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....

Whales? Where?

The day dawned so misty we couldn't see the sea. And our hotel is beside the sea. Not good.

Undeterred and optimistic we tackled coffee and pastries for breakfast (leaping indoors when the torrential rain started). Not quite swimming weather so we wandered around Bar Harbor's shops on the hunt for Mum's traditional holiday souvenir - the fridge magnet. If it's Maine then it must be moose, lobsters and blueberries, sometimes all on the one magnet. Settled on a tasteful little buoy finally.

As we'd booked the 4.30 whale watching trip, we prepared by buying our tasty picnic and then by piling on all our clothes. Dress warm, we'd been told - it gets cold out there on the ocean. By now it was very warm and humid, but we pulled on the long socks, layers of t-shirts and sweatshirts anyway and waddled off to the pier.

'No sailing today' said the cheery lad at the ticket office. 'It's t-o-o-o-o-o MISTY' as if we were the stupidest people in Maine. And we might just be. Wondered what was that eerie noise we could hear as we waddled away - whales chuckling! Aha you whales, don't get too cosy. We're trying again tomorrow!

Soothed our disappointment with Margaritas, Pina Coladas and nachos, so the day wasn't lost after all. Phew.

Bar Harbor where the whales hang out

We have arrived at Bar Harbor and are staying at the swish Bar Harbor Resort right down on the waterfront.

An overcast and drizzly start in Auburn this morning did not look good and we began to think that we should give up on Maine and head south for a few days of sunshine before we go home. However we decided to persevere and it has been a good decision because we arrived in Bar Harbor in bright sunshine.

We had lunch on the way at Dysart's Truck stop - yet another interesting eating place we have found on this holiday. This truck stop has been around since the 1950's and is still a very traditional restaurant. It was packed with truckers putting away large portions of carbs. We settled for a couple of salads and a BLT but they were still big plates.

Ice Cream in Bar harbor completed another balanced meal!

Tomorrow we have booked places on a whale watch cruise. Watch this space to find out if the whales have cooperated.