Back in Maine

[dooks@verizon.net]

Well, we finally made it back to Maine for the summer and early fall. However, with the heat and humidity even in Maine during this past month, sitting at home in MA in the AC was not really a hardship. The tourist industry is a big part of the economy in southern Maine and this year seems to be doing better. Hopefully the fall will see some great color.

We have no real plans for travel in the next few months, but are thinking of Alaska for next summer - possibly with an RV caravan tour. You may not be able to spend as much time as you want at places, but you do get to do and see things you might not on your own and also do have the advantage of the camaraderie of others and assistance with problems. Interesting blog on RV.net on it.

Hope to see some of you on the road or here in the Northeast.

[mwilliams]

Several of our NHOG persons have been in Alaska this summer (20100; Fred and Margie Buhler and Chauncey and Jane Murphy. I think both of them went up on their own. I am probably too much of an introvert to want to be tied to a caravan group for the entire trip. I do suppose you would become very good friends after spending that much time with the same group of people. I will be interested in hearing more about the caravanning experience. I can say that if your primary reason for caravanning is safety, there is little reason to think that you won't be safe by going on your own.

[Diva]

Karen& Ed -- I just wanted to reinforce Mike's comments. We went to Alaska two years ago basically on our own -- we were traveling with another couple and, were we to do it again, we'd go by ourselves.

There are so many different experiences in Alaska and the advantage of being on your own is that you can stop and stay where you want to, move on when you want to and essentially customize your itinerary to your own needs and interests. Safety is not a concern -- we knew people who had mechanical problems and found very good assistance along the way. Also, because there aren't that many roads you can be on, you will find that you will see the same people over and over again, whether you want to or not!

I don't know if you're an Escapees member or if you follow their forum, but every year there's a thread on the forum called "Alaska 20xx". People who are thinking about going (or who have been) to Alaska post questions, suggestions, help -- lots of good information. We met several people through that forum and remain friends with them to this day.

So -- not to discourage you from going with a caravan if that's what you want to do, but if you're going with a caravan because you think you can't do it on your own, I'm saying you can do it on your own -- so make your own decision but don't do something expensive without knowing that it will return value you wouldn't get otherwise.

Margaret Wright & Ian McKee