wolfcation 2010
 

So, day after tomorrow, I leave for Maine, with a stop on the way up in Salem, Mass, and Mystic, Conn. on the return.

I wasn't planning to go anywhere this year, probably shouldn't have, just spent the two weeks at home doing the things that I've been ignoring and/or putting off for the past nearly a year.

Silly me for thinking such a thing.

I was at this party my friend threw to celebrate putting solar panels on her house. We sat around and watched the PECO meter not turn and her get "free" A/C.

We have this other friend who LOVES Maine. And hasn't been in a couple years. And she pouts soooo much when anyone mentions Maine, where SolarHippy goes yearly, and owns land up there, although since she bought solar, she can't afford to put in the driveway to her land (which may be straight up a cliff, not necessarily the most friendly acreage for a house, but she loves it). So anyway, the teasing is commencing, and JeepGirl is pouting really hard, and I unexpectedly blurt out, "What are you doing the last week of August?"

When she said, "What?" I should have just let it go. But I pressed it. "What are you doing the last week of August, do you want to go to Maine?"

Two days later she texts me and asks if I were serious.

Yep. Wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise.

So, she starts calling B&Bs and friends, and all of a sudden, it's actually a real trip.

I'm having a hell of a time packing. She keeps calling and saying, "It's going to be really cold."

I like cold.

"No, really cold. Bring your winter coat."

I don't care if it's Maine, it's fucking August.

I will make a concession here and there, and have agreed to bring a fleece vest, and may stow a full fleece in the trunk of a car.

Which is another adventure. I had to clean out the trunk of the car. I haven't done so since 2002 when I bought the car.

I found:

A sword (which I knew was in there)
A case of Russian Ammo (which I didn't)
A 56k modem (left on free to a good home table in apt mailroom)
A coffee maker (ditto)
An assortment of books, including a Hoyle's Rules of Card Games which is going back in the car along with a deck of cards in case of entertainment emergencies
A CD Case I thought I lost with my A-Bomb and Crazy mix CDs
A Black & Decker Jumpstarter AND the power cords for it. It is currently (haha) charging on my kitchen counter
About 10 towels that the hospital used to own
One crazy guy blanket
Two rain ponchos
Two emergency kits in a bottle that include rain ponchos
Three umbrellas of varying sizes and styles
Four coffee mugs
Three hats
Three unused notebooks
Rope
Five Bic Lighters
An 8-pack of AA batteries
Six ice scrapers, two with brushes, one with a mitt to keep your hand warm while you scrape
A recorder (not a "good" recorder. It's a $1 plastic one from IKEA, but serves in the event of a musical emergency)

I may have a line on the last known whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa, but I can't do anything about that until I figure out how many pairs of socks and of what color I need.

Back to packing.

I think the police call what you have in your trunk a "crime kit,"

Just pack a sweatshirt. You'll be fine.

When I was up there is was HOT - but that was the beginning of Aug.

have fun!!
PS - Reid state park is gorgeous

A sword & a coffee maker...Dang, I knew I forgot something.

Getting rid of all that will at least get you better gas mileage.

I can always buy a new fleece. Perhaps one with a moose embroidered on it.

I go outside in short shirtsleeves up through late December. I keep trying to tell JeepGirl that, but she doesn't listen, I think.

The other item I am wavering on is a swimsuit. She says there is one sand beach, and the water temperature is around 60.

Okay, I have found someone to pick up my mail and make sure my plants don't die.

I have an orchid which thrives on neglect, and a peace lily that likes a cup of water thrown at it every couple of days, and a dish garden the nuthouse sent me when momwolf passed.

JeepGirl's gentleman, JeepMan, will be attending to these duties. He has also been given instructions on how to use the video games, and how to leave treats out for the not-cat.

Maine beaches are for sun bathing, not access to water that's just warm enough for lobsters to survive. Mystic is fabulous, if it's not too crowded. You should hit Mystic on your way up, and Salem on your way back, so you can fill the car with potion ingredients. Eye of Newt doesn't travel well. :driving:

If I had made the travel arrangements, I might have done it that way.

I'm not sure Mystic is worth two nights, even if there is a cool aquarium. JeepGirl wants to do the beluga whale encounter thing. I've been considering the penguins. I will probably insist on going to see the Nautilus.

I went to my car dealer yesterday to get the wolfmobile checked out for the trip. I had a suspicion that I needed brakes, and wanted it tested for road worthiness. I sat in the dealership waiting room for a very short while when the nice lady came in and told me I was ready to go. What? Wait? All set? I can't be all set! You didn't come in and tell me what was wrong and how much it was going to cost to fix it ...

I didn't need brakes. They're fine. Probably still won't need them when it comes time for inspection.

Oil change, done.

Tire rotation, done.

Road check, done.

How much did it cost me?

ZERO* dollars.

I love my car dealer.
____________________
* It wasn't actually free-free, although that would have been nice. The car manufacturer has a loyalty card program, and you get spendable $$ every time you have service done on your car, which you can apply to future service, or to a future car purchase. I don't have the impulse control to let the points mount up enough to buy a car.

In Mystic, the Charles W. Morgan is well worth a visit, as are the whaling museum and village.

If you go to the museum/village in Mystic. Keep your eyes peeled for a scrimshaw dolphin jaw. It has my name on it. My real full legal name. Bizarre.

vandal.

In Mystic, there is an old arcade when you take a left off of the I-95 exit. I think they had some cool old games in there.

Also, as you go up I-95 towards Connecticut, there was a sign on the side of the road that said 'scenic overlook ahead'. I was thinking to myself, 'How scenic can something be to rate a sign like that' when we went past a break in the trees on the right and found a scenic overlook on the shoulder. It was at the corner of a bay facing a small cove or bay with fishing boats and old buildings. It was like a living postcard.

It might have been this one, but I remember the buildings as being much closer.

I know that overlook.

Is there a Mystic Pizza?

I eated it.