Jul 24, 2013

On the road in the USA – northern Maine

We had a three-hour drive ahead of us from Bar Harbor, ME to Sussex in New Brunswick, Canada.

Along the way, we did not pass much, except for trees, trees, and a car or two occasionally.

Somewhere in northern Maine

Somewhere in northern Maine

We had lukewarm water bottles on us and when we saw this general store, we decided to get some cold drinks on this hot day. Stretching your legs once in a while is a good idea anyway. This store sat in the middle of nowhere and the lady behind the counter told me she enjoyed this extreme heat as they don’t get it very often.

General Store

The store was a bit of everything – it sold groceries, cold drink, handmade items, and had a workshop in the corner as well.

Should have bought these wind chimes, but in the name of traveling light, I decided to take a photo instead.

wind chimes for rednecks

wind chimes for rednecks

As it is summer break, there is an abundance of school buses parked around the U.S.A.

school bus

This one seems to be parked only during the break. If it were completely retired, then the display “School Bus” and signal lamps would have to be removed.

Retired school buses are often bought by churches, resorts, or camps. Some private enthusiasts (a.k.a Skoolies) like to convert them into recreational vehicles (RVs).

Some old buses are used as farming vehicles as well.

Jul 23, 2013

On the road in the USA – Bar Harbor, ME

After an almost six-hour drive from Boston, we arrived in Bar Harbor. Again, it was very hot and humid, unlike any weather I had expected from northern Maine. By the time we arrived, I was actually hoping for some fog.

We arrived rather late in the day and headed straight to a restaurant on the wharf. Again, the biggest selection was deep-fried food. No further comment on that.

Deep-fried food galore!

Deep-fried food galore!

By that time, even our kids rolled their eyes. I had the usual clam chowder and ended up once more eating everyone’s cole slaw, which none of them like anyway.

Bar Harbor is a good town for people who like to shop and eat out. There are plenty of shops and restaurants. I prefer quieter places such as the one below.

We took an early morning stroll around the shore. This town has a very nice path around the shore lines for joggers and simple walkers like us. I did admire the joggers in the early morning humidity. But that’s all I did.

Bar Harbor in the early morning

Bar Harbor in the early morning

Before heading out to Acadia National Park, we stopped at the Lighthouse Inn and Restaurant in Seal Harbor (only 10 minutes from Bar Harbor) for lunch.

Here I was fortunate enough to find the Reuben Sandwich on the menu once more. Wish I could say, my food orders rotated between seafood chowder and Reuben sandwiches, but this was not the case. Reuben sandwiches were hard to find.

Reuben sandwich

Reuben sandwich

For the readers unfamiliar with this type of sandwich: This is corned beef on a bed of sauerkraut with melted cheese and 1000-Island dressing.

My travel companions ordered soft shell crab sandwiches and seemed pleased.

soft shell crab sandwiches

soft shell crab sandwiches

After this wonderful lunch, we went to Acadia National Park, the oldest national park west of the Mississippi. More on that in my next post.

Jul 22, 2013

Review for Surf Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH

While staying at the Marri0tt Hotel in Portsmouth (recommendable), I asked the receptionist for a seafood restaurant recommendation.

She suggested the Surf Restaurant on 99 Bow Street. When we got there, we only had to wait a couple of minutes to be seated, even though the restaurant seemed packed.

We ordered the NE Baked Seafood Dinner, Shrimp Vindaloo. Bamboo Shrimp, and for myself, I ordered the Blackened Fish Taco.

Shrimp Vindaloo

Shrimp Vindaloo

Bamboo Shrimp

Bamboo Shrimp

NE Baked Seafood Dinner

NE Baked Seafood Dinner

My dinner companions were pleased with their food, but my Blackened Fish Tacos were disappointing. I suppose I expected some Cajun style spiciness to the fish, but I found it bland tasting. Of the three tacos, I could only finish two.

Blackened Fish Taco

Blackened Fish Taco

I’ve read the restaurant has a fine waterfront view. As the restaurant was crowded and our table was next to the entrance, we did not bother getting up to see the view.

