Day 5 of Maine 2009.

Its a Monday and we have to leave. How typical of a Monday to be a let down. But our flight wasn't until 4, so we had until 2 or so to go out and do stuff. Not a total loss.

Had breakfast, took about an hour to pack all our fragile (italian) stuff, then checked out of the b&b. Spent a little while talking with David, the owner, about Portland and Maine in general. He was very friendly and a great host while we were there. I'll be emailing him today to get a custard recipie from him.

We decided we would head up towards Freeport to visit the Cold River Vodka distillery. Unfortunately, we thought it opened at 11 and it really opened at 12. So we went into Freeport and had lunch at a place called Azure. Pretty good stuff. Ejdo had fish and chips and I had a grilled portabella salad.

Still had a few minutes to spare, so we followed the signs to the "Big Indian". We knew we had arrived when we saw a big indian. For no apparent reason. On the side of the road in front of a restaurant that had nothing to do with indians. But hey, its a big indian, gotta take a picture.



After visiting the indian, it was time to go to the distillery. We had a private tour from one of the distillers, and it was pretty cool. Cold River makes potato vodka, which is a little different tasting and distilling process than a grain vodka. It was neat to see all the tanks and hear about the process. They make vodka the same way as its done in Russia and Poland and are the only distillery in the US that does it that way. Got to taste the original and blueberry flavors. The blueberry was really intersting. They just filter the vodka through macerated blueberries and it picks up the sugar and flavors that way. Cool stuff.



At this point we were kinda stuck. We had to be at the airport (20 min away) in an hour. We didn't want to go back and walk around Freeport again. Didn't really want to go to the touristy part of Portland. Not enough time to do much of anything. So we drove out to the other state park near Freeport, just to take a look at it.

Sadly we didn't have enough time to go hike anywhere, but they had a huge trail system there. Seems like it gets a lot of use, as there were probably 10 or so cars on a Monday afternoon. They take care of the trails too. It had rained earlier and they closed the trails to bikes because of it. I did get to snap this picture of one of their signs. Its not every park that has to have a winter and summer yield pattern for trail use. Kinda cool.



All that was left was driving back to the airport and dropping off the car. We had some beers in the Shipyard restaurant in the airport and had an uneventful flight back. Sawyer was conflicted when we got to S&J's house, because he had just been given a pig ear. But he showed how much he loves us by leaving it (for a minute or so) and running to us.

We had an awesome trip. It was mentioned that since we went away for 5 days for our 5 year anniversary, we need to do 10 for 10, and so on. Could get difficult, but could be quite fun. Maine was pretty awesome, but I think if we were there any longer we would have had to start travelling a lot farther to do stuff. We pretty much maxed out on Freeport and Portland. It was definitely an interesting trip though. Thanks Maine!

So we're home now and we're tired. I added the photos from the first 4 days so you can check those out. I'll write about day 5 tomorrow and add the pictures from that, and some leftovers that just show a little of our time in Maine.

Enjoy all!!

Day 4 of vacation 2009:

Today was the day we were really looking forward to. I made plans for us to take a schooner from 1912 out to an island and have a lobster bake. We were sailing with Portland Schooner Company. The boat was fantastic. This is not our boat:



This is our boat:



There were so many interesting things to see and learn about the ship and the trip out to the island was great. The wind wasn't so great, so we used the engine quite a bit, but it was still cool.











Cow Island is used for a kids day/week camp most of the time. The kids learn about the ocean and our ties to it and how to live in the outdoors. All of the buildings were from 1907 when the US built them as defense against the Spanish. Pretty amazing.



Our lobster bake was incredible. Lobsters, mixed green salads, cole slaw, potatoes, corn, and blueberry bakes. Awesome. Couldn't have asked for anything better.





The sail back we had a little better wind, but we still had to use the engine quite a bit. It was still a great sail. The people running the boat were pretty cool, the other guests, maybe not so much. But what do I care, I was here for the lobster and the sail.



After the ship we headed into Cape Elizabeth to check out the Portland Head lighthouse. We couldn't go into the lighthouse itself, but the museum was pretty nice. Ejdo had never been to a light house before and I think he enjoyed seeing one.



