Month: July 2017

If you can’t tell, that is rain out there. I shot from inside cuz I’m made of sugar. It’s 1045 and only two of us are out of bed and neither is fully dressed yet. Hey, it’s raining.

I am thinking we may go to Waterville and screw around. Maybe go see a movie. They have an eight screen cineplex. Whoa. Quel modern, n’est pas? I am only 75 miles from Canada.

Well we got on the road to Waterville by 1245. We decided to find lunch first and used Yelp. So the kids spent the ride to Waterville and a few more minutes to pick the same restaurant I already suggested back at camp. Then it was closed. So we went to a pizza and sandwich shop a half block away. Excellent choice. Store related to Al’s Pizza in Skowhegan which we all like.

After lunch we went shopping. One our favorite places is Modern Underground. They sell mid century modern furniture and some housewares. For people around my age its like walking into your parents living room. Last year I bought a 60’s outdoor furniture set. Solid steel, powder coated with upholstered cushions. It’s in the front room here. My aunt Iva had the exact set on her patio. Funny. I would love to buy the danish modern dining table and chairs I saw. But you can only buy so much. I did pick up a set set of 6 50’s era Collins glasses with a glass cocktail shaker. The have a gold leaf motif and are awesome. The owner gave me a very large discount even though he never gives discounts. Lucky me.

We went across the street to the bakery just to have them tell us they are sold out. Every time I go there they are sold out. You have to order ahead. I am not that prepared and driving 20 miles for bread is crazy. Of course I bought bread up in Monson the other day and that’s 40 miles. But I was already there.

Next door to the bakers is a second hand store which sells vintage clothing. All the items it were very expensive when first sold. Now they are vintage classics. Her prices range around the $20 mark. I picked up a Hawaiian shirt for $17.

After all that we went to a 4 o’clock showing of Baby Driver at the Waterville cineplex. 8 screens. Wow. It felt like a early 80s version of what most of us think of as a movie house. For Maine it’s modern. But Maine is behind the times, a little backward and slow. Of course, that’s why I like coming here. Anyhow, loved the movie, popcorn not so good.

We drove home after, stopping at in laws for something they didn’t have. Then to wal mart to to pick up a few sundry items. Then home.

I made steak sandwiches with yesterday’s BBQ steak. Delish. I used that bread I got in Monson the other day. Very nice.

After dinner we played a few rounds of Bendominos. And a game of Scrabble, which I won on the last play. Yay team Bill!!

I actually had to make a couple work phone calls before bed and a few too many emails too. Gotta pay for vacay.

Tomorrow Emily is going to Augusta for something. Don’t know what. We have no plans. Yet.

So today is Wednesday. On Wednesday we play golf. Right? Real golf not mini golf. We are headed to Clinton where there is a truly beautiful golf course. The guy that owns it has a nice outlook. Free drinks in ice chests at each tee. 30 minutes between foursomes. And the course is fantastic and incredibly well taken care of. And free lunch. And club rentals are free. Nice place.

We teed off about 1130. Decided to play best ball cause not all of us can keep up otherwise on the 500 yard holes

Bugs were not out in force today. I did get bit by a famous Maine Black Fly. Unassuming little creature, which is called black but leaves a trail of red behind. Beautiful

So we played out the nine holes. Michael won by four strokes. None of us is a great golfer, last time I played was here two years ago, but we had a great time.

After golf we went to Big G’s deli in Winslow. I wrote about it a couple days ago. It hasn’t changed any in two days but this time thay had date bars which are awesom.

On our way back to camp, we stopped off at Nancy’s camp on the far side of the lake. She just got here from Florida a couple days ago. She lives in Vero Beach like our friends Dan and Susan who visited last week. Though they don’t know each other. We went back to camp after that and mostly sat around. The in laws, Beth and Hank, came over for dinner. We made sangria, BBQ steak, BBQ shrimp, twice bake potatoes, homemade creamed corn, caprese salad with blackberries, and Giffords ice cream for dessert. It was quite good. You were all invited.

Folks left after dinner and we played Bendominos.

Game took about an hour and we all went to bed. Golf really takes it out of you.

Wow, two women in the same room who are related is a huge mistake. Huge. Why two grown women are completely unable to get along is beyond my tiny brains ability to comprehend. Oh well. Maybe it will be better tomorrow. The sun will come up tomorrow. Right?

Anyhow, today we are going on a hike to Wilson’s Falls. Up 150, north of Guilford. Of course that means nothing to anyone unfamiliar with rural Maine. Which is just about everyone in the world. But that’s why I’m here. Anyhow, our camp is in the middle of nowhere and the hike is an hour closer to nowhere.

