June 17 Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Tuesday - Woulda Shoulda Coulda

Tuesday I decided it was a perfect day to stay at the cottages and let Steve go birding on his own. 

I enjoyed my day at the cottage. A little time on the screened in porch, a little time down on a bench in the lower lawn, a little time with binoculars in hand looking at butterflies and looking into the meadow beyond the lawn where wildflowers bloomed, including dark purple Japanese Irises. I even took a nap.

Steve drove into town to the HS where some birds had been reported, but didn't realize school was still in session here. So he moved on to Acadia National Park to several birding spots there, and arrived back at the cottage a little after 5:30.

Laundry and Cadillac Mountain

We did need to do a little laundry so headed back into Bar Harbor to the laundromat next to the grocery store. What's to say about that? Nothing, except, if you are a laundromat owner please don't put washing machines up on six inch high platforms unless you provide steps for short people to step up on and get their laundry out of the tub! I had to go get DH to retrieve it.

On the way back we (I) decided to take a short spin up to Cadillac Mountain. It's a beautiful drive, and interesting to watch the ecosystem changes as you gain elevation. There are all kinds of pullouts with spectacular views. I pull over for one and it says we should be looking at The Bubbles (two rounded mountains). Except we couldn't see them because clouds and rain were rolling in. It was a beautiful, brooding site.

Undaunted, we continued on. Now you can see the alpine flowers, lichens, and mosses. And clouds (or fog?) rolling over the hill tops like a tide rolling in. Another picture stop (I think Frenchman's Bay) and we continue a bit further, but finally there is no visibility at all on the road so we turned around and headed back to the cottages where I cooked dinner and we were in for the night.

June 16 2014 - Moving day--headed to Bar Harbor

• Monday is moving day - Hinckley Park, South Portland and Viles Arboretum in Augusta

  Steve describes this trip as hit and run, and that is a true descriptor. We are just getting a taste of places and moving on. Monday we moved up to Bar Harbor, and made a few stops along the way.
  
  First up was Hinckley Park in South Portland for birding opportunities. Unless you are a birder or want to walk your dog off-leash, not much for the out of town visitor, but we enjoyed our visit to this small residential park. Took a look at some birds, butterflies, and wildflowers.

  

  
  
  However, if you are near Augusta, may I suggest you seek out the Viles Arboretum? It is not a polished, manicured arboretum, but was a worthwhile stop.
  
  An unexpected feature of the visit was the presence of sculptures throughout the property. Here's what it says on the web site:
  
  "Current activities of special note in clude the "Shifting Gears Initiative", bringing art to the Arboretum as a way of introducing visitors to art through nature and nature through art"
  
  The sculptures (I am not sure if all of them) are for sale as well, as a fund raising activity. It is a non-profit organization so looking for funds is always a priority! They have a sign inside that says admission is free, but if you use the restrooms you might consider a donation 
  
  They also had a stuffed Moose, which was the closest I was going to get to a Moose on this trip:

  

  
  

  Steve headed to where the director said most warblers were hanging out, and I took a more circuitous route through the hosta gardens (so many hosta types!); a rock garden; a lovely setting at a pond; past the Governor's Grove, up to the top of the hill where there was a meadow and I connected with DH again.
  
  Near the rock garden I climbed some stairs to the Johnson Learning Pavilion. I heard some rustling in the underbrush, and it was a very very noisy rustling. Sounded much larger than say a squirrel. I see a brown furry critter with it's mouth full of leaves. It froze, I whipped out my camera and snapped a picture, but not fast enough as it scurried away and all you can see in my picture frame is a brown furry butt. Beaver? I don't know. I didn't get a good enough look, but we have seen a number of beaver lodges, so maybe? And this was right by the pond.
  
