Main 2007 - Lobster, blueberries and beautiful weather

Hey guys, my sister Cyndee and I just got back from five
days in Maine . You may remember that the first time I
went to Boston about ten years ago, I absolutely fell in
love with New England . Since then I’ve seen parts of
Connecticut and Rhode Island , but this was my first trip
to Maine . It was WONDERFUL!!!!

We flew into Manchester , New Hampshire on Saturday. One
of the nice things about living in a city such as Dallas
is that I can get pretty much anywhere in the U.S. on a
direct flight. Maine is the exception. It was tricky
getting flights that didn’t take a whole day, so that is
why I chose Manchester . It’s about a two hour drive to
Freeport , Maine where we started. Could have flown into
Boston – it’s about the same distance but driving in
Boston is a real pain. Of course, had I been able to get
tickets to the SOX/YANKEES game on Saturday night, I
would have done it.

We drove along the coast of Maine starting in FREEPORT ,
which is a charming little town best known for its outlet
shopping and being the home to LL Bean. The Bean store
was just two blocks from our bed and breakfast and it is
open 24/7 365 days a year. Doesn’t even have locks on
the doors. We went there FOUR times (well, twice were to
return things I had bought the 1st and 3rd times).

When someone tells me about fabulous shopping somewhere,
I just scoff. After all, I do live in Dallas TX which
not only has Neiman Marcus (though I don’t shop there)
but also fabulous outlets within a four hour drive. But
the outlets in Freeport were pretty nice – many of them
line the downtown streets and there are city ordinances
that maintain the historical integrity of the
architecture. You wouldn’t even recognize the McDonalds
– it’s in a brick building and the signage is very
understated. Now, here is an interesting thing – we
covered over a thousand miles driving up and down the
coast. We saw very few fast food places – a handful of
McDonalds and one Arbys. Cyndee was having Taco Bell
withdrawal symptoms by the 3rd day!!! We only saw a
couple of Wal-Marts and they were tucked away discreetly.

I discovered one place called SWANS ISLAND BLANKETS.
Swans Island is off the coast of Bar Harbor and is
inhabited only by sheep. Employees go in once a year and
shear the sheep and the wool is spun and hand-dyed and
then woven by hand into the most incredible blankets you
can imagine!!! But, they are also very pricey - $1,075
for a full sized one. Needless to say, I did not buy
one.

We spent two nights in Freeport at a beautiful bed and
breakfast called the Harraseeket Inn. It is a greens
hotel meaning that they practice conversation and
recycling. All of food comes from local farmers and
producers. They had the most incredible, to die for
breakfast buffet – all organic. I will probably never
make Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffins again!!!!

It’s very charming and old world with a common room where
they serve tea in the afternoon and you can just go in
and relax anytime – sit by the fire and read or chat with
others. And one touch I really liked is that there are
old books scattered around in the common rooms as well as
the bedrooms.

We met the Executive Chef, Theda, who overheard us
talking about Steven King who my sister likes. He lives
in Bangor Maine , but Theda told us he had a childhood
home just a few miles away close to where she lives.
Also there is a cemetery, Harmony something, that is
featured in several of his books. She drew us a little
map of how to get there so we drove over one morning.
And she was driving home and saw us at the cemetery so
stopped to chat. She pointed out the farm across the
street and told us that is where the hotel gets 90% of
its produce.

Sunday morning we drove south down to Kennebunkport .
It’s a nice little town – very touristy – had lunch there
and then went to see the Bush compound. It was nice –
not as big as I thought it would be – sits right on the
water of course. Apparently we just missed George Sr. A
couple sitting there (who live in McKinney ) on a bench
told us he had just left in a boat. And they were going
to sit right there until he came back so they could catch
another glimpse of him. How weird. At then right up the
street is his church – there was another couple who had
set up a little area with lawn chairs, coolers, radio –
just making themselves at home waiting to see if they
could get a look at him. And they told us the people who
owned the house across the bay from him are from Houston
and have high-powered binoculars that they keep trained
on his house trying to catch a glimpse of him or his
family. I find that to be very SICK!!!!

On the way we stopped in Portland and saw the oldest
lighthouse in Maine , the Portland Head Light.

Sunday night we drove about 25 miles north and east of Freeport to Bailey’s Island –
which is the third island on a little peninsula. The scenery was incredibly beautiful and
the island quite charming. I had the BEST lobster I have ever had there!!! It was
stuffed lobster which I have never seen before. Oh, Lord my mouth is watering right
now just thinking about it!!!!

Monday we headed up the coast to Bar Harbor – most about
that later.