We left the lighthouse and headed to Portland to walk around a bit. Went over to the Shipyard Brewery to get some tastings and buy some stuff. It was pretty cool. The Chamberlin Pale Ale was really good. Portland is really a different city. The part near where we area staying seems to be more of the locals area. The area where the brewery is located is the Old Port area, aka the tourist area. It wasn't bad, just very touristy.

We had dinner at Street and Company. I had read about this place before we got here, so I knew a little about it. We arrived a little early and they sat us in the lounge to wait. It was nice and we could look at the wine list ahead of time so we knew what to order. The restaurant was packed. It was pretty impressive how many people were there on a Sunday night. Our table was near a window at the end of the restaurant. We ordered a glass of wine each and got a salad each. My salad was great. Spring greens, apricots, and gorgonzola cheese. Yummy.



We shared the lobster diavolo for our entree. It was huge! It was a 1.5 lb lobster with mussels, clams, and squid, along with linguine. I bet there were 2 lbs of linguine in there. Amazing, but huge. There was no way we were going to finish all that food, but it was so freaking good. Spicy and savory and delicious.



After dinner we drove back to the b&b then went for a walk. Some of the walk was a little sketchy, but it was ok. Ended up back at Local 188 again for some drinks. Back at the B&B now, and its getting to be time for bed. Tomorrow we have to go home, and thats a bummer, but its all gotta end sometime.

Day 3. We decided to check another state off our lists and head over to New Hampshire and drive up Mt. Washington. Everyone has seen a car with a bumper sticker stating that "This car drove up Mt. Washington". Well we wanted to drive it ourselves, even though we didn't have our own car.









Google and the Garmin both said it would take about 2 hours to drive there. It was pretty close on the way there. The drive up to the peak only took about 25 minutes, and was much less scary than Pikes Peak. That being said, it was no walk in the park. I can see how it would freak a lot of people out. Driving to the mountain, it was about 80 degrees and bright and sunny. Up on the summitt, it was 52 with 25 mph winds and cloudy. Amazing how quickly it changed. Its said that Mt. Washington has the worst weather on earth and I can definitely see why. The trails are also very difficult. We checked out a few and they didn't look like anything we were running to rush into.







The drive back took FOREVER. We decided to go the "more direct" route from Google maps, and it sucked. The traffic through the towns really slowed us down. Ate lunch in a town called Conway NH at a brew pub called Moat Mountain. They had a smokehouse there as well. Ejdo had the smoked pork sliders and I had a bison quesedilla. Both were fantastic. Ejdo also had the Czeck style Pilsner, which was pretty darn close to a real Czech Pilsner. I had the Lager, which was a little hoppy, but pretty good.

We drove straight to Freeport and hit up a few of the outlets (got some good stuff for cheap) then had icecream and went to check out the LLBean Summer Concert Series show. Found this bike in the Patagonia store. Awesome find.



We weren't really sure what the music was going to be like. Come to find out its a kids type group. The guy's name was Dan Zane and he was like Bob Dylan for kids. Real laid back, crazy hair, real easy stuff. The kids were eating it up. Ejdo and I, not so much. I haven't stayed on the sunny side in a while, and I wasn't really feeling it tonight. So we stopped and go a bottle of wine, and are getting ready to relax the evening away.

Day 2 of vacation 2009:

Happy Anniversary to us. Five years ago today we both were freaking out. Today, to celebrate that, we slept in and had an awesome day.

Breakfast at Morrill consisted of french toast, hard boiled eggs, and egg custards with nutmeg. Pretty good stuff.

After some organizing and figuring in the room, we headed up towards Boothbay for the rest of the day. Stopped in Bath for lunch at a really cool place called the Starlight Cafe. Ejdo had eaten there before and it was great. Fantastic sandwiches. Found a shop where we're going to buy some stuff on Monday, and were informed that we should get on our way because the "traffic can be pretty bad". Hey, we're from DC, how bad could it be? Answer...not that bad. Rte 1 is only one lane in each direction and where it goes straight through a town it slows considerably, but we were always moving.

