Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Day 67 - Last Pass Passed!

We have had 4 straight days of climbing as we work through the Appalachian Mountains with one more day to go.  Today we execute the latest plan to get us to Portland ME on schedule August 19th. We are spending a rest day in Conway NH while a mechanic looks at the RV.  There is a steady climb as we cross Kancamagus Pass and from there it is downhill baby, all the way to Portland ME.  I tried to keep a slow steady cadence as I went up the mountain, closely watching my heart rate.  It's a good thing there were guardrail posts as if they weren't there it would have been tough to tell if I was moving.  If my heartrate started rising too fast I found that a convenient excuse to stop and take a picture of the beautiful landscape.  It happened quite a bit I must say.   

Though we will be spending the night in Conway, it was only a 37 mile ride from our last stop so we continued another 9 miles on to Fryeburg ME which will make the home stretch to Portland only 52 miles.  52 miles!  Did you notice the ME after Fryeburg?  We actually got to Maine! That is where we will pick up the route on Thursday.  

We stopped at Hilton Truck Repair following the ride to talk with the mechanic Keith.  I gave him the background on the RV's mechanical problems and about an hour and two cups of coffee later I asked if he had any questions.  His eyes glazed over a couple times but he seemed to get it.  I'm not overly optimistic that we will have success but we'll give Keith a chance to work his magic.  I told him I'm leaving Conway at 8 am Thursday regardless.  

August 17th is a special day for both Cheryl and I.  It is my late fathers birthday (he would have been 85 today) and the day Cheryl's father passed away in 1990.  Two wonderful men we miss dearly.  We drink Gin & Tonics to honor my dad and a Budweiser to honor Cheryl's dad.  We decided to have dinner and the beers at a place called "Almost There."  We figured that was appropriate considering where we stand with the ride.  Fantastic burgers.  "The Eagle" came highly recommended so I ordered it and it did not disappoint.  1/2 pound patty with bacon, carnalized opinions and BBQ sauce.  Yum.  Please do not tell my cardiologist.  

As I mentioned, we will hang out in the metropolis that is Conway NH (population 10,266).  They do have a movie theater but Black Widow is not playing!  Damn! We'll see what we feel like doing and play it by ear.


Until then....

4 comments:

  1. That Welcome Home to Maine sign must look good. You sure have had an amazing trip. Hard to believe there is only one day of riding (52 miles) left to go. Good luck with the RV diagnosis. Can't wait for tomorrow.

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  2. I did it again; commented as Vickiy. Whoops.

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  3. Woooooohoooo!!! Amazing journey Chris and thanks for sharing!!

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  4. Absolutely awesome. You are so close I bet you can taste it or maybe that's the Atlantic that you can taste. Make sure you continue posting on your route back so that we can see the continuing adventures of Chris and Cheryl.

    Scott

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