Visiting Friends

We're still in Bellingham, which has proven to be a dandy starting point for adventures in surrounding areas. Yesterday, we went to Providence to see my friends Pat and Alan. Pat took us to the Botanical Gardens, where we enjoyed a walk around and shot some photos. Here are a few of them:

Next, we went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant called 1149 Restaurant, in Seekonk, MA. I ordered the swordfish, Jack got the ribeye, and Pat ordered the stuffed shrimp. What a feast we had! Such beautiful food, and so delicious!

 This is Pat with her beautiful pumpkin soufflee:

 And this is my beautiful and delicious chocolate concoction:

Today we went back to the area, and visited with Joanne. We began by having a delicious brunch at T's. Then we drove around and looked at some sights of Warwick. We parked and shot some photos down at the pier, then took a walk through the community, admiring old buildings and looking at the river which was hugely flooded last spring. It was great to catch up with Joanne and to visit her town. What a nice day this was!

Freedom Trail

Yesterday we arrived in Bellingham, Massachusetts at the Circle CG Farm Campground after an easy 2+ hour drive from Saco. We took part of the afternoon to wash clothes, and then took it very easy the rest of the evening.

This morning, we did our usual slow start before we got into the car and headed off to Boston. Here we found a parking lot near Boston Commons and embarked upon the "Freedom Trail." This is a path that is painted red or bricked along the sidewalk, leading tourists like sheep around to some of the more famous historic spots in the city. HERE is a link to a listing of the sites we saw.

We liked the whole thing, especially the churches (Old North Church and the King's Chapel) and burial grounds. The USS Constitution was quite a sight to see, as was its museum. Oh, and the State House! This was our 6th state capitol building to photograph!

The weather was pretty perfect for us. The sky was cloudy most of the day, and it was a bit windy and cool, but the promised Nor'easter held off till about 10pm, when they had told us it would hit. It's raining now.

The walk is 2.5 miles from beginning to end, but, once you reach the end, you have to get back! We accomplished this by riding the T. Slick and cheap, it seemed like an "I Dream of Jeannie" thing. Blink! And we were back at Boston Commons.

I have not yet looked at my photos from today, but here are some more from Maine. This is the breakwater that we took to get out to Bug Light, near Portland:

Some bittersweet:

Lighthouse Tour

This gingko tree was blazing a gorgeous yellow against that blue sky:

City Hall in Saco, Maine was on our historic Main Street walk:

The Parish Congregational Church where we went on Sunday:

Bug Light:

What a great couple of days we've had! Monday we did a little historical building walk in Saco, Maine. It was on Main Street, where there are many historical and beautiful buildings. The tour we took was one that Jack found on the internet HERE. The day was wonderful!

Then last evening, we went to dinner with our new friends Deb, Don, and David, at their house. Deb made a fabulous lasagna (the best we'd ever had!), a tasty salad, and a YUM banana pudding. We really enjoyed our evening with them and we KNOW that we'll be seeing them again.

Today we were cold when we awoke! It's been a bit chilly right along, with lows dropping into the 30's. We have been sleeping with no heat, so, while we're toasty under the covers, getting out from under them is challenging.

We opted for a lighthouse drive today, and what a perfect day it was! We drove up around South Portland, and saw 6 lighthouses! We were able to walk up to all but 2 of them, and there was a museum at the Bug Light. (I said "BUD Light!" LOL) I've shown you photos of one of them above. When my internet connection is better (grrrrr), I'll get more posted!

Dinner tonight was at Bufflehead's just south of Biddeford, which is just a bit south of Saco. One cool thing about this part of the country is that everything is very close! None of this driving 20 miles (or 60) to get to the next town!

Saco Rhymes with Taco

We went to church this morning at the Parish Congregational Church here in Saco. We were cheerfully greeted and treated to a fine service. The message was "Bloom where you're planted," and it resonated well with both of us.

