Vacationing in Maine

My vacation in Maine was too short this year....less than a week just isn't enough time to enjoy visiting with my friend Sue when we only get together in person once a year. But she has promised to visit me in Arkansas next year before the weather gets too hot.....sometime the end of May, so I am really excited about that!


We spent several nights at Sue's family's spot at the Walnut Grove Campground which is so nice and relaxing. It's quiet and peaceful out there and just what you would expect of a summer community. Sue and her mom prepared an awesome steak dinner for lunch....wish I had some of that steak right now!





The first day I was there we went to the annual Alfred Days celebration.....this year celebrated the 200th birthday of Alfred, Maine. Here are a few pictures I took of the parade.


















The next day we drove to Old Orchard Beach which was absolutely beautiful! We had reserved a room in the Nautilus by the Sea bed and breakfast and it was just as lovely as the brochure showed it to be.

Sue and I had the middle room on the third floor and we could actually see the beach and the waves coming in from our beds which was really cool! The furnishings were very nice and included lots of pretty old antique pieces. I will definitely try to book a room for a couple of nights again next summer. Here are a few pictures I took while we were at the Nautilus.
















The next day before we headed back to camp, we drove down to the marina at Old Orchard Beach which was very picturesque.
















On Tuesday, my last day of vacation, two of our good online friends drove down to visit us and we spent the day antiquing in the Wells, Maine, area......that's also where my favorite place to eat is located....The Maine Diner, which is DE-LISH! We had a really good time visiting with our friends and they treated us to a seafood dinner at the end of the day which was really nice. Along the way, Sue and I enjoyed the old hats in one of the shops....aren't we gorgeous?

Then finally, the next day, it was time for me to fly back home. And that is another story for another time.....

Thanks so much, (((Sue))), for another wonderful vacation!

I'm headed to the beach.....

Only eleven more days until I board the plane and fly east to visit my friend Sue of My Shabby Mosaic Cottage for a week....I can hardly wait! We had so much fun last year and I'm sure it will be even better this year. We have a one-night stay in a bed and breakfast on Old Orchard Beach in Maine planned and the B&B is right on the ocean. I may stay awake all night just to hear the sound of the waves.....something I sure don't hear in central Arkansas! We'll stay at her family's summer camp the other nights and it is just beautiful there....nice and woodsy and very friendly. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for you to see here when I get back home.

Debbie

Vacationing in New England

This summer I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a week with a dear eBay friend who lives in New Hampshire and whose family has a summer camp in Maine. I spent the week of July 15-22 with Sue and her family at their camp enjoying the beautiful New England scenery and weather. The photographs in my slideshow below tell it all!

Sue and I were joined by two couples who are also friends of ours from eBay. We have all been chatting almost daily for over five years and it was such a treat to finally get to meet everyone in person! The weather was so nice...we had a few rainy days, but I think I wore a light jacket every day I was there.

In some of my photos you will see some of the U.S. troops who were returning home from the Ukraine. Their plane stopped to refuel at Pease Airport in New Hampshire and the troops were met there by a local group called the Pease Greeters. The Pease Greeters welcoming committee was formed as a way to welcome and honor our troops both coming home from and on their way to serve in the war against Iraq. I was honored to be able to accompany Sue and her mother on this trip to welcome our troops back home to the U.S.A. To read more about the Pease Greeters, go to this website: http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070612/OPINION/706120434/-1/rss04

Many of my photos were taken at a private beach on the coast of Maine called Parson's Cove. Since it isn't known to most tourists I was lucky to have a "local" to take me there. It was so beautiful and quiet! Sue taught me to hum to snails....I had no idea if you hummed to a snail he would poke his little head out of the shell. Every time Sue hummed, out he came, but every time I hummed, back inside he went again! Guess he didn't like my Southern accent!!!

My photos also show my dinner date, Fred the Lobster.....he was scrumptious! I did feel a little bad when Sue plunged him headfirst into his hot tub, but before long he was nice and red and tasty. Maine lobster REALLY is wicked good!

I hadn't flown in about 15 years, but my flights both going to Sue's and coming back home were very nice and relaxing. I had reserved window seats so I got a good view of the New York skyline on my trip down.....saw the Empire State Building among other things. Coming back I was able to see the Boston Harbor area which was beautiful too. It was such a peaceful feeling flying along the coast!

Now I'm back home in Arkansas and while there's really no place like home, I think I could be easily convinced to trade a week of hot, humid Arkansas weather for another week with friends in the New England area!