Update 24: W. Scarborough ME

Update 24: W. Scarborough Aug. 24-27

The West Scarborough destination allowed us to travel both to the NW side of Maine and to the SE coastal villages. When I booked reservations at Bayley's I didn't realize that it was a NASCAR resort.  NASCAR = PARTY   The resort includes a variety of activities especially for young teens and is often loaded with noisy kids. This park rented bikes and pedal carts, showed films, had two swimming pools, a large playground, basketball courts, younger kid events and offered group sites to corporations. The price per night reflected the amenities.  I vowed to not stay in a NASCAR resort again. However today I just booked our New Jersey site in Cape May.  Lucky us they had a "deal" going where we got 3 nights for the price of one. We will be there six days, and they gave us the deal for each 3 nights.  Yahoo!  One of the plus factors for Bayley's included the new "Big Rigs" sites away from the busy parts of the campground and looking at a lovely pond.  The roads allowed easy access to the extra large widths and lengths.

A light rain fell from the overcast sky as we headed northwest of Portland, ME for a place called Grafton Notch.  Pioneers to the New England area thought the way the mountain ranges touched each other resembled the "notch" an axe makes in a piece of wood.  Thus, "notch" means a pass or a gap between mountain ranges. We traveled through several ski area on our way to this part of NW Maine. This highway is used by people getting to New Hampshire, just a few miles away, or those going to Quebec a few miles further north.

 In the Grafton Notch we stopped at Screw Auger Falls. The water in Bear River drops over granite ledges.  Over the years the water gouged out round, concave areas in the rock that resemble holes bored out with an auger.


 Another stop labeled other Walker's Falls, didn't flow over a ledge as one giant cascade of water, but the river created a series of small falls as it tumbled down the incline.

 In Moose Cave, the cave developed when a giant block of granite fell from the lower part of the canyon wall.  When someone found a stranded moose caught in the cave, the name became Moose Cave. We found a spot along the road to eat our lunch, while rain pitter- pattered on the roof of the car. The road to and from Grafton Notch became an adventure in itself. Roads that travel straight from one destination to another are rare in New England.


Old Orchard Beach, just a couple of miles from the campground, reminded us of Seaside, Oregon.
The busy beach atmosphere, shops and amusements make Old Orchard a popular destination. A carnival, complete with Ferris wheel and roller coaster, occupies several blocks just off the strip.Twice a week fireworks shoot into the air to delight the visitors. We heard the loud pops and then watched the fireworks over the top of the trees in the resort. 

The strip offers beach stores, gift shops, a large arcade, and places to eat.  Like Long Beach the main road runs parallel to the beach but about a block off the sand. Short side streets with 4-6 homes run between the main road and the beach.  People access the beach at the end of the short roads. Miles and miles of beachfront belongs to hotels, inns and restaurants.These three and four storied lodging places also reminded us of Seaside.

Saco, ME provides the small surrounding towns with big town amenities like Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, known fast food places, etc. The downtown must have been a manufacturing center in the past. Today  the 4-5 story old brick plants buildings house small businesses.  Saco surrounds the end of  their harbor. The coast roads follow the many fingered bits of land on one peninsula, then return to the main highway, like the one passing through Saco, before it breaks off again to go around the next peninsula. The peninsula south of Saco includes the town of Kennebunkport.

We knew President George H. Bush and Barbara kept a summer home here, but laughed at the odds of finding it. We marvel at the many big and lovely homes. Along Beach Drive we noted a lovely home on a rocky spit of land where the Atlantic lashed against the ocean side sending spray into the air. An American flag stood prominently in front of the entry we observed.

The waves continued around the point and washed into the small cove behind the house where several small boats bobbed in their moorage. 

Besides the house we noted the people standing along Beach Drive, cameras in hand.  We stopped too. The people confirmed that the lovely Tudor house and other buildings in the compound constituted the Bush home.

A man came in and out of the house loading luggage into a white SUV. Then the man returned with a woman. They conferred with another man and finished loading the car. I snapped a photo. Enlarging the image in view finder, I found myself looking at George W. and Laura Bush. What a surprise! 

Access to the compound happens through a very substantial gate. It was fun to happen upon the house and then to see part of the family. 

We continued back around to downtown Kennebunkport to explore a few of the shops. Alysson's restaurant provided us with an exceptionally good lunch.

We enjoyed the village of Kennebunkport.

Next stop Wells Beach. Sloughs and salt marshes fill in behind the sand bars making the road feel like a causeway. Approaching Wells Beach the skyline of large buildings reminded me of arriving at South Padre Island. The causeway road leads to a circle where public parking is available if one could be lucky to find a place. The circle continues around and leads to Atlantic Street. Atlantic runs the length of the sand bar. Large homes, some owned, some rented,  squeeze into all available land on each side of the street. Homes appear to have about 4-5 feet between them.  In this "open" space numbered lanes provide Public Access to the beach. Signs direct RV parking down this road.  Then the road ends in a parking lot. We had to let the attendant know we just needed to turn around.  Parking cost $10-$15. The homes to the east face the Atlantic Ocean; those on the west face a slough.   Part way down a secondary road lies parallel to Atlantic Street, allowing another row of houses across from the west side homes. We drove as far south as York Beach before heading home.

Next stop: New Hampshire