A Fort, a bridge, and a lighthouse

We woke up on Thursday morning to rain, and a grumpy brother who tried to get us coffee but it appears that everyone in a 25 mile radius all went to the same Dunkin Donuts on this morning so he went to some Java Junkyard or something like that. Once he had the coffee and was back at the hotel, he understood why there was no line at all at that place, the coffee was horrible. So bad that we just dumped it out.

We loaded up the van and started on our way back towards Boston, stopping along the way for breakfast at a nice little cafe in Ellsworth. Breakfast and coffee were good. After breakfast, the rain had stopped and we were back on our way. We didn't get very far before we decided to stop at the Penobscot Narrows bridge and Ft.Knox. This would be the original Ft. Knox that was established in 1844 to protect the Penobscot river valley against future British attack. I just love old forts and military stuff. Following the fort, we went over to the Penobscot Narrows bridge. The bridge has an observatory at the top of one of its spires. It is listed as the tallest Bridge Observatory in the world. It was an amazing view from the top.

After this unplanned stop, we needed to offset the fort with some culture so we stopped in at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME, to check out the art of Wyeth family. I know a lot of people would never think that I would enjoy art but believe it or not, I actually do enjoy some art. I am not a big fan of modern or contemporary art but other types of art can be interesting to me and I enjoyed the Wyeth exhibit.

After the Art stop, we headed out to the Marshal Point Lighthouse, also located just outside Rockland, ME. This is the lighthouse that was in the movie Forrest Gump. It was where he ended his cross country run. I will be honest and say that it was a little underwhelming, as far as lighthouses go. For some reason, I was expecting it to be a little bigger. It still was a beautiful area and we walked around and climbed on the rocks along the shoreline.

After the lighthouse, it was time to eat. We were all starving since we hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now around 4 or 5. Unfortunately we had to drive a ways until we finally found a place to eat, that looked like it would be good. We stopped in Wiscasset, at a place called Le Garage. We were seated with a nice view of the river and had a really good meal and I ended up eating to much. 

Now that our bellies were full, we were all sleepy. We were still too far out of Boston to stop so we had to keep driving. Since we were flying out the next day, we wanted to stop for the night, no further than an hour out from the airport. We ended up stopping in Wakefield, at the same hotel that we stayed at for the first week of our vacation.

The vacation has been fun and it was nice to spend time with family but I think the others all agree that we are ready to go home. I think we are all a bit tired and it will be nice to get back home. Unfortunately for me, I have to leave for a week long work trip after the weekend and as soon as I get back from the work trip, I am flying up to North Dakota for a week to visit family there and to spend some time with my Dad who is coming up to visit his brother and my sister. It will be Sept. before I will get back home. I love traveling but I am ready for a month of being home.

Whales and horse carriages

The destination for Tuesday was Bar Harbor, ME where we had a whale watching cruise scheduled for 4:30 PM. According to Google Maps, the trip was supposed to only be around 3 1/2 to 4 hours from Portsmouth, NH. We neglected to read the fine print where it said "without traffic". We left Portsmouth around 9:30 or 10:00, thinking we had plenty of time and that we could afford to take the more scenic route up to Bar Harbour, via highway 1. Bad decision, we barely made it in time for our whale watching cruise. Nobody on highway 1 is in any sort of hurry. The average speed is about 40 MPH. 

The whale watching was fun, not sure that it was $60.00 per person fun, but I am glad we did it. Besides being on a jet catamaran on the ocean, which is really cool, we saw approximately 5 or 6 whales. There were a couple of Humpback whales fairly close up and around 4 or 5 Finback whales from a little further away. It was pretty cool to actually see them in person. 

The plan for Wednesday was to do a carriage ride in Acadia National park at 10;30. We had made the reservations on Tuesday. We got their address off their web site and then plugged that into google maps GPS. Well that took us to a ship yard on the opposite side of the island. We had been trying to call the carriage company since early morning to verify their address but all we ever got was a busy signal. When it was clear we weren't going to make our 10:30 appointment, we kept trying to call them and finally, after about an hour of just trying over and over to get through, we managed to get through. We explained what happened and they told us that you can't find them using GPS as their address isn't correct on the web site. They then said that unfortunately they were going to have to charge us for our missed appointment. Their argument was that we should have asked them for directions when we made the reservation. We argued that if there address on their website is incorrect, they should have told us this information and given us directions. To which they replied that most people ask for directions when they make reservations. After a bit of back and forth, they agreed to just book us on a later carriage ride and not charge us for the missed ride.

