Maine

This is a very long blog post because I wanted to keep a record (for us) of where we went and what we did....

Well, it's been a week now that we've been back from our vacation to Maine. We had a seriously amazing time. I mean, most trips and vacations are fun, no doubt. But this one was totally different and we enjoyed every minute of it.... well, almost....

We had gotten free plane tickets and knew we wanted to get away from here for a bit. Brad took board exams July 7th and we left on the 9th driving to Chicago (6 hours ug), then flew to Boston. We got in pretty late and by the time we got to the rental car place we were toast. It was 1 am and they only had mini vans, not the Rav4/mid sized SUV we had booked. When we realized we literally had no other option, we took the van and headed to the hotel with promises we could switch it out the following day. We got the hotel, and got some much needed sleep. In the morning, though, we discovered we could see the beach from the hotel and I just knew it was some kind of good omen. Our trip was going to be great.

After driving the van a bit (poor Brad, he hates vans) Brad decided he simply could not live a whole week with that car. So we drove it back to Alamo and wow they were so cool. First of all, we had gotten a killer deal on the car to begin with and so when we went back to switch it out they gave us an even better car- a GMC Terrain (which we ended up loving) - plus a free tank of gas. Sweet! As we are waiting for the car to get cleaned up and ready we are talking about all the cool stuff in Boston we had wanted to see/do... the Freedom Trail.... the USS Constitution (happy 200th bday this year!)... the aquarium.... we looked around, saw about a zillion people, and just said ya know, we need to get out of here. Like, now. So we did. We headed straight north. We had no hotel reservations and our only plan was to hug the coast as much as possible. It was such a beautiful day. Boston was perfect (to get out of!) at 2pm and we hit Newburyport first and had lunch at the Black Cow where we ate right on the water. It was a perfect start to our vacation because from there on out we pretty much ate all our meals this way. At a port, in the open, overlooking the harbor. I'm making sure to make note of this particular restaurant because all up the coast I was determined to eat as much clam chowder as I possibly could (and trust me, I did a fantastic job) to really get a taste for the difference. It was at this restaurant that I had my most favorite of the whole trip. It was so creamy I told Brad I suspected I had just eaten a stick of butter but that I wished I had another bowl...! In fact the entire trip for breakfast (usually included) and lunch (usually sandwiches since we bought a cooler and went to the store when we first arrived), we ate seafood for dinner. While we were sitting at the restaurant we got a map and on it we saw a shop just half a block away that rented bikes. We headed over and talked with the shop owner (another plus with Maine- we met the owner of almost every place we went to) who set us up with two electric bikes, a basket on mine, and a map. Oh man those bikes are a blast. You can just hold down the button and it will take you or you can pedal and it will kick in 50%. It was great since we were actually going quite a distance as we biked down Plum Island. That was where we first got our toes in the sand and got to get in the ocean a bit. Unfortunately I was fully clothed or else let me tell you I totally would've been in all the way! The water was gorgeous. We biked all around the neighborhood- goodness the houses there are quite unique and beautiful. On the way back we stopped for ice cream and then wandered back to the shop after a couple of hours. We were sad to turn them back in and throughout the trip talked about doing that again but it didn't happen because we decided to do something different each day. We stayed near there in Porthsmouth, New Hampshire that night and in the morning drove to Kennebunkport, Maine where some really famous people live. And we could easily see why! It was surreal how beautiful it was there. After we checked in, we immediately ran down and rented a scooter for 24 hours to zip around on. It was perfect because with lots of little shops and only one main road we were able to pop in and out of places with ease. Funny that the guy who rented us the scooter (again, the owner's son) had lived awhile in Oregon. Small world. After we rented it we parked it for a bit so we could run up and see a friend of mine from my training at Penn State Medical Center. We haven't seen each other in four years but I owe her a lot. It's because of her that I learned to scan left handed, and because of that I was able to cross train into echo, which has lead me to where I am at now. I will always credit her with encouraging me to learn left handed scanning with her and will always be grateful. It helped me when I had hurt my right wrist a couple of times as well. Ambidextrous scanning is extremely uncommon in my field. So when I heard she was randomly in Maine the same time & place as us we were super excited to run up there for a couple of hours and play in the surf. Brad didn't get in the water (he said too cold but man it felt awesome to me and WAY warmer than the Pacific) but did a good job photographing me goofing off and 100% relaxing in my natural habitat lol.

