Bar Harbor, Bar None!

Hello to Everyone,

This is to be our last day of touring. :(((

Our morning started out splendiforiously!  We had a sumptuous breakfast at the Capt. A.V. Nickels house B&B.  We had been discussing the fact that most bed and breakfasts serve wonderful - but carbohydrate laden - breakfasts.  We were expecting that here as well, but that was not to be the case!  We were served Italian poached eggs, which amounted to eggs poached with prosciutto in some sort of a peppered cream sauce.  And it was served with a side of wonderfully thick bacon!  David's heart soared knowing that he had such a protein filled start to the day.  :)))

The Capt. Nickels Inn is on the ocean and has a huge lawn leading from the house to the water.  We enjoyed a nice stroll down to the beach to get the morning started.

It is interesting to note that the little town of Searsport, Maine, had more sea captains hailing from there than any other port in the United States.  The town, with a population of just 2500, had over 500 sea captains.  Capt. Nickels himself captained over 8 different ships during his career.  He built this particular house in 1874 as a wedding present for his wife.

So then it was off to Bar Harbor.  The drive from Searsport to Bar Harbor is beautiful.  We especially liked the setting of Bucksport, Maine.  Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of it, as the best view was when you were crossing a bridge with nowhere to stop.  We did get a picture of the bridge however!  It was quite unique itself!

We had rain off and on the most of the way to Bar Harbor, and when we got there it was still quite cloudy.  The area surrounding Bar Harbor is absolutely gorgeous.  We highly recommend it for its scenic beauty.  When you have spent a week exploring the New England sea coast it is hard to pick one thing as being the most picturesque.  But, Bar Harbor was right up there on top in terms of scenery.

The town was originally named Eden (aptly!) in 1796, after Sir Richard Eden who was an English explorer.  It was renamed Bar Harbor in 1918 because of the abundance of sand bars that are visible at low tide.  This was an enclave of the super rich of the period.  The Astors, the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, and J.P. Morgan himself all had a presence there.  It was the Rockefellers who donated the land that became Acadia National Park, which borders the town.  Today, even John Travolta has a home there.

This is a busy tourist destination.  There are people everywhere!  In fact, on the day we were there, there were three large cruise ships in port.  Actually, at Bar Harbor they don't come in to port.  It isn't deep enough for the really big cruise ships.  They anchor in the bay and the passengers are ferried into town.

There are shops of every description lining the streets.  Ice cream and fudge of course are in abundance!  Along with virtually every other sweet treat known to man (note to our friends and family- we'll be in starvation mode upon return from this trip).

We decided to lunch at the patio restaurant belonging to one of thelarger hotels that overlooks the harbor.  We had such a nice time sitting there people watching and trying to understand the German tourists that were seated around us (they had all come off of one of the cruise ships).  We enjoyed a particularly nice Maine Blueberry Sangria (pictured below), and David had to try the New England clam chowder, of course.

After exploring the town for a while, it was time to take a tour of Acadia National Park.  The park consists of 47,000 acres (73 square miles scattered among various islands, shorelines, lakes and mountains).  One of the distinctive features of the park is that it is often the first place in the continental United States to see the sunrise.  This is atop Cadillac Mountain, on Mt.Desert Island, the largest island in the park.  Cadillac Mountain was named for Antoine de Cadillac (the same guy who founded Detroit, Michigan and explored Louisiana).  Cadillac was given this island as a grant from Louis XIV in 1688.

The view from Cadillac Mountain is just breathtaking!  As mentioned, there were three cruise ships in port that day, and their gleaming white paint was glistening in the water as they appeared and disappeared through the clouds that were partially obscuring the harbor.

Alas, the time had come for us to leave this beautiful isle and head for the hotel where we would spend the final night of our trip - a Hampton Inn in Augusta, Maine.  

It's time to close the blog until our next trip.  We aren't sure yet when or where that may be, but we hope you will come along with us.  We also hope that we've made this enjoyable for you all.  As for us, we'll be hanging out in the Hood over the remainder of the fall and winter.  Best wishes to everyone for a fabulous end to 2013.  See you all next year!

With all of our love,

David and Karen

The Maine Event

Good morning friends and family!

We awoke today to glorious sunshine at our beautiful York Harbor Inn. There was a yummy continental breakfast, and we shared a table with some very nice people visiting from Surrey, England.

