We got Trouble
We got trouble. Right here in River City. It starts with F and it ends in A and it’s called Fun O Rama. Oh yeah we got trouble. Oh yes we got trouble.
Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree
Maine is covered with Apple trees. They are everywhere. But the apples are sour and Tu doesn’t like them. But that doesn’t stop her from picking them everywhere we go.
It’s apple season here in Maine and in two weeks the big apple festivals will start.
There are berries here too. Blueberries on the side of the road in bushes, all along the water. We see people with boxes picking the blueberries and bringing them home. You could eat for free here in Maine 24/7.
The best part of Maine is how much coastal space there is. Because Maine is basically a thousand fingerlings of land jutting into the ocean there is so much space to build homes along the ocean. You can buy a coastal front cottage here for $500k to $600k and they are picture perfect cottages. Another great day in Maine.
Into the Wild
The chill crisp is in the air that hints of autumn but the sun comes back and warms everything up. It was a perfect day to explore what Maine has to offer. Just get in the car with no particular place to go and see what the world has to offer.
Day 3 in Maine wa about taking the back roads. We found lots of very interesting places today off the back roads. It’s amazing the sites and sounds you can see when you go where no one else wants to. We had enough of the T Shirt shops in Bar Harbor and we wanted to see real Maine.
So we went off the grid. We were so far off the roads that we didn’t have cell connection and were sometimes forced to navigate by the stars. Well we made it to our hotel in Booth Bay and it is gorgeous here. Stunning.
Into the Forest. There are plenty of them here.
Tu loves the natural settings and beautiful gardens.
A beautiful Japanese Garden.
This scene in a Japanese Garden
A lake in the middle of nowhere with Wild Turkeys running around it.
An old barn in the middle of the road.
Places like this store.
Booth Bay in Autumn.
Chowder House in Booth Bay
The view outside our hotel room
Another beautiful day.
Miles of T-Shirts in Bar Harbor
We made it up to Bar Harbor today after a gorgeous drive up the Maine coast. We were a little disappointed to discover that the village was almost entirely made up of T-Shirt shops – one after another lined up, block after block.
In any case the day was eventful and quite beautiful. Not a cloud in the blue sky and we had all day to explore.
We tried to find a great place to have lobster and found many on Yelp as we drove up through the towns on the coast. There was just one small problem – most were closed on Mondays.
We eventually found one in Belfast and it was amazing. It was called Lobster Pound because you buy lobster by the pound. Fresh lobster was being pulled off the boat as we waited and we got to choose our own fresh lobster and they steamed it away for us.
Tu decided to order the big 2 pounder lobster because she said she was worth it and she ordered corn on the side, just like she imagined in her dream. She had a dream she was eating lobster with corn and it was about to come true.
I decided to order a lobster roll with pickles and chips. Now I was about to get a proper lobster roll not one of the ones you get where it is full of the fake fish and covered with mayonnaise. This one was basically fresh cracked lobster meat on a soft bun with pickles and chips. No extras just pure lobster and it was amazing.
The whole thing was on this old warehouse type setting and it was very cool. We loved it. It was a great choice and it was not closed on Monday!
Driving up the coast of Maine is like a step back through time. Lots of quirky things you would expect to find in old sea side towns. There were so many interesting things to find and explore here. It’s no wonder that you could spend a couple of weeks driving and exploring these towns. There were tons of quirky signs that looks like they have been there since the 1950’s
And we found this old house that looks like it was straight out of an old haunted house movie. It was almost comical the way that it was caving in on itself, all contorted.
And of course we found Lighthouses!
Traveling with the Retirees
We seem to have Maine to ourselves. Well us and about 20% of the National Association of Retirees. September in Maine is beautiful as you can see. Pretty much wherever we go people are friendly. People say hello and smile.
We had to drive around a lot today to find the nice places. Since Maine is literally thousands upon thousands of inlets from the sea, its not like you can drive up the coast.
We spent a long time just driving around not ever finding the places we were looking for. But we did find beautiful places and eventually found Rockport and Camden which are two picture perfect harbors right on the sea.
Even the dogs here just relax
Tu found some Apples on the ground. But she really wants to steal them from people’s trees so she didn’t eat them.
Peak a Boo
And we found Lobster!
We found a beautiful harbor called Rockport
And Tu did illegal things that could have gotten us in big trouble
We spent the afternoon walking around the beautiful harbor and just watching nature
And we at Clam Chowder for Dinner
And fresh clams steamed
Autumn in Maine
Tu and I are taking a trip to coastal Maine and Vermont. I arrived a day early from my business trip, got the rental car and explored a bit. It is surprisingly warm here and sunny but not surprisingly beautiful as well.
I expect we will see our share of Lighthouses. I love lighthouses.
This was on the side of a restaurant downtown Portland, I liked it.
This guy was painting this mural by himself
Lobster traps stacked outside a factory. You can buy lobster rolls everywhere here.
A beautiful seaside home. Imagine the view they have everyday.
Some boys selling clams at the shack in Kinnecut Maine
Above the lighthouse, fog rolls in slowly
A beautiful harborside town. Quaint shops and restaurants to walk by slowly.
The colors of autumn are starting to come out.
American Cyclist in Amsterdam
I had an extra free day in Holland before returning back to America, so I called my old friend – Pete Jordon- to see if he wanted to get together.
On the first day of college, I broke out my Gibson Electric Guitar and Peavy Amp and I turned the volume up to 10 and I was rocking out playing some Van Halen songs. This metal-head looking guy poked his head in the room and said, “Can I Join You?”.
Well that guy turned out to be the first guy I ever met at St Mary’s and we were life long friends that shared an interest in rock and roll and music.
Pete’s an Accomplished Author and Cycling Expert
Fast forward years later. Pete now lives in Amsterdam. Has written 2 major books and is considered one of the foremost experts in biking in Amsterdam. He published this book last year – In the City of Bikes. He travels around the world now speaking about cycling in Amsterdam.
Pete text me before I arrived by train and told me to meet him by the Piano in the central hall of the train station. I was surprised when 15 minutes after I arrived, he came strolling up with two bikes. One for me. And one for him. Pete was going to take me on a biking exploration through Amsterdam. Imagine my luck!
Pete took me wooshing down streets without a care. At first I was very afraid because I thought I would fall off the bike, or even hit a car. But something is very nice about Amsterdam, it is really a very bike friendly city. Bikes essentially have the right away over cars, over people, over everything. In Amsterdam, bikes are at the top of the pecking order. I have never experienced anything like it. It was like going back in time to another era.
Amsterdam is a Beautiful City
So Pete and I spent the whole afternoon together, talking, riding, going through parks, getting lunch, getting ice cream, visiting outdoor museums and fairs.
The whole city was beautiful as winded are way through it. It was flat so pedaling was effortless but we covered many miles in a short period of time.
It was getting late and I needed get back to my hotel so Pete took me back to the train station. When we arrived there were thousands of bikes up front. Pete parked our bikes and headed me over the train.
I was so thankful that I got the time to spend with Pete. Here I was on the other side of the world, riding bikes with an old friend and catching up on all the funny stories. I live a good life I must say.
