More Maine Pictures

As promised, here are more pictures from our trip to Maine. There is some semblance or order, but not much. I did figure out how to upload all the pictures into one blog entry, so I got that going for me.

Blue Mountain State Park. Western Maine, near the immaculate pit toilet.
Maine's state capitol building. Completely unimpressive, but we were close, and I insisted on a drive-by.

Ken and Julie's living room, and our guest room, when the couch was unfolded.

Stairs and support beam for the loft. The door at the right goes into the workshop, the old sanctuary for the church.

Work area and band rehearsal space. It's much larger than it appears in the photo.

Kitchen and dining area, open to the living room. The loft is above this space.

To the left of the house is the garden and greenhouse. Yummy things grow here. We ate raspberries right off the bush.

View from the road on the way to Deer Isle.

We toured some gardens just outside of Acadia National Park. Very tranquil. When the ground thaws, Mainers rejoice in the growing season, even if it is just a few days long.

Carrie, enjoying tea and popovers at Acadia's Jordan Pond.

Acadia views.

View from atop the steeple above Ken and Julie's.

Near Stonington, on Deer Isle.

On our hike near Castine, ME.

Wild roses, seen on a foggy walk after the we recovered from the sea kayaking adventure.

It was low tide, so we could walk across this area that would be under water when the tide was up.

A walk in the woods.

On our way out to sea.

When we were at the the Inn in Weld, they had canoes that guests could use. On our last morning there, I insisted that we take another turn at being on the water. Sort of a redemptive boat journey. The lake was perfectly still, and made for a peaceful outing. No getting lost on a small lake.

We did return safe and sound.

Thanks for reading.

Peace,

JS4

Out of Order

If you want to chronologically follow our trip to Maine,
Scroll down to the entry "trip 1" and read from there, up.
There are five separate entries.

Boston

Before we left the greater Weld, ME area, we drove to the town of Mexico, the origin of which was never made clear to us. But the Chicken Coop was quite a treat, and we spent a few hours there, having lunch, reading, and writing post cards. The outspoken waitress, Debbie, warned me off the chowder, saying it was not as good as what she made at home. In true, "No Brag, Just Fact" style, Debbie also urged me to have the strawberry short cake for dessert. Debbie makes this herself, so how could I go wrong. We loved this place, and it was indeed, "Clean and Different."



We spent one night in Portland, Maine, on our way back to Boston. It is a cool coastal city, which we enjoyed walking around, seeing the sights. No pictures, though. Good pizza, good seafood, and a great breakfast, sitting on a deck, under a giant maple tree.


We arrived in Boston, and tried to drop the luggage at the hotel, before returning the rental car to the airport. We were thwarted at almost every turn, first getting stuck in the Big Dig tunnel, and bypassing our hotel by several miles. Then, trying to work our way back, getting blocked by construction and unmarked one-way streets. We should have known that Boston is a city that is easy to get around in, as long as you are not in a car. Once we settled into the Harborside Inn, we were able to appreciate its comfort and convenient location.


Boston was warm. Like 89 degrees that afternoon warm. So much for the cool mountains of Maine. We did not have time for much that evening; just walking through Back Bay on our way to Fenway Park for the Red Sox game against the Tigers.



Our seats were in the outfield, but were still really good. We were in the 9th row, with an angle similar to an outfield camera, able to see the pitcher, the batter, and home plate.

When I sat in the outfield bleachers at my first game at Fenway in 1989, there was a metal fence that kept the riff raff out of the rest of the stadium. Now, riff raff can't afford even a bleacher seat at Fenway. The good part of that is that the metal fence has come down, and we could see the rest of the beautiful relic that is Fenway Park. On a warm August night, the Sox won 6-5. This was after being on the Buffalo Bills' side of a four game sweep against the Yankees, so it was already about keeping pace in the Wild Card race.
It was Carrie's first trip to Fenway. She has been to games in Arlington (both stadiums), St.Louis (both stadiums), Chicago (Wrigley), and Minnesota (The sterile Dome). She is a good sport.

Catching the T (the subway) back to the hotel after the game was a breeze, and the rental car debacle from earlier in the day was but a distant memory by this time.

The next day we had planned to walk through the Boston Common, and nearby parts of the city, before catching our afternoon flight home. As we walked, the morning, yes morning, heat became oppressive, and we stopped to reconsider our plans. Hadn't we come up here to escape the heat? We sat and watched the famous Swan Boats, and considered our options.

We could either go to the Museum of Art, which we had visited the last time we were in Boston, or we could walk to the aquarium. Both options were air-conditioned, which sadly had become the primary consideration.