Afterward, we had cake in the Fellowship Hall. Then Deb, Don, and Lia invited us to go with them to breakfast. Why, yes! We enjoyed a fine breakfast with them at a nice diner. Then we were off to explore Saco on our own.

Cabela's is one of our favorite spots, and the Saco store is great! We loved sauntering through the aisles. I picked up some nice fuzzy slippers!

Dinner... well, I'm just a bit embarrassed to say that we ate at the Clambake Restaurant again! This time, we shared a Fisherman's Platter, ending up with half of it leftover for tomorrow. We really enjoyed this day!

Seafood in Saco

Yesterday, we spent another day in Acadia. The weather was great, though cool, with just one really big blob of clouds which came in and obscured the blue of the skies for just a bit, before departing.

Our first stop was the Jordan Pond House, where we enjoyed a 3-mile walk around the pond (really a lake!). We also walked a bit along one of the carriage trails and shot a few photos on both walks.

The Jordan Pond House is a restaurant known for its tea and popovers. We didn't have tea, but we got popovers with our lunches. Jack had a roast beef sandwich and I had the chicken curry salad. Both were delicious, and the blueberry crisp which followed was delightful, too.

After lunch and a stroll through the gift shop, we drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. What views we saw from there! This is the highest point along the Atlantic coast, and they claim that the sun rises there first. That also means that it sets first there, but they don't mention that!

We stopped at Hannaford's and picked up provisions for supper. The menu was chicken livers with onions and tater tots! Yummy! We don't have chicken livers often, but, when we do, we both love them!

We got going today at the crack of 10, sort of our standard time. One stop at Lewiston filled our tanks and our bellies (chili) before we were on the road again. We drove just about 3 hours total, before arriving at the Saco KOA. This is a beautiful campground, with many amenities. One of their amenities is a good map of the area, and a nice campground host who recommended a good restaurant.

That good restaurant? The Clambake Seafood Restaurant at Pine Point, ME. I got the fried scallops and haddock, and Jack had lobster, shrimp, and scallops. Both came with potatoes and salads, and there was PLENTY of food. My plate would have fed 3-4 Janees. And it was great food! Very casual, as you can read on their site, but no tipping. Really fun. Great evening!

I ♥ ME!

These are photos that I took yesterday at Acadia National Park. I realize that I told you that it was cloudy all day and .. it was! I used Photoshop to change the weather for my photos!

Today we awoke to a chilly wind rocking our little RV, but we were cozy inside. We decided that it wouldn't be safe to hike as we'd planned, so we chose to go shop prowling instead. I bought a new brown fuzzybear jacket, matching hand-knit merino wool fingerless mittens, a yellow hoodie sweatshirt with magenta "Maine" across the front, and a T-shirt that says

I ♥ ME

This made me laugh when I saw it, and I expect it'll make me laugh everytime I wear it!

We did get more wind this morning, and by afternoon, it was sprinkling rain, but that didn't stop us from our explorations of Bar Harbor's neat shops and galleries! We had lunch at a little place called Rupununi -- an American Grill. Jack had a lobster roll and I really enjoyed their buffalo chicken sandwich. We both had clam chowder, and I ate most of the slice of blueberry pie! (Maine is famous for their blueberries, too!)

We gave up on the shopping at 4:00 and headed back to our RV. There is a man who comes to this KOA to cook lobsters for the people every night during season, and tonight was no exception. So Jack took him up on it and I finished up the delicious chicken salad. Great Day!

Acadia National Park

Here are some photos from our walk in Acadia today! The rain held out till after we were nearly back, and it just sprinkled a bit till we got into the car. The walk was from Sand Beach to Otter Cliffs and back -- about 3 miles total -- and an easy stroll. Tomorrow I'll give you more of the water and rock pix. My connection is so slow tonight that I'm just going to post 5:

So, yeah, we had a great time! After it started to rain, we decided to get back on the Park Road long enough to take the cutoff back to Bar Harbor. We had intended to do some shop prowling, but it was POURING by then, so we rethought things and opted, instead, to have an early supper before returning to our campground.

