Maine has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I remember looking at
photos of the rocky coastline and the calm waters and feeling a wave of peace wash over me. I knew I had to visit someday, but I never imagined it would be while living in an RV!
We sped of out of Massachusetts feeling relieved to be moving on and SO excited- it was MAINE DAY! We had a 6.5 hour travel day that was the perfect kind- quiet and uneventful. We eventually arrived and pulled into our new home for the next three weeks; Narrows Too in Trenton, Maine.
We pulled into the parking lot of the registration office and I think disbelief hit all of us at the same time. The parking lot sits on top of a hill. From the top of the hill we saw the campground road below us aligned with nice, open sites. Those sites followed the road all the way to where the mountains met the sea. Seeing the sun dance around reflections of mountains in the ocean was our first glimpse into how incredible our stay here would be.
Narrows Too is a tiny campground located in Trenton, Maine. It offers a very impressive dog park, a heated pool, 24 hour laundry facilities, and ocean access. It's a short drive from groceries and dining, and BONUS- Walmart delivers here! Sugar Bakery is located right across the street for your coffee and donut needs, and it's a short 15 minute drive to Acadia National Park. My absolute favorite thing about this campground is the fact that there's a bus stop in the office parking lot. This bus system will take you into Bar Harbor and Acadia for free!
Meeting friends on the road is common in this lifestyle and we were thrilled to find out that some friends of ours were currently staying at Narrows as well. We hadn't seen them since Florida so it was nice to catch up next to a fire before they headed out a couple days later. Their kiddos are older and, after a few days, our kids were dying to see some kids their age.
Narrows Too doesn't have a playground or activities for kids. Like usual, we adventured around school and work, but we could see the boredom starting to set in. It had been a lonely crawl up the East coast. There were a ton of families going to Maine this Summer, but we started our journey later so most of them were all ahead of us. We kept missing everyone and our kids were starting to feel it.
RV kids are built different. In public school, making friends can be difficult, especially the older you become. RV kids learn really fast that their window for making friends is small. We're not at the same campground for long so if you want friends, you're forced to put yourself out there. Due to that, they go all in, every single time. It's not unusual for our kids to make friends before our truck is even unhooked from the RV. We had finished school for the day and Rick was still working so I decided to take the girls down to check out the pool. We noticed a rig adjacent to ours with a Fulltime Family flag out front, but hadn't seen any activity until just now. The mom was cleaning up outside, we exchanged hellos, and the girls and I kept walking. It was not even 20 seconds later when a little girl was hollering and running to catch up to us, beach towel flying in the wind. Not only would she and my girls be inseparable for the next week, but that one connection would open the door to more sweet friendships.
When RV kids see other kids playing, they tend to flock. RV moms are no different. Making adult friends in "the real world" felt impossible. In the campground world it's rather simple the majority of the time. I usually just let my kids do all of the hard work. They make their friends, and then I introduce myself to their parents. Sometimes we hit it off, sometimes we don't and that's okay. The mom of the little girl with the flying towel eventually met up with us at the pool and her energy was refreshing. A little while later another woman entered the pool with the CUTEST little girl who had the largest personality. They joined us and it wasn't long before we were planning fire chats and a mom's night out in Bar Harbor. One simple hello turned into a snowball effect of introductions. It didn't take long before kids were swarming the sand piles next to our RV, and enjoying outdoor movies with blankets and popcorn. Parents were exchanging phone numbers and putting plans into motion for meet ups in Florida this Winter. Have I mentioned we go all in? There's no judgement when we're all living in the same trailer park!
Our ladies day in Bar Harbor had arrived and the mom's of Narrows Too had a new pep in their step. We all met in the office parking lot to catch the next bus out of there. We got onto the bus and enjoyed a night of blueberry margaritas, ice cream, window shopping, and exchanging travel stories. It was a beautiful night and Bar Harbor was quickly turning into one of my favorite towns. We made jokes about missing the last bus and being forced to get a hotel so we could continue our shenanigans, but all good things must come to an end. We headed home with new memories and more reasons to love this lifestyle. Sometimes this life can be hard, though. Like saying goodbye. Tomorrow would be one of our friends' last day at Narrows Too.
Watching your friends leave is painful. I always tell the kids that we'll see our friends again, but I know that might not be true. Life is so fragile and plans change so fast. We remind ourselves constantly of how small this world is and we remain hopeful that our paths will cross again. In the meantime, we keep fostering the friendships of the those who still remain at the campground. Our Narrows crew might have gotten smaller, but it's a little easier when you don't have to be sad alone.
Our last week here was bittersweet. My girls ended up getting pretty close to some sisters who happened to be the same age as them. It's the perfect scenario honestly, and one we've been hoping to find for the past year. Usually we run into older kids and our oldest will make friends, while our youngest feels left out. Our youngest periodically struggles with RV life because of this reason. Seeing BOTH of my kids make friends with sweet girls from a sweet family made my heart want to burst! I think we could all feel the heaviness looming as our last week was nearing an end. There were hugs, tears, exchanging of info, and more plans to meet up in Florida.
I've spent an entire year wondering why it's so much easier to make connections with people in RV life vs in a sticks and bricks. When you live in a house- everyone is stationary with daily routines. You go to the same places and see the same people almost daily and it's hard to make your way into certain friend groups because of that. In RV life, you cross paths with people from all walks of life and see new faces almost daily, but everyone has one major thing in common- RVing. It's SO much easier to strike up a conversation with a stranger in this lifestyle than it was when we lived in a house. The RV community is one that I never knew existed until we hit the road. Although we've connected with people in every state that we've been in, there was something about this group of ladies that just felt special to me. I think I've been so caught up in booking the events and searching the travel chat groups in an effort to find friends for the girls that I haven't allowed space for any friendships to form organically. Ultimately, those are the ones that end up sticking. I thank my Narrows Too crew for unintentionally reminding me of that.
Thank you, ladies, for such a memorable trip to Maine. We cannot wait to see you all again in Florida. <3
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