Road trip from Central Texas to Maine begins in mere hours

[Flash Grundelore]

"Hah. I heard you can dig for them near Acadia NP...."
What you can get right off the rocks at Acadia are blue mussels... I think they are nearly as good as steamer clams. Find a tidepool area, and at low tide just check right at the waterline.
They just tear off the rocks with a tug.
Steam them with some seawater, onion and white wine...

[tollermama]

Northampton, MA huh? That's mighty close to where I live. If you want any ideas for things to do there let me know. Hope you have a great time. Where were you thinking of backpacking in the White's? There are some places you can go that might not break your back. And I have never had clams on the half shell, but oysters are mighty fine. Wellfleet oysters if you can find them are the best, but others will do.

I love Blackwoods campground it is really close to all the fun things to do in Acadia. I recommend taking one of the national parks service boat rides to one of the islands for a guided tour. It's a great way to see the area and learn about some of the history.

[tollermama]

oh, and don't miss having lobster when in Maine. It's the best!

[W8lkinUSA]

Gosh. What a busy road trip I've had. Now that I've returned home, I'll just do a blanket response.

Thanks again for all the tips. I became overwhelmed with all these options, but more so with all the planning involved for a single person. Despite this, it was a total success; though, I wish I had done a couple of more things that were easily within reach.

Once the journey began, I completely lacked free time. I just barely had the time to cancel my extra reservations that served as backup on Memorial Day weekend.

-- snwcmpr --

Vermont never happened after all. I figured I would arrive to Northampton early and spend time with my buddy's wife. This worked to my benefit since we spent the entire Wednesday around Northampton. For the first time, I actually enjoyed Indian food; it was at India House. I also ate a different sprout at The Green Bean that was finally enjoyable; I think they were pea sprouts.

-- Flash Grundelore --

From my limited exposure, RI seafood was just okay compared to what we had in Maine at J Oyster restaurant. The clams on the half shell in RI were just okay; I suspect DC would offer better ones.... However, CT's Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana had the best clam pizza that I've had; their anchovy (on the side) was hands down the best anchovy that I've ever had. I'd never eat anchovy pizza since it's cooked, but I can handle it on the side. The best part of CT? Well, that was the drive towards NY; I think took the 15 (didn't plan it; just mapped it..). My drive through CT was the second-most exciting drive I had on my entire trip.

The Catskills just never happened since I was exhausted and spent an extra night at my buddy's to sort out laundry and gear for my return drive.

-- snwcmpr --
-- Flash Grundelore --

Shenandoah never happened either since an insane thunderstorm swept through that proved fatal for someone else in Charlottesville, VA that night; I just barely managed my drive past my campground at 9:30pm that night and safely made it down Skyline Drive by 10:30pm.

Driving towards Greenville, SC the following day, I continued to look towards Blue Ridge Parkway. With such steamy mountain-tops, I decided against driving down Blue Ridge.

-- tollermama --

I was very short on time and with all my gear in the vehicle, I didn't leave it unattended on the roadside as we backpacked for the night or two. Not having done enough research for backpacking spots, we base-camped at Lost River Valley Campground. We backpacked roadside to tackle Mt. Wolf before noon time since we both needed the rest. Needless to say, the Gordon Pond trail left much to be desired for a couple of rookies. For every live tree in the forest, we saw a similar number of dead standing trees. Fearing a lack of safe camping spots by Gordon Pond, we avoided the 40-90 minute roundtrip and backtracked to base camp. We were only 1.5 miles away from camp when my hip finally had enough; a grueling walk took us back with sufficient daylight to set up camp (no Uber or Lyft for this guy..).

Now with greater respect for backpackers and with greater camping experience, I should be able to carry significantly less gear for my next road trip. In turn, this should open up more opportunities for backpacking prospects. Perhaps, a better campground near bus routes might benefit us in the future.

By the way, J Oyster restaurant in Portland, ME produced our favorite Maine oysters on a half shell. Their steamer clams were also our favorite.

At two a piece with an espresso each, Coffee Hound served us the best lobster rolls for breakfast.