Postcard from Maine- 6

4 September 2012

Trenton, ME
The temps dropped a few days ago. And for the last 2 nights the furnace cycled a couple times. Hmm... I think I remember something about this sort of thing.  What's going on? Could it be that fall is getting closer? Nah... plenty of time yet. Back in the high 70s tomorrow!

But it is getting close to the time we'll head West. I'll have to check the tires and the fluid levels. And I suppose I'd better lube the trailer's shackles and axle bearing since I have those fancy 'wet shackles' and the axles have Zerk fittings. And maybe wash the windows on the truck. Oh- and some fuel in the tank would be nice.

Now, where did I put the #^%$ truck keys?!

We've been here so long it's beginning to feel about that detached. Weeds are getting embarrassingly long under the rig. And the dogs have learned when to go to the door to wait for their favorite people to bark at. But what really got me thinking about this is the folks beside us just fired up their engine to make sure it still runs (it does; and diesel exhaust still stinks too). That and the fact our rent is about to run out after the 9th. And blueberry season is over.

So it looks like we'll be on our way about 10 September. We'll stop first at the KOA in Durham to visit our family in Yarmouth. Then while we're there we'll figure out the best way to get across the country without melting since it's still hitting mid-100° F in Oklahoma City!! Not that we particularly love OKC- it just happens to be real close to the shortest line you can draw between Maine and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Halleluiah

We finally had an awakening that we were killing ourselves with the local Maine ice cream. (Here's where you say: "Really? What was your first clue, Sherlock?!") About 3 weeks ago we got back on the wagon and have been eating what is for us proper meals. The one thing we indulged in last week was a lobster roll down the road at Hot Dog Heaven and it was an excellent treat. No ice cream and we immediately got back on track. What we're doing is pretty simple:

• nothing white but a cup of milk on the morning cereal
• no more than 4 oz. of lean meat or fish per day
• aim for 25-35 gr of fiber daily
• only whole grains (no processed flour or white rice; a small potato if it has the skin on)
• leafy green veggies as a salad before the entree
• limit sugar at any meal to no more than 25 gr
• lots of veggies (about the only way you can hit the fiber goal)
• about 15-120 min. after every meal, go for a 15-20 min. walk
• fruit or a yogurt for a snack

Certainly not the Atkins diet, and not quite a vegetarian diet. But a lot better way to eat than we've been doing by hitting local restaurants. We got this approach (in a lot more detail) from Karon Rzad, a Key West nutritionist I was sent to in late 2003. No calories to count since the calories take care of themselves if you meet these criteria.

Schedule

Schedules are evil. We learned that when we were cruising. You get in trouble following them cuz they make you drive longer or faster in a day than is safe; they can leave you in campground you don't particularly like to meet someone who may or may not show up; and worst case can leave you without a campground. Yeah, there's always a WalMart parking lot (unless they don't permit it in that location), but we try to keep that for emergencies.

But we have doctor/dentist appointments starting 18 October and we thought Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta didn't end till 16 October. That meant our usual RV park (Santa Fe Skies) would be booked. Thankfully we had the dates wrong: Balloon Fiesta ends 14 October and not 16 October, so they should be able to find space for us by then. We had wanted to be back in Benson by 1 October but that's just not going to happen.