Arrived at the kayak place, Tidal Transit, right around when we were supposed to, so that was good. Our tour guide was Kelsey, a very, very crunchy girl about our age who has obviously never met Mr. Schick. But she was a great kayak guide. Our tour also included an older couple who took a tandem. They are from Connecticut, but are actually thinking of retiring to Charlottesville. Who woulda thunk it?

Kayaked for 3 hours around Indian Head Island. Stopped on Ram Island for some snacks and to sign in the log book. Saw lots of osprey and cormorants, but sadly no seals. I think if we had been at a different time in the tide we would have gotten lucky, but no dice this time. Lots of wind on the way back, and we had to paddle through a culvert that had quite a current running through it. A little scary to go through, but kinda cool at the same time.









After kayaking, we walked around Boothbay for a little, then went to eat at the Lobster Dock. We had steamed mussels, and full lobster dinners each. The mussels came with a white wine dipping sauce and were fantastic. The lobsters. Well come on, they were whole lobsters caught in the water right off the restaurant deck. You can't get much fresher than that. And they were awesome. We destroyed those things. And I'm glad we ate early, because as we were leaving, there was a huge line growing off the deck. We got lucky.







Walked around Boothbay for a few more minutes, then headed in towards Freeport. We couldn't remember if the LLBean concert was today or tomorrow, so we wanted to check it out. Well its tomorrow. But we picked up some stuff for the dog at LLBean, and some socks for ourselves at the outlet. A quick trip to the grocery for some water and its back to Portland and in for the evening.



We took in a lot of sun today, and are both pretty tired. I'm watching the tour now on TV and Ejdo is in the shower. I think it will be an early night.

Till tomorrow.....

Ejdo wants you all to know this will be verbose.

So we're off to Portland to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. This is the first time we've gone on vacation by ourselves since our honeymoon, which is a little strange to think about. However, that also means this is the first trip since our honeymoon we have to pay for by ourselves. That part is a bummer.

When we landed in Portland, and went to collect our rental car, we were told we had a brand new Camry. Well thats cool and all, but we were looking for something a little better than that. So we upgraded. To a Mustang convertable. Its sweet. The weather is great, the wind is in our hair, and we're in a red Mustang. What could be better?

We're staying at one of the top rated bed and breakfasts in Portland, the Morrill Mansion. We're staying in the Burnham room, which is the largest room not considered a suite I think I've ever been in.



After we landed and picked up the car we went basically straight to Wolfe's Neck State Park. I enjoy checking out the parks in other states, to see how they're run and what they're like. It was a beautiful park. Right on the water between the Casco Bay and the Harrassaket River. It was awesome. The views were fantastic, there were osprey, and the sun was shining. We had a great hike.





Once back in Portland we had some downtime in the B&B and made some reservations for dinner. We ate at Five Fifty-Five in Portland. I have to say it was the first time I ever ate a meal and felt like I could have been in an episode of Top Chef. The head chef at the restaurant has been featured in Food and Wine magazine, and you can tell why. We started with drinks. Ejdo got a Pilsner Urquell on tap, and it was great. Probably the best we've had in the US. I had a 555 cherry royale. Its like a kir royale, only with cherry liquor instead of blackberry and with a sugared rim. Good stuff.

This was the first time I was ever given the option of a 5 course tasting meal. It was tempting to try, but we decided to get bits and pieces instead. We split a cheese plate featuring an idiazbal cheese. Its a spanish sheeps milk that was awesome. The plate came with croquets, strawberry compote, and toasted mixed nuts. Very yummy.

I had a mixed greens salad and Ejdo had a grilled chicken caesar salad. Both were fantastic. Then our entrees arrived. I ordered the smokey rabbit-spring chicken risotto. It had baby peas and green garbanzo beans, with an egg on top. Freaking awesome. Ejdo had the Fisherman's Stew, which was in the best red sauce I think I've ever had. Mussels, squid, cockles, and chorizo. What man wouldn't love that?



No room for dessert, even though they all looked fantastic. I actually felt bad leaving food on my plate.

On the walk home we went past a bar/restaurant called Local 188 . We always talk about being more spontaneous, so in we went to have a drink. I got a caprihina and Ejdo got a Moscow Mule. Both were STRONG!!! The Moscow Mule has ginger root soda and vodka. It was spicy! My caprihina was just flat out strong. Handfulls of limes and many ounces of rum. The bartender was a nice guy and amused us for the hour or so we were there.



