Portland to Bar Harbor with the roof down

Big trip today to Bar Harbor but not before a tidy breakfast and a visit to the Maine Mall.

Healthy vanilla and berries along with a full-fat danish for a balanced meal and a little retail therapy - a typical holiday!

The temperature was in the 80's today (30's for those of you who have upgraded to centigrade) which was plenty hot enough to try out the roof controls on the hire car. With any luck there will be a video on this blog which will demonstrate what I am talking about. Anyway we drove for about 45 minutes before we gave in and raised the roof to give us shelter from the sun.

A couple of stops along the way meant that it was 5pm before we reached Bar Harbor. We had forgotten some of the less attractive places that you have to drive through to get there but it was worth it. We are staying in a Bed and Breakfast Inn which is pretty quirky and will be fun. One of the quirks is to serve wine and cheese each afternoon for guests to enjoy. The picture shows the outside of the house and we sat on the verandah to enjoy our wine and cheese.

We then strolled into town to find somewhere to eat for the evening. We ended up at the same place as last year where Mum once again enjoyed a small Margharita. The camera does not lie.

Home by 9pm. Shops are still open and there is much hustle and bustle about the town. Tomorrow we will take a trip around the national park and explore some of the other small towns in the area.

Re-Maine-ing 2008

Well, well, well who would have thought it - just a year since we signed off, we're signing back on and hailing from Maine.

John and Kathy have returned for a re-visit and to see Sarah. Unlikely to trouble the whales again, however....

The day started early with a transatlantic flight. John was hoping this would be the one. The one with the little TVs on the seat backs. It wasn't. And it wasn't the one with the decent movies either. But never mind - it was sunny and clear as we banked over Manhattan and that's a sight and a half.

Then on to Portland on a little plane, and to collect the convertible. Ha - wait till you see it. Pictures promised tomorrow!

Just finished a splendid meal at the Olive Garden which has left us so garlickly, it's a blessing we have a convertible. We also took the SatNav option. Recalling all the hours we spent last year wandering the roads of Maine it seemed a good plan and has a nice calm lady's voice to guide us about. And in fitting tribute, we're going to name it Ruth. Because we miss the real nice calm voice that guided us around last year! Brace yourself, Maine - Derby and Joan have arrived unchaperoned!

There's no place like.....

Home again. All in one piece - even our luggage travelled with us and arrived at the right place and the right time. That doesn't happen too often to the Christies.

Not knowing what the traffic would be like to Boston, we gave ourselves plenty of time to drive to the airport and drop off our 'jeep'. At last we had learned how to navigate these US roads and maps, didn't get lost once, encountered no road works or jams, got straight through the security checks and got to the gate 5 hours (yes, count them) 5 hours early.

Here are Dad and Ruth at around hour 2, so still quite cheery.

But the time passed and the flight was on time (rubbish films) and into Manchester we flew at 7am local time. A bit chilly compared to Maine. Drove home to find all well. Could hardly open the door for all the mail (mostly junk) then set about trying to keep awake as long as possible to get back into UK time.

So here we are, home again. It was a great holiday, and it was all thanks to Sarah. Why else would we have been in Maine and discovered what a lovely state it is! Thanks Teeny!

And goodbye from the blog!

Maine Mall, Rain Mall

The cloudy sky this morning didn't look too ominous. We drove the short journey back to Portland and arrived too early to check in to our hotel, so went over to the Maine Mall.

Remember the last time we went there? Yes, Sarah was with us and it was absolutely chucking it down. We hadn't been in there long when an almighty crash of thunder told us it was doing it again. Nothing for it, then, but to continue round the shops till the rain eased.....

Ruth now has new Rocket Dog sneakers (£10) and Mum has sensible winter shoes (£10) and Dad has a couple of trendy polo shirts (£7). Ha! They don't call us the Big Spenders for nothing. Actually they don't call us that - that's those other Christies. We did splurge on mini Cinnabons (between us) and Ruth and Mum had manicures so are extremely well groomed by usual standards.

