This week has been action packed. Our first task at hand Monday morning in Vermont was to get the bus ready to ride, crank it up and park next to the church so we could add some water and hook up the Jeep.
Once we were finished and we had said a final goodbye to Bro. DiZazzo, we pulled out and started toward Maine. In the meantime, it had started raining. That would be the driving conditions most of the day.
There is no good route from northern Vermont to almost anywhere in Maine. HWY 2 is a truck route that goes across Vermont and New Hampshire and into Maine, but it is not fast. It is two lane all the way with curves, hills and a pile of small towns. We knew it would be slow going and we tried to get our minds into that gear.
We took 58 from Lowell to I-91 south. 58 is 16 miles of steep hills and it took us over 30 minutes to drive it. The next 33 miles were on I-91, but it is mountainous and impossible for me to make any time in the bus. In our first hour, we drove 43 miles.
In two hours we had gone 79 miles and the three hour mark put us at 119 miles. Are you detecting a slow pattern here?😇
At one point we encountered serious road construction. It was time for a bit of off-roading in the BoggsMobile. It was definitely not my favorite part of the day.
We knew that a place to stop for the night would be nearly impossible to find, so we pulled into an old time roadside rest like we used to stop at when I was a kid. We figured we could get by with parking for an hour or so and we did.
I used to love to stop at those places on state HWYs on the way to Kentucky or Florida. Dad and Mom would make sandwiches on the tailgate of the station wagon or truck. It was so much fun.
We rested there for about an hour and ate. At the five hour mark, we had driven 153 miles.
I snapped a picture of this Dynasty Buffet, in Gorham, New Hampshire. We ate there in 2014 while traveling in the opposite direction in the Green Machine. We stayed that trip in a motel next door.
We saw a few leaves beginning to change colors.
As we suspected, every possible stopping place was impossible and we pulled into Brooks Pentecostal Church in Brooks, Maine after 252 miles and eight hours and fifteen minutes total time. Whew!
It is 110 miles farther to drive mostly interstate way down south and back up. I am pretty sure I could drive it in about the same time.
It was so good to arrive in Brooks and get parked. Pastor Shaw met us there and welcomed us with open arms.
Honestly, I felt rough around the edges after the long and tedious drive. I was not sure I was going to bounce back quickly, but I rested good Monday night and started moving early Tuesday to make sure I was still alive.
We drove to the coast in Belfast and down through Lincolnville and Camden to Rockland. It was a relaxing day. Gorgeous!
After resting in the afternoon, we drove back to Belfast and sat on a bench by the harbor. It was beautiful. Here is one more picture from Tuesday evening and we will have more another day.
We came to Maine on our way from Vermont to Massachusetts to preach for Pastor Nathan Tinsely in Appleton. Pastor Shaw from Brooks asked us to preach for him on Wednesday night and offered his parking lot for us to park the bus. They were so kind to us.
Wednesday night at Brooks was fantastic. Bro. Shaw and his people received us warmly. Honestly, about halfway through the preaching it felt like I had been preaching to these folks for years. That is a wonderful feeling.
Pastor Matthew Shaw and Sis. Kim Shaw with our family.
We sure appreciate the kindness of the people in Brooks! This has been a beautiful place to park and is close to the Coast. They have invited us back and we are anxious to return at our first opportunity.
Breakfast
Thursday evening we drove about 35 minutes south to Appleton, Maine to preach for Pastor Nathan Tinsley. We have known the Tinsley family for many, many years and it was wonderful to preach for Bro. Nathan.
We did not drive straight to the church. We met the Tinsley's in Rockland at a great seafood place called Archer's. It was very good and we had a great time. Then we followed them to church for a wonderful service.
Wow! What a week! AND it is not over yet. There are more adventures to come. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us.
Davy
