We left Bar Harbor with our final destination our original point, Manchester, NH. We did take a drive through Acadia National Park before we left town. I was able to go down to one of the few 'sandy' beaches in the state. It's 'sand' is a mixture of crushed quartz and clam shells that looks like wet sawdust. In the summer when the highs are 70 degrees, the water is about 50 degrees. So, no, I did not take a dip in the bay. It was a very cold, very rainy day in Bar Harbor. Mom and I are settled into the hotel room ready for an early departure back to home sweet Nashville. I'm not sure how she got everything to fit into her suitcase because all week the backseat of the car looked like her suitcase exploded in it.
I can't imagine that Maine is anymore beautiful in the summer. I love that Maine has retained its rugged, quaint, inviting character without giving in to the commerical industry that seems to have taken over the rest of the country. I am charmed by New England and will back again...
October 22, 2009
October 21, 2009
Ba-Ha-ba
It was hard to leave the hospitality of our B&B innkeepers in Rockland, but we headed on to Bar Harbor. Unfortunately, we miscalculated the distance and missed our whale watching tour boat--the only one of the day. We were able to make the later Nature Tour that took us around Frenchman Bay. Acadia National Park rose high in the background. At the tops of the seaside cliffs sat beautiful cottage estates built by Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Astor, Pulitzer, and Morgan (to name a few) around the turn of the century. It was these families who donated the initial land that became Acadia National Park. The view from our room at the Bar Harbor Inn is very close to the view they had. We were able to see seals, bald eagles, a young milky whale, eider ducks, and porpoise. We passed Thunder Hole (which was the site of a tragedy just two months ago); here, the surf crashes against the rocks inside crevasses which is said to make a sound like clapping thunder. A cool site. After the tour we walked around the little shops and found ourselves belly up at the Bar Harbor Brewing Company beer tasting counter. Interesting beers that are only found in Maine (too expensive to ship).
We ended our evening at the Bar Harbor Inn's restaurant, Reading Room. The view of the bay from the restaurant was just a lovely as the view from our room. You can't leave Maine without eating blueberry pie. So I ordered the dark chocolate raspberry torte--and had a taste of Mom's blueberry pie!
Tomorrow we drive to Bangor where we will start our trip back towards the airport.
We ended our evening at the Bar Harbor Inn's restaurant, Reading Room. The view of the bay from the restaurant was just a lovely as the view from our room. You can't leave Maine without eating blueberry pie. So I ordered the dark chocolate raspberry torte--and had a taste of Mom's blueberry pie!
Tomorrow we drive to Bangor where we will start our trip back towards the airport.
October 20, 2009
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,...
...and I, I took the one that lead to the winery. We left Portland for Rockland this morning. We decided to head off the beaten path into beautiful, secluded, rural Maine. The hills with the turning leaves reminded me of the Tennessee hills in autumn. This led us to a very, very small winery called Sweetgrass. The front door was locked, and the sign read, "I'm in the workshop next door. Please press 'call' on the walkie talkie, and I'll be right over." So I called him on the walkie talkie that was clipped to the sign, and he was right over. Maine doesn't have ideal conditions for grape growing so the wineries seem to use what they have--blueberries, apples, and cranberries. I bought some delicious wine to add to my collection.
Disappointingly, we did not get to go lobstering with Capt'n Jack. I was really looking forward to working on a lobster boat, even for just two hours. So we had to come up with a Plan B. After window shopping cute, little Main Street, we went to see the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. What I didn't know was that it was one mile out in the water, and the only way to get there is to walk the uneven gigantic granite pathway out across the water. It was pretty though, and a nice day to do it. We then drove into Camden. Just like Kennebunkport, it is the quintessential New England village full of charm. We drove to Camden Hills State Park to to the top of Mount Battie for a breathtaking view of Camden (all the way past Rockland, too). From the top we saw the water for miles in one direction, the tiny town with its old church steeples rising through the turning trees, and miles of hills in autumn in another direction. As beautiful as it was, I can only image what the harbor looks like in summer dotted with sailboats.
I had more Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer tonight. I must find out if Nashville has it.
