Maine in August -- CANCELLED!

[Eagle]

Between logistics and what was appearing like very low attendance, RJ and I decided to pull the plug on this event.

Plan B is currently being formulated. What we have in mind is less hard-core wheeling and more a combination of BBQ, meet-&-greet, and fall foliage tour. The idea is to focus a weekend of camping and Maine shoreline beauty at Bass Harbor camp ground, which is on Mount Desert Island and only a few miles from Acadia National Park. There is no hard-core wheeling in the area, but Acadia is a spectacular place, late October should have some foliage, and we should be able to have a real down-east feed at one of the local lobster pounds -- maybe even on the dock in Southwest Harbor if they're still open in October.

At this point we're looking at late October, to give Moab attendees time to get back to the crowded east coast. This would be a great opportunity to show some chapter spirit and have folks from PA, NJ, NY and CT meet some of our brethren from Maine and points north. I hope many of you will make an effort to attend.

RJ says the camp ground has tent sites, tent platforms, and even some cabins. I don't think there are any motels in Bass Harbor itself, but there are motels on the island within a few miles, and many a bit farther away in Bar Harbor.

Be there or be square (as they say).

[Mike in NJ]

Well, as much as I am disappointed about the 16th, I have to say I LIKE this plan - Bass Harbor is a very nice place and this could work out very well (Heck, even if I break something in Utah I'll just throw the camping stuff in one of the other ones and head up).

Lobster-fest under the glow of the Bass Harbor lighthouse . . . . can't beat it!!! :D

Mike in NJ :patriot:

[sidriptide]

i think thats a great plan... and 1 less thing i have to squeeze into the summer schedule.. once again.. pencil mikey in..
mike

[Grizzley]

Excellent back-up plan! The sooner the date is set, the better for me so I can swap things around at work. Don't want to miss this one.

[TOZOVR]

There's actually a motel just down the street....Seawall Motel...great folks there!

www.bassharbor.com is my parents site.

As an aside, I will be running MT Abbot on the 16'th and will be camping on the Mt that night. Just now it will be me and anyone (few Rovers have already committed).


RJ

[Eagle]

I forgot there's a motel at Seawall. The motel is right across the street from the ocean. I don't remember how the building is oriented so I don't know if any of the rooms have an ocean view, but if you walk across the road you're standing on what's called a "cobble" beach.

[TOZOVR]

hehehe, I know someone who drove on that once...LOL...not many people to testify in January;)

[Centrevillemx]

I was just at acadia last week, didn't kno there was wheeling there tho. Just a drive up the mountain on paved roads. Bar Harbor will require about an hour to drive through because of tourists. While your there you might check out the CAT: A Giant Catamaran that hauls people on near luxury liner conditions with their cars to nova scotia, but if you don't bring you car don't bother, we ended up walking around town all day watching the funny canadian people........

[TOZOVR]

No wheeling on the island really.

The CAT RULES!

[Eagle]

Originally posted by Centrevillemx
Bar Harbor will require about an hour to drive through because of tourists.

Bar Harbor is best avoided between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but by October 90% of the tourists are gone and some of the shops and businesses will be closed or closing for the winter. At that time of year it's a nice little village.

[Moto]

Count me in for sure! For all those that want to stay in a hotel or something there are lots of them up in that area if you don't mind driving i dunno 20 - 30 min away. By late october the lobster up there should be starting to harden thier new shells and lose some of the water that you usually find in late summer lobsters, best part is they will be Cheap, so it sounds like even if there isnt a whole lot of wheeling, the food and the views will be worth the trip.

[Eagle]

The weekend of October 25 & 26 will be two weeks after Earle's annual Columbus Day rain-fest :) at North Adams, Massachusetts, and should be late enough to get all the Moab folks home again. It's also a week before Halloween, for those who might have wee ones to take trick-or-treating.

Shall we pencil in October 25 & 26? We can probably find things to do on Friday and Monday as well, for those who can arrive early or hang around.

For those traveling to Maine for the first time, you'll probably want to make the obligatory stop in Freeport to see the L.L. Bean store. And just a couple of miles south from L.L. on Route 1 is the headquarters of the DeLorme Company (the map, atlas, and gazeteer folks). They have a huge store full of maps, books, and mapping software with demo versions on running computers to try out.

RJ -- does this sound like an okay date? Can the camp ground take us that weekend?

[Larry]

I've never been to Maine before but I'm renting a cottage in Boothbay Harbor from the 16th to the 23rd of August. I can't wait. Everybody I know who has been up there says it's great. Maybe a return trip in October will be even better.