We opted for the aquarium, and started back in that direction. When we got to the edge of the Common, the wind shifted, clouds arose from nowhere, and the temperature dropped 5 degrees in a matter of moments. Relief, and the chance to walk the Beacon Hill area, instead of seeking refuge with the fish. (I'm sure the aquarium is very nice.) The cooler temps remained, and we were able to walk over to the North End, which I love, and had a fine Italian lunch, before walking back to the hotel to catch a ride to the airport.

We return home, poorer in the wallet, but richer for the experiences.

As our friend Dave has said, I've never regretted money that I've spent on travel.

Thanks for reading. There are more pictures, and I will post them soon in another entry. For those who just can't get enough.

Peace,

JS4

maine

We left Julie's, after a stop at the farmer's market and the Granite Museum in Stonington, and a hearty lunch at Lily's.



We headed across the state, to the mountains and lakes in the west. On the way we passed through the town of Jay. I felt right at home, and as if I could break the law with impunity. I settled for a photo-op below. Carrie thought that asking for a free "namesake withdrawal" from the local bank would be frowned upon.



Near the town of Weld, we stayed at the Kawanhee Inn, the most relaxing portion of our trip. Below is the view of the lake, looking out our room's window. It mattered little that we were in a shared bathroom section, or that soundproofing was a foreign concept at the inn. (We could hear the snoring of the man in the adjacent room. We turned the fan on the next night, just for the white noise.) The mountain air was cool, they had fireplaces in the common areas, and really good food at the restaurant for dinner and breakfast.

The Kawanhee Inn, from the front. As we drove up, we knew we were going to like staying here.

Mt. Blue State Park was nearby, and we took a short hike to a nice overlook of the lake.
We were not ambitious for long or arduous walks at this point in the vacation.

The term "pit toilet" does not generally evoke positive mental images. But at the parking area near the trail head in the state park, this jewel of a comfort station sat, a welcome, dare I say luxury, in the midst of natural beauty. I was so impressed that I urged Carrie to see for herself. She exited, shaking her head in wonder, as it put to shame, any gas station or Mc Donald's restroom that I can remember.

Continued...

JS4

Acadia NP

Acadia National Park is the oldest national park east of the Mississippi, and is about an hour and a half from Deer Isle, where Julie and Ken live. We were there on a perfectly clear day. We did a great hike up from a beach, to the cliffs overlooking the bay and the Atlantic Ocean. There were a few places where we had to scramble up rocks, but it was the perfect hike in terms of distance and difficulty. Whenever I got the sense that Carrie felt like she has struggling, we would come across an older couple, or a family with a young child, and I knew she was thinking, "Well, if they can do this..."



The views were marvelous. As we came across the view pictured below, an older gentleman, coming from the opposite direction, asked me about the Red Sox, since I was wearing my "B" cap. Then he called out to his wife, a line that Carrie and I continue to use: "More views heah, Deah." Classic Maine accent. The he added, "Hurry up, Deah, you're going to miss it," as though the view would be gone before she reached the top of the ridge.

When we returned to the trail head, and the beach, we were ready to take off our shoes, and wade in the cold surf. There were hearty souls who thought it was a great day to swim, but for me, when the water washed above my knees, I angled back to the sand. This was Maine after all, and the water was too cold for a true swim.

We drove through other scenic areas, taking turns saying, "More views heah, Deah."

Inside the park, is a restaurant at Jordan Pond, known as a place to have popovers and tea. Everything on the menu comes with at least one popover, a hollow, sweet, clover roll that must be baked in butter. It was a lovely outdoor lunch, with a view of the pond and the surrounding mountains.

As seemingly remote as Acadia is, the crowds in the park were large, and we were struck by large number of foreign languages we heard while there. I guess that European visitors, who have time to see more than New York and Boston, come here for a taste of the natural beauty of the East Coast.

We returned to Julie and Ken's, to scarf down some homemade pizza, and listen to the pleasant sounds of Ken's band rehearse in the music room/workshop.

Read more!

JS4

Deer Isle Pictures

Fog gives the cemetery behind Julie and Ken's an eerie quality. A few of the markers are from recent years, while some date back to people born in the 1700's. The spirits seem friendly, which is good because if they had any zombie/vampire inclinations, there would be no escape.


This view is taken from the top of the church steeple.

Me, sitting atop the steeple. Hard to miss the sunburn lines, from the previous day's kayak adventure. My arms peeled like a shedding snake.

Deer Isle is hard-scrabble, lobster fishing area. There are vacation homes, but as you drive the side roads, there are mostly small homes and trailers, with stacks of lobster traps next to the driveways.

Stonington, the largest town on the island, is on the harbor where much of the lobster trade is based. The area is also known for pink granite, which was quarried for projects like the Boston Museum of Art. The pink granite is pretty unusual, but is very much like the Llano, Texas area granite that was used to build the Texas Capitol.

