Maine Vacation 2022, Part 20
We woke to a gorgeous morning. There would be no breakfast at Jordan’s today. Our plan was to go interstate all the way to southern Maine but we had to go to Bangor. That would give us an another opportunity to see if the donut shop we tried visiting on the way into the area was open.
Bangor is an hour from Bar Harbor. We were there in no time it seemed. This time Gosselin’s Bakery was open. I don’t know what the deal was with this place but it didn’t have a front glass display counter for the donuts. The donuts were laying down flat making it difficult to see them. There was a list of donuts overhead but the only folks that helps are tall people or locals. There was only one lady in the store. I think she was doing everything. DH picked out some donuts going by the list pretty much. I can’t remember now if he got a whole dozen or just a half dozen but we were terribly disappointed. They weren’t fresh and didn’t taste good. I think we’ve had better grocery store donuts then these. We took a bite of each one just to be sure before throwing them away. The only good thing I can say about Gosselin’s is the coffee wasn’t bad. There was still hope waiting in southern Maine for good donuts, though.
The drive to Wells went faster than I thought. The lunch crowd was a concern. We drove past Congdon’s noticing a line of people backed out the door. We went ahead pulled into the parking lot to attempt it. They had plenty of staffers filling donut orders so the line moved better than anticipated.
The dining room area contained only one or two other people besides us. All those people in the line were getting donuts and leaving. That’s fine by me because it gave us our choose of where to set. The assortment of donuts included raspberry, blueberry, lemon, Bavarian cream, & maple cream filled, maple frosted, chocolate chocolate, and honey dipped raised. Plus, one Whoopie Pie. Our least favorite was the chocolate chocolate. It didn’t have enough flavor. This is kind of normal for most places we’ve gotten chocolate donuts at low chocolate taste. Anyway, it was a great treat!
From this point on, most things are a blur. I managed to piece together a few pictures with a brief description of our homeward bound travel.
I felt sad approaching the New Hampshire state line 
Our trip home underway 
To avoid going through NYC nightmare again, we went through Connecticut 
Crossing Hampton Fish Newburgh Bridge in New York 
The sinking sun late afternoon catches my eye just over the bridge’s tower suspension 
I don’t like being on bridges and wouldn’t you know it, there’s a traffic tie up 
A gorgeous sunset 
Traveling I-84 west with Pennsylvania just insight before the sunlight is all gone 
Taken after our short nap around 3:43am somewhere in PA along I-81 south three lighted crosses 
Sunrise in northern Virginia 
It was a happy sign with the sight of Tennessee just ahead.
In the early hours, we reluctantly pulled off the interstate into a Walmart parking lot for a quick nap somewhere in Pennsylvania. After 90 minutes, we woke up ready to go again each of us popping a Vivarian (caffeine pill) for a fast picker up. It’s better than coffee in that it isn’t a urine stimulate or least not for us. In northern Virginia, we stopped at Waffle House in Staunton for breakfast. It was a nice treat to have a real meal. Everything hit the spot, especially the coffee. A few miles further south for gas in Daleville. Back on the road, it was no time before we met the exit for I-77 at which time I sent out hellos to my folks. I wish we had time to stop in but the detour would cost us an us an extra hour of drive then whatever time we were there. It was very early and honestly, we weren’t in much shape for a visit. All we wanted to do was to get home.
A few hours later, we crossed into Tennessee then rolled into town around noon. It took us awhile to unload the car and turn the water on to the house. We were more than ready for a hot shower. I filled the washing machine with the first of many loads from our trip, uploaded photos, and simply relaxed. I surprised myself with how much I got accomplished. We got in bed early as we’d been on the go for for 40 hours with only the 90 minute nap in Pennsylvania. I remember waking up during the night, wondering where I was. I thought, “Home” before happily drifting back to sleep. There’s nothing like being in your own bed!
This concludes my Maine photo memories series. I appreciate your visits and time to journey with me as I enjoyed our vacation all over again. Next up, you’ll find me boogieing to the weekly theme inspired song picks on the dance floor with the Monday’s Music Moves Me gang and if you have music, themes aren’t mandatory, to share then you’re invited to link up join the party. X💋X💋, Cathy
I’m joining the wonderful Wordless Wednesday community hosted by Sandee at Comedy plus!
12 Comments
messymimi's meanderings
I’m sorry you had such lousy donuts that time, and sorry to see the trip end, I’ve enjoyed seeing Maine through your eyes.
