Tag Archives: travel

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He just doesn’t like pants.

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We tried a new small batch brewery last week .

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Advertised as a farm setting..

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It was really just a big house with a big lawn and a couple of chickens.

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But no matter, they had a tasting room.

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And a bar with a menu.

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That… and interesting beer is all we ever need.

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So we tasted.

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And tasted.

And since I couldn’t discern any recognizable plaid on the owner’s kilt, I had to ask.

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Turns out he’s not Scottish or clan affiliated. He just doesn’t like pants.

And since we kept tasting, we ordered some food.

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My husband went with The Perfect Scallop…

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Which was less than perfect . One large scallop cut into thirds, which pretty much ruined it. It was presented on some kind of bizarre cheesy foam and as you can see… was not meant for hearty appetites.

Since I was drinking I threw my normal culinary caution to the wind and ordered their exotic smash burger of the week … which was of all things, kangaroo.

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Was it awful? Yes. Dry and tasteless.

Do I regret ordering it? Absolutely.

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Even the chickens were upset.

🤣

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Not a dolphin in sight.

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The husband and I drove out to Harpswell recently to have dinner at Dolphin Marina.

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It’s a beautiful spot.

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And well off the beaten path.

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A working marina.

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With a nice restaurant at its tip.

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One disappointing summer sangria in…

( I told the bartender it was tasteless, he told me a lot of people were saying that. Then for heavens sake, why are you serving it!)

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My crab cakes were fab.

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Husband went with a cup of lobster bisque which was rich, heavenly and crammed with lobster.

It was also served in a coffee cup and cost $28. Gulp.

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The fog was rolling in…

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Which made for an eerie light.

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The watermelon mint spritz? Much better.

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My pan seared Parmesan haddock was lovely.

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As was my husband’s lobster pasta.

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Too full for dessert after enjoying the homemade blueberry muffins that come with every meal…

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We headed home.

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Enjoying the views along the way.

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Leave no beer unturned.

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Boothbay Harbor is a lovely little town to explore.

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And nestled down near the water we found a new purveyor of beer.

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Footbridge brewing is small and quirky.

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And they don’t take themselves too seriously..

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It’s a laid back, rustic space.

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And as with any new brewery we visit, we sampled a flight.

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But as much as we wanted to, we can’t really recommend their product. Flat and tasteless, their beer needs a lot of tweaking.

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Giant googly eyes aside.

Just as we were about to leave, a fellow Marine joined us at the bar and a 45 minute conversation ensued. Thankfully for me there was a small cocktail list.

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And a poison apple kept me occupied.

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I’d never had Reaper’s Revenge before but oh my. It’s a spicy cinnamon liqueur that made my tongue tingle happily while my husband endlessly chatted.

After our brewery visit we drove out to East Boothbay….

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A gorgeous but little known area.

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Lovely old homes…

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And water views.

To be continued….

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Because Boothbay Harbor is always a good idea…

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On a beautiful summer day, I like to head for the coast.

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And my coast of choice is usually Boothbay Harbor.

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Traditionally it was a fishing village….

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Now it’s tourist heaven.

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But it’s still beautiful and I still love it.

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The footbridge had a facelift, so we strolled across.

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Boothbay is one of those places you just need to stand still…

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And say ahh….

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It’s quintessentially Maine.

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And even with wind blown hair…

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It makes me smile.

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Showing a girl a good time.

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Never let it be said my husband doesn’t keep life interesting.

The other day was picture perfect. Clear skies, bright sunshine and fabulously moderate temperatures in the low 70’s. The kind of day that lends itself to outdoor adventures.

So when my spouse told me to get dressed because we were taking a ride up the coast, I was thrilled.

But I should have known better.

Oh, we drove up the coast…

But not to a scenic coastal village.

No…

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My husband took me to the dump.

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But not just any dump.. the huge, drive your truck in and throw absolutely anything under the sun away dump… which for him consisted of the old front porch he’d just torn down.

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Lucky me.

The place recently implemented a hard hat rule so I had to stay in the truck and missed being narrowly hit by flying trash.

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As you’re dumping, they’re pushing the refuse back with bulldozers … which can get a little hairy.