We had a great lobster dinner in town, caught fresh that day, of course. After having the Red's Eats lobster roll, and this meal, there was no reason to have more lobster on this trip. Once you've had the best...

We ate well on the whole trip. Ken made a terrific haddock, and also made some wonderful blueberry pancakes one morning.

Keep reading!

JS4

trip 1

We begin the vacation blog with a question:


If you have to set the alarm for 4:00 AM, does it really count as the first day of your vacation?


Catching an early flight meant that we could get from Austin to Deer Isle, Maine in one day, but it makes for a long damn day.


Driving from Boston, we took our little Kia (or was it a Hyundai?) up the coast, past 50 Dunkin' Donuts shops, through quaint New England towns, including Wiscasset, ME, home of Red's Eats, famous for their lobster rolls. On this Monday, the horrendous traffic that this town is also known for, was not bad, and the line to get food was reasonable, though the wait for food delivery was long. To be honest, the crab roll was better than the lobster roll, but it was all worth the stop, especially because Red's is featured in a Rick Sebak(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Sebak) PBS documentary. As Carrie and I drove past Red's, we both thought, "Whoa, that place looks familiar." It was a must stop situation.


The first full day in Maine started out as a planned self-guided, half-day sea kayak trip around the small islands near Deer Isle. In the picture, you can see that there was foggy haze as we set out. Things cleared up as we left the cove, and we confidently crossed the shipping lanes to get to the scenic islands. The first couple of hours were great, although I wished for sunscreen as the cloud bank passed.


Then things got scary. As Carrie later said, it was the most frightened she had ever been as an adult. As we attempted to head back to the safety of the cove, the thick fog rolled in, making visibility nearly zero. We lost sight of the next island, paddled for a good 20 minutes without seeing anything but a "ghost ship" sail boat, and became totally disoriented. When we could finally see again, a nice couple on a "non-ghost ship," helped point us in the right direction. Still, the fog rolled in and out, and we went from island to island, paddling madly when we could see well enough to travel further.


Sea kayaking had stopped being fun, and there were moments - long moments - when I wondered how we were going to make it back. Three hours had turned into five hours, and we exhaustedly made the final run back to the dock. We joked later about how Carrie and I are "land people," but it took a while before a real sense of humor about this misadventure returned.


** All who read this are under strict instructions not to inform Carrie's parents about this portion of our trip. **




Julie and Ken live in an old church, which Ken converted to a small home, and a large workshop in the space that had been the sanctuary. The cemetery is right out the back door (pictures in a later post), and room for a large garden and a greenhouse. We picked fresh berries, and ate a huge salad from produce from the garden.

The next day, Julie, Carrie and I drove to Castine, a peninsula town nearby that the British really wanted to control during the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Losers.

We took a nice hike that the guide book said might include eagle and seal sightings. Seeing neither, we settled for nice chicken salad, and BLT sandwiches in town.

Julie, resting mid-hike.

To be continued in the next post.

JS4

Random Stuff

In checking out the big map of Maine that I bought at the Mapsco store, it is clear that folks from Maine are not terribly original in the naming of their towns. In one area you can find Livermore, North Livermore, East Livermore, South Livermore, and Livermore Falls. Nearby is Norway, North Norway, Norway Center, and Norway Lake. You get the idea. Still, I can't wait to get there tomorrow.

Another food trailer review: Hat Creek Burgers are behind what used to be the Star Bar on West 6th St. Yes, a fancy bar closes, and a burger trailer takes over the outdoor seating area. The burgers aren't big, which is fine with me, but they are 100% Angus beef, and with pepper jack cheese, they are de-lish. Lots of lawyer types, and other professionals walking up to get the quality burgers and fries.

What did I learn from the Austin American-Statesman lately? July was the hottest month EVER in Austin. Just brutal, and all the more reason to look forward to going to a place with town names like Norway, Norway Lake, etc....

New World Deli is within walking distance of our house, and has been serving dinner for more than a year. Greg and Sarah run the place, and are usually there with their kids on the weekend nights that Carrie and I stop in for a casual dinner. The oldest daughter is now waiting tables, although she has to say things like, "I'm not old enough to bring your wine, so you'll have to wait for my mom to get it for you." She's cute, and probably too young for me to actually comment on how cute she is. On more than one occasion, the youngest daughter has been seen zipping around the restaurant on her Razor Scooter. The most stern comment I've heard from her mom was, "Dear, don't smash into the customers' tables." They have a shrimp and pasta dish, with a spicy cream sauce that Carrie and I share. It's good, and so much food that after sharing, we still have leftovers to take home.

Going to bed now.

Peace,

JS4