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.

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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

Vacation Planning

One mistake I made this summer was waiting until August to travel. Summer in Austin is like being on vacation in your own town, but 43 days above 100 degrees has made it harder to "chill."

I just got off the phone with the good folks at The Kawanhee Inn in western Maine. Somebody had just cancelled a reservation on the nights we needed, so we score. Carrie usually takes more of the lead in planning trips, but this one has fallen to me. Something about me having more spare time. Four nights with my sister, Julie, and Ken on Deer Isle was easy enough to arrange. Nights in Portland and Boston came pretty easily, too. But a weekend at an inn, or cabin, with lakes and mountains was proving tricky, especially since I had waited until a few days ago to begin my search in earnest. I was afraid that I was going to have to Priceline a dump in Bangor, just to find a bed.



So if all goes well, activities will include, but not be limited to:

Sea kayaking.

Going out on a lobster boat.

Hiking on Deer Isle and at Acadia National Park.

Seeing the Maine coast, and the mountains.

Seeing a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.



Many of these activities are dependent on having the weather cooperate. The lady at The Kawanhee Inn told me that it had been hot and muggy up there in the past few days. When asked to clarify, she said it was around 80 degrees for the highs. If that's the worst weather we face, this is going to be a great trip. We leave Monday.

Peace,

JS4

Running Talk

I woke up early, before the alarm went off this morning, with some nervous energy about the run I had planned for the day. In the past week, I had run 30 miles for the first time in months. Last year at this time, I was pushing 50 mile weeks, but I had already laid the groundwork for an injury that I am still dealing with. I trained through the injury (osteitis pubis, if you want to google it), and ran two marathons last season, including a PR in Austin in February. In short, I was running while developing what soon would have become a stress fracture in my pubic bone. After the marathon, I turned myself in for treatment, got officially diagnosed, and have been getting physical therapy ever since.

The first step in treatment was 8 weeks of no running, while trying to rebuild some serious muscle weakness in my left hip and glute. Apparently, you can run a marathon while major muscle groups are totally misfiring. Pieter the physical therapist, and his minions, have built me back up slowly, testing me first with water running, then progressing to what is now 5-days-a-week with one run being what I call a "speed test." Pieter wants to know what happens when I go for a faster turnover, to see how the injured area responds.

Mile repeats, and hill intervals weren't enough for Pieter, so today was the day for some 400 meter intervals at the track. Running faster than 10K pace is more stressful on the body, especially a 42-year-old body. When I start training for another marathon, I don't plan to ever run 400 meter intervals, but for Pieter, this kind of run is good data. Overall, I was pleased with how the run went. Every time I have done a "speed test," I've felt good during the run, and then tightened up in the hip later in the day. I've had less of this tightness today, though enough to remind me me that I'm not "cured." I see Pieter tomorrow, for the first time in four weeks, and am looking forward to to assessment of the situation.

It is frustrating to not be able to make any real running plans (for future marathons, and the like). I was talking with Carrie last night about how I planned to schedule runs once school started again. I might be back in marathon shape for the winter, or I might still be struggling. Meanwhile, Houston (January) is sold-out, and the chance to be ready for San Antonio (November) is gone. It may be a year of half-marathons, if I can't start training for a full in time.

The subtitle for this summer's blog includes "running less." Well , I'm tired of running less, and would like to get going again. But pushing too much, too soon, is what got me into this mess, so I have to be patient.

At least I am able to run around the trail at Lady Bird Lake, with views like this:

Peace,

JS4

Long Post, Maybe Too Long.

When restaurants change location or close down these days, what moves in seems to be a less fancy, more affordable option. Starlite is my best example. When they moved from 34th street, Salvation Pizza (quite good) moved into the old house. Now Starlite has closed their downtown location, and a hot dog joint has moved in. It may be gourmet hot dogs, but that is a pig you can't put lipstick on. Maybe Starlite should have stayed put.

What used to be Basil's at 10th and Lamar has changed a few times, and is now the unfortunately named "The Screaming Goat." It is a classy taco place, but a big step down for the cute house that used be one of Austin's "special occasion" restaurants. The tostada I had at The Screaming Goat was impressive, not only for the fresh, quality ingredients, but because it held together while I ate it, rather than crumbling onto my lap at the first bite. Worth a return visit.

Over the weekend, Carrie and I ate out several times, and each time were impressed with the quality of service. Local restaurants as diverse as Hoovers Home Cookin', Mirabelle, and Kerby Lane Cafe have staffs that make you want to return. We're pretty forgiving on the rare occasions when we get bad service, but Austin seems to have an abundance of waitstaff who take pride in their work. Always appreciated.

I'm not a jazz fan, but I had a pleasant surprise last week at Kat Edmonson's in-store. Two drummers and a bass player provided enough rhythm to keep the music from wandering off into indulgent jazzland, and Kat knew how to get out of the way when her awesome trumpet player had a solo. Her vocals had a nasal quality that took some getting used to, but fit really well with he music. Someone in the crowd said she reminded them of Madeleine Peyroux, if that helps. (That comparison did not provide me with a useful frame of reference.) Carrie did not care for the sample of Kat Edmonson's music that I played for her when I got home, but she may still agree to see a performance at The Elephant Room downtown, where we have never been, in all our years in Austin.

Trailer food, way beyond taco stands,has become big business in Austin, especially on trendy South Congress. High class Hudson's on the Bend has brought their food to the masses with The Mighty Cone, a quality wrap with a choice of chicken, shrimp, or avocado. They are wildly popular at the Austin City Limits Festival, and I must admit it was very good, but at $6.00, it was pretty indulgent for street food. I did like the custom cone holders on their picnic tables, though.

Speaking of indulging, since the cone was not a full meal, I decided to supplement my lunch with a chocolate cupcake from Hey Cupcake, on the same gravel parking lot as The Mighty Cone. Nothing phenomenal, and I'll get my empty calories elsewhere in the future, but I do love the giant rotating cupcake on the top of the trailer.

I also like that this collection of trailers is right across the street from Vespaio, one of Austin's finest restaurants. As South Congress goes more and more upscale, it is nice to know that doesn't mean exclusive. It's still Austin, after all.

Hey, I just thought of a new slogan for

Austin:

No Velvet Ropes,

Just Velvet Ruts.

Okay, this post is long enough, 'cause it just got lame.

Peace,

JS4