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smp005 · 07-28-2019, 09:27 AM

I couldn't decide the best place to post this considering I wanted to pass along both travel information we gathered as well as campground info...

We left Ohio last Saturday morning headed to Freeport, Maine. From Ohio: I77 north to I271 to I90. Saturday morning traffic was light on 77, 271 and 90 towards Erie PA and really all the way to Buffalo.
There is a stretch of I90 in New York between Erie and Angola that will shake your teeth loose but other than that the road was good.
I90 East from Buffalo to Albany is most new highway with a few bridges under construction. We fueled up east of Buffalo at a service plaza at $3.15 a gallon. While I would rather not drive at night, the opportunity to roll thru Worchester and 495 around Boston at 3am on a Sunday was just too good to pass up. So we stopped east of Albany at a service plaza around 5pm and slept till 11pm and got back on the road. I90 and 495 were literally empty to entire way!

We stopped at the first service plaza in Maine at $3.05. Got into Freeport around 6am and parked in the RV parking at LL Bean until checking time at the campground. While there was RV parking at LL Bean, it is pretty tight and not a lot of spaces.. We got in and out before the tourist traffic built up for the day!

We stayed at the Freeport / Durham KOA which was very nice campground. Quiet and easy to get to, good wireless and excellent cell signal. It’s about a 10 min drive outside of the town of Freeport.

We are now at the Old Orchard Beach KOA for a couple days before heading home - just wanted a change of scenery :-)

Things we discovered so far along the way:

- New York has service plazas all the way across I90 around 30 - 40 miles apart and they are all excellent. They have a single diesel pump for big trucks and RVs. Easy access in an out and currently $3.15 a gal. None of the services plazas were full up so parking with the truckers was never an issue ( albeit it was Sat night). According to policy, no overbite stays and no engine idling - not really enforced from what I could see…. We stayed maybe 6 hrs at one and there were plenty of trucks with their shades pulled. Since it was well into the 90’s, almost every truck had a generator running, as did we., but no one was idling their big engines..

I forgot my easy pass !!! So.. since my easy pass is a PA account, I stopped in PA and bought another one at a gas station and got online and added it to my account. It took 24hrs to activate so I had to pay the tolls all the way up in cash - which is more expensive that with the easy pass.. It actually kicked in and worked at the last toll booth on the way up LOL! I’ve been needing another one anyway…. And YES - Easy Pass works all thru New England and Midwest.

I had researched what trucks stops I wanted to get fuel at in NY but came to the realization that the service plazas are better, you don’t have to exit the thruway and prices were basically the same.

Going north into Maine, it is better to stay on I95 until the I295 spur that runs north of Portland rather that take I295 thru Portland - the bridges in I295 thru Portland beat you to death…

So far, great trip, great weather and no problems.. Heading home in a couple days..

oldecmech · 08-06-2019, 08:24 AM

Good report. Thanks.

4ina4x4 · 08-06-2019, 04:26 PM

Thanks for taking the time to post your trip report. Details like those you provided are so helpful for trip planning.

Enjoy, and travel safely!

Mary

Gumpster808 · 08-07-2019, 07:38 PM

Nice post. We had a trip that way planned for later this month but cancelled when I got downsized.

How is that KOA? We had reservations for a group of three that were going on the trip there.

Safe travels back to Ohio.

smp005 · 08-12-2019, 05:05 AM

The Freeport Durham KOA is nice.. The 50amp pull thru sites are open and easy to get in and out. Lots of room between sites. Very quiet campground when we were there. Wireless was good and plenty of cell coverage (Verizon for me). Its about 10 min from downtown Freeport. The campground is out in the country.

We also spent two nights at the Old Orchard Beach campground - it is OK but was very crowded and tight. Our site was far from level and water pressure was less than 20lbs. It is 5 min from the ocean and right off the street - not out in the country that's for sure LOL!