DAY SEVENTEEN

This morning I woke to a thick fog that had enveloped the campsite and my first thought was that I was glad to have gone on the whale watching voyage yesterday and not waited till today.
I was only a short distance from the US border and the "Land of Donald Trump" so I was crossing over around noon. The border guard asked me where I was from and then asked me to open the trailer. He walked in, checked the bathroom and walked out. That was it. Nothing about citrus, drugs, firearms or even why I was entering the US. I guess I didn't have to eat my last two grapefruits for breakfast after all.
The slogan for the state of Maine is "The way life should be". Pretty bold, eh?

I had decided before leaving Muskoka that I would rely on wifi in the US rather than have to buy a plan or find a SIM card dealer. It's a bit inconvenient but I do have the truck GPS for directions and my blogging is done in the evening over wifi.
Once I was on my way having just crossed the border I desperately needed to find a gas station. The border agent told me there was one just before I got on the freeway. It was so nice to fill the 135 litre (35 gal.) fuel tank for less than $100.
After about 45 minutes of freeway driving, I never once even saw a sign for a gas station so I was glad that I had stopped when I did.
My target today was the KOA Campground in Bar Harbor, Maine but when I pulled in I found that they were full. I also discovered their insane rates. The range was from $90 to $180 depending on different campsite options such as wanting a view or to be next to the water. Those kinds of things. I was pretty shocked thinking I could get a decent hotel room for that kind of money. Here's another one of those moments, you know, one door closes and another opens.
I asked the gal at KOA if she could point me in the direction of another campground. She said she wasn't from the area and didn't know of other campgrounds but just keep driving because they're everywhere. It sounded pretty sketchy a suggestion at the time but I actually wound up doing exactly that and found a very nice spot at Smuggler's Den. Not only do I have a choice site, very private, but I have water, electricity, sewer and.........wait for it.........cable TV.
I can finally watch the news.

 I figured it was too late to do much exploring so I booked two nights, unhooked the truck and drove down to the waterfront where all the action usually is.

This photo doesn't shoe the extent of the shoreline. I will add more photos tomorrow along with these here.
If you notice the background of the pic above, you'll see a giant cruise ship anchored out from shore because it's low tide.

There were these funny white and orange enclosed water taxis going to and from the cruise ship as passengers would come ashore and do what tourists do, shop and eat.

Here's a better picture of the wharf area. The entire bay is covered in yachts, big and small, anchored there with the protection of the harbor.

This is a party town for sure. The place is swarming with tourists. There are T-shirt shops and restaurants all selling lobster and seafood. There's nowhere to park, the sidewalks are chocabloc but there's a kind of frenzied energy I feel as I gaze in the window of another t-shirt shop.

I want to have a nice seafood dinner tomorrow night so I will return and see what I missed. The receptionist at Smuggler's Den suggested I take the shuttle up to Cadillac Mountain which I may do too if the weather holds.
Speaking of weather, it was 31'C (88'F) today driving here and then dropped off dramatically as I got closer to the ocean.
I love this camp site. Sweet dreams everyone.