After breakfast, we walked across the street to a lovely little park along the ocean.  It had a meandering pathway that led down to a rocky, rugged beach area. One thing that is quite nice about the New England beaches is that so many of them have a multitude of trees right down to the beach. It truly is the best of both worlds.

We continued to drive northward along the coast, passing through several picturesque beach towns along the way. Ogunquit stands out among them as one of the more attractive, with charming little shops and restaurants.

When we reached Kennebunkport, we stopped for one of the must-do things on our list - LOBSTER!  Is it possible to go to Maine and not eat lobster with drawn butter?  We don't think so!  We asked a few locals where the best place was and were told to go to a place that, from the outside, looked a bit weathered, rough-and-tumble, ramshackle, and within sneezing distance of the ocean. It seemed like a good bet.

We quickly got into our lunch and took no prisoners!

After a bit of shopping in gorgeous Kennebunkport, we hit the road and found Former President Bush (41)'s home. Although the house itself wasn't the most beautiful on the block, the location was phenomenal!  It sat out on a promontory by itself overlooking the ocean.  When you see the picture of his house, you will probably think we are crazy for saying it isn't beautiful.  All we can tell you is that you had to see the other ones in the same area to understand. 

We then continued up the coast a few hours to Searsport, Maine and our destination for the night. We checked into our bed and breakfast there and were greeted with a nice wine and cheese arrival tray. We sat by the fire enjoying a welcome glass of wine till bedtime.

Cheers everyone!  Pleasant dreams!
Karen and David

The Buyin, The Witch, and The War Probe

Hello one and all,

This morning after Starbucks, we drove from Boston into Salem, Massachusetts. We have both always been curious about the little town of Salem and the witch history, so we decided to stop and check it out.  

I must say that neither of us very much enjoyed our time there.  It was extremely commercial and a total tourist trap. Basically, we spent money for no good purpose. 

We took a trolley ride around the town at first to get a bit of a feel for it.  That was somewhat interesting in that we saw both the "custom house" (tax house) and the actual House of the Seven Gables which Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about in his novels. We also rode by several attractive harbors and historic homes. And there was a bit of interesting history in terms of the Revolutionary War and World War II.  We learned that Salem was one of the few safe harbors in the region for boats to dock protected due to the shallowness of the harbor.  Since Boston Harbor was blockaded by the British during the Revolution, Salem became the shipping capital of the whole area.  In fact, so many ships sailed from Salem that people in other countries began to think that Salem was actually a separate country.  Then, during WWII, the Coast Guard had a base there for amphibious patrol planes.  The Atlantic was full of German UBoats (submarines) trying to spy on and do damage to US ports.  Since Salem harbor was too shallow for a submarine to get into, they put the float plane base there knowing it would be safe from any UBoats.

Other than this, the overload of witch lore, witch costumes, witch themed restaurants, etc. seemed - well - downright cheesy.  We went to one of many Witch Museums which recounted the entire fiasco that befell the poor accused men and women back in the day, but neither of us learned anything new or interesting. The material wasn't presented very well. 

Here is another cool fact about Nathaniel Hawthorne.  One of his ancestors was John Hathorne.  John Hathorne was the only judge involved in the Salem with trials who never repented of his actions.  In other words, all of the other judges knew they did wrong and repented of it.  Therefore, Nathaniel Hathorne added a "w" to his name and became "Hawthorne."  He did not want to be associated in any way with that judge.

Salem was so hokey that we didn't even bother to take any pictures.  We feel bad about that now.  We should have at least taken a picture of a witch for the blog.  But, we were bummed and just wanted to leave. So, we left Salem a bit earlier than we expected and continued our trek northward. We passed through beautiful New Hampshire. Peak leaf time there as well!  We managed to snap a pic or two as we drove along. 

We drove on into Maine and into the beautiful York Harbor Inn to spend the night.  

The York Harbor Inn has two restaurants and a ball room as well as the guest rooms.  It is just beautiful.  We had a really nice, reasonable priced dinner and then trotted off to bed.  The gas fireplace in the room was just the right touch.  Good night everyone!

David and Karen

Caped Crusaders

Hi all!  We awoke in Plymouth this morning, had the requisite Starbucks, and set off to find the Rock.  You know, the one the Pilgrims purportedly first set buckled shoe upon in 1620 on the Massachusetts shoreline? It sits off by itself along the coast, housed under fortified glass in a large, columned structure.

It's surprisingly plain and puny, and when you read about it, you begin to understand why.  Just like the Prudential Insurance slogan says, everyone wanted to get a piece of the rock!  The first incident occurred in the 1700's when townspeople tried to remove it from the ground with a team of oxen. It split in half, and the upper half only was put on display. Then souvenir hunters started chipping away at it, so it was moved to a safer display site, but it had a rough time getting there, and it deteriorated further. Later, parts of the other half were sold off to wealthy individuals until someone got the idea to try to unite and salvage what was left of the two remaining pieces. A canopy structure was created for it in the mid 1800's, but it was made too small, and a chunk of the rock had to be cut off to make it fit. Finally, the rock was moved to its current location in 1921.

One of the most interesting things we found in Plymouth was an exact replica of the Mayflower.  The Mayflower 2.  Well, it is as exact as they could make it using the surviving details about the original.  So, just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip that started from that far off port aboard this tiny ship.  That has a familiar ring to it for some reason!  Anyway, the replica was built in 1957 and duplicated the trip of the original.  The Mayflower 2 made the crossing from London in 70 days.  The original made the crossing in 66 days.  A fact you may not know is that the original had to turn back twice because the boat it was traveling with (the Speedwell) was leaking.  That is why they got to Cape Cod so late in the year.  They had actually tried to leave in July, but ended up leaving in on September 6th of 1620.  Of course all boats of that era leaked, but the Speedwell was leaking so much the pumps could not keep it afloat.

There were 102 passengers about the original Mayflower on that trip.  Another interesting fact not usually noted is that of the 102, only 41 were religious separatists - aka " The Pilgrims" and 61 were merchants, craftsmen, laborers, indentured servants and orphans - known as "Strangers." 

As interesting as those facts are, the thing that really captured us about the experience we had were the living history actors.  And especially the one posing as the  captain of the original Mayflower.  The Captain of the original Mayflower was Christopher Jones and would have been know aboard the ship as Master.  As in the "Master and Commander" movie you may have seen.  The man portraying him during our tour of the Mayflower 2 offered one of the most compelling performances we have ever experienced.  We don't know who he was, but he was worthy of being a Shakespearean actor!  He answered questions from the audience in such a manner that you actually thought you were there in Plymouth in 1620.  David Dilley, if you happen to be reading this, the Captain reminded me so much of you!!!

Here is a shot of the stern of the Mayflower 2 where you can see the carving of the "Mayflower".  Many ships had been called "Mayflower" as it was a name associated with good luck. 

On to Provincetown!  For those who haven't been to this area, Plymouth (where the Mayflower is) lies where the cape attaches to the mainland.  Provincetown, also know as P-Town, is at the tip of Cape Cod.  There is a beautiful 62 mile drive from Plymouth to Provincetown.  There is only one problem with that drive.  You can't see anything past the trees lining the highway.  It is thick and lush and beautiful, but you cannot see the ocean until you get almost all the way to Provincetown unless you get off the highway and go on some of the side roads.  We had been warned of this, but decided to drive straight to P-Town anyway so that we could mosey our way back down the cape afterwards.  One reason we made that decision was the holiday traffic.  The traffic was literally backed up for several miles trying to leave the cape when we came.  We hoped it might thin out by evening.  We were right.  When we came back later in the evening, the traffic was gone.  No delay at all!

So, about P-Town.  The uninitiated or uninformed could be in for a little culture shock.  P-Town is a famous destination for the LGBT community.  I can see why they would like it.  It is a beautiful setting, is close to major metropolitan areas and is at the end of the road.  The only reason you go to Provincetown is to go to Provincetown.  It is not on the way to anywhere.

If you have any issues with that lifestyle, do not go there.  But, I highly encourage you to go there.  It is a walking town.  Street parking is almost impossible to find, but there is a large public parking lot kind of in the center of town where you can leave your car and start walking.  There are literally hundreds of beautiful historic homes, many of which have been turned into B&B's, restaurants and cafes and boutiques of every description.

Our favorite view of the town is from the Bed and Breakfast that we had tried to get reservations for but were unsuccessful.  I might add that we tried to get those reservations 3 months in advance.  So, if you plan to go there, plan ahead!  This particular one is called "Lands End".  It sits high up on a bluff overlooking almost the entire village of P-Town and provides stunning views of the cape.  

Upon leaving Provincetown,we set off for the Cape Cod National Seashore. Sigh... like so many of the sites we wanted to visit on this trip, the National Seashore was also closed- another victim of the current budget situation.  The National Seashore comprises more than sixty miles of ponds, woods and beachfront area on the eastern side of Cape Cod. We had heard that it was a must-see, but it didn't happen!

So we continued on to Chatham, another lovely region on the eastern side of the cape. If you have some extra money burning a hole in your pocket, you can easily spend it in Chatham.  Upscale shops, beautiful restaurants, and great bed and breakfast inns await. We also took in the lighthouse and some great beach views.

 
We found a quaint seafood pub along the main drag and had a nice shrimp dinner. A fun thing happened while in Chatham.  Karen had texted her sister Laura that we were heading for Chatham.  As we got there, Laura said that she was looking at a website that hosted a webcam in Chatham.  The webcam just happened to be at the restaurant where we had decided to eat supper.  We waved to the webcam, and her sister was able to see us going into the restaurant! How fun!

As mentioned previously, we purposefully stayed on the Cape till evening in an attempt to avoid the heavy traffic.  We were successful, and had a pleasant, uneventful drive from Chatham through Boston and on to our next stop in the town of Woburn.  Woburn is slightly northwest of Boston and on the way out to Gloucester.

Good night everyone!  We hope you are having as pleasant an evening as we are!

David and Karen

Pilgrims' Progress

Greetings everyone!

After sleeping in a bit today, we met Pamela for a nice brunch, said a teary good-bye, then set off northbound to today's destination of Plymouth, MA. It was just a four-hour drive, but we got our first real glimpses at some spectacular fall foliage as we crossed into Connecticut. New York's leaves had not yet changed, but the southern part of Connecticut was jaw dropping. We decided to stop and explore Mystic Seaport a bit when we arrived there, basically just strolling around town by the sea and enjoying the harbor and local shops.  We took a couple of nice pictures there, but they are a bit dark.

Onward through Connecticut, Rhode Island and into Massachusetts.  We pulled into Plymouth Harbor at dinner time and found a quaint, cozy little Italian place on the water. After a nice meal, it was off to bed early.

Hope you all had a wonderful day as well!

Love from Karen and David

New York, New York

Hello to all,

David woke up feeling much improved today. We started the day at our local Starbucks, which, fortuitously, is right next door to our hotel. In case you'd like an address and a few icons, here is a roundup:
 

Today we did a walking tour of the area.  Our first stop was Grand Central Station.  If you visit, prepare to be overwhelmed by the scale and beauty of the building. It was built in 1870 as a depot by shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, and in case you forget this, there is an immense statue of the man in front of the building.

 
Vanderbilt had a private tunnel constructed for himself accessible by private rail car that led to his mansion just down the street. Pretty nice commute!

Grand Central is home to floors and floors of businesses, shops and restaurants. It is well worth seeing.

Our next stop was the main branch of the New York Public Library, just down the street from Grand Central.  En route we captured a great pic of the Chrysler building, gleaming in the sun in all it's Art Deco splendor.

The library is situated inside Bryant Park, which is a lovely, grassy tree-lined space in which to read a good book while enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.

We soaked up a bit of atmosphere there, then went inside the library. We were sure glad we came to see it. From the magnificent reading rooms with their elegant woodwork to the grand staircases and sumptuous art works, it rivals any of the fine museums the city has to offer.

From here, we strolled through Central Park a bit until we got to the Metropolitan Museum. We went in, had a bite of lunch, and viewed a few exhibits. It's impossible to cover much ground there in such a short time, and we didn't!  But David enjoyed a cool exhibit of arms and armor and Pamela loved the decorative arts furnishings from the French Regency period.

We then went back to Central Park and walked, walked and walked. Then walked some more! It was a perfect weather day, so after all that walking we all lay down on a grassy hill and people watched for a while.

We had a great Thai dinner on the way back to Pamela's apartment, then enjoyed a nice bottle of Apothic wine (a great recommendation from David's Uncle Jim) as we viewed the city from the rooftop of her building.

A great day in the big Apple!  Good night everyone.

All our love,
Karen and David