  I've seen lots of butterflies along with the plants and flowers, but now I was hungry. I headed back to the car, got out our cooler and picnic stuff, and located a picnic table in the shade. Sandwiches and oranges consumed, we continued on to Bar Harbor.
  
  http://www.vilesarboretum.org/index.php/home

• Report AbuseFinishing up Monday - Hutchins Mountain View Cottages, Bar Harbor, and West Street Cafe

  
  Hutchins Mountain View Cottages
  
  Thanks to elberko, we found this place. It's very similar in feel to the Pride Motel and Cottages. We had Cottage #2. Nothing fancy, bed, small bathroom with an itty bitty shower, and kitchenette. This one included an oven which is unusual (in my experience) in kitchenettes (usually only stove tops). But no salt and pepper! Most places like this that I have visited at least have those in the cupboards. So when I left I left the salt and pepper shakers I had to buy, the garlic salt, and a small bottle of vegetable oil for the next tenant 
  
  It also has a nice screened in porch, and the very best feature is the view out over the lower lawn and meadow, out to Cadillac Mountain.

  

  
  

  
  http://www.hutchinscottages.com
  
  It is maybe 8 minutes to Bar Harbor, and after unpacking we headed into Bar Harbor to look for dinner. After finding parking (no easy feat at 7 pm on a Sunday evening in Bar Harbor) we walked around town a bit, people watching and enjoying the view into the harbor.
  
  Finally, we settled back at
  
  West Street Cafe http://weststreetcafe.com
  
  Somewhere I had read some good reviews of this place, although I couldn't remember what they were! But lobster was on the menu so I knew it would work for me.
  
  I had their Downeast Sandwich Special which came with a Lobster Roll, clam chowder, fries, coleslaw, and blueberry pie. DH had the broiled haddock. Naturally he took bites of my lobster roll, a spoonful (or two) of the chowder, and most of the blueberry pie. It all worked out. Lobster roll was good, but not as big of chunks as Bayley's. Clam Chowder was excellent. Blueberry pie was okay.
  
  From here we just wrapped up the day. elberko had also told us where a grocery store was so we wandered around town until we hit Cottage Street and picked up something I could make for dinner the next night in the cottage, and a few odds and ends. After that it was back to the cottage, and with it still being light, sat on the porch for awhile before bed.

June 15 2014 - I am going to eat lobster every day I am in Maine.

Scarborough Marsh and Eastern Trail

DH is a birder, and although this trip is mainly my trip, we are trying to get in some birding for him. About five minutes away from where we were staying was the Scarborough Marsh and Audobon Center. You can take canoe tours, and walk trails. Through the Marsh also runs the Eastern Trail. On this blustery yet sunny Father's Day Sunday, there were all sorts of people on the trail--walking, biking, jogging, pushing strollers.

We walked about 2 1/2 miles thorough the marsh to and into the tree line. It was a nice walk, but few birds were being seen with 20-30 mile winds having their way with us and the birds. We did at the end get some looks at the Saltmarsh Sparrow, which was main reason for being there. 

In addition to the walk, we had also stopped at the center and had a chat, and now it was getting close to noon, and we hadn't eaten since 2:30 the day before. It was time for....

More Lobster!

Bayley's Lobster Pound http://www.bayleys.com

We turned left out of the parking lot, drove about a minute, and stopped at Bayley's Lobster Pound. This time I tried a Lobster Roll, Lobster Stew, and DH had a Haddock Fish Sandwich (and bites from both my servings.

OMG the Lobster Roll! It was delicious. Big chunks of lobster, lightly dressed, so darned good. The lobster stew was good too, but the Lobster Roll was now my favorite.

Just looking around, Pine Point, CDs and Book Exchange

From there we drove down through Pine Point and basically just looked around. We stopped at one point and DH went off looking for birds and I visited a gift shop for post cards, Christmas ornaments, and a bag of gummy Lobsters (why? I really don't know except it amused me) and saltwater taffy. It was the best saltwater taffy I have ever had! Lots of intense flavors. DH and I have been snacking on them all week. 

This was the maker: http://www.havenscandies.com/saltwater_taffy.asp

On the way to the marsh earlier DH had noticed a CD and Book Exchange, and since it was so windy, and not very good birding at this point, and other things we wanted to do were too far away, we headed over to that store. If you knew DH and myself, you would know that hanging out in music and/or book stores is not unusual.