Disappointingly, we did not get to go lobstering with Capt'n Jack. I was really looking forward to working on a lobster boat, even for just two hours. So we had to come up with a Plan B. After window shopping cute, little Main Street, we went to see the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. What I didn't know was that it was one mile out in the water, and the only way to get there is to walk the uneven gigantic granite pathway out across the water. It was pretty though, and a nice day to do it. We then drove into Camden. Just like Kennebunkport, it is the quintessential New England village full of charm. We drove to Camden Hills State Park to to the top of Mount Battie for a breathtaking view of Camden (all the way past Rockland, too). From the top we saw the water for miles in one direction, the tiny town with its old church steeples rising through the turning trees, and miles of hills in autumn in another direction. As beautiful as it was, I can only image what the harbor looks like in summer dotted with sailboats.
I had more Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer tonight. I must find out if Nashville has it.
October 19, 2009
Whoopie
The clouds parted and today turned out to be a beautiful day to be out and about in Portland. We had a busy day sightseeing around Portland. Our trolley tour took us to the oldest federal lighthouse, The Portland Head Light, commissioned by George Washington. It's said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the country. It was quite picturesque with the waves crashing against the rocky coast in the background. What I like most about Maine is its very limited commercial business. Portland prides itself on all of the independent businesses; it makes it a unique place to visit. Also, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived in Portland--Paul Revere's Ride (the one if by land, two if by sea poet).
I certainly got a taste of Maine today: haddock, whoopie pie, Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer, and lobster. Delish! Sidenote: lobster is plentiful in Maine, it's what they're known for. But, back in the day, they thought it was terrible. So terrible, in fact, they used to only feed it to prisoners (no more than 3x a week, because any more would be inhumane).
We drove to Freeport to check out the L.L. Bean flagship store...I mean compound. It is open 24/7/365. They don't even have locks on the doors--I checked! It's HUGE!!! An outlet mall has built up around it, but a very cool one. They've moved into the original building on the street, keeping the character intact. Abercrombie & Fitch is in the old public library.
I ate my first (peel myself and eat) boiled lobster. It was like a giant crawfish which means it had 20x as much gook, too. I thought it smelled unpleasant; I prefer crab legs and crawfish.
I certainly got a taste of Maine today: haddock, whoopie pie, Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer, and lobster. Delish! Sidenote: lobster is plentiful in Maine, it's what they're known for. But, back in the day, they thought it was terrible. So terrible, in fact, they used to only feed it to prisoners (no more than 3x a week, because any more would be inhumane).
We drove to Freeport to check out the L.L. Bean flagship store...I mean compound. It is open 24/7/365. They don't even have locks on the doors--I checked! It's HUGE!!! An outlet mall has built up around it, but a very cool one. They've moved into the original building on the street, keeping the character intact. Abercrombie & Fitch is in the old public library.
I ate my first (peel myself and eat) boiled lobster. It was like a giant crawfish which means it had 20x as much gook, too. I thought it smelled unpleasant; I prefer crab legs and crawfish.
October 18, 2009
The rain in Maine falls mainly on the plain
Today was a cold, rainy day. Period. We left Massachusetts for Maine. We did a little outlet shopping in Kittery. It's anytown, USA. We quickly moved on to Kennebunkport. Lots of unique shops and big, beautiful, expensive coastal homes. We even happened upon George Bush's vacation home--quite impressive.
We made our way to Portland to settle in for the evening. As we watched the Titans get killed by the Patriots in the snow, it was snowing out our hotel window, too. And for dinner I had my first taste of Maine lobster. Yum.
We will rest up for a full day of sight seeing in Portland. I'm crossing my fingers that the rain and snow will pass for our lighthouse boat tour tomorrow.
We made our way to Portland to settle in for the evening. As we watched the Titans get killed by the Patriots in the snow, it was snowing out our hotel window, too. And for dinner I had my first taste of Maine lobster. Yum.
We will rest up for a full day of sight seeing in Portland. I'm crossing my fingers that the rain and snow will pass for our lighthouse boat tour tomorrow.
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
In at quaint, New England town of 40,000 residents, 5,000 practice witchcraft. What better time to visit Salem, Massachusetts than October?!? What New Year's Eve is to Time Square, Halloween is to Salem. We visited the memorial to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials. It was beside a cemetery with headstones dating back to the late 1600s.
I guess I got a little caught up in the 'spirit' of Salem and decided to have my tarot cards read. I handed over $50 and about 4 1/2 minutes later I knew my future. According to the reader (for lack of a better word), 2010 is my year! I can't wait to meet my Lebanese future husband (well, she said he could be Jewish instead) so we can start our family--because I'll have our two children by the time I'm 36. (It must be a shotgun wedding.) Apparently, she didn't notice the 'Whuh?' look on my face; I guess she was too busy counting my $50. Sucker...
