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

My Trip to SW Oklahoma.......so far

It all started last Sunday when I was leaving home in Arkansas for a short vacation with my mom in SW Oklahoma. I had driven 10 miles west and come into Paris (Arkansas) when a terrific storm hit. We had been expecting thunderstorms, but nothing like this! The wind was blowing so hard and it began raining so hard that I had to pull into an alley between two concrete and stone buildings for protection. My little dog Beau decided it was in his best interest to hide in the floorboard in the back seat. I sat in the blowing rain and watched milk crates and other debris float down the main street of Paris. Trees were blowing wildly while I sat there for about 10-15 minutes until the storm passed through. Since the B&M Cozy Cottage Gifts and Decor is located in Paris I decided it would be wise to make a detour and check on it before I left town. So I crept up the main street of Paris about two blocks and made the turn south down Elm Street and oh my goodness!!! what mess I found all the way up and down Elm Street. Street signs were blown over at their bases, wooden utility poles were leaning this way and that, huge old trees were split or uprooted and blown over. The front of one of the local restaurants was torn off and as I ventured farther down the street a power line was lying halfway across the street. At one point I had to back up because the water was too deep to drive through so I had to go around a couple of blocks and come back to Elm Street. Everywhere I looked there was evidence of the storm. When I finally made it to Cozy Cottage I was sooo relieved to see that other than alot of debris lying in the yard there appeared to be no real damage. My big trees still had all their branches intact, the roof looked okay, and even my shop sign was still standing in the front yard. I consider myself very lucky! I found out later that only a few blocks west the Chevrolet dealership got between $100,000 and $200,000 in damage from the storm. The photo is courtesy of the Paris Express and you can read more about the story by clicking on the link.

I checked the weather forecast and it sounded safe to travel on west toward Oklahoma so Beau and I headed out. Then just as we were entering Oklahoma City from I-40, out of absolutely NOWHERE a piece of 2x4 wood about 6 inches long hit my windshield. I still can't believe it didn't even leave a mark on the glass.....but at that point I was wondering if this trip might be doomed!!! We made a stop for dinner and a short visit with my oldest daughter and my grandsons in Oklahoma City. If you ever get a chance, stop and have the shrimp tostadas at San Marcos on North May in Oklahoma City....they are THE best!

After dinner Beau and I traveled on west for the last 2-1/2 hours of our trip which was pretty uneventful....thank goodness! We arrived at Mom's around 10pm and were both very happy to crawl into a comfy bed and go to sleep that night.


On Monday my brother and nephew came over and we drove up to the Wildlife Refuge near Lawton, Oklahoma. It's always a fun place to go because there are herds of buffalo and Texas longhorns grazing along the way. Our destination was a little town called Medicine Park where we wanted to eat dinner at the Old Plantation Restaurant located in a historic hotel. The food and service were great and we had a good time. Here is a picture I took of my mom, brother and nephew in front of the Old Plantation Restaurant.

Mom and I have been having a fun time shopping and eating out....I will have to go on a liquid diet for a month after I get back home!!! We've watched alot of HGTV and Dog Whisperer and taken lots of naps which has been sooo nice. Then on Thursday a storm hit here where she lives....I couldn't believe it! Once again, we were lucky and her house got virtually no damage, but we were without power for about ten hours. The temps have been in the high 90s and 100s so you can imagine that it was not very comfortable. But we found out later we were some of the lucky ones who got their power back first.....there are still people today (Saturday) without electricity and some without water in their homes. There was major damage mostly in the southeast and southwest parts of town but no deaths or casualties thank goodness. The winds were reported at 90 mph and turned over train cars, tore the top floor off of a motel and trees were lying in the streets everywhere. The local paper has a good report and slideshow of the damage if you want to take a look here. When our power did come back on, Mom's air conditioning unit wouldn't come on so we had to get an electrician to come out and luckily (again) he was able to repair it quickly so we got the house cooled off again pretty fast.

All in all, this has been quite an adventure......I'll be heading back home again in a few days and I'm crossing my fingers that the trip will be uneventful!

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!