We just went and went and went on that little scooter. We were on it well past dark and it was the first thing we did the next day all the way until 2 when we had to return it. We also had our first lobster roll in Kennebunkport at The Clam Shack  which has been rated by Rachel Ray, the Bush's chef only buys from them, and was the winner of the Travel Channels Lobster Wars in 2010. It did not disappoint. Warning! Lobster rolls are highly addicting but very expensive! We split one and barely held back from buying another melt-in-your-mouth goodness on a bun. Mmm. From there we stayed near Portland because on Thursday we had booked a lobstering cruise. This was actually the only activity we had booked for the trip, everything else was spontaneous. The cruise was a blast! We were able to see so much from the water. Old forts, lighthouses, and of course the beautiful water and sea life! We helped with the lobster pots getting the bait ready and measuring each lobster to see if it was big enough. It was a highlight for us that we then got to take the ones that we caught to the restaurant next door and have them cooked up. While there, we found my favorite drink of all time, Blood Orange Sangria, which we had first tried 7 years ago in Victoria, BC and have not been able to find since. At that time, the label was in Italian and I wasn't able to track where to buy them. Luckily this label was in English and even had a California phone number (!!) so I hope to see more Sangria in my future. It was bliss drinking my most favorite that we literally had been looking for ever since. Our lobster was a lot of work getting into but it was so good! It was warm out, eating right over the water, with live music playing, Sangria, my best friend beside me, words cannot express the joy that I felt sitting there. It was perfect.

Boothbay Harbor was my most anticipated location of the trip so I convinced Brad to get up a little earlier with me so we could go straight there and enjoy it. Oh boy it did not disappoint. It was quite literally my favorite of the entire trip. We stayed at the Rocktide Inn and had room 151. Now, keep in mind if you ever go there, the room is Motel 8 quality. No fridge or anything to write home about. It didn't even have much of a bathroom counter. And for what you pay, sheesh, you might feel pretty darn ripped off. But then you step out onto the balcony. Overlooking the Bay. Absolutely hands down the best view in town. I could've sat there my entire life and died happy. While we were sitting enjoying our view we kept seeing tons of people kayak below us. After awhile we got the itch and headed over to check it out. On our way we met some fantastic people- the owners of Orne's, the candy shop who had owned it for over 60 years and where their daughter worked. They recommended the dark chocolate almond bark to which I sincerely believe I will never find another that was better. It had the best after taste and texture.

We rented a tandem kayak and ended up kayaking, round trip over 4 nautical miles around several islands, ending at Burnt Island where we were the only ones there to enjoy the seashell blanketed beach, ripe wild raspberries, Lighthouse, and blooming bright orange day lilies. We hiked around for quite awhile. We were able to get a tiny signal on my cell phone and called some family and then reluctantly headed back. Luckily on the way back in we had the tide to help us (on the way out we had to paddle against it which was... well, lets say very challenging) which really helped because our arms were getting sore! I think one of the reasons we loved Boothbay so much was because it represented totally getting out there and doing something that, honestly, we didn't know if we could do. Sea kayak? Us? It sounds fun but we have zero experience! But we did it. The sense of accomplishment we had when we were through was, I won't lie, immense. The sea was rough at times lapping over the front. I was worried my arms would give out and Brad would be doing all the work but I simply would not stop and did paddle the whole time (although Brad was the powerhouse for sure). The map was a bit vague but we just went for it. I am glad that we jumped into this trip 100% because now we have all these super fun memories that, frankly, we are still talking about! The whole time we kept talking about our friends the Stephens and how into kayaking they are and we need to call them and get some tips! I think we're ready to get into it!

