Tag Archives: tourism

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The final hop.

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Our last Boothbay Harbor stop was the Boathouse Bistro as seen on the left.

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It’s a rustic three story restaurant with three floors that are usually packed with summer tourists as it has the best food in town.

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We always land here, on the glassed in second floor.

But along with the first, it was closed… and empty. The same disturbing trend we’d seen all day.

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Three places that are always bursting with tourists… weren’t. Tariffs and bad blood with Canada may not be affecting you… but they’re certainly hurting this area.

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Granted…. the top floor had a crowd, but the bar was empty and the bottom two levels were deserted.

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A shocking loss of prime season business.

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Saving the best for last, along with my pomegranate margarita I had blackened jumbo shrimp with fried balls of chorizo grits and smoky tomato sauce while the husband went with pan-seared scallops and crispy cornbread with an apple gastrique (apple cider, sugar, apple cider vinegar, calvados,thyme, chicken stock).

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Both tapas were excellent, and came with a view.

❤️

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Still hopping.

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Our second stop on the toddies and tapas tour of Boothbay Harbor was McSeagulls, just to the left of our first… Mine Oyster.

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Unassuming places from the front…

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Lovely waterfront spots in the back.

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Can you guess which glass of craft beer I raised?

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Once again we found a popular summer tourist restaurant/bar nowhere near capacity. It was a shock… this area is usually jam packed.

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A bowl of creamy tomato bisque for the husband…

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Some calamari for moi.

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And a groan worthy fish pun for the rest of you.

😉

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We were hopping.

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While we usually avoid the Boothbay Harbor region like the plague in the summer due to the high concentration of tourists and traffic, we threw caution to the wind and drove up for an afternoon of bar/restaurant hopping last week since the weather was beyond perfect for a blueberry mojito on the ocean.

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Our first stop was Mine Oyster, which has the best outdoor seating on the harbor. We always elect to sit on the second floor deck but discovered it closed. And empty.

In the summer.

In Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

We were stunned. And as we made our way out back to the first floor deck…

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We were equally as stunned to find only a few people enjoying the view.

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This is a prime spot. A tourist Mecca. A restaurant that offers lobster 20 different ways.

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And it was virtually empty.

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Good for us as we had our pick of seats, but not good for the local economy. We’ve been hearing the tariffs and American relations with Canada had been taking a toll on visitation from our northern neighbors, but this was proof.

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They just weren’t here.

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Lobster stuffed mushrooms for the husband.

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But troubling lack of tourists aside, it’s hard to beat the scenery.

❤️

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News you can’t use.

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You can’t use it, but keep reading anyway.

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Giving new meaning to their slogan “we’ve got the beef”.

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And I’m supposed to care about this why…?

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How glad are you to be a loyal reader now?

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Approachable size. 

I’m dying.

🤣

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I can barely stand myself in this universe. Meeting another 100 versions of me is not on the top of my bucket list.

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I don’t envy that town’s Chamber of Commerce. Spinning cannibal crickets to the tourist trade has got to be tough.

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The Cog

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The final stop on our leaf peeping day trip tour was the Cog Railway on Mount Washington.

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This is one of those “must do” tourist things that we’ve never managed to do and since we were in the area, we thought… why not?

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The answer to that question was hundreds of other tourists who thought the same thing. The place was packed and there was no space available on the trains for the next 3 days without reservations.

The Cog is a strange beast.

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And like no other train ride you’re ever apt to take.

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So even though we couldn’t find a seat, we stayed to watch.

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With a slowly dying beautiful remnant of summer.

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That’s the husband taking a closer look at the bridge.

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And this is the Cog.

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Beginning it’s climb up the mountain at a breath taking 2.7 mph.

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Here’s a shot of the unique rail line.

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I won’t bore those who don’t care about trains or history, but if you’re interested you can check this out:

https://www.sentinelsource.com/life_and_style/books/cog-railway-has-a-rich-interesting-and-sometimes-tragic-history/article_35ad4a9a-3e52-5bff-a50e-cfca3c804cd6.html

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In this part of the world, it’s pretty famous.