The drive up was boring. Everyone went , all four of us. When we got there Emily decided to sit at the trailhead and read a book. The rest of us took off for the falls. The rating on the trail was “moderate”. Right. We were all sweating within 300 yards. Not much of a view but the trail was along a river so it was nice.

About 1.3 miles in we actually came to a junction and joined the Appalachian Trail. So, today, I hiked the Appalachian Trail. You may now be jealous. I will understand. Here are a few pictures.

So, we finished up the hike. Nice walk in the woods. We really enjoyed it.

On the way back we stopped in Monson. The town of Monson gets a lot of Trail traffic so they have some nice place to eat. By some, I mean 2 we ate at Petes Place which serves breakfast and lunch and is basically a bakery that serves meals. Great food. Loved it. I had a glorified grilled cheese sandwich. Open face with four cheeses and feta with tomato. Nice. Take a look.

We drove back home on a different path. Took 150 instead of 16. The view was the same. Everyone fell asleep on the way back. Even me. Lol.

Went to the in laws house on the way back. Michael needed to pick up some tree trimmers which his grandpa had. Now our view is better.

We started the refinishing on four of our patio chairs. Will finish up tomorrow.

We BBQd hot dogs and ate leftover calzones for dinner. Had Mai Tai’s as an appetizer.

After dinner we went to Giffords for mini golf and ice cream. Out friend Wyatt was working so the golf was free. Yay Wyatt! And btw I won by 3 strokes. The fun part of that is beating my son, Michael, who takes the game a little too seriously.

Tomorrow we are headed to Clinton. There is an incredible golf course there. It’s very beautiful, they put a 1/2 hour between tee times and all the drinks are free. Nice folks there too. If you’re a golfer you can not do better. It’s also very near Winslow so we can go to Big G’s for lunch after.

Spoke to my friends Bob and Renee back in California. It’s hot back in Nor Cal. I miss friends but do love vacation I must admit.

Today, Monday, even on vacation, seems like a regular Monday. Kinda dreary outside, a little humid. We really have nothing planned. Though we will figure it out I am sure.

Our friends, Dan and Susan, are leaving today. So things will slow down a little bit and our agenda will be a little more self directed. That’s good.

A shout out to my friend Cissie Perkins who was in the hospital a couple days. She went home yesterday and we are all looking forward to her recovery.

We saw our friends off a little while ago. They are off to Bar Harbor which is a complete tourist destination. I guess that’s fine for some but I spend so much time in Maine I can’t ever go there again. But, as a tourist site it has everything the brief visitor will want. It serves a purpose. It does keep all the tourists away from where I want to go.

Of course, when guests leave, next comes the clean up. They were very neat and tidy but they had the camp with the washer dryer. So now we are doing a weeks worth of laundry. And then our camp needs attention since we ignored it for the last week. So we clean. Remember, it’s a Monday. They are supposed to be no fun.

Next, I am sure will be chores like shopping and gassing up the car. I would like to go to the town dump but they are closed on Mondays. Go figure. We might go visit the in-laws later. I have hardly seen them while we had guests.

So we cleaned and shopped. Then came home to see a glass smooth lake. We got out the paddle boards.

After boarding Michael and I went into town for the necessaries. They are found at the liquor store usually. And they were again. Had to go to grocery store for sundries as well. Then back home for cocktail hour. Today I made blueberry Daiquiris with blueberry rum. Quite tasty. And good for you.

Then on to dinner.

Those are calzones, basically a stuffed pizza. We make them once in awhile. Usually we use homemade dough. But when camping it in Maine it’s ok to use pre made. Don’t tell anyone. They were pretty damn good.

I should mention, Emily did a little more decorating today.
Those are a couple of clear glass bottles on a high shelf near the front door. She put some light strings inside them and voila we have light in the front room. She is always coming up with ways to dress up our cottage.

We played a few hands of hearts before bed. I was way ahead at the end but game is not done yet.

Going to bed now. Goodnight.

Sadly, no big paper today. It is Sunday but we are in the middle of nowhere. No paper to deliver.

Susan made quiche for breakfast.. Definitely yummy.

We are heading out to the coast of Maine, which for us is Belfast. It is lobster day for us.

Belfast is about an hour from where we live. And it’s on the coast. It is a natural harbor for small boats.

As you can see from the pictures it is a beautiful, clear, sunny day. And warm too. I actually broke a sweat walking around. My kids (adult children) were very tired and sacked out in a couple of chairs made from lobster traps.
Not sure why they are so tired. They don’t work or do much more than lay around. Go figure.

So we walked around Belfast for three or four hours, walked quickly through an art festival down in the park then went to do what we came here for – eat lobster.

