Date: 2003-10-14
From: Mt. Katahdin!

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Mt. Katahdin to Harper's Ferry 11 daysI took a break from journaling while on vacation from the trail, so now I am going to try and compile 11 days of vacation down into one entry.I met up with my folks in Millinocket, ME, after my victory on Katahdin. We were staying at the Best Western where I had my own room which I shared with Morph and Moonshadow the first night. After we had all of our wet smelly gear strung all over the room my mother came in and I think she realized what a good decision it was not to share a room with me until my gear was sealed in the plastic bags I requested. Her comment exactly was, "Phew wee."   We toured the whole of Baxter State Park. Finally, we saw two moose, a bull and a cow together, from the car, and plenty of beautiful leaves. The next stop was Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine. It had a beautiful coastline, rocky and craggy with waves galore. It was a nice change of pace; we spent a day there. Then it was off to Kennebunkport, ME. Maine and New England definitely have a character and charm all there own. It was beautiful yet again. On one of the beaches there I met a woman named Hope. We got to talking and she gave me some treasures she had found on the beach while the tide was out - three baby sand dollars(not broken) and four bits of sea glass or mermaid tears as she called them. I love meeting and talking with interesting people. The next day we went to Freeport, Maine, and I picked up some new gear at the LL Bean outlet. With the purchase of a zero degree sleeping bag, toasty warm I will be. Then we were off to Boston. We stayed near MIT and Harvard overlooking the Charles River where all the colleges and residents do there rowing or sculling as it is called. It was cool to just sit and watch them. As tourists we took a harbor cruise tour there and walked the Freedom Trail. I am happy to report my parents and I are through hikers of the Freedom Trail, 3 miles through Boston. It took us past so many historical places - Paul Revere's home, the North Church where the signal (one if by land and two if by sea) was hung, the Old South Meeting House, the place where the constitution was first read, meeting places where people decided to revolt and 'throw' the Boston Tea Party and the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned vessel in the Navy. It was cool to think how our country all started and what it must have been like back then. To think, out of their courage, I have my freedoms today, freedom to walk the AT, amongst so many others. We are all so truly fortunate. My dad flew out of Boston on Saturday and it was up to my mom and me to make the rest of the journey. We drove out to the end of Cape Cod and had lunch, then drove way too long that night. We crossed Rhode Island, and into Connecticut. It was that portion, the 5 hours that night that it took to find a hotel, that I did not enjoy. That was the only part. We had to drive north out of the way to find one. At 11:30 that night we finally laid our heads down. Never again. The next day I insisted on driving my mother through Manhattan so she could say she had been there. That was a trip! Girl walks AT for months then drives in Manhattan! Talk about shock to the system. We made it out alive and were stopped in a hotel at 3:30 that afternoon in PA, not risking it again. The next day we stopped at the most massive store, Cabella's outlet. It was a zoo of people with a real stuffed zoo inside. They had every animal imaginable stuffed and mounted throughout the store. It was weird to see dead animals when I have been seeing live and free ones. After getting out of there we drove to Harper's Ferry where we would spend the next two nights sorting out all my gear and getting truly rested.   I have to say I have been thoroughly pampered and spoiled for the last week and a half. My parents are diamonds. Thanks Mom and Dad for everything! It was a fantastic trip.Happy trails!Right On and Brown Dog