USA, here we come!!

We were a little nervous on approaching the border crossing, which was very quiet. Although we had a B2 visa granted to us back in 2023, which on paper gives us 6 months in USA at any one time, over a 10 year, period, we had read that the length of stay was at the discretion of the border officer. Also, we had no official paperwork for Shaun, as we know other travellers in similar situations had not done so either. Anyway our fears were unfounded, a very serious border official gave us a 6 month stay, warning us not to go over by a day, as that is a very serious offence. 

One little mishap! We needed a form from Canada border control to say we had left, and we had driven right through their border without stopping. We must have been the quickest people to get into the USA and leave, 2 minutes and we entered back in Canada, and spent 20 minutes there getting the relevant paperwork. And yes, they let us back into USA, with no problems. 

So, into the USA and the first place on our list to visit was Acadia National Park, one of the busiest parks in the USA according to statistics. Yes, it was busy, we had one night on the Schoodic Peninsula, and then 2 nights near the main part of the park near Bar Harbor. We were really impressed with the organisation of this park. From the main visitor centre, they have free shuttle buses to take you into the park, and nearby towns and villages. Our first day there, we took our bikes into the park, roads were nice and wide and for the most part one way, so very cycle friendly. We cycled until we got tired and put our bikes on the free shuttle back to Shaun! The next day we used the shuttle bus from our campground to get to the start of our hike. This was a great hike, with great views, mixed terrain, and for the most part really quiet. After the hike we caught the shuttle bus into Bar Harbor, a very pretty but touristy town. Loads of places to eat and drink and buy the usual souvenirs. Of course, we had to go the Irish bar (2 of them), lol!

We wanted to go and visit Vermont. We had met a lovely couple, the Ackermans whilst in Nova Scotia, who we got into conversation with as they had admired Shaun. They run a maple syrup farm, and invited us to stay on their land. They live near Cabot, a farming community in Vermont. This was near a scenic driveway we wanted to do, Kancamagus Highway, so we combined the two. The scenery along the way was lovely, trees showing the start of fall, pretty rolling hills and lush fields full of cows, perfect for us. We were able to walk the Flume Gorge in Franconia National Park , a spectacular gorge walk.

Once with the Ackermans we were amazed at the complex process of producing maple syrup, and can see why real maple syrup is so expensive. We learnt that bears like to chew through the plastic tubes that are tapped into the trees to carry away the raw syrup! We loved meeting the Ackermans, who were so welcoming, people who are pursing their ‘American’ dream to pass on to their two young boys. Of course we bought some maple syrup, and it was delicious and we sent some back to Ireland for Steph and her family to enjoy.

Along the way we have been using Harvest Hosts, and boondockers, an organisation that allows RV’s to stay at small business, free if you support the business. Needless to say, we like the alcohol related ones, but also enjoy staying at boon dockers, just kind people who are probably RVers themselves that allow you to stay on their property. For us this a great way to meet local people and have real conversations. Learning about local culture is one of the reasons we travel, so this is perfect, and gives us safe places to stay too. We stayed a quite a few through Vermont and New Hampshire.

Next stop, Boston. On our way there we stopped at a great Harvest Host, the American Heritage Museum, a once private collection of American military equipment, think tanks! A nice peaceful night, parked up by tanks that were used for driving experiences.

See our next blog, Travelling Fast……. for the next step in our journey. Thanks for reading.