We drove across the Passagassawaukeag Bridge to the other side of Belfast to Young’s Lobster Pound. We have been coming here for the last twenty years, a definite family favorite. We brought all the side dishes and beverages from home and just ordered the lobsters, steamed clams, and oysters Rockefeller from them.

Our lobster lunch was, as always, fantastic. Fortunately the whole family loves lobster and this is like Mecca for shellfish lovers.

Another little thing I love about Young’s is the raffle. They have an annual raffle which ends in December. I always buy five tickets. You never know. Prize is 50lbs of lobster. That’s about 32 or 33 average sized lobsters. Most people don’t buy because they think no one ever wins. Well I won about ten years back and we had a huge Christmas party with a ton of lobsters. So always buy raffle tickets. Remember, better odds than the lottery.

After lunch we drove directly back to Skowhegan. We did stop at Giffords for an ice cream fix. I had a peach frappe. Then we went back to camp. We played Hearts for a couple hours, drank cocktails, ate more food and more ice cream. Now I am lying in bed ready to sleep. Nice day.

So how can you tell it is actually Saturday when on vacay? Every day is Saturday except for the day the fat newspaper arrives.

We have no real plans today. Going to the town dump cuz we have no garbage service. That’s always a slice. Gotta throw stinky bags of garbage in the car and drive to where all the other stinky bags have gathered then drive home with all the windows open, rain be damned, to drive the stink out of the car. Like I said, it’s a slice.

The women all just left to get their nails done. Not Marika, she deferred. Will probably now cook up the prickly pears to make juice for my Prickly Pear Margaritas. Those should be very good. A fantastic combination of flavors with alcohol too. What’s not to like?

I think we may go paddle boarding later on. The weather and breeze are cooperating so it won’t be work. Maybe after lunch.

Maybe not. Gonna be thunder and lightning this afternoon. Don’t want to be on the lake if any lightning.

Just received a shipment of prickly pears, thank you Stephanie for shipping!, and made juice out of them for margaritas or other cocktails. Was actually quite easy to make. We already sampled 3 different recipes and settled on one. Saturday on vacay is happy hour all waking hours so it’s ok. I’m a professional, don’t drink this at home. Here it is.

So, it’s raining. And lightning. So we may just stay in and play cards. That’s safe at least. We are kicking around the movies but next available time is three hours in Waterville. Not looking so good. Btw, raining like hell right now.

So we played hearts. A few quick rounds and, for a change, son Michael lost. He is very competitive and hates to lose. But lose he did. My daughter won which is also not he usual for our Hearts game. She even shot the moon once.

Susan and Emily returned with nice nails from their appointment. And they did a little shopping as well. Skowhegan has a crazy amount of discount stores as does the state of Maine. So a little retail therapy is always a part of a vacation here.

Tonight Emily and I and Dan and Susan are going to Old Mill Pub. There is live music and Dan being a musician means we are going. Should be fun. That’s a couple hours away. In the meantime, we have prickly pear Margaritas to drink. The kids are staying here to do what they want. They are not interested in going out with us.

OK. So we went to Old Mill Pub. First, the musician was atonal at best and seemed to want his own influence on each song. Mistake. Difficult to listen to.

But at least we received some of the worst service I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Waitress was Christine D so if you are ever in town you can avoid her. Details. We were seated at about 8 pm, she came to table directly and took our entire order. This included one appetizer, 3 drinks, and 3 entrees. We got the drinks. We did not lay eyes on her anywhere in the restaurant for 40 minutes. We did not get our appetizers. Or dinner. We had to go to the bar to get drinks. She never checked back on us. When finally she did come by, she said she would check on the food. She did not refill water or take new drink order. 20 minutes later the appetizer arrived hot and fresh. No excuses offered. Or apologies. That took one hour. 30 minutes later after we tracked her down again, dinner arrived. Food was great. Thank for she does not work in the kitchen.

We asked at that point why the 90 minute wait and she said it was all the kitchens fault. I wonder what the kitchen would say? Eventually she offered the appetizer for free as well as first round of drinks. Still had a nice dinner with friends but very slowly.

Went home and finished up the game of Hearts from last night. Emily won and Michael lost. Oh well. Tomorrow to Belfast.

Big day today. Lay around all morning doing nothing. Did a little work. Then lunch at the Old Mill Pub. It was prominently spoken about in the book Empire Falls. Read it and you may understand Maine. Any how, back to the pub.

Ordered some mussels as appetizer. Delish.

Lunch.

Weather is beautiful again. Warm though not fully sunny. Very nice

Looking forward to the show tonight.

We had leftovers tonight. I know you may think that boring, but it was the last few days of meals in and out. So they were fantastic leftovers. We had a feast.

After dinner we walked down to the playhouse.