It was a productive tirp as well. I had been wanting to read In The Garden of Beasts, and picked up a copy for 4.99. DH liked The Lost City of Z, and I got it for $3.99. There is more, but one of the prizes was a children's book illustrated by NC Wyeth. 

Wrapping up Sunday

We made a trip to a Hannaford supermarket for things like coffee, milk, bread, sandwich makings, as well as a couple of steaks to make for dinner. Back to the cottage to unload the groceries and just relax for awhile. DH went to check out another flea market he had seen, and I read a book and watched with one eye as Martin Kaymer ran away with the US Open. I made steak for dinner, and that wrapped up day 2 of vacation!

June 14 2014 - Farnsworth Art Museum, Waterman's Lobster, and the Pride Motel and Cottages

Farnsworth Art Museum, Waterman's for lobster, and the Pride Motel and Cottages

I think  I said something like "it was a pleasant enough drive." Actually, every drive has been beautiful. There are these big sweeps of lupine blooming--absolutely beautiful--all along the interstates, as well as any of the other routes we found ourselves on. All kinds of other wildflowers blooming, deep greens of the trees, rocky outcroppings. There are irises everywhere, and all color of rhodedendrons.

We enjoy driving through the small towns when we are on the smaller coastal routes, and looking at the houses, and the churches, and cool old buildings.

We also noticed that there do not seem to be any billboards. That's fabulous! Is it a Maine state law we wonder?

Farnsworth Art Museum

We reach Rockland and the art museum. I had read about the museum in a trip report, and others here on the boards mentioned the collections, and basically I got it in my head I wanted to visit. I am so glad we did! DH and I really, really enjoyed the collection.

There is one gallery called the Study Center and it shows studies that Andrew Wyeth made before he did a final painting, and often there is either the painting or a photo of the final painting. Super interesting to see the evolution to the final product.

We visited the Hadlock Gallery where more Andrew Wyeth paintings were on exhibit, many of them the paintings that evolved from the studies. I never really appreciated Andrew Wyeth that much until seeing a large exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City, MO many years ago. Now I see his work in a different way.

We browsed the rest of the museum, including a Shaker exhibit that was really cool. 

There was a LOVE sculpture both inside the museum and a large LOVE sculpture with four designs joined in different orientations. 

There was also this cool mosaic made out of pebbles.  Images of buoys, lobster, and other Maine centric items.

Then, I eavesdropped at the information desk (I was going to ask what was up at the Wyeth Center) and found out that there was a special exhibit of NC Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and James Wyeth up there.

I asked a guard how to get there and he pointed me up the path and across the street, telling us to be sure to take the elevator to the top floor. Why you might ask? (As did we.) The Wyeth Center is in an old Methodist Church and the elevator was the pastor's office!

This was a really worthwhile stop, and to those of you who recommended it, thank you! If you are in the area, it is a very "doable" museum, not overwhelming the way some large ones can bel.

http://farnsworthmuseum.org

Waterman's for Lobster

We were lobster virgins. No more. Rockland looked interesting, but remember we really had not eaten yet, and were operating on about 4 1/2 hours sleep. We needed to head back, and we needed to eat something. On my list of lobster shack possibilities was Waterman's Beach Lobster. I plugged it into the Google Maps App and we were on our way.

We were lucky, as it was opening day! Since we had never had lobster before we ordered a pound of steamed clams as well, and ordered the opening day special which was a whole steamed lobster and roll, and DH ordered a slice of raspberry pie.

It was beautiful, although a bit windy and chilly. Right on the water, lobster traps piled on a doc, mason jars with lupine on every table.

The clams were great, we made short work of them, dipping them in butter. The lobster came, along with the bib. I realized later what a good idea this was as that night when I looked in the mirror I realized I had the tiniest bit of lobster shell in my eyelashes. What else flew off that lobster as I cracked it I wonder?!

Well, we enjoyed the lobster quite a bit. I did eventually need a lesson from one of the girls on how to crack that baby. I was glad I had tipped well.

http://www.watermansbeachlobster.com

Pride Motel and Cottages

We now made a beeline back to Scarborough and the Pride Motel and Cottages. We were tired. 

