We will be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn located just off the Hogan Road exit on the north end of town. The address is 250 Haskell Rd, Bangor, ME 04401. We have a block of 40 rooms for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. 20 of those rooms have also been held at the group rate for Thursday and Monday nights. Members can call the hotel directly at 207-262-0099 and mention the Northeast Hemi Owners Association. They can also book online at hilton.com/en/hotels/bgrbagi-hilton-garden-inn-bangor. If booking online enter “NEHOA” in the Group Code box. That should bring up the group rate of $109/night for a double queen room or king room. The rooms will be held until August 20th.
With the official Memorial Day weekend 2021 meet in Rhode Island postponed again due to COVID, and the “unofficial” meet in New York now in the books, it’s time to look ahead to the Labor Day meet in Maine. There are two sides of Maine—the picturesque rocky coastline, and the seemingly endless lush forests of interior Maine, which are peppered with small towns. From Bangor, we can experience both.
Compared to other meets, the drive to and from Bangor will be a considerable distance for many of us. Saturday will be an on-your-own day, and I expect many of us to check out Acadia National Park, which is 50 miles southeast of Bangor. On Sunday, we will drive to Greenville, which sits at the southern tip of Moosehead Lake 70 miles northwest of Bangor. Most of the roads are two-lane. Due to the harsh winters, they take quite a beating, so rough sections are the norm. Furthermore, summer is road construction season, and often entire sections of the two-lane roads are ripped up for repairs. It is not uncommon to encounter rough, unpaved roads while repairs are being made. Please keep this in mind while deciding which vehicle to bring.
We are hearing that many folks are planning vacations around this meet, and we think that is a fantastic idea! Please do your homework and try to decide ahead of time what you want to see and do while you are there. Don’t forget your GPSs, but I must warn you that we have encountered areas where a GPS won’t work. If you have a map or atlas, bring it too. If you have a good camera, bring it! There is much to see and to photograph.
Friday Night: (Tentative) Cruise to Bangor Drive-In
Saturday Morning: Business Meeting
The remainder of the day is On Your Own
Saturday Evening: Banquet at the Motel
(Tentative) Frank Wilson Slide Show
Sunday Morning: On Your Own cruise to Greenville along scenic Rt. 15. There is plenty to see and to photograph along the way. Be sure to check out Lowe’s Bridge north of Dover-Foxcroft. We will park in Greenville.
Sunday at Noon: We will board the Katahdin (aka “Kate”), a 1914 steamboat (now diesel powered) for a three-hour tour of Moosehead Lake. (A three-hour tour. A three-hour tour….) You can bring lunch with you, eat at one of the restaurants in Greenville beforehand, or purchase lunch aboard Kate.
Sunday Late Afternoon: For those who are interested, Kristy and I will lead a group of people along Lily Bay Road, which runs 18 miles from Greenville to Kokadjo. This stretch of road is generally regarded as the best place in the state to see the elusive moose. Sometimes we get lucky and spot one or two. Sometimes we don’t.
Sunday Evening: Return to the motel on your own. Stop for dinner along the way or at a restaurant in Bangor.
Monday Morning: Say our good-byes and head for home
