July 4th 2008

Down Town Old Orchard Beach is not very large. Two main roads

leading into the center of town. A very nice center gathering spot

with benches and tables surrounded by the

rides and food stands. There is almost always

some type of live music.

The entrance to the boardwalk Pier which has several small shops, a few

food stalls and a night spot at the end.

A view of some of the stands along the center court.

A night view of the ferris wheel from the beach at night.

Every Thursday night during the season they have fireworks.

This week they had them Thursday and Friday.

They put on a really great show.

Mr. Bill

While we were in town the other day we came across Mr. Bill.

Mr. Bill was all alone so we decided to take him home with us.

Even though we didn't go right back to the Airstream,

Mr. Bill had a busy night.

In his appreciation for us taking him on a trip he tried his hand at parking cars

to earn a few dollars. That didn't work out too well.

Mr. Bill got canned, literally! Once we rescued him from the trash

we continued on our way.

We stopped at a book store on the main street and Mr. Bill it was learned was

a Red Sox fan just like us.

Taking in the sight of OOB, Mr. Bill decided to take a rest.

We found a very nice couple that was more than happy to watch over Mr. Bill while

we continued shopping.

If there is a Cabela's to be found, we will find it. A new retail shop just opend in Maine. It is probably the smallest we have been to but still in the great style and service we love.

We were able to take full advantage of the kennels with all three of Sarah's dog with us on this trip.

It has been just over a year since Sandi and I have been to Old Orchard Beach... the last time there were very few people since it was a few weeks before the start of the season. Well this weekend the season was in full swing!

One of the many great things of visiting a summer vacation spot in New England is some of the oddities you find. We are all familiar with the dropping claw machine which activates after depositing a few quarters..... you hope to snag a little stuffed animal or a "Rolex".. this one had lobsters in it.

"T" Shirts are standard fare for all tourist destinations and OOB is no exception. This one though did require posting. With a slight verbage and graphic change it could make us very wealthy in the Airstream community.

Now here is an item I think no woman should be without. It's a coconut purse! Not only is it very unique and a conversation piece but in a pinch it becomes a bikini top! You just open the zipper all the way and use the handles as the straps and instant breast concealment.

Wild Duck Campground

Wild Duck Camground is located in Scarborough Maine.

A small campground with about 70 site we were very fortunate

to have secured the three site out in the middle of the sea-marsh.

Please don't get any silly ideas, "Adult Campground" means no

guests under the age of 18 years old!

We were able to 'spy' Robin & Richard heading in.

You have to drive a small roadway between the march and a pond to

get into the actual camping area

With all three Airstreams parked and set we are now ready for

a nice long 4th of July Weekend.

We had discussed the plans for the long weekend and they were quite simple: Relax!

Each morning we stepped out of our Airstream and were greated

by a wonderful view of the marsh, birds and wildlife.

Water Pump

We spend a lot of time boondocking [no hook-ups] when camping and we become totally dependant on what we can carry into the campground and out. For the past few trips the water pump had seemed to become louder and louder. It worked fine but our Airstream was begining to act like a 110 year old house. We know, we own one.One of the things that always amazed me was the mess in my mini basement. Pipes, wires and connectors everywhere. I ended up removing the water pump, organizing the basic wiring and wrapping it all in flex-tube. Back to the pump, I built a foundation out of EPS, remounted it and added soft pipe extentions.
As you can see the result is a little bit more organization of the rats nest wiring but most important, a perfectly silent water pump!