The service was excellent as is the case in most restaurants in the States.

I would give the restaurant another try, but would definitely skip the tacos.

Jul 22, 2013

On the Road in the USA – Boston, MA

Both our teenage kids wanted to visit Boston, which then became our last destination on the road trip. My husband and I had both, on seperate occasions, been to Boston before. So this visit was mainly for our teenagers.

Boston, MA

Boston, MA

After a late breakfast, we walked towards the Freedom Trail. Too bad, we could not get past all these vendors, department stores, etc. without stopping to buy something. By the time we got to the Freedom Trail, we carried three extra shopping bags. Fortunately, the weather was fairly pleasant. It was warm, mostly overcast, but yet very humid. We felt lucky, when a local told us that a great heatwave would hit Boston two days later. By then we’d be out of town anyway.

The only time I was happy to see the money go to the locals was when we bought hot dogs. My, my, my, they were good. So good, we bought seconds.

Boston hot dog vendor

The Freedom Trail is not only lined with historic monuments, but also with numerous shops selling souvenirs, shirts and sweatshirts, restaurants, ice cream stands ($ 4,95 a scoop seemed steep) and much more.

This pub, also the Oldest Tavern in America, is along the trail.

The oldest pub in the U.S.A.

We stopped at a square to watch these performers. They were rather good and funny.

street performers

street performers

In the end, after five hours or so, we were so tired from all that walking and schlepping in this humidity, we decided to take a cab back to our hotel Midtown.

I hailed a cab and asked the driver for an estimated fare. $20, he replied. That was good enough for us, I think by then we were willing to pay even more… Anyway, the cabbie told us it was his first day on the job, he had to call for help to navigate, and dropped us off at the hotel for a fare of nine dollars only!

After a little rest in the hotel room, we went out for dinner and our youngsters in the family could not pass The Cheese Factory without buying some cake. One got a Reese’s peanutbutter chocolate cake, the other a Chocolate Chip cheesecake, and I had the Strawberry Cheesecake. These three pieces cost us $ 25.

The Cheese Factory

We got them for take-out, so we sat down on the bench just outside. The cakes are very good, but so rich in taste. Neither one of us could get past eating only one third of it. We tried to finish it for breakfast the next morning, but were not successful.

The peanut butter cheesecake was the hardest to finish. That same evening in Bar Harbor, we dumped it. Imagine, three people fed on it five times, but none of us could finish it. After the second fork, I could only taste peanut butter and chocolate spread as if it came right out of the jar.

Thinking about the richness of these cakes still makes me shiver, but not for pleasure.

Well, different strokes for different folks.

Jul 22, 2013

On the Road in the USA – Concord, NH

On our way to Boston, we stopped in Concord, a town rich in history.

We went to see Thoreau’s house in the woods where he wrote his famous novel Walden. 

 … two months later, Thoreau embarked on a two-year experiment in simple living on July 4, 1845, when he moved to a small, self-built house on land owned by Emerson in a second-growth forest around the shores of Walden Pond. The house was in “a pretty pasture and woodlot” of 14 acres (57,000 m2) that Emerson had bought, 1,5 miles (2.4 km) from his family home. (source: Wikipedia)

Thoreau house

Where Thoreau wrote “Walden”

Of course, our teenage children could not resist from modifying his sculpture for a little fun. Thousands of others must have done that before them.

Thoreau sculpture

Next we went down to Walden Pond to have our take-away lunch by the beach.

Walden Pond

Walden Pond

This was my first Reuben sandwich in 30 years and it was delicious. Reuben is corned beef, topped with sauerkraut, melted cheese and 1000 – Island dressing on toasted/or marbled rye.

Reuben sandwich

Reuben sandwich

We had gotten our take-out lunch from a restaurant on Main Street. The menu to choose from was plentiful and most decorative!

restaurant menu

Again and again, I see so many homes which have tiger lilies growing right around the edge of the house.

tiger lily

tiger lily

From here in Concord, it is only a one-hour drive to Boston, where we will spend the weekend to walk the famous Freedom Trail.

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