Journal

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22

Left Provincetown (reluctantly), helped along by a beautiful day, sun glinting off the water, windy but not too cold. Let the dogs play in the sand dunes for a while, Mitchel is very fond of lying on her belly and sliding down the sand.

Found some good bike trails, foot trails, and fire roads to travel on -- and when those disappeared, walked along
Route 6, the road that bisects the cape and often offers views of the water on both sides.

Tonight we are camped in a little stand of trees, nestled in the dunes on the ocean side of Truro. Because it's Saturday night, the beach is getting some visitors, mostly just idling in the parking lot. Small towns on a Saturday night don't give you much to do, but at least they've got a great view in this one.

Posted by Linda on Sunday, November 23, 2003 at 18:09 Comments (0)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21

Greetings from the public library in beautiful (cold, gray, drizzly) Provincetown!

After all the fuss, it turns out P-town DOES have an Enterprise office...it's just a secret. Essentially, you go to the aiport and drop your key in this box that says "Enterprise."

Buster (good dog that he is) chose yesterday to start limping, so I have an excuse to stay another day here and do some exploring. And laundry. I had thought I'd been to Provincetown before, but now that I'm here, nothing looks familiar. I've got some maps of the National Seashore and it looks like we may be able to walk on the beach for the first time in a long time.

Add Provincetown to the list of "firsties." According to the people at the Pilgrim Monument, P-town was the site of the "first landing" of the Mayflower. Apparently, the pilgrims landed after TWO MONTHS at a sea, but decided, what the heck, let's go a little farther, and departed for Plymouth. What were they thinking?

Had a lovely (LOBSTER!) dinner with Catherine Z., who is living in Provincetown year-round. She knows everyone in town (as well as every good restaurant) and is living the life the rest of us just dream about.

Posted by Linda on Friday, November 21, 2003 at 14:23 Comments (1)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20

Woke this morning to the sound of rain. Serious rain. Snuggled inside my dry, warm sleeping bag, inside my (mostly) dry tent, I find it very hard to come up with a reason to move.

The park we're camped in is home to the Gloucester Visitors Center which -- although it is closed for the season -- offerred a few brochures by the door. I'd read through all of them and couldn't find any information on ferries, so this morning I called the Chamber of Commerce and explained that I had a map showing ferries running out of Gloucester to P-Town. "We've been trying to change those maps for 10 years," they told me. There are no ferries out of Gloucester.

Next call to Enterprise which allows you to rent one-way within the state. After confirming that Provincetown is, indeed, still within the state, Enterprise agreed to lend me a car. Packed up and headed back into town.

It's always fun to see -- in the light of day -- a rogue campsite that I found in the night. Apparently, we spent the night on the spot -- THE EXACT SPOT -- upon which was founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This brings to mind a question that I have not had answered satisfactorily in my visits to St. Augustine, Jamestown, Plymouth, and now Gloucester: They couldn't ALL be the first settlement in the new world, but each of them claims some piece of that "firstness." Any history majors out there want to sort out the competing claims for me?

Walking out of the park, we passed a gaggle of 7th graders who had skipped school to smoke cigarettes and rap -- bad Eminem imitations all around, but in truth, it made me laugh. They were intrigued by the whole Chariot/homeless/slept in the park thing so I'm sure I was just as entertaining to them as they were to me.

Wandered the streets of Gloucester for an inordinately long time, trying to follow one of the worst maps ever written ("Let's take the tourists past every store in town!") I had collected a bunch of buoys over the past few days for Michaela and with them hanging all over the Chariot, I looked...well...insane. Honestly, people were crossing the street to avoid me. Tomorrow, I'm UPSing them. The good news is, I'll get to visit them all again when I get to Rehoboth :)

Got the rental car and drove through Boston -- yowza, there's a mess -- and on up the Cape. Traffic and rain conspired to turn the drive into a three-hour ordeal that made me grateful I walk most places. Halfway through the drive, realized I needed the address for Enterprise in P-town so I could drop off the rental. Called Enterprise. They don't have a rental office in P-town. I may just steal their car to teach them not to be such idiots.

Posted by Linda on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 20:54 Comments (0)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

Does anyone remember the Dr. Seuss creature whose tail is so long, he bites it at night before he falls asleep and by the time the pain reaches his brain, it wakes him up -- thereby serving as his alarm clock? Buster just sat on the new propane heater (yes, it was lit) and I had to drag him off it because he didn't seem to notice...