Play is called The Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner. Funny show and lots of fun to attend. We spent our intermission at the Lakewood House having dessert. I had key lime pie. Very tasty.

After the show we played Hearts till about midnight and went to bed.

So today started really late. And when I say started, we did nothing. But you need down time on a long vacay. Do laundry, clean house, grocery shop. All that crap.

Anyhow, the day involved a lot of house cleaning and organizing and doing dishes. We went to a local furniture store and got a sofa bed. They delivered same day and actually just followed us home. We helped unload and put in house.

Also went to Waterville to look at stackable washer dryer combos. Did not buy one. Then home.

We sat around in afternoon playing hearts and having cocktails. BBQd some oysters. Played more cards. Drank cocktails. We made a sort of rum sangria. Very nice. Bottle now empty.

Right now some are doing dishes and doing general clean up. Glad I am at the table not doing that. But, I do appreciate their hard work.

I think we are all drunk enough and full enough to go to bed. Not much else we can do. I hope tomorrow we can do more. Like go out to a place to drink and eat. We do have a play at Lakewood playhouse at 8 pm. Should be fun

We are going to Portland today 7/5, I posted late. About a 2 1/2 hour drive south of here. Son Michael is flying in today in late afternoon. The rest of us are getting an early start, or trying to get one, and go to Peaks Island and later to a Sea Dogs game. The Sea Dogs are the Red Sox farm team in Portland. Minor league baseball at its best.

We have a few issues here before we go. The water heater is screwing up and we are getting little to no hot water. I don’t really care. My shower was warm, not hot. But, my 22 year old daughter get hit by cold water. OMFG!!! The world ended! She was screaming and crying and shivering. To which I gently say, shut the hell up. No one cares. Insensitive? I think not. Its cold water, not poison. Drama queen. So far this has cost us 35 minutes of our day waiting on her.

We got going by 8 o’clock. Wow we can get moving early. Non descript drive down 295 and managed to find parking at the waterfront. We walked to terminal and managed to make the 1015 ferry to the island. Only takes 15 mins to island.

Walked around for about 45 mins and went to lunch at The Peaks Island House

After lunch we walked around the island some more then went to dock to wait for ferry. Uneventful trip back but the day is beautiful. Sunny and warm with gentle breeze. Very nice.

Upon return we stopped in an oyster bar for drinks and oysters duh. Nice place with cheap happy hour drinks and cheap happy hour oysters. Good combo.

At this point I left the group to go to the Portland Jetport to pick up Michael. Plane was 30 mins late. Great. Finally got him and we drove back to Portland to pick up the crowd from some other bar they were in and took off to Hadlock Field, home of the Sea Dogs. They played New Hampshire Fisher Cats at 7pm
Great game. Scoreless till 8th. Sea Dogs error gave NH two runs. That held up and we lost.

2 and half hours back to the camp. 50 miles of nighttime road work just for fun.

But, fun never ends. We had to play musical beds when we got back cuz we did not have one for Michael. Emily and I decided to sleep in the trailer. Great. The roof leaks it turns out. Had a couple days rain after we arrived and some got in. Not to severely wet but the lining of the trailer is a wood bead board paneling. That’s buckled across the roof. And it “feels” wet. We slept soundly and well anyhow. Still very comfortable. No plans for tomorrow. Maybe buy a sleeper sofa.

Happy 4th!! Today is Independence Day. So in honor of our freedom we are going to go do what we want.

A trip to Moxie falls this morning. It’s about a 1.5 mile hike to the falls. Of course, it’s a one hour drive to get to the trailhead. No worries.

After the hike we are going to stop at a brewery local to the falls and drink beer. Now that is an American tradition for the 4th.

Well it’s 1045. What are we doing?

Eating breakfast. Yes, we are slow. Emily is having gruel and Marika is having a peanut butter cookie.

I really think we are going to Moxie. Maybe soon. Of course I have thought that he last two days. This is like herding cats.
See, we got there. Nice walk too. Was a cool day with very few bugs. The falls are beautiful.

Lunch at Kennebec River Brewery which is about five miles from the Falls. Food really was fantastic. I can’t speak to the beer because I don’t drink it. Though everyone else had seconds on it. This an after lunch shot. I forgot to pic the food. Oops.

Drive back to the lake after lunch. I slept most of the way. When we got back we realized our short term renters next door had left. And left a huge mess. Definitely losing their deposit. Spent 2 hours cleaning that up.

We had planned cocktails at the Jervy’s and dinner at Dee’s house. I puréed some blueberries for the cocktails and made traditional daiquiris with blueberry purée. Quite nice.

We had stuffed scallops for an appetizer and this is dinner For those who can’t see it, ribs, homemade beans and salad. We have homemade ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Isn’t vacay awful?