[TOZOVR]

I'll talk to my dad and post ASAP.

[sidriptide]

damn.... october is filling up as fast as my summer schedule did!!! i think maine will be a nice leg-stretcher for the trail rig since it's not going to MOAB with me... how close is that weekend to the folige "peak" ?? i know its a lil hard to tell this early though..
mike

[cherokeekid95]

I'm hailing from PA and that weekend looks like at this point that its gonna work.:)

[dgmachinist]

Count me in....
I won't be able to do the whole weekend, but since I live in Maine, I'll be able to swing up on what ever day the most events are happening...just pm me.

Maybe that will give me a chance to get my Jeep up to par.


Seth

[Kyle96XJ02KJ]

Originally posted by cherokeekid95
I'm hailing from PA and that weekend looks like at this point that its gonna work.:)

not sure who you are but i'll go up if somebody around here goes .. think i can put the textbooks down for a weekend in october :cool:

[cherokeekid95]

etters?? where about? I grew up there! wait don't wanna steal the thread PM me;)

[TOZOVR]

k folks, just so we're clear...there won't be any wheeling! Just relaxing and drinking of Meade and Beer and whatever else you folks would like!

[Eagle]

We could go out on the timber company's haul road north of Ellsworth and see what kind of trails branch off from that, but in general there isn't much (if any) "wheeling" in this part of Maine, and none on Mount Desert Island.

As RJ posted, this particular affair isn't intended as a wheeling weekend so much as a chance for a bunch of us to get together in a beautiful spot and chew the fat before we all hibernate for the winter. There are recreational activities all over the island. Some of the more touristy things will be closed for the season, but Acadia National Park is always there and it's much nicer after Labor Day. Nobody put together a BBQ for this year, so this will be it.

[Eagle]

Almost forgot --

A major reason for holding this event is to create an opportunity for chapter members to meet each other. Many of our members from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and more southern states have met at chapter events at paragon or Rausch Creek, or at one or more of the chapter BBQs. Most of those events, however, have been too far for our members from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to attend.

But we are one chapter, and it would be nice for members to meet the people behind the names you see on the screen. And I think it's important for the members from northern New England to know that the chapter wants to serve you just as much as those from the southern part of our region.

This is a chance for as many members as possible to get together and do some networking, brainstorming, whatever you want to call it. We can only run Paragon and Rausch Creek so many times before it gets to be boring. We are looking for other places to wheel, as well as to meet our northern neighbors.

For those from the southern and central parts of our region who wonder why we never see the folks from the frozen north, just remember that it works both ways. A couple of years ago I remember a lot of discussion at a BBQ about "Why don't we do something in Maine?" Here's a chance to meet some of the folks from "down east" and find out what's available in Maine, and maybe make some plans for a wheeling event or two next year.

I sincerely hope that folks from New jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and points south will try to make it to this shindig to show our northern brethren that we care about them. This is, after all, the "North Atlantic Chapter" of NAXJA, not the "NJ/PA Chapter."

Okay -- soapbox mode off [/sermon]

[Moto]

Hows the camping situation gonna work, are we going to take a list to see who and how many are going and reserve it as a group thing if possible or should we be responsible for ourselves and start making reservations now?

[Centrevillemx]

One word of advice: STAY AWAY FROM MOOSEHEAD LAGER! Other than Harley Beer, this is the worst stuff ever fermented!

[Moto]

There is an awesome little brewery up there called Atlantic Brewing, they make some good brew, and every weekend they have an all you can eat BBQ. I don't know if that will still be going on when we are up that way but it is pretty cool.

Any more info yet on the camping situation?

[cherokeekid95]

:cheers: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm BEEEEER!!!:cheers:

[TOZOVR]

OK folks...Camping is Free....if you want a cabin we'll get you a discount...
http://www.bassharbor.com


RJ (the one not listed on the site LOL!)

[Eagle]

WOW!

Thanks to you and your folks. Now ... if we can just get a few people to show up and take advantage (in the good sense :) ) of your folks' hospitality, I think it could be a good weekend.

RJ -- check your PMs, I'll be sending a message in a few minutes.

[Moto]

Awesome deal! Thanks for hooking us up like that!, sounds like it will be an awesome time.... can't wait to go.

[Grizzley]

Great deal, thanks RJ! Do we need to make any type of reservations with the campgrounds so they know how many are coming or are you going to handle that?

[TOZOVR]

Yep, go ahead and call and tell them you're with the Jeep Group...my dad will proceded to talk your ear off or bust yer ball$ and then give you a campsite:D

1-800-327-5857 is the number!

This will be fun!!!

[TOZOVR]

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