Yesterday was an interesting mix of delight and frustration. We began with breakfast where two relatively local couples talked about what to do and see near here. A woman—that kind of stereotypical North Eastern all-the-best-school types who speaks with soft As like Katheryn Hepburn—suggested driving north on Route 1 and heading east when something looks interesting. "If it's ugly, turn around," she said. So, that's generally what we did.
We started out in Freeport because everyone said to at least stop by. It's an outlet place but not like the average outlet mall in the midwest. It's an actual village with stores and street. Mainly it's got an LL Bean store, and I mean an LL BEAN STORE. We each got a few things and then got back on Route 1. We headed east at Georgetown and drove down a winding, hilly road for what felt like hours —probably more like 20 minutes, or maybe 10—with the sun shining through the trees and Beethoven's 5th pounding away on the radio until the road ended at the ocean. The music didn't match the scenery at all except for that little bit of oboe—it was all peaceful and isolated, and we rarely met up with any other cars.
This is Reid State Park at the end of a peninsula, and it was beautiful. There is a beach here, and despite the 45˚ temperatures, there were people milling around and soaking it all in.
Eventually we got back on Route 1 and stopped at Boothbay Harbor. It's a lovely village with lots of dockage and shops and one-way streets that twist and turn. It's also evidently strictly meant for summer visitors. We stopped at a place for lunch only to be turned away by the restaurant owner who, in so many words, said the town was closed. We were better off staying in Portland, she said, and should go somewhere else for lunch. She was nice about it, but really, she was the first inhospitable person we have encountered in all of our time here.
So, we took her advice and got back on the road. We stopped at The Prettiest Village in Maine, Wiscasset. I think their sign lies, but it's cute anyway, and it had lunch. I also bought a cool new pair of reading glasses, and we talked to a shop owner about her docile dog.
It was on the drive back to Portland that we decided we have kind of had enough and would like to go home. So with regrets, I canceled our visit to Boston and our much-anticipated dinner with Sassy and Rich. And today, we're heading back to Ohio. It's been a lovely trip. Here is some ocean for you:
We started out in Freeport because everyone said to at least stop by. It's an outlet place but not like the average outlet mall in the midwest. It's an actual village with stores and street. Mainly it's got an LL Bean store, and I mean an LL BEAN STORE. We each got a few things and then got back on Route 1. We headed east at Georgetown and drove down a winding, hilly road for what felt like hours —probably more like 20 minutes, or maybe 10—with the sun shining through the trees and Beethoven's 5th pounding away on the radio until the road ended at the ocean. The music didn't match the scenery at all except for that little bit of oboe—it was all peaceful and isolated, and we rarely met up with any other cars.
This is Reid State Park at the end of a peninsula, and it was beautiful. There is a beach here, and despite the 45˚ temperatures, there were people milling around and soaking it all in.Eventually we got back on Route 1 and stopped at Boothbay Harbor. It's a lovely village with lots of dockage and shops and one-way streets that twist and turn. It's also evidently strictly meant for summer visitors. We stopped at a place for lunch only to be turned away by the restaurant owner who, in so many words, said the town was closed. We were better off staying in Portland, she said, and should go somewhere else for lunch. She was nice about it, but really, she was the first inhospitable person we have encountered in all of our time here.
So, we took her advice and got back on the road. We stopped at The Prettiest Village in Maine, Wiscasset. I think their sign lies, but it's cute anyway, and it had lunch. I also bought a cool new pair of reading glasses, and we talked to a shop owner about her docile dog.
It was on the drive back to Portland that we decided we have kind of had enough and would like to go home. So with regrets, I canceled our visit to Boston and our much-anticipated dinner with Sassy and Rich. And today, we're heading back to Ohio. It's been a lovely trip. Here is some ocean for you:
Comments
Glad you had fun!
It's good that you had such lovely weather, though and that is a beautiful photo of the two of you.