One of the most surreal moments of the tour happened within the first week, surprisingly. I guess that goes to show you how many beautiful places there are in the U.S. just around the corner.
After leaving Vermont, we headed east and rolled into White Mountain National Forest through the northern entrance near Gilead, Maine. We stopped the truck in the middle of the road that went along the Wild River to get a photo of the Airstream surrounded by green.
After I snapped the picture and brought the camera down, I immediately became aware of my surroundings: the birds singing, not a soul or car in sight, the freshest air I’ve ever smelled, the cool shade of the trees with sun occasionally poking through, and the peaceful sound of the flowing water. With a billion moving pieces constantly around us, there aren’t many things in the world that can be called perfect. I think I’m blessed to have experienced this moment of perfection.
And yes, at this point, we still didn’t have our permanent license plate for the trailer. But that’s another story for another time.
The next day we checked into Hid’n Pines Family Campground located just down the road from Old Orchard Beach Pier. On a side note, can we talk about American beach culture? What cultural phenomenon occurred that led every pier or coastal commercial areas to include the same t-shirt shops, tropical bars, and fried food joints? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing it. I’m genuinely curious as to what allowed this consistency to occur because isn’t it peculiar that no matter what water you’re near, salt, fresh, or even pool water, you are bound to come across the same neon t-shirts, elephant ears, and strawberry daiquiris from a slushy machine. Is this all an extension off of the surf culture that rose to popularity in the 1950s and ’60s? Someone please let me know.
Either way, we love water, so we were able to overlook some of the distractions and enjoy the sounds and smells of the waves crashing against the pier.