There had been some discussion about this place that I had booked, and whether we should stay there. I had picked it because it was recommended from the Scarborough Marsh site as a place nearby. I had booked two nights and already paid, so I was committed.

I'm so glad we did stay there. It felt a bit like camping, and was a bit of a throwback to the 50s. It was super cheap ($75/night). We had a small cottage that had a queen size bed, small kitchenette, and front porch. Ours was set way at the back of the property, and you could not see the highway 1 traffic at all. In fact, maybe only the motel rooms at the front could see them. They cater to the family traveler, and there's a pool, a screened in gazebo, a glassed in gazebo, places to sit around the property, a children's play area, and it is surrounded by trees.

I need to stress that this is not fancy. But it worked out perfectly for us.

We checked in, unpacked, sat on the front porch for awhile, then both of us were reading in bed and both of us dropped off, lights on, about 8:30 pm. About 3:30 am I woke up, turned off the lights, turned on the heat, and it was back to bed.

A full and not bad first day of vacation!

The 45th and 46th State - Maine and Vermont

 No, not to join the union, but the 45th and 46th states I've visited.  Once I realized how close I was to visiting all 50 states I knew I had to get them all!

The first night
We flew Friday night the 13th and decided to stay the night at the airport, and pick the car up in the morning before driving on. The Courtyard Marriott was five minutes via free shuttle, and $209 a night. Or for 6 hours which is all the time we were there  But it was fine, served its purpose, and everyone was very nice.

On our way

We got up at 5:30 or 6 (I can't really remember!) caught the shuttle back to the airport. The shuttle driver very nicely took us to the rental center! The night before the desk clerk told us we would have to go to the airport then take the shuttle to the rental center. Which is why both DH and myself felt horrible when we realized neither one of us had tipped the driver! Each of us thought the other was doing it.

In any case, we very easily and quickly picked up our car at Enterprise and were on the road by 7 am. The total is $488 including the EZ pass toll thingy (the tolls will be added at the end). A Chrysler $200, which is fine for the two of us and our suitcases. DH carries a rather large one as his tripod only fits in that one! Otherwise I go for a compact.

It's a gray, gloomy, foggy, drizzly sort of day

Our original plan for being on the road so early was to head straight for Scarborough ME and start some birding. The weather just wasn't cooperating, so we changed plans on the fly.

First, the drive. I've never been here before (obviously!) so everything is new. We enjoy road trips and just looking around at different home styles, landscape, etc. As we move into New Hampshire we are amused by the gigantic red barn like State Liquor stores - one on each side of the interestate. I like the guy driving the big old chevy and his fantasy plate reads "My Yacht" (as in land yacht).

We stopped at the rest stop/visitor information center at Kittery, ME. We step out of the car and take a deep breath of the pine scented, freshly washed by rain air. Driving in I'm all "What is that? Is that a rhodedendron? It is!" I was (and am) so excited to see rhodies in bloom. I'm originally from WA state where they are everywhere, but I am never 'home" when they are blooming.

After a short bio break, we walk around and stretch our legs a little until the center opens, then go back in for some maps and booklets from the superhelpful volunteer there, then are back on our way.

Cinnamon Rolls (not!) and a car alarm

It's still fairly early, and we have not eaten. We head on to Portland, ME where I have been told Standard Baking Company is a great place for cinnamon rolls. I thought it would be more of a bakery where you could also get breakfast, but I was wrong. It was crowded, and we were hungry for something a bit more substantial, so we decided we would go find a restaurant, then come back later and get cinnamon rolls and maybe some bread (it all looked and smelled delicious) to take with us to the cabins we would be staying in. This was a decision I would regret later.


So we walked around the old town/port area looking for a restaurant for breakfast. There were lots of cool shops, and restaurants (that didn't open until lunch) and a Starbucks, and some bakeries and donut shops--but no place for a sit down breakfast! We did enjoy our walk and doing a bit of window shopping, but we were still hungry.