That night we had more seafood on the water with live music (a theme throughout the trip...) where we tried Haddock for the first time (it was ok) and on the way back we saw some people fishing in the dark off the bridge we were on that connected our hotel to the town. We stopped to see what they were doing and they weren't fishing at all. They were squidding! They had this special lure and no bait and the squid were all around, being attracted to the lamp on the bridge. I. was. fascinated. I sat there for over an hour talking with them, watching them bring in the squid. It was amazing to me that we were on the same bridge that only hours before I could see all the way down to the bottom and had no idea all the squid that were in there. As I held one (I couldn't resist!) it was so soft and such an interesting creature. After awhile the odds were stacked against me and I finally got inked. It started shooting as soon as it was out of the water and I was covered- shirt, arms, face, hair, phone(!), and of course everything around me. We were all laughing pretty hard because truly, he had done a good job! I had wanted to ask her if I could squid too but felt bad taking her pole. In Maine, anyone can take anything from the sea without cost- there's no license needed and that squid was dinner. So I tried to be content watching and learning from this really nice Philippino woman who had awesome stories. Like the first time she went boat fishing when she had first come from the Philippians and caught- yes with her fishing pole- a 3 lb lobster! We saw a lot of lobster there but nothing over 2 lbs so it was quite an impressive story because of the size but also.... a fishing pole?! Amazing! You may be wondering if the ink came out of my brand new white shirt with water like she said? Sadly, no, no it did not. A small price to pay though! We stayed up super late watching the squidding, talking to friendly people we met, and sitting on the deck watching the boats at night. The next morning was a yikes moment when we almost missed breakfast with their fabulous blueberry muffins. I really need to beg for that recipe... I'll let you know on that one.

Friday was our longest driving day when we drove almost 3 hours up the Acadia National Park. On the way up we stopped at Fort Knox and toured around a bit. It was pretty muggy that day so it wasn't maybe as enjoyable as it could've been but we still had a great time. It was amazing to see this huge structure that they just kept building for decades but was never used. It's surrounded by these huge rivers and it was easy to see why they decided on this spot. Apparently before it was built the British had captured it and several times it was fought over and won. Up on the cliff we could imagine the big ships sailing down.... the feeling  and energy there was almost tangible and neither of us wanted to leave. When we got to the national park we stayed here which was a bit of a let down to be honest. Mainly because it had no a/c which I didn't realize when I prepaid for two nights. There was also no washer/dryer which we were in desperate need of by that point. Pros: the rate was amazing and it was very close to the entrance to the park. Cons: right on the road. No A/C, no breakfast, and the "kitchenette" was a mini fridge with a microwave on top. No counter or sink or anything like that. Luckily after the first blazing hot day we had a big storm that cooled everything off quite a bit. After that we were much happier and things started to look up again. The next day when we went into Acadia National Park we had so much fun, again doing things we had never done before. First we went up Cadillac Mountian which is the highest peak along the east coast and at certain times of the year is the first place in America to see a new day with the rising sun. We didn't have quite the view we were hoping for since it was a bit cloudy but oh man we loved it there. There were these huge slabs of rock and they were warm from the sun and we sat and talked and Brad laid there as I picked wild blueberries growing in between the rocks. It was idealistic to say the least. One of those moments (which we had a lot of on this trip) where you simply feel blessed to be alive and to be there. Afterwards we headed down to Echo Lake which we had heard a lot about. We were so impressed when we got there. Before Brad could turn around I was pretty much already in the water with my shorts rolled up. It is fresh water and was absolutely delightfully warm! After much coaxing, I finally got Brad to stick his toe in to test the temperature and he quickly agreed: we needed to be in this glorious lake. So we ran back to the car, rummaged around and found swim bottoms and a t shirt for me, and swim trunks for Brad. Hooray! There is a mountain to the left and the clouds were coming over it and breaking up it looked so cool. To the right was a lily pond where I got to see one of these birds. The sound they make is quite interesting which was like this. After swimming they had this great changing area so we didn't have to go back to the cabin at all, we were able to head straight to one of the lighthouses (Bass Harbor) I was looking forward to the most having seen it in like every picture. It did not disappoint and after a small hike I was able to capture my own version of the iconic lighthouse. The island itself that the park is in is actually quite large and although most of it is privately owned, we just drove around for a couple hours exploring. It was beautiful with churches on each corner it seemed. I especially enjoy photographing churches, old barns, and now I think I need to add lighthouses to my list :)