Since we had some time to kill, we decided to do a hike around Jordon Pond and up Bubble Mtn. It was a nice hike, even if it was cloudy, damp, windy, and cold out. We then had lunch at the Jordon Pond house restaurant, which had a million people on the waiting list. We eventually were seated, outside and by the time we finished lunch, were close to suffering from hypothermia.

After lunch, it was time for the carriage ride. I was not really looking forward to the ride because all I wanted to do was find a nice warm bar and have a beer or wine and warm up. I am glad I went along on the carriage ride because it was very enjoyable. The driver was friendly and made the entire ride fun. 

After the ride, we went into Bar Harbor and had some dinner. We were all feeling pretty wiped out after dinner and so we headed back to the hotel to just do a little relaxing before going to bed.

York Harbor Inn and card games

Monday was a nice relaxing day. After doing some laundry, we hit the road around noon. We had a nice leisurely drive up highway 1A to Portsmouth, NH. Along the way we had lunch in Ipswich, MA and then drove around town and looked at a bunch of homes that were built in the 1600's to 1800's and are still lived in today. It's really quite amazing to see homes that were built in the 1600's, long before we were a country.

After checking into our motel, in Portsmouth, we drove out to see the Nubbel Lighthouse and walk around for a little while. We then drove down to York Harbor and walked down to the beach. We then went up to the York Harbor Inn and had dinner. After dinner, we went downstairs to the bar and played a fun card game with the kids. Unfortunately my brother won the game.

 York Harbor Inn is absolutely beautiful. I have stayed there a number of times and I just love it. I highly recommend this place, especially for couples. There isn't a woman out there that won't love spending a weekend at York Harbor Inn and any guy who doesn't think the Ships Cellar Pub isn't a cool place for having a few drinks, has issues. during the summer months,  its pretty difficult to get a room so you need to book a room well in advance. They also do an amazing Thanksgiving Day buffet but don't plan on just showing up Thanksgiving day because its almost impossible to get in without a reservation made weeks or months in advance. 

Trips versus vacations

My son made the comment the other day that we are not on a vacation, that what we are on is a trip. I asked him what he meant. He said that a vacation is laid back with no schedule and that you spent your days just relaxing. He said that because we were having to get up every morning and we were out all day long walking all over the place and seeing one historical site or tourist place after another, that this was a trip. I guess he has a point. We certainly have done a lot of walking and been on the go everyday but when there is so much to see and so little time, you sort of have to have a schedule and be on the go. Its still been a blast so far.

Today we are starting off by  doing laundry. Then we are going to start making our way up the coast towards Maine. I am looking forward to the drive and I know the scenery is going to be awesome and the weather is perfect.

Battleships and Yachts

Yesterday we went to one of my favorite places, Battleship Cove. After a couple days of walking all over Boston and looking at lots of great interesting historical things, at least interesting from an adults point of view, I think my nieces were getting a bit bored. What do you do when kids start getting bored? You take them to see huge, awesome warships that they can climb all over, especially the big battleship where we climbed down ladders, all the way down into the depths of the ship. The battleship is so huge that you could get lost wandering around the corridors and climbing into the powder magazines and shell storage areas. The day was a big success and everyone enjoyed the ships.

After Battleship Cove, we unanimously agreed to drive to Rhode Island because none of us had been to that state before. We drove to Newport. It was very nice and very evident that there is some money in this town. There was a place called 41(insert little degree circle here)N. I didn't know if it was a restaurant or Yacht Club or what so I asked the well dressed dude standing out front what the place was. Now imagine the snooty host at that restaurant that Ferris Bueller and his friends went to. with that same snooty voice and attitude from Ferris Bueller's day off, this dude says " Its a Hotel", like he couldn't believe we didn't know this already. Parked along the pier behind the hotel were some awesome Yachts. I am trying to figure out how I can get one of these. How cool would it be to sail around the world on a big yacht, visiting cool destinations. I wonder if I start saving now, if I could buy one? I mean, how expensive can a big boat be? 

