Monday, August 2nd, 2010 1:56 pm
Left Brattleboro around 11:00 a.m. for the approximately five-hour final driving leg to our destination. We spent a little time finding some excellent local Vermont cheddar cheese in several varieties, including a super sharp that was aged four years and was so dry it was amazing. Best cheddar I’ve ever had. The milder one we bought was the equivalent of what they sell in most groceries as “extra sharp,” so it was damn good too. Great mobile lunch as we entered Maine.
Getting off on the Coastal Route (U.S. 1) northeast of Portland, we didn’t see the Atlantic until we got into Camden, Maine, a lovely (and touristy-busy on a Sunday afternoon) town on Penobscot Bay. Our motel, the Mount Battie, is north of Camden (“The Jewel of the Maine Coast”) near Lincolnville Beach. It’s run by a couple from New York who are outstanding hosts. My family is staying in the “family suite,” which includes two bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and a pull-out bed/couch. The kids’ cousin Liam is also staying with us.
The vacation in Maine is being paid for by Doreen’s dad and her uncles Ed and Jim. When their mother, Helen Everitt, died in 2009, they talked about doing something special with what remained of her estate, and came up with the idea of inviting everyone on a trip. So we find ourselves on the Midcoast of Maine in a lovely motel with a view of the bay, and beaches, shops, galleries, restaurants and pubs galore. It’s a very generous thing for the brothers to do, and I’m appreciating the chance not only to take a great vacation, but also spend it with many members of Doreen’s family who we rarely see.
More to come….
Sunday, August 1st, 2010 10:16 am
Me and Ty
A short drive to Cooperstown, New York to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It was fun to see the historic bats, balls, uniforms and other items on display, most of which were connected to baseball moments that, as a lifelong baseball geek, I was familiar with. Doreen asked me if I’d learned anything I didn’t know before. I couldn’t think of anything major, but just seeing a bat that Ty Cobb once used or a warm-up jacket Jackie Robinson once wore did bring out the kid in me. We noticed that a lot of the middle-aged men visiting the Hall had childlike smiles on their faces. I suppose that’s why the Hall exists, and why there was a line down the street to get in by the time we got there at 11:30 a.m.
After leaving Cooperstown — if you live there, you have to like baseball or at least appreciate how important it is to your town, otherwise you’d become homicidal with all of the tourists and youth baseball teams that invade every weekend — we took several county roads and state highways through the mountains around Albany and then east into Vermont, a state I’d never been to before. Bennington looked interesting, but we wanted to get to our motel and some dinner before sundown, so we kept on across the bottom of Vermont on state route 9. The mountains were rather imposing. Living in a fairly flat part of the country, it’s a challenge to get used to the up and downs and curves of two-lane mountain roads. I pulled over a few times to let the natives by so they could resume going 60 miles an hour down an 8% grade with a 180 degree switchback at the bottom. Woo!
Arriving in Brattleboro (“The One and Only Brattleboro”), another town that would be worth exploring if I had the time (by the way, Vermont has a guy named Brian Dubie running for governor, which seems really appropriate for this politically offbeat state until you realize he’s a Republican. Then again, he has an issue statement on his website about “Growing Vermont’s Green Economy,” so who knows?), we ate at 99 Restaurant, where kids eat free if the Red Sox win. Since they beat the Tigers Saturday afternoon, I was looking to cut my bill in half at least, but apparently the offer only included young children, not the adult and quasi-adult I brought with me.
Now we’re off to find some Vermont cheddar for Andy before we cross into New Hampshire (which, in honor of WBZ Boston’s former late-night host Larry Glick, I always pronounce “New Hamp-Shire”), another state I’ve never been to. Then into Maine (ditto) and on to our destination for the week, Camden.
Saturday, July 31st, 2010 9:23 am
Launched the Maine trip yesterday with a marathon 580 mile drive to Johnson City, New York (the “Home of the Square Deal.”) After finishing last minute preparations and dropping Raven off at the boarding kennel (the “pet resort” is what I’m calling it in my mind so I can imagine her having a really great time while we’re gone), we took off around noon. Since two of our party lacked the necessary international security documents to cross into Canada, we instead took a southerly tour of Lake Erie via Toledo, Cleveland and Erie, Pa. (Why do all the mileage signs along I-90 need to say “Erie Pa”? Are the sign makers afraid we’ll mistake it for Erie, Ohio or Erie, New York? Or the lake itself?)
We also ate pretty high on the hog, baby, stopping at two McDonalds and one Burger King (where I was so disgusted by the restaurant itself and the thought of eating any more fast food in one day that I settled for a Little Debbie apple pie from the attached convenience store.) There’s something about fast food restaurants connected to gas station convenience stores that triples the disgustingness. Avoid at all costs.
Stayed the night at the Traditions at the Glen Resort in Johnson City. Got a nice last-minute rate on Expedia, a cut above a discount motel but at about the same price. Kids just came in, though, and said the breakfast was not that great, so I may skip that for now. I’m preparing to change to my planned Maine diet, which is lobster appetizers followed by lobster main course followed by lobster cupcakes for dessert. If I can figure out how to include lobster in my drinks, I’ll be doing that too.
We’re off to Cooperstown today. I hear there’s something to do with baseball there. We may have to stop and check that out.
Brattleboro, Vermont is the place we shall rest our heads tonight. Later!
Getting off on the Coastal Route (U.S. 1) northeast of Portland, we didn’t see the Atlantic until we got into Camden, Maine, a lovely (and touristy-busy on a Sunday afternoon) town on Penobscot Bay. Our motel, the Mount Battie, is north of Camden (“The Jewel of the Maine Coast”) near Lincolnville Beach. It’s run by a couple from New York who are outstanding hosts. My family is staying in the “family suite,” which includes two bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and a pull-out bed/couch. The kids’ cousin Liam is also staying with us.