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Mainers really hate Red’s.

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I stumbled on a rather odd Facebook group page the other day.

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And while I doubt I’ll join, I can appreciate the sentiment.

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Red’s Eats is a Wiscasset landmark, a popular tourist destination and a long running bone of contention for anyone who has to drive through the area. Locals laugh at the outta staters who stand on line for an hour for what is seriously sub par seafood. (And trust me, they’re all outta staters… no self respecting Mainer would pay $38 for a lobster roll.) But the reason behind the page and its flamboyant parade of finger waves are the atrocious traffic jams this silly little take out trailer produces. A drive through town that should take 3 minutes? Will sometimes take you 30.

So without further ado… I bring you the only appropriate thing to do should you happen to drive past Red’s Eats.

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Look! They even have tee shirts.

🤣

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P.S…. if you visit Maine and decide you have to try this universally loathed establishment? Please unfriend me first.

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Only in America

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I read something the other day that literally made me snort.

It was a list of people’s thoughts on visiting the United States for the first time…. and what they found unusual.

Here are a few.

I dare you not to laugh.

Because really…

Sometimes you need more from 7/11 than a raspberry Slurpee.

Well, we do like to super size things.

Including our hips, thighs and waistlines.

That’s so true you don’t have to laugh.

Also true.

And before your uber patriotic fingers start typing hate mail… we’re a family of veterans, I love my country. But you have to admit, we are very in your face about it.

Ha!

They have a point there.

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Rocks, Kachinas and naked reflections.

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Let’s start with the reflections.

The resort where we were staying had a large master bath which was covered in tile. It also had a whirlpool tub as well as a shower, and the tub was surrounded by mirrors.

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Mind you, it was bad enough having to wake up in the morning and stare at myself sitting on the throne….

But stepping out of the shower and seeing 57 naked reflections of myself?

That’s the stuff of nightmares.

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Yeah.

That’s a whole lotta me.

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Sorry.

Moving on…

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Another trip to Flagstaff meant more red rocks.

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Good point Paul.

And some pretty stupid signs.

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Really?

I always thought they were transparent.

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This one really killed me.

In Maine, we don’t need warning signs for this. We see it as common sense, but like I said…

Arizona is a very different place.

While in Flagstaff, the husband dragged me through a few antique stores. We made it out empty handed until the final stop, where he wanted to buy this.

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Name That Crap.

Go….!

In retaliation, and since I still hadn’t found that special momento to take home, I made him visit the Kachina House.

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For those who don’t know…

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I’d seen these marvelous hand carved beauties at quite a few places…

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And fell in love with all their different stories…

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Most of which I can’t remember….

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But still.

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Aren’t they grand?

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No, I wouldn’t dream of it.

So after being shocked at the prices of Native American jewelry at the other store,  I decided the Mouse Warrior was coming home with me.

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Revered for his bravery and selflessness, the Warrior Mouse staked his own limbs to the ground and offered himself up to a hawk that had been stealing the tribe’s chickens… but our rodent hero ended up killing the dreaded bird of prey instead.

A martyr mouse? I liked it.

What I didn’t like was the $975 price tag.

Bye bye mouse.

I’m told people actively collect Kachinas and have display cases full of them, which would be lovely…. but a wee bit too costly.

So I did what every good tourist lady whose husband was looking over her shoulder does…

I hit the sale table.

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And got a nice piece of hand thrown, hand painted Hopi pottery…

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And an adorable seed pod wall hanging….

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Both signed by well known local Native American artists.

I also cheaped out and bought 3 miniature Kachinas for my desk.

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(Hummingbird, Mud Head and Kokopelli, from left to right.)

Not nearly as nice or intricately carved, but their price tag didn’t make my husband stroke out…. which is always a good thing when you’re on vacation.