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A funny thing happened which is why we never finished our blog. We left the keyboard from my Ipad in Bar Harbor hotel and had it sent to our home. I am doing an abbreviated version of the rest of our trip.
Bar Harbor was quiet and beautiful! It was mostly local people since the season had not kicked in yet. We spent a few nights there and hiked and biked in Acadia Nathional Park just a few miles away. Gorgeous park surrounded by ocean and lakes with miles and miles of carriage trails for hiking and biking. We had more great meals and some beautiful ocean walks. It is always fun biking with Gary since the philosophy is "more is better". My philosophy is "bike, relax, eat." It was fun!
After Bar Harbor we went down to Camden which is an upscale Maine town. Very charming and beautiful town along the river! We woke up and ran along the water and into Rockland Harbor.
The next day we drove to Rockland which is the home of Farnsworth gallery which holds Andrew Wyeths' works, many galleries,and great restaurants and the center for furniture making is there. We had a tour through that center and it was quite amazing to see people of all ages working with wood and creating something from nothing. It was truly inspiring for both of us.
We continued on our journey to a 400 year old town called Newburyport, Massachussettes. There were cobblestone streets and brick walkways and beautiful architecture everywhere. Another very charming town that was just starting to come alive with tourists. We stayed at another charming B & B and woke up to head down to Boston (30 miles away)
We picked up Mitch and drove to New York for a few days with my family. Had a blast with my sister and family. Celebrated Passover with my Mom, brothers, sister in laws, neices, and nephews. It was really a fun time with everyone. Gary and I decided to stay a few more days....spontaneity can happen when not tied to work? We saw a few fantastic shows. Kinky Boots is a must and one of the best shows we have ever seen!!! Museums, running in Central Park, Yoga, and some shopping. We dropped Mitch off at the train station for a quick 3 hour train ride back to Boston.
We got into our car which turned into our life vehicle for 6 weeks and ended up in New Haven, Connecticut which is home to Yale University. What a gorgeous school, campus, and architecture that looks like and felt like we were in London a few hundred years ago. This is the oldest University in the nation and home to frisbee and 5 man basketball. We ended up there for 3 nights which was another surprise to us.
Next we headed down to Providence Rhode Island and to our surprise Mitch was there also with his girlfriend. We met for a walk and lunch and toured the campus of Brown University. Another beautiful University but smaller and different than Yale.
We headed down to Newport, Rhode Island which is home to the mansions. We visited the Breakers which was so overwhelming that one mansion was plenty. We had a beautiful run along the national seashore and cliffs. We met with our friends' nephew who lives on a boat and travels around the world with his 3 kids and wife. It was wonderful meeting them and seeing how happy and content they are with their lifestyle. So simple and uncomplicated and so happy!
The next day we took off for Provincetown, Mass. We drove through Cape Cod and stayed in a B and B there. The weather was not great for being outdoors since there were high winds and rain. We decided to start heading up to Maine for our last visit for awhile. We did have a great meal at the Lobster Pot.
We headed up the coast and stayed in a town called Brunswick which is also the home of Bowdoin College which is a very well known liberal Arts College. It is also home of Gelatto Fiasco which was about the best gelatto we have ever had except for Italy. It is homemade and they try to use all local ingredients from farmers ect. One night we went to a very old Synagogue in Bath (home of shipbuilding and ). It was almost 100 years old and so quaint. The Cantor also is the Rabbi which we laughed since we have never been to such a tiny service. The cantor loves the outdoors and he built his own home for his wife and 3 kids. There were about 10 people at the service and we all sat in a circle. It was very sweet and the topic of discussion was not holding grudges. He was very funny. We loved that everyone was in Maine attire...hiking boots, jeans, and sweaters.
So here we are back in Maine and staying at my friend's house. Before we get to my friends' home, we pick up cinnamon bread and popcorn! My little matchmaking worked. My friends are moving in together and we had so much fun with them for 4 days. We went to the blessing of the boats (lobsterman and any other boats). That was very neat to see. They had a few religious leaders there who recited all the men and women's names lost at sea from a few hundred years back. Then they bless the boats for the upcoming season. It was so neat to see and be a part of. We had a blast with them. We watched 2 very charming movies..."About Time" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".
The trip ended with us saying goodbye to my friends and driving back to Boston for one last visit with Mitch and girlfriend.
Even though I grew up on the east coast, New England is very different from my upbringing. Especially Maine. Maine is so charming and small towns all surrounded by water and filled with art, hiking trails, and food haven. I just read that there is one town in Maine that is now able to have their food labeled for GMO's and apparently it is the first one in this country. The most interesting story I heard tells clearly the commitment of the people of Maine. When buying a home on the water, there are very clear ordinances against clear cutting the land. There was a man recently who didn't care about the law and decided to clear cut his land. Somehow the inspectors found out about it and fined him $300,000.00 and told he had to replant most of the trees he cut down. They are very clear about protecting the land, trees, and water.
We had a fabulous trip and coming home is always a bit of a challenge but a really nice one. My friend, Grace is leaving this week to move in with her new love and we are giving her a going away party this week. It is bittersweet to see her go but very beautiful to see her move to a new life with a new love. Life is grand!!!
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