We're in Gloucester, rogue camping on bluffs overlooking the harbor. For the first time, I've had to stake out the tent from necessity. Usually, I just do it because Kristie told me to when she taught me how to set up the tent. Setting up a tent in gusty winds is F.U.N. fun! Finally had to put the dogs inside to hold it down while I ran the poles through. Just this morning, I was lamenting the end of rogue camping -- we're in the suburbs of Boston now and while there are trees, there are not enough to hide a tent in. And yet...

The road from Ipswich to Gloucester was terrible, under construction (the flagmen never know what to do with us -- usually they just stop traffic in BOTH directions and let us pass. This makes us very popular with the drivers waiting to get by. I try to make a good-faith show of "hurrying" but Buster gets so excited at the sight of men and trucks that he wants to slow down and make friends...)

Yesterday and today, we have been walking along side The Great Salt Marsh, or as I like to call it, The Reason There's No Beach. This, apparently is one of the largest salt marshes left in the country, stretching from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. It gives the region a melancholy look...and smell. Besides the Olde English names to everything here, there's a feeling of old. Every house you walk by has a 17th or 18th century date above the door. The strange thing is that many of these places are in disrepair -- still inhabited but not treated any better than a double-wide. Antiques are a big business, of course. Essex seemed to have an antique shop in every other house -- and no other visible industry in town.

We walked into Gloucester just after dark. Turned onto the main street and asked at the convenience store about lodging. The clerk said that all the hotels in town were on the road we just came into town on -- and none of them had seemed open as we passed. Instead, we headed away from "downtown" to Stage Fort Park, which seems to be where all the good folk of Gloucester walk their dogs and/or make out. We're tucked away behind an enormous rock (really, the size of a house) with a plaque which I'll need to read in the light of day (something about the Massachsetts Bay Colony). We've got a sweeping view of the harbor and the lighthouse. Just down the hill from us sits a cop in his car. He's more focused on the people who pull into the parking lot, but if he looks behind him, we're busted. I don't think it should be a crime to sleep out under the stars. Perhaps we'll see if he agrees...

Tonight, I ate some Ramen noodles that I've been carrying around with me for the past six weeks. The noodles have mostly been crushed into powder and I made it a little too watery (forgot to pack a measuring cup in the Chariot) but it was HOT. HOT because I have a working stove. I also have a working heater, so the tent is toasty (and I don't know what all the fuss is about carbon monoxide fumes...put the dogs right to sleep.) The wind is howling, but even after clouds all day, no rain, We are warm, dry, full, and verrrryyyyy sleepy.

My good pal, The Weasel, sent me pictures of serial killers. Actually, it's a quiz to see if you can differentiate between serial killers and computer programmers: http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz/

First of all, I'd like to thank you, Weasel -- because I LOVE looking at pictures of serial killers just before I fall asleep alone in my dark tent...Fortunately, I scored well on the quiz so have every confidence that I can hit the road again tomorrow, safe in my killer-identifying abilities...

Posted by Linda on Wednesday, November 19, 2003 at 19:52 Comments (4)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18

. *** PLEASE NOTE ***

Due to the recent unpleasantness with the Portland Herald (which will henceforth be known as the "PHoul Up"), the WOML site has been down for two weeks. Each day from now on, I will post one entry -- but please note that each entry will be two weeks old on the day I post it. I'm not thrilled about losing the "immediacy" of posting, but I hope you will understand why this is necessary for my peace of mind. I look forward to hearing from you all again.

*************************************

Salisbury to Ipswich -- beautiful day, good roads. Unfortunately, soon after Newburyport, we had to leave the Atlantic and turn inland to walk through farmland all day with nary a glance at the water.

With the addition of some new winter clothes, the propane heater, and the propane stove (Stove Number Three for anyone keeping track), the Chariot is seriously overloaded. I had to close the front cover with bungee cord. While trekking, I had really hoped to avoid looking homeless, but clearly, I've crossed some sort of line. Today, for the first time, when I stopped to ask directions, the person I asked ignored me and kept walking. It's a very strange feeling, especially since I have done the same...

Just after nightfall, we reached Ipswich -- a town too large to have rogue campsites but too small to have much by way of motels. Stopped, fed the beasts, and kept walking to the other side of town where I stumbled across the Whittier Motel which a) was on our side of the street, b) allows dogs, and b) has a pizza place nearby that delivers. We stopped.