We enjoyed visiting the House of the Seven Gables--the original house based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The fictional story is inspired by a real curse that was supposedly put on the house by a woman sentenced to death during the witch hysteria. Sidenote: Hawthorne's ancestor was the infamous Judge Hathorne who sentenced the innocents to death during the Salem Witch Trials. He added the 'w' to his name as a way to separate himself. He also looks a lot like Mark Twain.
We ended our visit to Salem by attending a 4-hour Ghosthunting 101 seminar at the (haunted) Hawthorne Hotel. We listened to the team from the New England Ghost Project talk about their paranormal investigations before we set out on some investigations of our own. The trip to the old bank vault basement was a bust. I didn't detect any energy using my electromagnetic field (EMF) device. This is spooky...electromagnetic voice phenomenon (EVP). We learned how to talk to spirits and record their voices. I think I might be too scared to try it! When we returned to the hotel, we attempted to contact spirits. I witnessed a spirit channel the medium who was part of the investigation team. The spirit was a nineteenth-century sailor who drown on a ship. The spirit was inside her as she was experiencing his drowning. I was scared watching it because I actually think it was real. If it was real, then it ranks up there beside the South African witch doctor's digs...totally bizarre.
Our adventures in Salem ended at the witching hour. Time to move on.
I guess I got a little caught up in the 'spirit' of Salem and decided to have my tarot cards read. I handed over $50 and about 4 1/2 minutes later I knew my future. According to the reader (for lack of a better word), 2010 is my year! I can't wait to meet my Lebanese future husband (well, she said he could be Jewish instead) so we can start our family--because I'll have our two children by the time I'm 36. (It must be a shotgun wedding.) Apparently, she didn't notice the 'Whuh?' look on my face; I guess she was too busy counting my $50. Sucker...
We enjoyed visiting the House of the Seven Gables--the original house based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The fictional story is inspired by a real curse that was supposedly put on the house by a woman sentenced to death during the witch hysteria. Sidenote: Hawthorne's ancestor was the infamous Judge Hathorne who sentenced the innocents to death during the Salem Witch Trials. He added the 'w' to his name as a way to separate himself. He also looks a lot like Mark Twain.
We ended our visit to Salem by attending a 4-hour Ghosthunting 101 seminar at the (haunted) Hawthorne Hotel. We listened to the team from the New England Ghost Project talk about their paranormal investigations before we set out on some investigations of our own. The trip to the old bank vault basement was a bust. I didn't detect any energy using my electromagnetic field (EMF) device. This is spooky...electromagnetic voice phenomenon (EVP). We learned how to talk to spirits and record their voices. I think I might be too scared to try it! When we returned to the hotel, we attempted to contact spirits. I witnessed a spirit channel the medium who was part of the investigation team. The spirit was a nineteenth-century sailor who drown on a ship. The spirit was inside her as she was experiencing his drowning. I was scared watching it because I actually think it was real. If it was real, then it ranks up there beside the South African witch doctor's digs...totally bizarre.
Our adventures in Salem ended at the witching hour. Time to move on.
October 16, 2009
The Maine Event
Tomorrow morning Mom and I will head to New England for a road trip along the coast of Maine. I'm very excited because I've never been to New England, and what a beautiful time to go! My job has never allowed me to travel like this in the fall. Our itinerary is full as we hop from town to town up the coast:
Saturday
arrive Manchester, NH
drive to Salem, MA--witches and ghosts
Sunday
drive to Kittery, ME--shopping; Kennebunkport, ME--lunch; arrive Portland, ME
Monday
Portland, ME--lighthouses
Tuesday
drive to Rockland, ME--lobstering (cross your fingers)
Wednesday
drive to Bar Harbor, ME--whales
Thursday
drive back to Manchester, NH
Friday
arrive Nashville, TN
Saturday
arrive Manchester, NH
drive to Salem, MA--witches and ghosts
Sunday
drive to Kittery, ME--shopping; Kennebunkport, ME--lunch; arrive Portland, ME
Monday
Portland, ME--lighthouses
Tuesday
drive to Rockland, ME--lobstering (cross your fingers)
Wednesday
drive to Bar Harbor, ME--whales
Thursday
drive back to Manchester, NH
Friday
arrive Nashville, TN
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