The Chart House in Bar Harbor served Jack lobster, and me the "Mixed Grill" which was a piece of swordfish, a slice of tuna (medium rare), and scallops. All was very tasty! An apple crisp with ice cream and caramel sauce will be something else for me to diet off when I get around to dieting again. ;)

It has stopped raining now, but it's very windy. This will likely usher in some even cooler temps. Today we had a high of around 60, which felt chilly.

Augusta, Maine and the Difference between "Capital" and "Capitol"

We awoke to a cloudy sky, cool temperatures, and an excitement in the air. Time to hit the road again! And that's just what we did. The sky gradually cleared as we drove. We went to Augusta, the state capital first. Here we shot photos of the capitol building and then had lunch. Above are some of my Augusta photos. How about that sky?! It's real!

I knew that there was a difference in "capitol" and "capital," but I was not very clear on which was which till just now. "Capitol" refers to the building in which the government activities take place. "Capital" refers to the city in which the capitol building resides. So there we are.

After lunch, we had a visit at the Maine State Museum, across the street from the Capitol. The museum was really good. It featured exhibits on Maine life (from all eras) and Maine industries. There was also a nice area where they had dioramas of real (stuffed) animals including some moose, deer, and smaller animals.

We spent lots of time at the museum, leaving us with 2 hours of driving at 4pm. And, the further east we go, the sooner it gets dark! We hit the Shaw's for a few groceries before driving on to the KOA, and, by the time we got into the area, it was dark!

I don't like arriving late in the day in general, and I don't like arriving after dark at all! It just complicates things like finding the campground, finding the campsite, leveling, and hooking up. But we did all of the above, and here we are! Dinner was leftover chicken tortellini with pesto and Chips Ahoy with Reeses Cups. :)

I shot this photo at our campground in Lansing, Michigan, just over a week ago.

Today after breakfast we drove over to Bath, Maine, just about 15 miles northeast of our Durham, Maine KOA campsite. It was a lovely drive, and we found the Bath Maritime Museum easily. It was a fine collection of maritime exhibits: ships to tour, ship photos and paintings, boats being built (and we got to walk all around the workshop where the guys were working!), ships to tour, a demonstration of a boat launching, films of maritime things, stories of people involved in the various maritime adventures... Good fun! We stayed there much of the day.

Next was lobster time for Jack. Upon a recommendation of the woman in the gift shop, we found J.R. Maxwell's downtown. Jack ordered the single huge whole lobster, steamed clams, a salad, and baked potato. I got the fried scallops and haddock, baked beans, and rice pilaf. We each enjoyed a cup of clam chowder first.

Oh my! Was this ever GOOD?! We both thought that the clam chowder was the best we'd ever had. And I also found the scallops to be the best I'd ever had -- by a mile. The haddock was wonderful, too -- really light, perfectly cooked. Super food, great service, and even good atmosphere. We loved this place!

Shopping in Freeport

It was another lovely weather day, albeit cool. The KOA offered a pancake breakfast buy-in for $4 each, and we took them up on it. Delish! We drove into town to church. This was a church that had been established in the late 1700's. Several of their buildings burned, before they moved into the current one in the early 1900's. Here is a pic of the church.

We changed into our jeans in the parking lot and then hit the shops. Freeport, Maine, is famous for its flagship L.L. Bean store, and rightfully so. It's a magnificent repository of all things Bean. We found some neat things there, and left them a few dollars.

There are many other great places to shop and eat -- all befitting the tourists we are. We had lunch at Petrillo's, enjoying the Green Monster pizza. It is a delicious thin wheat crust with pesto, spinach, artichoke hearts, and plenty of cheese. I had an Orangina, too!

After we were done with our afternoon of shopping, we stopped at the Ben & Jerry's and bought a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk. We drove back home to the RV and enjoyed the ice cream here! Oh my! How good it was!