Cathy Kennedy
Mimi,
We may have gotten bad donuts in Bangor but Congdon’s in Wells is really what I was looking forward to and they totally delivered! We got good donuts before leaving the state making our tummies happy! 🙂
Ellen Pilch
I have enjoyed your 20 part series of your vacation. Thank you for sharing. I have quite the craving for donuts now. 🙂 XO
Cathy Kennedy
Ellen,
Thanks for hanging with me for each installment. It was a long one, huh? Oh sorry about kicking in the donut craving.
Brian
Boy, I’ll bet I could eat a dozen of those yummy looking doughnuts!
Cathy Kennedy
Brian,
The beauty of pastries makes one’s eyes bigger that his/her tummy. It’s a good thing you’re just looking at pictures. Ok, now clean off the droll on your keyboard. 😀
Birgit
What a journey you had. We love to go on vacation but we love to get home and sleep in our own bed. It sounds like the donut store used to be good but maybe they changed hands?? At least you found d a place selling good donuts except for the chocolate one. Strange that the chocolate was not that good. At least you are safe and sound enjoying your home.
Cathy Kennedy
Birgit,
It’s funny, how places can’t get chocolate donuts chocolatey enough. They’re always too anemic to suit our taste You might be right about the place in Bangor changing hands. That’s a very good possibility. Things like that happen. I was happy Congdon’s didn’t change. They are still very good! Thanks for enjoying the memories trip with me. 😉
Sandee
What a fabulous adventure you two had. I want to do all the things you did. Beautiful shots.
I did take some of the donuts though. Delicious.
Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. Love and hugs, Cathy. ♥
Cathy Kennedy
Sandee,
You took my donuts? Shame on you! We had those gone before we got to Knoxville. lol DH is one serious donut eater. The next time we go to Maine, I want to be sure to hit Congdon’s straight off, especially if it’s early in the morning. It’s crazy how busy they were. I just don’t remember that from our previous visit in 2004 but I do know we were there much earlier in the morning, so that probably made the difference.
Thomas Anderson
Hi, Cathy!
I am here to take the final leg of your incredible Maine adventure with you and DH, but need to keep my comment shorter than usual because I have two appointments this morning followed by another busy day of packing.
Looks like the rain and gray skies cleared out and left behind a fresh and lovely day for you this time. The morning glow on Hulls Cove was indeed mesmerizing. These have to be the most beautiful moments of your entire trip, and there were many others.
Oh my! I’m sorry you went out of your way to find yummy donuts at Gosselin’s Bakery only to encounter a lone, overworked employee and stale pastries that you ended up throwing away. That is one of the few disappointments of your long dream vacation. I’m happy to know that Plan B – Congdon’s – the second bakery you went to – came through with tasty treats galore.
I can feel your sadness creeping in as mile after mile down the highway took your farther away from this New England paradise, but you had a wonderful time, reunited with DH2 for a few days, and saw countless breathtaking sights, some of which were preserved by your camera, others that are safely locked in your memory banks. It’s hard for me to believe that you and DH pushed yourselves to stay on the go for 40 straight hours with only a 90 minute snooze during that span. You have amazing stamina, both of you, but that’s what happens when you are excited, highly motivated and determined to reach a goal.
Thank you for doing a fantastic job of laying out your trip in a series of installments. The sights, sounds, smells and feeling of exhilaration you experienced as you gazed at “The Seven Wonders of the World” in Maine and New Hampshire will stay with you always. Congratulations on completing the dream trip of a lifetime and a series well worthy of it.
Have a wonderful Wednesday and I’ll see you soon, dear friend Cathy!
Cathy Kennedy
Tom,
I was so thankful for the beautiful weather for journey home. Congdon’s Donuts more than made up for the disappointment at Gosselin’s. If you’re ever in Wells, ME DO stop in at Congdon’s. You be happy that you did! I’m beyond amazed how well we made the trip home. The last two times we made the 1000+ journey that part of our vacation had always been a killer but we did very well. You’re so right, we had many glorious filled days with awesome sights, sounds, and tastes! The best part of it is we got to share some of it with DD#2. Those moments we’ll forever treasure. We’re eager to return and hope next spring is doable. 🙂 Thanks for being so faithful to join me with each segment of my photo memories! Have a blessed and wonderful day, dear friend!