Posted by Linda on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 01:36 Comments (4)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Woke up to more rain. Hey, isn't this an odd-numbered day? Doesn't that mean it's supposed to be gorgeous out? Nonetheless, loved our little campsite on Barters Creek. The park we're in is closed for the season. The gates are locked. The picnic tables are turned upside down. The bathroom doors are nailed shut. They've even removed the sign that gives the name of the park Closed. Very, very closed. There is a near-island (an island at high-tide, a peninsula at low tide) that extends out into the creek. I really, REALLY wanted to camp on that island last night, but could not get the Chariot anywhere near it. Had to settle for taking pictures of it.

Walked through drizzle all day, circling Portsmouth Navy Shipyard, which sits on an island in Portsmouth Harbor. In the fog, the shipyard was just a collection of strange shapes. The fog also distorted sound -- we could hear PA announcements, not words just disembodied voices, which seemed to come from all around us.

Coming over the bridge from Kittery Foreside into Portsmouth, I readied my camera for the Money Shot: a sign welcoming me to New Hampshire. No sign. No welcome. There was a "Welcome to Portsmouth" sign, but that was not quite as satisfactory.

Mitchel (today's favorite dog), rolled in a dead skunk. Could someone PLEASE remind me why I brought them along? While I was rinsing her off in the harbor, we stumbled across dozens of golf balls on an empty beach. At first, I thought someone must have been practicing sand shots. But the beach was covered with rocks...Finally looked up and saw -- a couple hundred yards across the harbor -- two Coast Guard cutters docked at the shipyard. I think the Coasties have been working on their driving!

I had hoped -- new state and all -- that there might be a renewed commitment to shoulders on roads, but New Hampshire seems no more willing than Maine to extend the asphalt past the white line on the outside edge. Nonetheless, walked through some lovely little towns, crossed several bridges, and passed a (I'm told) famous resort, Wentworth by the Sea. Ah...but then: Ordiorne State Park. Site of New Hampshire's first English colony, with lovely coastal views and -- YES! -- a wide pathway, separated from the road by a fence. The dogs were off-leash and deliriously happy. I was off-leash and deliriously happy.

By the time we got around to Wallis Sands, it was raining harder -- and rogue campsites were nowhere in site as we had entered another beach resort. Stopped in at Petey's Red Rood Market for dog food (I'm always buying dog food) and directions. The wonderful woman who runs Petey's called around until she found a motel that took dogs and got me a ride there. Another woman who was in the store must have overheard part of the conversation and seemed very concerned. It's a fine line between "homeless" and "hiking" and I'm not sure she understood that I was outside by choice! Anyway, they couldn't have been nicer. The dogs and I got a ride to the motel from a nice man whose hobby is to trap all the skunks in the neighborhood and release them up in the state park before they get run over and stink up the town!

Got to the motel and an otherwise nice day ended badly: Discovered that the Portland Herald had published my pictures and the WOML Web site address on the front page of its paper (circulation 70,000) and on the home page of its Web site. I had to call a dozen different numbers before I got hold of someone at the paper who wanted to tell me what an inconvenience it was for him to have to go into the office and remove my personal information from their Web site. The reporter to whom I gave the interview has not returned my phone calls. I checked their site again this morning and my WOML address is gone -- but the pics are still there. I feel so burned by these people that I want ALL pictures and mentions removed. I've fired off a series of nastygrams -- none of which have been answered to date.

When the Herald published my Web site address, I was innundated with e-mail and phone calls. The GREAT majority of the e-mails were wonderful. However, there were a few e-mails I would describe as "creepy." Again, trying to exercise some common sense, I decided it would be best if I took my Web site offline for awhile.

Posted by Linda on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 01:28 Comments (0)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Yesterday being beautiful, today must -- of course -- be otherwise. Colder,and drizzly all day. Woke in our campsite at the rich people's beach, surprised that the cops hadn't been sent to bounce us at first light. Nonetheless, we didn't linger and test the patience of the neighbors. I envisioned them all standing at their windows, sipping coffee and watching me pack up camp, nervously fingering the panic buttons on their phones in case I should make a break for one of the houses.

In York, met up with another photographer from the Portland Herald (Hi, Jill!) whose assignment was to take "action shots" of us on the road. Fortunately, we were nearing the famous lighthouse at Cape Neddick (you'll recognize it from a bunch of TV commercials) so there was some great scenery in the background. I, of course, felt like a complete idiot -- even though Jill was very nice about it. I found it very hard to do "naturally" this thing that I do all day everyday. Suddenly, someone's pointing a camera at me and I can't remember how to walk.

