Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Fiberous Trip to Maine



I gave in to my lobster craving, I couldn't go another day without it! Andy and I drove 800 + miles up to Maine to visit my family and eat some very yummy fresh sea food. Our Honda Civic got 47 mpg on the way up, we only stopped once for gas, hit the liquor store in NH to stock up (no sales tax and cheap liquor) and were in Kittery, Maine eating at the Weathervane in less than 12 hours. I had a lobster BLT and Andy had a fried seafood platter with haddock, scallops, clams and and shrimp.

That's Andy on the left, me in the middle and my brother, Sean, on the right. You might be wondering why we are all waving at the camera. It's just a thing we do. It started on Sean's trip to VA a couple of years ago. Now we all take pictures like that wherever we go. It drives my mom nuts! :)




Here is proof that I will touch nearly anything, sad but true. It's a fish skeleton found at Ferry Beach in Saco.










On the way to North Conway, my mom spotted a church tag sale so we had to stop. I picked up this very cool spinning wheel lamp and the handwoven basket in the picture below for a great deal. The yarn came from a couple different shops: Rosemary's in Cornish and Knit Wit's in Portland. Both shops are great and have totally different yarn's. They both also have great service.


To the left is some mill end Alpaca/Merino that is super, super soft. Purchased at a shop in Portland. Below is the store front for Rosemary's.





No trip anywhere is complete without stopping by at least one sporting goods store. We hit Cabela's in Maine, LL Bean in Freeport and North Conway, Sports Authority in South Portland and (a drum roll please) Bass Pro in PA. I am a good fishing wife. Andy was told once in a parking lot of a fiber festival that he is a "good fiber husband". I have yet to hear the end of that....















To the left is the Portland Waterfront a view from Commercial Street. I used to work in Portland at Key Bank and parked right near where this picture was taken.

Below is the the LL Bean boot:











A couple of baby star fish from Ferry Beach. They were all over the place.

Overall we had a great trip. I was really sorry to come back to Virginia. New England is so wonderful, many different places to visit all within an hour or so of each other. We did notice that the economy is worse up there. With outrageously high gas prices, tourism (one of the main sources of economy) is really low. This is the first time I can ever remember not having to wait in line's anywhere including at the toll booth going into Maine.

Dana had asked for a list of things we did, so here goes:

Kittery: Weathervane (see above), Banana Republic, Van Heusen, Liz Claiborne and Eddie Bauer

Sanford: Mardens which is a must go to discount store. They have clothes, fabric, yarn, fishing goods, shoes, furniture, basically you name it they got it!

Cornish: Rosemarys, two antique shops.

Gorham: Dinner out with mom at the Garden for some awesome seafood, I had twin lobsters, Andy and mom had baked haddock with lobster stuffing - yum!

North Conway: Horsefeathers Restaurant for a lobster roll, the 5 & 10 which is the oldest shop there, Christmas Tree Shop (this is where your goodie came from Dana!), and a couple of outlets.

Portland: Amato's for a real Italian sandwich. There is nothing else like them! And Knit Wit's.

Freeport: LL Bean, the Moose Shop, a very cool bead shop, and the Rockport outlet.

Westbrook/Portland: The Full Belly Deli, this is the most awesome deli. It's New York style and they have been in business for close to 20 years. If you are ever in the area this is a must eat at place. We also ate at Tortilla Flat one night with my friend Robin. It's in the same area and they have some great Mexican food not to mention the Sangria. I have to say neither one of these restaurants has changed for as long as I can remember. They both have great food, and great service. There are not many places you can say this about.

4 comments:

Dana said...

I am sooooooo jealous, but in a good way. Seafood (lobster, lobster, lobster), fiber runs, and tag sales sound heavenly! So, when are you going back (I'll be sure to mark my calendar and squeeze into your trunk the night before)?
Your lamp is adorable and the fiber is so pretty too! I like baskets and your handwoven is sweet. I laughed at what you wrote about the "waving picture" tradition; that's too funny. And the starfish...now neat! I really liked that photo too.

Sounds like you and Andy had a wondeful, refreshing and fun vacation; I'm delighted for you both!

Dianne said...

What fun!..I've never been to Maine..but have always thought a great place to visit..just because of all the great things and places you've mentioned.
Glad you're home safe..and hope you've rested up by now..hugs

Becky said...

Oh MY GOD!!! Please excuse me while I get a tissue to wipe the drool from my chin!!!

Glad you had fun and I love the lamp!

Maybe you will get to go back again soon.

Marianne said...

What a fabulous holiday! You really meant it about your need for lobster!
It all looks wonderful!