Crossing into the USA, camped at Whispering Pines for 2 nights, day trip Sunday

Camped at Whispering Pines, ME

 

A short drive to the border on an overcast day. I have to document a border crossing frustration here. The agent had us pulled over for inspection because we admitted to having a few slices of roast beef left in our fridge. They took that, and also confiscated an unopened frozen package of sausages we had carried all the way from home. They were just pork sausages, but the farm market label didn't specify that, so they were taken.

We try not to let this stuff get to us, as it could easily spoil the US experience if we let it. It sure is aggravating for us tourists though, and seems like such a waste of border security resources.

We found a Walmart in Calais, right beside a Super Saver grocery, so stocked up again. The stores are not on the main route to US#1, so likely get more local customers than travellers. 

Carrying on, we found a beautiful rest area park not far out of Calais, on US#1. It depicts Champlain's settlement on nearby St Croix Island. It seemed pretty new, and immaculate, with bronze statues, informative signs, and even a model of what the settlement would have looked like.  

 

Steady rain fell as we moved south on US1. Very busy around Ellsworth as usual. We were headed for a state park at Cambden, but after a nice stop at the Searsport marine and antiques, decided to head back to Whispering Pines, near Orland. Someone at the Aliner rally (Susan I think) had recommended it. 

It's a nice park, and we had a beautiful site right on the lake. It had electric hookups, but with little current capacity. We popped a breaker a couple of times before we were told the circuit is shared with other campers, and can't be used for anything heavy like our Griddler or toaster oven.

The circuit breaker culprit

 

The next day, Sunday, we headed out for a drive around the area, with a leisurely start. In a nearby town we withdrew some American cash, at a conversion rate that sure looks terrific in 2023.

On the way back north we took one of the side roads out on a peninsula. The day had turned sunny, the tide was out, lots of mud flats and shorebird activity. 

We stopped at a little seafood shack for lunch. We didn't want much, so just each got a haddock on a bun. It would have taken 3 buns to cover each piece of haddock:

When we returned to the trailer we found a lot of people had cleared out of the campground, this being Sunday evening. Now that other campers had left we were able to use our Griddler to cook up the rest of our bacon, without popping breakers this time.