Maine Events

 

View from Botanical Gardens

Greetings from the great state of Maine! 

I drove up Friday to Boston - well, Newton - where I checked in to the hotel my friends from Michigan were staying. They had spent a few days there already, visiting other old friends. My drive was uneventful, though annoying. I had a smooth and fast journey from home to the George Washington Bridge, pretty much with cruise control set at 72 uninterrupted, even though it was raining the whole time. I filled the tank at the last stop on the New Jersey turnpike, and things deteriorated rapidly when I arrived in New York. 

Waze, my guidance app, decided to take me on a tour of scenic byways, bless its little algorithmic heart. I’ll never know what was happening on the main roads, but from arriving in New York to arriving in Newton, I never once could set cruise control, and I averaged close to 45 mph. Luckily, I had a good book playing, which kept me alert and engaged the whole time, but I was exhausted when I got to the hotel. 

The three of us set off Saturday (yesterday) morning for Maine in another downpour. But, I was able to foist off the driving to J., and we made decent time (even though I95 was closed due to a massive police manhunt). The rain slowed and then stopped, and we made our timed entry to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.

The gardens were fabulous. We were there a total of three hours, including a short stop to eat sandwiches from their cafe. Besides spectacular display gardens, there are some new and very intriguing large sculptures of trolls, designed and installed by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, with the help of “hundreds” of volunteers. I’ve included several of the shots because each was different and they were all huge.

Run away!

Then on to Camden, another hour up the coast. I never would have known to come here without Alice’s blog, her very enthralling writing about how lovely this place is. It truly is amazing. Yes, it is a tourist town, but hey, I’m a tourist! 

My room.
In other news, I have a new phone
with a wide-angle lens!

We’re staying in a BnB (not AIRBnB), a great Victorian mansion with each room done up so nicely. I’m staying in the The Library, the only guest room on the first floor, with my own door out to the patio and gardens. I have a four-poster bed that I need a step-stool (provided) to get into, with the loveliest, softest sheets I’ve ever slept on. They must have had a huge renovation to convert to BnB because each room has its own facilities. For my room, that translates to three separate nooks for the toilet, shower, and washbasin (which is in the main room). It’s cold and rainy here - I have a gas fire and two lovely side chairs with a table set before it. Breakfast was served on tablecloth-covered nicely set individual tables, with the menu of the day freshly printed at each place. Today we had a yogurt and blueberry confit parfait followed by a potato cheese frittata. Yum! 

It’s very walkable into town, and so far it hasn’t been pouring when we wanted to do it. For dinner last night, at the harbor, we had reservations for 7:45 - the only time available - at Fresh & Co at the harbor. I had lobster risotto with peas and sweet corn - fabulous. Just now, for a late lunch, it was pouring, so we drove six miles up to the Lobster Pound (another Alice recommendation I think) for lobster rolls with a view of the Bay. Tonight, a brew pub with small plates. Maybe I’ll have room to eat again by then.

This is all fabulously expensive, but I keep telling myself, “at least it’s cheaper than Iceland!”.