Post by Ella. What is the magic that attracts people to Bar Harbor? You got me. I’m sure the mansions, tucked away somewhere are, well, big. But seriously? Two main streets packed with Knick-knack shoppers, perilous street crossing because drivers are frustrated at having to stop every two feet for pedestrians, parking takes 20 minutes…
Author: Ella
A little context
Post by Ella. Yesterday’s (Saturday) agenda.
Nor’easter lobster pound
Post by Ella. I had no idea what a lobster pound was but you see signs all over the place. It’s akin to an animal pound but for lobsters. It’s where lobsters go to die. You can buy live lobsters, or not so live lobsters. When the host of our accommodation in Northeast Harbor (the…
Up the coast: today’s route
Post by Ella. Today, we moved north. From Boothbay Harbor to Northeast Harbor (yep, a million harbors in Maine) with stops at Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse (walked almost a mile in the fog across the breakwater (preview pic below), Camden for coffee, and the Fort Knox Observation Tower (360° views). Okay there’s a preview of the…
When in Maine, see the trolls
Post by Ella. In Copenhagen just a few months ago, we found 7 gentle giants. Woodland trolls created by Thomas Dambo (who labels himself a “recycle art activist”), each tucked into a different parkland niche outside of Copenhagen. Made of wood, these woodland creatures were enthralling. Here are the first two stanzas of a poem…
LL what?
Post by Ella. Wednesday, our last stop before our destination, Boothbay Harbor, was Freeport. Freeport’s claim to fame: the headquarters of LL Bean. We had to take a gander at this, along with a million other baby boomers. The big boot with reinforced toe signaled we were at the right place. We took pictures of…
Thank you dynamic duo, Joe and Elaine
Post by Ella. Whew! What a whirlwind of activity with Joe and Elaine, the amazing dynamic duo. We loved every minute of it. Reveling in Boston’s history, stuffing ourselves with cannoli, and having great conversations. Thank you so much for opening your home to us and letting us have a peek at your lives. One…
Into Maine we go, our route
Wednesday, we reluctantly took our leave of Joe and Elaine after a home cooked 3 course breakfast (would we ever being able to eat again?) and headed up the Maine coast. The weather was on our side. Blue sky, no wind. Beautiful. Our destination was Boothbay Harbor with two stops along the way: Ogunquit (a…
The cannoli to beat
Post by Ella. Tuesday, after walking the Freedom Trail and riding/floating the DUKW, what better than a stroll to Boston’s north end, crammed with Italian eateries and bakeries. The area was hopping. You want Italian?. We got Italian. We dined at Trattoria Il Panino. My choice of pasta, the penne arrabbiata, had a light, spicy…
Duck, duck, boat?
Post by Ella. After a living history tour of the Freedom Trail (see Grubb’s post “The city that gobbled the revolution “), we headed towards the harbor for our Duck experience. If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a DUKW. Okay, so it bumps and shakes instead of waddling, but it…
Thank you Connecticut cousins, Sharen and Tom
Post by Ella. Once again we owe a hearty thanks to kin. So thank you Sharen and Tom, our Connecticut cousins, for showing us so much. The Mark Twain house, Gillette’s Castle and all mom’s old haunts. We very much appreciated your generosity of time and opening your home to us. And thanks to Ben…
The rainy road to Sudbury
Post by Ella. Onward. On Monday, after the trip down mom’s memory lane in Norwich and Preston with our able guides Sharen and Tom, we said adios to Connecticut and headed to Massachusetts for a Break-Fast dinner at Michelle and Joe’s with Elaine and Joe in Natick (Massachusetts). The rain never let up. The good…
Rock revelations
My mom has vivid memories of her rock. She grew up on a farm in Preston, Ct., her parents and older siblings working from sun up to sun down when not in school. Mom would sometimes escape from chores and walk up the hill behind her house to a large rock where she could perch,…
More than you thought you ever wanted to know about whaling
Over the quiet first months of the pandemic, when gyms were shut down and I began taking long rambling walks, I grew to enjoy listening to podcasts. Freakonomics is one of my regulars and not long ago, there was a fascinating three part series on the whaling industry. From the beginnings in Nantucket, the sociology…
Mom’s world
Yesterday we rode from the lush green flats of the Cape to the verdant green rolling hills of Connecticut…yes, it’s all green, all the time here. Except when the leaves turn colors, which is beginning. First up, more cousins. Both my mom and dad had lots of siblings, therefore, lots of cousins. Sharen and Tom…