And oh…

Did I mention the smell?

Let’s just say it wasn’t the beach rose and crisp ocean air I was expecting.

😳

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Thank you South Carolina… and the journey home.

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We woke up on the morning of the 8th day and had to say goodbye to our palm trees.

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Vacation was officially over and though I didn’t want to leave quite yet…

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We headed to the airport in Charleston, enjoying a few final glimpses of the South Carolina low country.

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It looked like the buzzards had lined up to see us off…

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But they were just having breakfast.

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Yes, my last image of Edisto Island was a carcass. Bet they don’t highlight that in the tourist brochures.

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We relinquished the giant rental vehicle… me quite easily – the husband with pangs of regret…. and began the long haul to the terminal. Seriously Charleston, could you put Avis any further away? Damn.

You’ll notice the husband is lugging both of our suitcases because…

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Yes. Mine might have been a trifle overpacked…. but it’s still rude of the airline to advertise the fact. Luggage has feelings too.

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Goodbye South Carolina. We enjoyed our visit immensely.

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Washington National Airport…

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Where your dog has a rest room too.

And apparently a fire hydrant.

We had two hours to kill and opted for lunch at PF Changs. We don’t have them up our way and I wanted to try it.

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One tasty Asian pear mojito in…

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I was questioning this man’s seating choice.

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I don’t care if there’s a heart, it’s still the business end of a very large horse.

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One horrible chicken lo mein and one even more horrible beef fried rice later, we vowed not to eat at PF Changs if they ever do make it up our way. Blech.

In other news, the flight to Maine did not start smoothly.

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Because of course, out of all the seats on the plane… my husband’s had to malfunction. The cushion was basically free floating and not attached to the seat frame at all. Every time he tried to sit down it just slid out from under him.

This delayed the flight a good 45 minutes while we waited for the maintenance people and did not endear us to our fellow passengers. After another 20 minutes of tinkering by the repair guys?

Velcro to the rescue.

I kid you not.

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An ignominious end to an otherwise delightful trip.

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At least it wasn’t duct tape.

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Saying goodbye to the boneyard and quirky Edisto.

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Thought I was done with the Boneyard Beach photos?

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Almost…

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I promise.

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But who could resist framing their spouse in driftwood?

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Making our way back to the path, I snapped my last photos.

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And my husband joined in the odd shell placement tradition…

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Trying to balance one on the sign.

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Success.

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Exiting through the marsh …

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We climbed back in the ungodly expensive rental behemoth…

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Of which my husband had become entirely too enamored.

It was late afternoon of our last day of vacation so we took a leisurely drive around Edisto Island and enjoyed some of its quirks.

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No one knows who erected this odd marsh angel but apparently she changes with the seasons and has become a local favorite.

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This is the only acceptable answer to the question what do I do with dead palm tree stumps?

Hula girls, that’s what.

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We drove past this native while on the main beach road.

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It was a wonderful sight so I made my husband turn around and circle by him twice to ensure decent photos.

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A poo covered jacket seems a small price to pay for such a beautiful friend.

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This bottle display is an old Gullah way of driving out evil spirits. They have to be blue, but sorry… for the life of me I don’t remember why. The Clemson tiger paw is a modern addition.

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Remember the herd of tiny deer we saw every night? I wondered where they could possibly live in so busy an area…

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The answer was our resort’s golf course.

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Where they clearly didn’t read the sign.

😉

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Do you think the other trees are jealous?

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When you’re in Edisto Beach, South Carolina one image looms large.

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It’s the one lone tree that stands in the surf at Boneyard Beach in the Botany Bay preserve.

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Admittedly it’s a fabulous tree.

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Silhouetted against the sky…

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All by it’s lonesome surrounded by plouffe mud.

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It’s certainly the most photographed tree there.

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But it does make me wonder if the other trees feel left out.

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No one prints postcards of them…

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And some of them are fabulous too.

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Such a strange and amazing place.

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I never would have thought dead trees could be so appealing before visiting here.

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But they were.

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And as much as I would have loved to spend the entire day here, our last few hours in South Carolina were running out and we had to move on.

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Past some live trees that were decorated with shells.

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