60 and drizzly being the closest thing they get to Indian Summer, all the citizens of York, Maine, were at the beach. Honestly. PEOPLE WERE SWIMMING. People were also surfing, snorkeling, horseback riding, and parasailing. It was like...like...like a day at the beach or something. We got in the spirit of it and did some frolicking, but then hit the road.

Stopped very early -- only about 4. But we are in Kittery and approaching Portsmouth, and I was afraid we would run out of rogue campsites when we hit The Big City. Let's pause for a moment to reflect on this fact: Tonight will be my last night in Maine. It's taken me four weeks.

Posted by Linda on Sunday, November 02, 2003 at 18:54 Comments (6)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1

OK, even the most reticent Mainees are talking about the weather. Clear, sunny, and SEVENTY-ONE DEGREES. That's right folks, a one-layer day and didn't expect to see one of those until Key West.

We got totally HOSED by the Elmwood Inn (boo, hiss) which charged $1 per MINUTE for local calls -- so all day yesterday when I was online with tech support and uploading the journal, I was getting HOSED. Are you ready? $120 in "local" charges. I'm tempted to write a book about this trek just so I can say mean things about them. I didn't feel a bit bad about having two dogs staying in their "no-pets-on-the-premises" establishment.

I was so mad, I had to go to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, just to make myself feel better.

First stop was Moody Beach, a nice little community where the houses are only two-deep (ocean side, marsh side) so a nice quiet road for us to walk on with great views (water on my left/water on my right). Apparently, everyone in Moody owns a dog, and everyone who owns a dog walks it on the street because it took Buster TWO HOURS to sniff his way out of town. Mitchel found a tennis ball, which she carried for a couple of blocks. When she got tired of carrying it, she just sat down and barked at it until I picked it up. So now I'm carrying it.

Unfortunately, we keep having to get back on Route 1 -- which is always unpleasant, like walking on a freeway.

Next stop was Ogunquit, which was just as charming as I had heard it would be. It was also, however, crowded like only a quaint-seaside-town-on-an-unexpectedly-warm-Saturday can be. I found a side street and tied the dogs to the Chariot then wandered the streets. For the first time since I started this trek, I found I've been missing books. I hadn't planned on carrying any but I seem to be getting over my it's-too-heavy phobia because not only did I buy a book ("The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary" -- how could I resist?) but also bought peanut butter, fig newtons, a pear, and a rare-roast-beef-and-blue-cheese sub. By the way, as I was pitching the tent tonight, Buster ate the half of the sub that I had been saving for tonight. Ate it, paper and all. He's very special to me right now. Instead, I'll be enjoying a delicious concoction I call, "Stove-broke Soup." (Mix one packet of dried Miso Soup mix with one packet of tuna.)

Anyway, even though it's only a paperback, this book weighs as much as an iPod, so I think it's time I got one. I actually passed an iPod dealer in Saco, but wasn't feeling the need just then. What are the chances there will be another seaside iPod dealer in the next couple of days?

Out of Ogunquit, took the scenic Shore Road, which winds along the cliff tops, following the coastline. A total nightmare. No shoulder, hairpin curves, and lousy with tourists who were more focused on the view than on driving. We took to waiting for a car to pass, then running around the next blind bend in hopes of beating the next car. And you know what a fast runner I am...Everytime I took off running, Buster and Mitchel looked at me like I was crazy. On the way out of town, a nice woman had stopped us to chat and -- after hearing the whole story -- gave me a four-leaf clover for good luck. She must have known what the road ahead looked like...

OK, inside the tent. Just killed a mosquito. Have also killed a few ticks, which is thought-provoking, as we walk ever nearer to Lyme, Ct.

For the last few nights, we've been walking until dark. I'm feeling good enough about my tent-erecting skills that I no longer need full-sun to make camp. However, given the risky road and the psychic toll from playing chicken all afternoon, we quit around 5:30. Took a little side road, Agamenticus Avenue. It's ironic, of course, because as everyone knows, Agamenticus was the legendary Spartan warrior/king whose exploits are celebrated in the epic poem by...OK, I have no idea who Agamenticus was. Nice houses, though. So nice that I'm sure the police have been called already -- we trespassed to reach the beach and are camped on a rocky ledge above a small cove. I've pitched the tent with the "window" facing the moon, and on the horizon of the otherwise-black ocean, we can see lights from a few ships. I'm hoping we're above the high-tide mark...

Posted by Linda on Saturday, November 01, 2003 at 19:40 Comments (2)

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