Sept 30 and Oct 1 – we find ourselves still in Maine leaf peeping!  We visit Fort Knox built in 1844 to protect the Penobscot River from British attack.  This fort has very thick walls compared to others we visited in Canada.  As well, the fort had 2 shot furnaces where cannonballs were heated red hot to start a fire when striking attacking vessels.  The Fort admission also includes admission to a huge observation tower (446 feet high) anchoring the nearby cable-stay bridge.

Freeport is the home of LL Bean (probably 4-5 different storefronts in town).  Throughout Maine, we have seen a lot of antique places – a very popular pastime.  Nearby in Yarmouth, at the Garmin Center, is the huge Eartha Globe.  Watching it rotate around, it is amazing just how much of our world is covered in water – no wonder they never find downed planes that go down in the area of Australia in particular.

Oct 2-4 we spend exploring the Cape Cod seashore.  The sand is very fine on the beach, lots of surf, and lots of sand dunes.  On the way here, we stop at Old Orchard Beach in Maine with its large pier and amusement park, which is like the Santa Monica pier.  At the end of the Cape Cod seashore is Provincetown.  This town is truly charming, but not very good for RV travel, so we bike into town.  The streets are very narrow with buildings almost on the street.  It is quite eclectic with lots of artists.  The harbor and pier are lovely as well.  It is a town we could imagine living in.  The public library was once a church and then a maritime museum.  Inside is a 1/2 size replica of a schooner that was too large to remove, so the library bookshelves are simply built around the ship.  Very cool…