The Gunther Fest

    We got on the road early Friday from St Andrews.  With fuel in Canada being a bit more expensive than in the US, I was playing games with how empty the truck could be.  I had also already put in one of the extra gas cans from the back of the truck, and the other probably had only 2 or 3 gals (20-30 miles).  We stopped at a gas station in St Andrews and filled up with the last of the loonies, toonies and quarters, so we don't have any money to change back.  Annie had spent the last paper canadian dollars on peanut butter the day before.  We did make it into the US on fumes, I think the 26 gallon tank took 25.5 gal.  It's not the saving $10 on gas, it's the fun of cutting it close....

     Our destination in Farmington was not as far as we thought, or we made better time, and the extra hour from Atlantic to Eastern time, even with stopping for lunch along the Kennebec.  It's fun to just pull over when a scenic spot presents itself.

       After stopping in town to walk around a little and looking around Reny's, we made it to Annie's sister's house early, chose our spot in the yard and got all set up at our leisure.  Tada, cousin Eddie is here!!!    Who knows how long the Gunther Fest will last..?   (Gunther Fest is what happens when anyone visits the Gunthers!)  It's great to relax and spend time with family.

       Next day Saturday we hiked a small part of the AT to Piazza Rock.  Only about 2 miles each way, and not a hard walk, but I am sure we are not up to snuff for carrying a pack with all gear for camping.  There is a tenting area along the trail, pretty posh I think, with a two holer complete with backrests and an entertainment center (cribbage board).  Is the idea that you don't need to take off your pack?

 Piazza Rock and the Caves are fun to climb around in.  The rock does not look like it has as much mass behind as it has sticking out, but there it rests.

       Sunday we did some small projects:  new columns installed on the front porch of the house, rotated the tires on the truck.  I also spent some time getting my computer to boot off a new SSD to give the failing spin hard drive a rest and hopefully quit crashing the computer.  The startup time difference is amazing; about 5-6 sec vs. about 30 sec to boot up.
      We spent a couple of days and an overnight at the Gunther camp, doing a bit of kayaking around, and took an easy hike up to an overlook above the lake.

     There was time to rewire the front of the trailer, now there is a breaker box and junction box all cleaned up and sealed, without any melted wires crammed in the old j-box!
     Other nights we had a great surf & turf dinner;  home grown lamb turf, with Maine lobster & scallop surf.