Being in New England in the fall, we couldn't help but to hop up to our old stomping grounds in Maine for a quick colorful weekend, so after spending the day in Lexington and Concord we picked Jason up after work and headed north. We spent our first night in Portsmouth, NH where we eagerly hoofed-it to our favorite pizza place, Flat Bread. Yum.
The following morning we set out towards Acadia National Park. We stopped at our favorite treat store to stock up on treats and Jason and Isaac grabbed lobstah rolls for lunch. We stopped in the ridiculously picturesque harbor of Rockport where we fell in love with maritime Maine all over again. We spent the afternoon in Camden where we visited favorite old haunts from our camper van trip. After a harbor walk, bookstores and toy stores, we bundled up and hiked to the top of Mount Battie where we enjoyed stupendous views of picturesque Penobscot Bay below. We got off the trail just in time for dinner so we went to Pig + Poet where we enjoyed a delicious meal. With full bellies we hit the road in the dark to Ellsworth (the only place I could find a pet-friendly hotel in the Acadia area on short notice) where we stayed in a crappy, smokey hotel for the evening. Blech.
The following morning we hit the road early so we could squeeze in as much of Acadia as possible. After a quick stop at Morning Glory Bakery (we spent many hours here doing schoolwork on our camper van trip) to grab a snack and lunch to go, we headed into the park. First we hiked to the top of Mount Champlain for some glorious, chilly views and then we ate lunch overlooking the ocean on pink granite rocks so typical of this coast. With full bellies we hustled up the Beehive, a steep trail with the occasional ladder and metal railings hammered into the cliff walls to keep tourists from falling. We had a funny encounter with an older couple from Minnesota decked out with hiking boots and walking sticks. Upon seeing Aaron's choice of footwear (always flip flops) they declared in disbelief, "oh look, he's doing it in flip flops....." and then as they scanned up his body ".....and his hat over his eyes." Next we stopped at the Jordan House for the obligatory popover and tea. Finally we knocked off the Bubbles hike before calling it a day. We drove back to Camden where we enjoyed another delicious dinner at Pig + Poet before checking into a lovely bed and breakfast. The fall of 2011 we spent camping in Maine had been a rainy, wet one and often times I found myself longing to stay in one of the many quaint, dry B&B's (did I mention dry?) that line the streets of Camden. I finally got my dream. This was the first real B&B the boys had stayed in so they really enjoyed the breakfast experience the following morning.
After two whirlwind days in Maine it was time to drive back to Boston to fly home. We retraced our steps with a little side trip out to visit some friends' waterfront land and arrived back in Boston just in time for dinner. After dinner Jason and I snuck out for a quick date at the über-hip bar, 'Drink'. We are not cocktail or hard alcohol people but we had heard that this place was quite a unique experience. There is no sign from the street. There is no menu. The bartender asks what kind of flavors you are in the mood for and then they whip up a drink. Jason and I sat down and shared one artistically-crafted drink. After a strange conversation with the bartender about the plastic surgery conference that was in town, he gave us our one drink for free (telling us we were basically locals and qualified for the locals deal) and then we were on our way. I got the impression that he didn't often have two people come in and order one drink to share and then head on their way. The following morning we had just enough time to walk over to Beacon Hill one last time before we had to catch our flight back home.
Click here for photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment