Monday 27 May, 2013

After walking to breakfast down the street, packing up for the last time and checking out of the hotel, we took the subway into Boston.
We thought that it being Memorial Day there might be some activities at Boston Commons or in the Park. There were lots of people but no activities. In Boston Common they had 33,000 American flags as a memorial to all those who have lost their lives serving in the military since the Civil War. It was a very moving display covering a huge section of lawn.
The weather was beautiful, nearly 23C but with a crisp cool wind blowing. First time in awhile I didn't have my coat!
I was really surprised that there were no tulips in any of the gardens. When we had been in Boston 4 weeks ago there were tulips everywhere. Most of the gardens that they were in were empty. Have a look at the two photos of the statue. We were so lucky to have seen them!
We sat in the park for awhile people watching...a great past time. Watched a police lady on a horse keeping check on everyone. We had just seen a guy with his dog playing with a frisbee...gee that dog could catch...but knew he'd be in trouble with the police for not having the dog on a leash. Sure enough she came over.
We then walked over to Fenuil markets to watch the street performers. They sure keep the people entertained.
After walking through the shops...to tired to really look! we wandered over to the waterfront to watch all the boats and ferries. The Harbour was very active today. Cool to watch the Harbour and see the planes taking off and landing in the background as the airport is reclaimed land from the harbour.
Bought an ice cream and headed to the subway. The hotel shuttle picked us up, had our luggage on board and dropped us off at the airport.
What a fantastic month we've had. We have enjoyed everything that we have seen and done so much!

Sunday 26 May, 2013

We started our journey back to Boston this morning...so sad. We have had such a wonderful time with Jan and Andy, but all good things must come to an end. We are already trying to decide where to go next year!
We stopped at Ogunquit on the southern coast of Maine. Such a cute town..probably because we actually were seeing it in the sun with no rain and no fog!!! We walked along the "Marginal Way" a great walk along the coast. It was really crowded, everybody rugged up in jackets as although the sun was out the wind had a real bite to it. Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the "Season" in the New England States and everything opens up!
We stayed on the coast road until we got into New Hampshire and then picked up the turnpike to Boston. After we checked in at our hotel we walked several blocks to an Italian restaurant in Revere for an early dinner as Jan and Andy had a flight to catch. I had a pasta dish full of lobster, crab and prawns in a light lobster sauce and Rob had a spicy Italian sausage and broccoli pasta. We have had such great meals everywhere and needless to say our clothes are getting a bit tight!
We then returned the car and saw Jan and Andy off at the airport. Lots of hugs and kisses, we'll miss them. We have had so many great memories in the nine days we have spent with them! Lots of laughs and jokes and enjoying the beauty of the places we visited.
We leave tomorrow night.

Saturday 25 May, 2013

The alewives (or herring as we know them) were running so even though it was raining lightly we stopped to have a look. Many more than we saw in Cape Cod and a many more "ladders" (a series of rock steps to help the fish get upstream). The volunteers who build the ladders and protect the alewives were having a Memorial Day festival and we felt so sorry for them with the poor weather. Again as in Cape Cod, the poor houses around had the gulls live on their roofs. But I did see a fushia that I had never seen before...very pretty!
Off to the lighthouse at Pemaquid Beach on Hog Island off the coast of Maine. We climbed to the top by a spiral staircase but as the weather was rainy and foggy, we couldn't see much. The rocks in front were certainly treacherous.
The B&B we were staying at had a lovely lilac bush in front. We were told they only bloom for a few weeks. We had vases of them in our rooms but unfortunately I had to put them in the bathroom as the fragrance gave me a headache.

Friday 24May, 2013

Goodbye Mira Monte Inn in Bar Harbor, a lovely place to stay. The Innkeeper is a fount of knowledge about the area and gives great suggestions about what to see and do. Even though the weather has not been the best, we took off to see the other half of Mount Desert Island. Lighthouses always seem to be on the agenda so we stopped at the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. As you can see by the flags it was blowing a gale.
We then tried to find the Children's Chapel. We had an address and the trusty iPad took us to the address but we couldn't see anything. After Jan. ringing and speaking to a lady she directed us up a dirt road...no wonder we couldn't find it! It had a lovely view of what we could see and we tried to imagine what it would be like on a nice sunny day! The chapel was very rustic and of course I found a lovely tulip (I know...how many photos of flowers can you have? Never enough in my mind!)
We found a cute place for our cuppa, called Three Dogs. They were just redoing the gardens and were putting in some ponds. The owner must love dogs as there were dog pictures everywhere and in the ladies room, the mirror had three dimensional dogs around the bottom of it! However the pastries were mouthwatering!
Our lodgings at Wiscasset were two bedrooms above a carriage house at the back of an antique shop that was extremely expensive (run by the owner),
Le Garage was the restaurant on the water for dinner...again an excellent meal! Jan had Salmon topped with a rhubarb sauce that was very different but delicious!

Thursday 23 May, 2013

Cold and very foggy but its not raining and it's not as cold as the last few days so that is a plus!
Yesterday we went over to Bar Island at low tide...and today we saw it at high tide. What a difference!
Bar Harbor is on Mount Desert Island and the majority of the island is Acadia National Park. The Visitor Centre has a 15 minute film to give you an overview of the park. The Inn we are staying at gave us an audio CD to use while we toured the park loop road. The CD was great as it gave information about each of the places on the loop. There was so much to see...reflections, different flowers (the purple is called Jack in the Pulpit but can't remember the name of the yellow) and lots of scenic tracks. We got so much exercise getting in and out of the car at all of the stops, never mind all the trails we walked!
Sand Beach as well as the whole island is swamped in the summer. They say the loop road is car to car with everyone visiting the park. The pink granite on the coast was awesome to look at! At one of the stops, we saw a cute seal "sunning" himself and smiling? at us.
The fog was so bad as we continued up to Cadillac Mountain (466metres) which is the highest peak on the Atlantic Coast, that we could hardly see. Not a god day for views but we had no choice as we are off tomorrow and more rain is predicted. We stopped to see Bubble Rock, and what a climb it was to get up there! Nearly two km return over rocks, tree roots and steps. At the top we saw this rock, holding put on the edge of a hill and has been there since the glaciers pushed through the area.
When we got to the top, it was so foggy that we could only see a few feet in front of us windy as could be so we didn't even get out of the car!
Lobster for dinner again! We are trying to find the best lobster in Maine ( at $20 for 1 1/4 pound can't complain) this place was the best so far and such a cute place!

Tuesday 21 / Wednesday 22 May, 2013

The B&B we are staying in is so cute. It is only open 5 months of the year as it has no insulation. It was built as a summer vacation home rather than year round. The movie Peyton Place was filmed there as was one of Stephen Kings books films.
As it was cold and rainy, we headed for the Owls Head Transportation Museum. What an interesting place and so well done. They had all sorts of machines that had to do with transportation, including a fabulous collection of old MG's (1930's) and other cars, motor cycles, models of the first airplanes and some actual small airplanes. The museum is run entirely by volunteers who come in and clean the exhibits and even start all the engines!
We then braved the elements and walked to the Owls Head Lighthouse, the wind was like ice.
Rested for the afternoon and then Jan and I walked into town to look at an antique shop. I found some really nice serviette rings that I liked. The guys met us in town for dinner...more lobster. We have had so much seafood and all of it great.
Pack up day again (Wed) and off to Bar Harbour! Weather is cold, miserable and raining off and on. Temps for the last few days have been 5C - 10C. We were hoping to have been able to drive/walk some trails in Camden Hills State Park but the weather was not on our side.
We had heard that Lincolnville had a fabulous beach...have a look at the photo, we were not impressed! If people think this is great can you imagine what they would say if they saw Queensland beaches!
As we drove further, one of the islands had a pedestrian walkway to the island but it was closed today.
We arrived in Bar Harbor, unpacked and headed out for a walk. The path to Bar Island is walkable only at low tide and we happened to hit the time perfectly! Amazing to think the path is completely under water at high tide. You could then walk to the summit to see back to Bar Harbor.
As it was heading towards "beer o clock" we wandered around town to find a place to have a few drinks and Cherry Stones fit the bill and looked so good we stayed for dinner and were not disappointed.