A good time to get back to my blog

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Our hotel in Bangor
 We decided earlier in the summer to take a little trip though the States on our way back to our home in Nova Scotia. We came through northern Maine from Quebec. The Coburn Gore-Woburn crossing connects the towns of Woburn Quebec to Coburn Gore Maine. It is where Quebec Route 161 and Maine State Hwy 27 meet. It is a sleepy little border crossing with no waiting, however the US border guard was ever vigilant and asked all the key questions.

Once into Maine we entered the Appalachian mountain system. What a drive! Although it was a truly stunning trip it took a lot of concentration through the numerous switchbacks and twisty roads. It was not very comforting seeing signs along the highway that said "high hit area" for deer. We were very careful and stuck to the speed limit but it was tiring nonetheless.

Gas prices look good
Once out of the Appalachians we headed for Bangor, our stopover for the night. I would mention the name of the hotel we stayed in but I thought it was barely marginal for the price we paid.

Our intent was to do a little shopping the next day and that is exactly what we did. Given the Canadian dollar's value it meant shopping for deep discount items in the outlet stores. We managed to save a few bucks despite the brutal exchange rate and bought things we would not have been able to find easily here in Canada.

Calais Looking across to Canada
 Bangor is a nondescript little city. Sure, It is a clean and attractive place but I would not call it a destination venue unless outlet shopping is your goal. However, about a 1 1/2 hours south is Freeport, Maine which undoubtedly has many more choices. But we decide to stay in the Bangor area instead.

The two places we wanted to visit were L.L.Bean and Harbor Freight. Princess Auto is the closest thing we have to Harbor Freight while L.L Bean is not found in Canada at all. Both were positive experiences and we manged to buy exactly what we were looking for.

Another stopover was Marden's. We should have more stores like Marden's which we found in Calais, Maine just before crossing over to Canada.

We did not buy gas in the US although it was quite a bit cheaper. The thought of Ethanol in our gas tank would have concerned me.
Good deals here
Was it all worth it. Yes, I think! The scenery through Maine was a wonderful change from our boring TCH drive through to the Maritimes. The shopping; did we save money?  At the end of the day probably not what with the poor exchange rate but we had a lot of fun.

Would we do it again? I think so but we would stay a little longer, and by then our dollar may strengthen.

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