highway at a whopping 50-60 mph ... but I say "get over it!" - I may be Antique - just like that Yamaha - but you still have to deal with us because we still have a few miles left!

But today I'm back to reality getting Winne ready for more rest in her storage spot for a couple of months before she needs to wake up and carry us south for the winter.

Only ...

23 days to Halloween
50 days to Thankgiving
78 days to Christmas

and a "Wake Up."

Happy 44th

The hitch itch got scratched, the weather cooperated, and we had a great few days sightseeing in and around Bar Harbor.

We left home around 1 PM on Wednesday after hooking up the new Fusion for its first towing excursion. We took the interstate route for this trip - Up I-295 to Gardiner where we hooked up with I-95. We had short lunch break at the Gardiner Service Plaza and took that opportunity to check over all the towing gear to make sure everything was working OK. All systems were working fine so we continued on our way up I-95 to Bangor and then southeast to Bar Harbor. We stopped one more time on the way so stretch and to adjust the brake pressure on the Invisibrake system in the Fusion. My goal was to keep raising the pressure until the braking action in the car felt like it was too much and then to back it down a bit. Although I know the brakes were actuating - it still didn't seem excessive.

We rolled into our destination at the Narrows Too RV Resort just after 4 PM and got settled in. As usual - Winne ran great and all systems were working like they were supposed to. Even though we hadn't been on-the-road for several months it took only minutes for it to seem like just yesterday. Same things in the same spots - same smells - same noises.

After a great night's sleep and a leisurely start to our day we loaded ourselves in the Fusion around 10:00 AM and headed for Acadia National Park on a cool but sunny Fall day. After the obligatory stop at the Park Visitor's Center we started along the loop road and decided to start our day up at the top of Cadillac Mountain. The Cadillac Mountain summit is at 1,528 feet and is the highest point within 25 miles of the shoreline on the east coast of the United States. It was a bit windy at the summit and chilly at around 63 degrees - but the views were fantastic.

After getting chilled to the bone and since it was getting close to noon we decided to head to Jordan Pond for afternoon Tea and Popovers. Actually we had lobster stew (me) and seafood chowder (Peggy) with our Tea and Popovers and it was all as scrumptious as in past visits. The day was warming, the sun was shinning, and the fall colors were bright ... so we hit the road once again for a trip around the east coast of Mt Desert Island along the Park Loop Road - First stop - Sand Beach ... 

and then some gorgeous views along Otter Point ...

 

and then some quiet time at Bubble Pond ... 

Before calling it a day. 

For dinner we treated ourselves to some great BBQ at Mainely Meat BBQ. We both rated this place just below Bill's BBQ in Kerrville TX as one of our favorite BBQ joints. Whodathunkit?

After another good night sleep we finally made it out for more sightseeing on Friday - around noon. Today's excursion was to the other side of Frenchman Bay and another part of Acadia National Park - at Schoodic Point.

First we did a bit of shoreline tide pool exploring just south of Winter Harbor.

And then checked out the waves crashing into the rocks at Schoodic Point.

It was still only about 4 PM when we returned to the south side of the Bay so we decided to head over to Seal Cove and check out the Seal Cove Auto Museum. The museum is relatively small but contains some really fine (and very expensive) examples of "Brass Era" cars from the early 1900s to about 1927 and the end of the Model T era.

This Peugeot was my favorite ...

And I liked this Stanley Steamer.

and this early Indian motorcycle.

But alas the day was drawing to a close ... as was the museum ... so it was time to head home from another busy day.

Today was an overcast and misty day ... so it made for a good travel day back home. 

So ... Happy Anniversary to Us! A fun but short trip to a beautiful place at a beautiful time of year.

Now it's time to get Winne back in storage and back to the rest of our Fall activities.