Part 3: Highway of Relatives

• Continuing the "Highway of Relatives" along US20 heading east through Ohio, New York, Massachusetts and then on to Maine, we first stopped to see Rhonda's grandparents Grandma and Grandpa "S" in Archibold, Ohio. Then we were off to see my Uncle David and his dog Barley in Elyria, OH, then up to Western New York state to see my Aunt Jo, Lisa, Jodi and my Uncle Paul from the other side of my family. Of course we went out to dinner to Bourbon & Burger for some of the best burgers around the area. My second cousin Michael is co-owner of B&B and recently opened another restaurant called Casa Del Taco, which is similar to a Chipotle or Baja Fresh found in other parts of the country.
• We visited my mother's grave in Wyoming, NY and planted some bulbs that will hopefully come up in the spring. After digging all around her memorial stone we may not have improved the looks much right now, but I'm sure it will fill back in again in the spring.

• Of course we had to visit my mother's side of the family, the Welch side and stop at the vegetable stand and pick up some quarts of their best maple syrup (http://www.welchsmaple.com/). The maple syrup business seems to be going really well as Chuck was loading boxes of syrup to be shipped all over the country from North Carolina to California.
• Next we were off to Boston to see my Aunt Carol and her Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog, Cal. We also went out for dinner to an old, cozy Irish pub called Doyle's for some beers and sandwiches (http://www.doylescafeboston.com/). It was my kind of place, similar to some of the places we like to frequent back in Portland.
• On the way up to Acadia in Maine, we stopped and stayed for a couple days in Portland, Maine. While on opposite coasts, we found quite a few similarities to the look and feel of Portland, Oregon. They have lots of good bars and restaurants, a few brewpubs and an active waterfront to explore. We took some time to do brewery tours of both Allagash and Shipyard brewing. The two could not be more different with Allagash focusing on high-end complex Belgian Beers (www.allagash.com/‎). They have a beer called Curieux aged in bourbon barrels that sells for a wopping $18 a bottle. Shipyard on the other hand is more of a macro-brew that produces an assortment of everyday drinking beers you can find in most supermarkets up that way (www.shipyard.com/). We also got to check out a local Irish Pub called Brian's Boru that served up one of the best steak sandwiches I have had (http://www.brianborupub.com/).
• We arrived in Acadia while the government shutdown was still underway. Suprisingly, even areas of the park that are normally open to the public without even an entrance fee were actually barricaded, so we didn't see as much of the park as we would have liked to. However people got to eat and drink, so as usual we found some other local attractions we could partake in. Atlantic Brewing on the north side of Mt. Desert Island is a small brewery but really works hard at putting together a fun interactive brewery tour, which seems to help them sell copious amounts of beer as well (www.atlanticbrewing.com/‎). They partner with Mainely Meat to provide food at the brewery, which was a good combination since their rack of ribs were some of the best I have had (http://mainelymeatbbq.homestead.com/Index.html).

 

Nemo's - a funky eatery on the west side of Mt. Desert Island

• Our return to Indiana was uneventful since we did it in two days; lots of driving and not much else. After another week or two doing daytrips and helping with some projects around Rhonda's parents house, we heard the weatherman calling for the first snow of the season since it was now late October, so we knew it was time to hook up the trailer and head south.
• We first stopped at Carter Caves in Eastern Kentucky based on some advice from fellow RVers ( Thanks to Kennen & Terri Shafer) that had stayed there. The area is full of caves and rocky canyons to hike through. The highlight of our stop was short hikes to a few of the natural arches that have formed. We only stayed two days because we knew we wanted to be getting farther south. 

Natural Arch at Carter Caves State Park