Moving On South to Portland Maine

I was sorry to leave the Red Barn yesterday, with it's carefree 50 amp service and full hookups, but the Adventure must continue!!  Even at this late date, there is still lots of roadwork being done.  Many of the bridges are under repair due to concrete erosion of the pillars.  That's scary as we drive under 8 or 9 each day!!!

Out in the middle of nowhere I caught a glimpse of this flag tied in the tree.  In fact, there are LOTS of flags flying back here ... in every yard and on almost every house!!  It sure is nice to see not just a little patriotism, but a LOT!!

We headed onto Hwy 95 South, the Maine Turnpike, requiring a couple more payments totaling about $14.00.  I was sure to get receipts for every payment this time, and haven't been bothered by any "non-payment" emails.  The speed limit here is 70 ... for everyone ... and the truckers take full advantage.  Since we're not in a hurry and like good fuel mileage, Tom keeps it under 60 mph.  There really aren't too many logging trucks, thank goodness.  A week or so ago Tom's rig got whacked by some big chunks of bark coming off a truck that pulled over immediately in front of him!!  I was cringing as this guy passed me, but they are usually going so fast, they pass us both.  Heavy loads like this one and speed, don't go together however!!

It wasn't long before Tom spotted tons of rubber all over the road like an obstacle course, causing us to swerve from lane to lane.  The reason for the mess was parked on the side of the road.  He had blown a tire.  Thank the Lord he wasn't anywhere near us when it happened, and traffic was fairly light!!

We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Portland around 1:30 to find four rigs already parked.  With awnings out everywhere, there wasn't room for two more, even though there are six 30 amp hookups.  I parked on one end and Tom parked on the other, perpendicular to the rest of us.  Unfortunately, or maybe thankfully, my electrical management system is working great!!!  It shut me off immediately.  It's 93 with lots of humidity and my AC won't run due to lack of power.  In fact, I can't get anything to work except lights, even when I turn off the fridge.  Every other rig has all their air conditioners going full blast.  Barbara said it's generator time, which I turned on until our return from dinner.

You know at Red Robin, you can get a free burger for your birthday ... anything on the menu, so we made a beeline for burgers.  She requested her favorite arctic cod sandwich with unlimited fries and a Beam and Bacon shake.  Yup ... it's got a little Jim Beam in it ... she left off the bacon, but said it was delicious!!

I had a BBQ burger that was delicious, except they forgot the barbecue sauce, and some awesome onion rings.  Tom had his usual "big" burger with an egg on top!!

We are parked right across the street from the Portland International Jetport and Airport.  It's kind of scary when they take off, but it's all noise, because they are leaving the opposite direction.  By 10:00 it was quiet as a mouse!!  

I have a few to-do's today, including possibly moving my rig over when the other two big rigs leave, hoping for a better power connection.  I guess there is good and bad with the EMS systems.   Good that it works so well I won't lose any appliances like my microwave or TV ... but bad that it works so good I can't run the A.C.  It's a trade-off!!  C'est la vie!!