Day 28, Mon, Sept 29, Bangor to Bucksport, Maine

As we motored down US 1A from Bangor, we had repeated views of the Penobscot River which flows into the Atlantic just beyond old Fort Knox, pictured here.

We drove across the newer of the two bridges you see in the background, spanning the river. We were so taken with the sights about us at this spot that rather than journey further, though it was early in the afternoon, we obtained a room at a small but very nice hotel in the historic village of Bucksport that looks out across the river towards the fort and the bridges as shown here.

As a new missionary I visited Fort Knox with my companion David Williams and other elders and sisters of the Northern Maine District after a District meeting in Bangor. It was special to be here again and walk along the shore of this great river in this picturesque town.

There are two bridges side-by-side; the first bridge was built in 1931. The newer one with the very tall concrete towers was completed just two years ago. If you pay $5 they will let you take an elevator to the top of the tower on the right to an observation floor. (We didn't do that, but it would provide quite a view!)

Before leaving Bangor we drove down to the Eastern Maine Medical Center located on the banks of the Penobscot River on the south side of town. We found the original building where I received emergency treatment in December of 1961. It is still a part of the hospital complex but is now a resource where family members of patients receiving long-term care at the hospital can have a room at a reduced rate. In fact, if vacancy exists they will provide rooms to the traveling public for rates comparible to other hotels in the area.

I remember my companion bringing me to this entrance and walking in with him to the information desk inside. I went in today and found the interior of the waiting area basically as I remember it, with the information counter still there. In those days the place was known as the Eastern Maine General Hospital. Now, a huge medical complex exists behind and beyond this old red brick building.

We stayed 3 nights at the Day's Inn at Bangor, waiting out the storms from the Atlantic. We also made a visit to Urgent Care because of recuring high levels of pain in Linda's left knee. This morning (Monday) we checked out of our hotel and began our journy toward the coast of Maine.

This picture was taken in the Day's Inn parking lot. There were recuring incoming flight's of Air Guard KC-47's (Air-to-Air refuelers) landing at the Bangor airport. Linda will remember this place, not because of in-coming flights but the thunderous take-offs!

Day 26, Sat, Sept 27, Bangor, Maine

We arrived in Bangor, Maine on Friday afternoon, hoping to find suitable, affordable accomodations for the weekend. The weather reports said the storms in the Atlantic would bring heavy rain across Maine and the other New England States. We wanted to rest ourselves and attend church here in the place where I had served as the Supervising Elder of the Northern Maine District so many years ago.

We visited several hotels in the area and found the rates excessive, much as we had in North Conway, NH the previous day. We finally bedded down at a Days Inn just off Interstate 95. They were one of the very few hotels that would honor their add in the hotel savings coupon book we obtain from Denny's Restaurants as we travel. What we didn't realize until after we had signed in and gotten our things brought in from the car is that this hotel is within a stone's throw of one of the runways at Bangor's international airport. That first commerical airliner that came roaring overhead was quite the experience! They must be using other runways most of the time because these thundering take-offs and landings have only happened about three times.

This is the LDS chapel where we will be attending Sunday morning with the members of the Brewer Ward. It is located about 5 miles from our hotel. The Church Web site shows there are two wards in the Bangor area and two smaller Branch's nearby as well. When I served here in 1960-62 we had only one small branch of the Church in Bangor and no Wards or Stakes anywhere in New England at all until the organization of the Boston Stake in early 1962.

The rainy conditions have kept us in. Except for a run to the store and a pizza place for the some takeout we have been tucked in to our hotel room.

Day 25, Friday, Sept 26, N. Conway, NH to Bangor, Maine

This is the beautiful Kennebec River that flows down from the mountains through the heart of Maine and on to the Atlantic Ocean. This was taken at a rest stop just east of Skowhegan, Maine, on US 2, as we journied toward Bangor.

This is looking north along a rocky stream bed just off to the east side of Rt 16 in the midst of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Learning that serious rain and wind was being forcast for the New England area, beginning today(Friday, Sept 26), we hoped to remain in Conway, NH rather than drive through the beautiful White Mountains during rain and limited visibility. But such was not to be because of high room rates and non-availability.

So, after a comfortable night's rest at North Conway's Comfort Inn we continued on up NH Rt 16 to Goram, then turned east on US 2 stopping for the night in Bangor, Maine where I served as a missionary so many years ago (Fall and Winter of 1961).

This picture was taken along Rt 16 in the heart of the White Mountains, the tops of which are caught in the storm clouds. This drive through New Hampshires mountain region provided our best experience to date viewing the amazing colors of Fall.