We had dinner at a nice place called the Red Parrot and walked around Newport by the water. It was a very nice area and i would like to come back on my motorcycle some day and spend a little more time looking around.

Today is more history. Going to Lexington and Concord. The kids don't seem as enthused about the days activities for some reason. 

Walking/running

My legs are so sore it was hard to get out of bed. Which made me realize that working out 4 to 5 days a week doing T-25 or P90x3 is great and all but isn't a substitute for plain old walking or jogging. After a 2 days of walking all over Boston and climbing the 295 steps up the Bunker Hill monument and then back down, my legs are sore and I am worn out. I am going to have to add walking or running to my weekly workout routine.

On a side note, Boston's public library, down in the area of Boston Commons, is an amazing building. Cole even said that if he lived near a library like the one in Boston,  he would hang out there all the time and just read because the building is so cool.

Today's agenda, Battleship Cove.

The T, Freedom Trail, and Chinese food

Relearned a lesson today regarding riding the T, Boston's subway system, which is that during the week, unless you get to whatever station you are planning on going to by 7 AM, don't expect to find a parking spot. We drove from one station to the next, all with no luck, so finally ended up just driving into downtown Boston and parking in one of the parking garages. Cost $35.00 for the day.

One of the coolest things Boston has going for it is the Freedom Trail. I have walked the Freedom Trail 3 times now and I still think its interesting and awesome. The Freedom Trail is a walk through Boston, marked by a line of red bricks or red paint that you follow. It takes you to all the significant historical places in downtown Boston such as Boston Commons, Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, Kings Chapel, Old South Meeting House, Site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Reveres house, Bunker Hill Monument, and the USS Constitution, just to name a few. Its a long walk and takes most of the day to walk it but is worth it. Also, the trail takes you past some of my favorite places in Boston such as,The Union Oyster house, listed as Americas oldest restaurant, The Green Dragon Tavern called the "Headquarters of the Revolution". I vote that we make the Green Dragon Tavern the Headquarters for planning the new revolution that we are going to have to have soon. :) And finally the Warren Tavern in Charlestown, close to Bunker Hill.

On the drive back to the hotel we were trying to decide on where to eat dinner. Dannielle found an Asian restaurant that had great reviews on Yelp. Well we get there and its a small nondescript Chinese restaurant in a small strip mall and there wasn't a single customer there. All very bad signs but being the adventurous people that we are, we decided to take a chance. It didn't suck but it wasn't great. We are all now waiting to see if anyone gets sick from food poisoning.

We ran out of time and didn't get a chance to make it to Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution today so we are going to hit those places tomorrow and then try and do some sort of harbor tour or something along those lines. Day 1 of the family vacation was all in all a good time.

Breakfast

Made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We decided to get some breakfast so we get a seat at the Fridays close to to our gate. It's 10:25 AM. I see no breakfast items on the menu so I ask them what is available for breakfast. I know they serve breakfast type food at the airport Fridays because I have had breakfast here before. I am informed that they stopped serving breakfast at 10. In what world is breakfast over at 10? I am pretty sure that it runs until at least 11. Its just another reason to the long list of why its time for a new revolution, I mean seriously, if stopping breakfast service at 10 isn't a legitimate reason for revolution then what is.

The only thing that kept me from flipping out was the bloody mary.

Family Vacation

I am about to embark on a new travel experience, or at least one that I haven't experienced since I was a child. The family vacation.

Most of my travels have been solo. I took an awesome trip with my brother to Machu Picchu. In December I did a long road trip with my son. Now I am going to try to do a vacation with family, and not just a short 1 week vacation, but a vacation for two whole weeks. It will be my son, my brother and his wife, and two darling young daughters. I usually don't travel well with others and especially with other children so that is why I haven't done a trip with family before. Maybe its because I am getting old, but I am looking forward to this trip. I think it will be nice for my son to spend some quality time with his aunt, uncle, and cousins. He hasn't had a lot of opportunity to spend time with other family members so I decided that this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

We fly out of DFW tomorrow at noon and we are going to Boston. I do not know the whole extent of the vacation but it will begin in Boston and surrounding area and then we will make our way up into Maine. I have spent some time in the Boston area before and I love it there. I am looking forward to going up to Maine. Its an area I have not had a chance to see much of.

I will try and blog about this new family vacation adventure, on a regular basis.