Off to the hotel then and we're now faced with the prospect of repacking everything to get it on the plane tomorrow. Boo Hoo. The thunder and lighting are roaring round us still and we're hoping everyone at Tripp Lake is under shelter!

The next blog entry will probably be from back home and will round off this journal of nonsense. Of course, we're secretly hoping Sarah will have caught the Blog Bug and will do one when on her travels! If not, then postcards please to the usual address!

Boogie Boogie Bummery Whoop! (We're sure that's the camp cheer, as told to us by Sarah - yes??)

Shop Shop Shop; Shop Shop Shop

As the holiday draws to the close there is the inevitable panic that we have not bought enough stuff or spent enough money so Saturday took us to Freeport - outlet heaven.

Actually it turned out to be a nice little town with a Main Street that looked like any other except that all of the shops were outlet stores. There is a huge LL Bean which is open 24 hrs 365 days incase you need to buy a kayak on Hogmanay! Actually it is not an outlet store which is ironic as it is the main attraction. Anyway Dad did well and is now kitted out for the Autumn and Winter with shirts and shoes.
Elsewhere we went to NineWestAbercrmbieand FitchJCrewGapBathworksSamsonitetcctctc until we could shop no more.
The we went to WALMART!!! Just when you thought we could not possibly buy any more we went shopping for an extra case and something to open jars with stiff lids.

Evening meal was at Nifty McGrittys or somewhere like that. We avoided Pedro O'Hara's the Mexican/Irish restaurant (seriously)

Harboring Good Intentions

Friday saw us waving goodbye to Bar Harbor on a beautiful sunny morning and driving to Boothbay Harbor about 12o miles away.
We were sad to leave Bar Harbor as it is a lovely place to have a restful holiday and we are sure that we have only scratched the surface of its potential.
Anyway we took the coast road along Maine and saw some authentic Maine towns and villages today which was fun.
Boothbay Harbor is like a small version of Bar Harbor. Lobster is for sale everywhere and there are more whale watch cruises. We have managed to resist both this evening but we did succumb to the notorious Blueberry pie! Oh well -no breakfast tomorrow.

Whales? Where? 2

The day dawned so bright and sunny we could see the sea. And our hotel is beside the sea. Good.

And to prove that we had learned, and were no longer the stupidest people in Maine, we checked with the whale people, and yes, they said, the whale boat would sail that afternoon. Hurrah for those whales.

So with the sunny day to fill, we set off to drive round the Acadia National Park. And well worth it, we all agreed - very beautiful coastline, rugged cliffs, the occasional sandy beach, and a spectacular view from the summit of Cadillac Mountain. (No, not named after the car - for once, it's the other way round. Hurrah for early French explorer Monsieur Cadillac). It's the highest point on the Atlantic coast north of Rio de Janeiro. Hard to believe at only 1500 feet, but true!

And then to the highlight of the day - whale watching! Again on with the socks, t-shirts and sweatshirts, only today it's 85 degrees and we fear we may pass out through broiling as we stand in the queue to board. And off we go, fearlessly 25 miles out into the blue, blue ocean. Actually the blue, blue and very swelly, heaving and freezing ocean. First Christie to lose the sea legs is Ruth, swiftly followed by Dad and they spend the next three long cold hours with the sickbags. Mum keeps lookout for the wonderful whales for surely they will make the sacrifice all worth while. Until the lady announcer tells us 'well, sometimes this happens folks - no whales out here today.....' They raise their heads from the bags in disbelief. What? All we've seen is a couple of mouldy seals and a gannet.

The whale people offer another ticket for another trip in compensation. If Ruth and Dad could have talked at that point they'd have told them to get lost. And so we disembarked, very cold and covered in a salty crust. And what was that eerie noise we could hear? Whales chuckling?

Never, ever, dis those whales....