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Our local deer herds wax and wane.
Some years we have 3, some years we have 10. Our record is 21.
This year?
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It started with 4…
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And has now gone up to 6.
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Sadly we haven’t seen the big beautiful buck from last season.
I hope he’s just moved on and hasn’t fallen to a hunter’s bullet.
😰
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On a bright and sunny afternoon, we headed west.
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To a small craft brewery called Ambition.
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To be honest I think it was misnamed. Not only was it small, but the barkeeper was more interested in talking with his friends than introducing new customers to his beer. We muddled along on our own, ordered and picked up our own flight…
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And were quite underwhelmed. The only brew that any flavor? Burned your throat too much to drink.
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With this many breweries in our state… we won’t be returning to the ambitionless Ambition.
Tasting complete, we headed across the street to a favorite restaurant.
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Housed in an old shoe factory with an original boiler door that fascinates my husband..
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Calzolaio Pasta Co. never disappoints.
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An apple cider mule with a garlic, chicken, broccoli Alfredo pizza on fresh basil dough for me.
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And a fabulous ravioli special for the husband.
Sautéed shallots & local Macintosh apples finished with baby spinach in a sherry & sage cream sauce over butternut squash & pumpkin filled ravioli.
All the flavors of fall right there!
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Our morning sunrises never fail to disappoint.
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It’s a beautiful way to greet the day.
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😊
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Leaving York Beach the other day, we headed north along the coastal route.
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Past the park…
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And down to Cape Neddick….
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Home to the (famous in these parts) Nubble Light.
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Built in 1878 at the cost of $15,000, Nubble is still in use today and contains its original Fresnel lens.
Fun fact?
Nubble Light is a famous American icon and a classic example of a lighthouse. An image of the lighthouse is included on the Voyager Golden Record carried by the Voyager spacecraft as one of Earth’s most prominent man-made structures or natural features, alongside features such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal, to be viewed should it fall into the hands of intelligent extraterrestrials.
And though my picture looks like you could just walk right up and explore, the lighthouse actually sits on an island and is inaccessible to the public.
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No matter, the scenery is pretty sweet from this side as well.
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😊
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A blueberry mule by the ocean is a beautiful thing.
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Even if the restaurant’s decor leaves a bit to be desired.
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Lobster Cove got good reviews for its seafood so we gave it a whirl.
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View from upstairs?
Not too shabby.
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My clam chowder was excellent and aside from the weird onion ring topping on my husband’s beloved French onion soup, his was tasty as well.
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Fried sea scallops for me, a decadent seafood casserole in lobster bisque for my spouse and we were happy campers.
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Almost as happy as these seagulls…
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Who were fed by this kind stranger.
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No… don’t leave!
😉
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Since our weather has been crazy beautiful?
Road trip!
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York Beach, a popular tourist destination during the summer but wonderfully deserted this time of year.
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It’s a typical seaside community that we avoid like the plague during peak season.
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But on a bright November afternoon?
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These folks had the right idea.
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Across from the ocean?
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Some seriously large pumpkins.
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It’s a lovely area.
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Off season.
😉
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Doing dishes the other morning I noticed movement on the farm across the street.
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A young buck had been startled and was running across the field in front of the not yet finished greenhouses.
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They sure do blend in this time of year.
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In other news I saw an advertisement for a product I certainly could have used back in the day.
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Not dying anymore is all you can ask for in a hangover cure…
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Our weather has been all over the place lately. 70 degrees during the day, 27 at night. It’s temperature whiplash but it makes for some interesting foggy mornings.
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Happily it disguises the new greenhouse construction across the street.
Yay fog.
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There’s something eerily peaceful about waking up to fog.
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It lets me ease into the day slowly.
In other news… my husband went searching for something without asking me the other day and tore everything apart in the process. He laid waste to our utility closet and was halfway though the kitchen junk drawer when I walked in.
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Ironically he organized said drawer in the process and now I can’t find anything.
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🤣
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Another beautiful fall day, another scenic drive in the never ending search for good beer.
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North to Bangor.
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To the Bangor Beer Company.
Hidden behind the mall, in the back of a Chinese restaurant… it was an odd little place.
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With a line of old pinball machines and some quirky art.
The beer? Maybe we’re too picky… we try a lot of craft breweries and may set our standards too high… but we found this selection dishwater flat and not at all interesting.
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Elderflower grapefruit martini for me.
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We expected the sesame chicken appetizer to be better seeing that it came from the large Asian restaurant in front, but it was so tough and stringy we didn’t bother ordering a full meal.
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The men’s room floor made my husband smile and snap a picture, but that’s not reason enough to ever visit this brewery again.
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Passing through downtown Bangor…
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We grabbed a quick sandwich and took the back roads home.
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😊
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On a beautiful autumn day we went beer hopping.
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Heading north to Brewer…
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To visit a brewery about which we’d heard good things.
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The space is large and funky…
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With windows behind the bar that look directly into the brewery.
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After sampling a few beers… the current tap selection was too IPA heavy for my taste… I snagged the cocktail list, and Oh. My. God!
I set to work.
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A true artisan was at work here and luckily he was our bartender.
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I started with the Black Seeds which was a fabulous twist on a margarita.
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We could have sat outside on the patio… but it was too far away from the cocktails.
😉
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The menu had a sense of humor.
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And the Truffle Pig pizza was amazing.
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But my second (and yes, okay… my third) drink was a masterpiece.
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Lilith’s Last Kiss was a complex, multi layered flavor extravaganza that I would happily drive the hour and a half for again.
👍
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River's world..... 