Monday we checked out in the morning and we knew we would head south but didn't have reservations for anywhere. It was extremely tempting to run up to Canada since we were only a couple hours away but 1, we were getting sick of being in the car and 2, we didn't have anything specific we knew we wanted to see there besides going to Nova Scotia which would have added a significant amount of time. So south we went and ended up in Rockport which turned out to be an awesome choice. We stayed here and I will say it was hands down our favorite room of the trip. We ate here which was a rival for the top spot of best restaurant where we had their mac n cheese (I know, right?! But seriously, I'm still dreaming about it....pasta with three cheeses topped with breadcrumbs, asiago, carmalized shallots, and crumbled goat cheese) and Brad had their roasted poblano burger which he said was in his top 3 favorite burgers he has ever had in his life. I had to agree, it was incredible. We will be back! We hiked around several lighthouses in the area and then headed back to the room to enjoy tide pooling and our private balcony overlooking the ocean.  They also had an infinity pool, which was fun because neither of us had ever been in one of those before. It was cool to swim and look out over the ocean at the same time. We knew our trip was coming rapidly to an end by this point which was hard to even imagine going back and resuming normal life. Not by the ocean. Sigh.
But we had one stop we were pretty determined to make and that was Salem, MA. We have been taking about going there ever since we were engaged lol. Not sure why exactly but we've both always been interested in the witch trials and I guess that came out in one of our discussions. So we went on the last day. And let me tell you, do not go to the Salem Witch Museum. Rip off! And we don't usually say that to people. Because it's rude. But in this case, sooo true and let me spare you. Wiki will tell you more, for free, with no wait, and no homosexual propaganda in 8 foot text on the wall. No joke. Wish I had gotten a picture but I was so confused I just kept going. Which put us in a tiny bit of a down mood because we had been looking forward to this part the whole time. But then it just got better because the hotels were all sold out and rather than pay $250 a night we got the last camping spot on Winter Island. Great idea, right? 30 bucks for the site, grab a tent, right on the ocean so nice and cool, there's a lighthouse on the island as well, and drive to the airport in the morning. Right. Well, not exactly how it went. On our walmart trip we were checking out and I ran to the restroom. Somehow upon getting to the camp site we realized we had bought, oh you guessed it, no tent. No worries, we had a big suv. But the seats didn't recline all the way in the back and oh did I mention at 9 pm it was still 100 degrees? We had to keep the windows up due to mosquitos and rain so I'm guessing it was much, much, much hotter inside the car. We were both fairly miserable by the end of the night and were happy to be blessed with morning. The best part? Hiking around the lighthouse. Will definitely return for that...once the emotional scars fade...!
Overall we had such an amazing trip. We did things we have never done before. We went someplace we've never been. We ate good food and met awesome people. And best of all, we got to spend all that time together, something we never ever take for granted.
I threw in a few photos.... :)

this was me, pretty much all week. I love tide pools

Bar Harbor lighthouse

See if you can figure out why he's got this very boyish grin on his face...

Happiness

I had fun with this picture. Love the coastline there

Loved this lighthouse. Only way to get there was on the cable car to the left which is not in use currently.

Very common sight. The tide changes are so dramatic each day all year people know there the muddy areas are and keep their boats there so when it's low the boat will sit on the soft mud until the water comes back. Much different than the Pacific side!

Me, looking for shells :) 

Me and Liz

Yes there are sandy beaches in Maine. And.they.are.gorgeous.

At Fort Knox

This picture cracks me up. 

We were trying to do something with our sunglasses I can't remember what now but the coordination kills me

$> Boothbay oh I love you

Pictures from inside the fort

Brad practicing photography skills. No enhancement or photoshop!

Loved the fort. Never was used

Our first time seeing the Atlantic on this trip- off Plum Island

Kennebunkport. 

The Osteopathic school we stopped at. Was right.on.the.water. Gorgeous!

Echo Lake, on Bar Island...swam here...

On our lobstering cruise

Getting ready to bait the lobster traps!

Adorable

On top of Cadillac Mountain. Chillaxin. 

I had wandered a bit while picking blueberries apparently...

Cutest little bright green crabs

My most favorite symbols

Owls Head

After getting to Burnt Island

The water was so clear. Much clearer than the Pacific

Burnt Island. Brad loved these crazy tall day lilies that were in full bloom in every city. 

Since we've come home we have planted some in the yard :)

Burnt Island, Master Kayakers... ha!

Its hard to tell but this is where we kayaked out to. 

Started way up to the right beyond where "Address" is. 

oops a lobstering pic out of order....

Our view from our room in Boothbay at the rocktide inn

Our balcony. We loved sitting and relaxing out here. 

This was when we saw the kayakers and decided to go for it!

From Owls Head

me + my love

Kennebunkport. Man thinking about that lobster roll is torture it was amazing

Fred and Earl RIP. Caught them on the cruise. 

Rockport had the best ice cream ever. No really, ever! 

I got Maine blueberry (kinda obsessed at this point...) and already can't wait to go back

Love $>

Goofing off on the moped

Meet you in Maine??????

I thought so :)