So, I asked a Portland policeman who was standing outside a donut shop (the Holey Donut) snacking from a baggie of carrots and radishes. His rosy cheeks and obvious health putting lie to the donut eating stereotype. Remember, he is standing right outsidethe Holey Donut. 

So anyway, the only place he could think of was Beth's Diner which was just a short drive up Commercial Street.

So we took a looping route back to the car, still looking around at cool shops, old architecture, and stumbling on cobblestone streets. And hit the unlock button on the car key fob. Hmm. Doesn't unlock. Earlier when I tried to lock the car I noticed that it took three times to lock. Was th battery dying? Uh oh. So I use the actual key to unlock the car. UH OH

The alarm went off and just would not shut down. I started the car, I pushed the panic button to try to make it turn off, I looked for the car manual to see if I could find out how, none in the rental car. People were coming over to be helpful, and I was just embarrassed. After what seemed like an hour (maybe 5 minutes?) the alarm finally shut off.

Ugh. No way was I going to risk this again so we ended up going to the local Enterprise on 1 Marginal Way in Portland where they were super helpful in swapping out for the exact same car, but one with a key fob with fresh batteries. Really, if you are ever in Portland and need to rent a car, they were so helpful.

But now I was cranky on top of being hungry, and quite frankly I get a little pissy at that point. So I decided we would just drive on to Rockland where I wanted to visit the Farnsworth Art Museum. A gray cloudy day seemed like the right time for this.

It was a pleasant enough drive, still interesting to look around. We had to fill up the gas tank on the new rental so stopped at convenience center where I got a banana and some crackers so I would no longer be quite as b*tchy as before. DH was staying clear.

March 2014 Susan G. Komen Walk in Tucson

Our get together in Tucson was the same weekend as the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure.  One of the Tucson travel friends was running, so I said I would walk the 5K.  Then another travel friend said she would walk too.  Then last minute, another travel friend decided to run.

We all raised a fair amount of money, and it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

I enjoyed the SWAT team view.

It was fun to be serenaded by the Mariachi Band at the end of the walk/run.

And if these people went to this kind of effort, photos needed to be taken!

I was fascinated by this.  Outside the Medical building on campus.

Some closeups

Cheese, pulled pork, and a party - March 29 in Tucson Continued

I had a party to attend that night, and needed supplies for my contribution.  A local friend told me about Blu, a cheese store, so I headed back up from Madera to Tucson.  A side note here, one thing I had noticed on past trips to Tucson was how beautifullly adorned the freeway overpasses are!  One day I should look up some of the backstories.

Blu http://www.bluarizona.com

The cheese store was located at Mercado san Augustin (sp?) on the west side of Tucson.  Time was tight or I might have stayed there longer as there was a festival going on in the courtyard.  Instead, I visited Blu.  It's small, but with a nice selection of cheeses.  

I had sent ahead three things to the party host:  Tomato Basil Jam, Jaune Flamme tomato jam (a small orange heritage tomato) and candied jalapenos.  I like the jalapenos with cream cheese, so I would pick that up later.  After some discussion with the cheese monger (and that is what is fun about visiting a dedicated cheese store) I got a very fresh, spreadable chevre, and a comte.  I would serve everything with sliced baguettes and crackers (or so I thought).

On their way to being candied:

Basil and lemon headed towards tomato basil jam:

And the Jaune Flamme canned:

Now I need cream cheese, crackers, bread, and some fruit for a fruit salad I had also promised to make.  I had scoped out a Whole Foods that was on the way back from Blu to my hotel, so thought this woudl be just the place.  It was more of a challenge than I thought, there were no baguettes to be found and the fruit was pretty sad.  But I made do, and all was well.

A short stop at the hotel for a couple of hours, time for a short nap then it was on to the party!

Pulled Pork, Ribs, and more - the party!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I was in town for a GTG with travel friends.  One of them lives there in Tucson and offered to host 30 of us at his home.  He smoked, barbecued, and served up delicious meat that rivaled anything I eat at home in Kansas City!

There were five birthdays, and cake (one of the friends is a professional cake decorator) and everyone put on their best with contributions to the meal.  It ended with a beautiful Tucson sunset.,