We had 5 full days with our favorite people and needed to make the most of it. D’s husband T. and daughter G. had never been to Maine before and we wanted to give them the full immersive experience.
First stop?
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L.L. Beans.
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And the required tourist photo in front of the giant boot.
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A giant backpack had been added since my last visit so that had to be tried on for size as well.
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The L. L. Bean perpetual clock.
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If you’ve never been, the flagship stores in Freeport are worth a visit. Just remember to bring your wallet.
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Next stop? The Eastern Promenade in Portland, where you can see luxury yachts….
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And whatever the heck that is.
Speaking of yachts…
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Because everyone needs a spare.
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Damn!
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Moving on to South Portland, we visited Bug Light Park where T. was loving the ocean views.
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Bug Light.
A famous (in these parts) mini lighthouse.
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G. was fascinated with the cruise ships that are now allowed in Portland harbor.
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And took a break from walking on the rocks.
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The beach.
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The light.
Next up was Spring Point lighthouse, which the husband and I had never visited.
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We could see it… but never managed to find it.
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We followed the gps directions to the parking lot and climbed multiple hills but couldn’t find a way down.
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We walked paths that dead ended in the woods… and circled the embankment.
But still couldn’t get there.
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After half an hour of fruitless searching?
We gave up, took a few photos from a distance and moved on.
A little history is required to fully enjoy my next series of posts.
When we lived in NC we had a neighbor. She was a single mother with two children and her daughter D. stole our hearts from day one. She was a happy little munchkin we enjoyed spending time with but when D’s baby brother stopped breathing at the babysitter’s and suffered irreparable brain damage, her life changed forever. We stepped in and helped wherever we could, taking her under wing and making sure she still enjoyed the part of her childhood untouched by tragedy. She became the child we never had… the daughter of our hearts, and we love her still.
Fast forward to present day… that young girl is 39 and married with a child of her own. We brought D to Maine with us a few times when she was young and the week after Labor Day 2024 life came full circle when she brought her family to visit the legendary land of lobster.
Meet G.
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And the lobster I gave her at the airport upon arrival, Larry.
G. is a little peanut and the granddaughter of our hearts.
The family stayed at what looked to be a cute little AirBnB on a lake.
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The view was lovely.
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But the house itself was weirdly laid out.
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No living room, a weird staircase and camp like accommodations downstairs.
Though it did come preloaded with a can of beans.
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Welcome to Maine!
Feel free to toot..
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As they’d be spending most of their time with us it wasn’t a big deal, but a tad disappointing all the same.
The first afternoon was spent settling them in, stocking the weird house with groceries and then back to our place for a home cooked lasagna dinner and happy hour in the man cave/Barn Mahal which they all fell in love with.
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Me?
I was so happy to have them here I reveled in the moment and only took one picture.
Being that I’m the annoying person in the car who has to announce, “Cow!” every time one is spotted during a road trip…. it amuses me that some Subaru owners have taken my quirky habit one step further.
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Yes, this really is a thing.
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Having owned Subarus since late 2013, I’m feeling terribly neglected and un -moo’d.
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No one has ever left cow themed paraphernalia on my vehicles.
That sounds about right for the U.S. Postal Service these days.
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The only thing that could make a mummy scream like that is discovering she’s pregnant with Elon Musk’s 13th child.
I feel for you sister, I really do.
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Probably because he already has 3.
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I like tequila as much as the next girl but I’m getting extremely tired of celebrity booze brands and their stupid ads.
No one needs grass clippings up their…
Oh, never mind.
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Substitute 4 year old child with 77 year old retired Marine and you’d be living my life. If there’s a sign that says don’t touch, he touches. If it says do not enter, he enters. Clearly he thinks the rules apply to everyone but him.
On a beautiful afternoon in Maine there’s nothing I’d rather do than be surrounded by cheese.
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So we headed north to Pittsfield to attend the annual cheese festival.
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Upon entry… and paying the ridiculous fee of $27 per person…we each received a map and a bag.
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The bag was a clever idea. It was insulated and contained a freezer pack, a cold bottle of water and free cheese.
Let the shopping begin!
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And the tasting.
It’s all about the tasting…
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I’m not sure we sampled $54 worth, the pieces were small…. but there were some fantastic varieties.
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Cow!
Or rather, calf.
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This stall was by far the most popular. Every time we walked by the line was insane.
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My husband is not a fan of standing in line.
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After making our way through the cheese, I spotted a beer garden. Upon entry we were carded, given wrist bands to prove we were over 21 and I paid the ridiculous price of $14 for a few tickets.
I say ridiculous because the sample pour cups were like shot glasses.
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That’s $3.50 worth of blueberry ale right there.
😡
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The cups were so small you can hardly see my husbands.
Boo to that.
And btw? The beer garden contained one brewer who had two beers. The rest was hard cider and wine. Talk about false advertising.
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The setting was pretty, right alongside a river.
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And since we had tried everything else, we decided to brave the line for the Fuzzy Udder before we left.
River's world..... 