After a walk home, its time to watch a movie and call it a night. Have a good one everyone!

Attention Drivers: Please Pay Attention and Look For Cyclists!!

Feeling the need to share last night's scary experience. I was on a short training ride for the Triathlon. I just started riding again after swimming, and had completed the loop on Conservation and turned onto Cottontail towards J & S's house. There is a fairly steep hill to go down, a swim and racket club at the bottom on the right, and a slightly less steep hill to go up again. I was zipping down the hill in the drops around 25 mph when I sat up and started to slow. There are often a lot of cars parked on the street around the swim club, and I didn't want to get doored. Probably traveling 14-15 at this point.

Approaching from the other direction is a gold/champagne colored sedan. The vehicle signals to turn into the swim club and slows a bit. This indicates to me that the driver has seen me. Nope. Just a slight pause, then the driver floors it to make the turn into the club. I grab fistfuls of brake and skid to a stop, literally. The female driver, who I can clearly see, simply drives on into the swim club lot, unaware, or uncaring, that she nearly ended me.

Normally, I just try to put stuff like this out of my mind, and go on my way. But this one really bothered me because not 30 seconds after it happened, a number of kids went by on bicycles. It occured to me that those kids probably wouldn't have been able to stop in time, and could have been severely injured. So I pulled into the swim club lot.

The woman was easy to find. She was still painstakingly pulling into the farthest parking spot she could find. I approached, and waited for her to exit the car. I was still in the driving area of the lot, not wanting to get too close to either her or the vehicle. There were plenty of people around, and I didn't want anyone to feel like I was threatening her.

I said "Ma'am, do you realize you nearly killed me?" She said nothing. I said "What if I had been a child? There is no way a child on a bike could have stopped in time. You would be responsible for injuring a child." She said nothing and started walking towards the club. I turned and said "What if I was another vehicle? I would have been traveling at least twice as fast as I was. You would have been responsible for a significant accident, possibly injuring yourself and another person." She said nothing and walked away.

It was obvious to me that she wasn't going to even apologize, and I was floored. In a bit of a daze I simply looked at the other people in the lot. They all looked shocked that this woman had nothing to say to me. Some looked quite sorry. I wasn't going to follow her into the club and cause a huge scene, so I rode away. Had to stop and talk to J about it.

I was pretty upset. Not so much that she was so oblivious to me. Honestly I've come to expect that here. But the fact that she was so cold and callous about it, even when confronted in public, even with the thought of it being a child. Is it really that hard to say I'm sorry to a stranger who you've nearly killed? I have seen people give more apology for that when bumping carts at the grocery store.

So, the moral is. Please pay attention. Not all cyclists are adults with a superhero complex. Some are children with limited skills. And you don't want to be responsible for that.

Things are chugging right along here lately. Training for the tri is going quite well. I've noticed a real difference in my swimming already, just from doing it twice a week. Some of the old (and I really mean old) form is returning. I think I'd like to get a kickboard or kidney float to do some drills and really start torturing myself.

Its been nice to get back on the bike more too. Its amazing how much fun you can have screaming downhill while the cars rush by. And since they're repaving Huntsman Blvd, I've gotten to ride on brand spanking new asphalt for the last week or so. They're even (finally) putting in a designated bike lane! I'm super excited about that.

Got some new running shoes from Metro Run & Walk. They are under new management and I think I like the change. Store still looks the same but there is a different mindset now. They instituted a frequent buyer program, have come out with a newsletter, and have organized demonstrations/seminars at the store. Much more put together. Kudos to them.

Gee, other stuff. Bought a new smoker, had some friends over and smoked some ribs. They were phenominal. Taking the smoker down to the lake with us this weekend to do some more.

The truck broke, Ejdo fixed it, but that didn't do the trick, so he's got to work on it again. Oh well.

Watched El Bandito this weekend. He and Sawyer still aren't really sure what to make of each other. They play fight a lot, but its rougher than Sawyer likes. I wish my dog wasn't such a wuss.

Only 8 more days till we go to Maine!!!!