*tap, tap* Is this thing on?

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged  I’d actually forgotten my password!  (And yes, I know I haven’t TECHINCALLY finished blogging our last road trip which ended 13 months ago, but such is life) But we are back!  Annie and I set off this afternoon on a northward journey-destination Acadia National Park in Maine. From all accounts (and photos) it’s an absolutely breathtaking area, AND super dog-friendly, and it’s the one of the few things I regret not being able to pack into my journey last year (another biggie being Vancouver).

So we sallied forth from Reston and immediately ran smack dab into typical disastrously awful DC traffic. It took ages just to get to Maryland. Where we were greeted by this:

Not a good omen. But we persevered. Most of the drive was uneventful-typical boring Mid Atlantic highway travel. It was cool seeing the lights of NYC off in the distance though-always gives me a little jolt, and reminds me it’s been too long since my last visit.

Once we got past the city and all of its attendant hullaballoo I decided that my eyes wee growing weary, and even though we hadn’t covered quite the distance I’d hoped, it was time to make camp for the night, and with Siri’s help we found the closest pet-friendly, slightly seedy motel that was available (I do love a good slightly-seedy motel). Might be Motel Sixing, but it feels like Turks and Caicos.

I knew the place was a little rough around the edges, but I neve imagined they’d actually cater to Wildlings…

I walked into the lobby and was greeted with all manner of violence and destruction on CNN, but then the super-friendly desk clerk dude said: “There’s a pet fee, but we waived it,” and I decided to just focus on the kindness and generosity in the universe for the next nine days at least, and let the bad stuff sit on hold.

So Annie and I take a stroll around the sketchy parking lot for her evening ablutions, and she’s sniffing around a dumpster under a tree when I hear a weird voice from the shadows. I kind of ignore it, and it gets louder, and I am finally able to make out a woman squatting in a corner smoking a cigarette, and she says, “Watch out-I saw raccoons over there.” “OK, thanks.” “They attack people too…” So… that should make our stay a little more interesting…

So far I haven’t been able to recapture the magic of the Original Campervannie trip. But I do have my SheWee and my Selfie Stick, so I remain confident we can pull it off.