Lunch at Thurston's in Bass Harbor

Right next to Thurston's is "lobster central". We could watch the boats unloading and loading traps during our lunch.

Thurston's is right on the water's edge of Bass Harbor

Thurston's in Bernard, ME (www.thurstonslobster.com) is down the end of a long road past Bass Harbor. There are signs leading the way, about 30 minutes from Bar Harbor. It's right on the water, next to a busy lobster fishing wharf and the seafood is fresh. There is often a line but we didn't wait long. You pick out the size lobster you want and side orders. We chose steamed clams and cole slaw plus one order of corn and potato salad. The seafood and cole slaw were particularly good. There is a interesting choice of beers and a smaller selection of wine. It's a basic place with a great view and we had a wonderful lunch.
We spent our last night with Alan and Jeanette at Ann's Point. The weather was perfect for drinks and hors d'oeuvres out on the deck but we moved inside for dinner. The next morning after another great breakfast we were on the road, all too soon. Our route took us past Lake Winnipesaukee and although pretty was much too long - 7.5 hours. Our only consolation was fried clams for lunch - completing our "need to eat while in Maine" list.

A big mug of local brewed beer is a perfect accompaniment

To our steamed clams and lobsters

Our lobsters were "medium", about 1 and 3/4 pounds each

Sailboats and Trawlers share dock space with lobster boats

Back at Ann's Point Inn, Alan sets up some wine and his
 own brewed porter for tasting, along with guacamole
and mango salsa

Our room had a private deck where Heather
enjoys her morning coffee

Hiking and Kayaking in Acadia

The rocky coast near the lighthouse

Bass Harbor Lighthouse was built in 1858 and stands at
the entrance to the harbor and Blue Hill Bay

We started our hike at the south end of Long Pond and
climbed the steep cliffs on the west side of Beech Mt.

You can get an idea of how steep in this shot of
Scott below me on the trail

JPL, Scott, Trudy, Heather, Jane, Jim, Jeanette and Alan -
all cooking dinner in the kitchen

Our kayaks wait for us down on the beach

Our hosts recommended the Beech Mt. Trail as moderately difficult and very scenic. We started from the south end of Great Long Lake. We took Seal Cove Rd off Route 102 just north of Southwest Harbor village and then took a right on Long Pond Rd and followed it to the end. There is a parking area for cars and two trails leave from there. We took the trail along the lake that soon climbed the steep cliffs on the west side of Eastern Mt. The trails in Acadia National Park are often "improved" with stone stairs and the blue trail marks were easy to follow. The trail leads up to the fire tower at the top. From there we continued south along the ridge on the Beech Ridge Trail, staying right at the next junction. This ended up back at our parking lot. This downhill trail was easier and longer (1.5 miles to the 1 mile up). The weather was mostly cloudy on the way up but the fog rolled in as we made our way down. We were really glad we'd taken some pictures of the views earlier. Nevertheless, the forest and the rocky shelves were still beautiful. The trip took us 2 hours at a leisurely pace.
Everyone pitched in on dinner that night and the kitchen reminded me of the movie "The Big Chill". Jane was our executive chef and directed the action. She planned a salad buffet that was as delicious as it was beautiful. The sound track was Jim Cohen's CDs. He is a very talented pedal guitar player. You can see him on You Tube and buy his CDs at www.jimcohen.com.
The next day was perfect for our reserved kayak trip with National Park Sea Kayak Tours (1-800-347-0940, 39 Cottage St. Bar Harbor, ME, www.acadiakayak.com) Our four hour tour started with a great introduction by guide Lou, a many generation local from Mt. Desert Island. He outfitted us (some even with fleece pants) and we were off in the van with our boats on top. We put in at Bartlett Island and with the wind and currents with us, paddled around Moose Island to Seal Cove. The kayaks were easy to steer with foot pedals and it wasn't as strenuous as we feared. Lou was a terrific guide and filled us in on island history, wildlife and geology.

Our guide Lou was knowledgeable and funny

We watched lobster men hauling their traps 

The rocks from this perspective were really dramatic

Scott and I pose for a picture with Trudy and JPL

And paddle away

It's a beautiful day for rowing too...

Scott, JPL, Trudy, Lou and Heather after a great day on
the water.

A Visit to Acadia (National Park that is)

This statue of Paul Bunyan welcomes you to the town
of Rumford. That's Scott standing next to him so you can
judge the height.

 It's a long drive from our home in Cuttingsville, VT to Mt. Desert Island in Maine - seven hours no matter which way you go. Google would send us down to Concord N.H.  and up the coast on Rt95 but we chose the shorter slow trip over Route 302 and 2. Our good friends Alan and Jeannette Feurer own and run Ann's Point Inn in Bass Harbor (www.ann'spoint.com). They invite a few friends/family up for the first week of the season to practice on before welcoming their regular guests. We volunteer every time. It's worth the long drive for sure.
We were ready for a rest stop when we entered Rumford Falls, Maine and were welcomed by Paul Bunyan. A beautiful park overlooks the falls by a graceful bridge spanning the Androscoggin. A number of iron cutout statues are scattered around commemorating the indian tribe that originally lived here. A memorial to Edmund Muskie, Maine Senator and U. S. Secretary of State was dedicated here in 2000.

A wrought iron moose stands watch over the
Pennacook Falls, the highest waterfall east of Niagra,
falling 177 feet over granite.

 A close up of the top section of the falls

The view from the bridge

Our beautiful bedroom at Ann's Point Inn in Bass Harbor

Relaxing with glasses of wine in the living room

The tide was half way out when we arrived. The Inn is
on a peninsula and every room has a water view

We arrived in time for drinks, dinner and great conversation with our fellow guests. We plan to do some kayaking and hiking while we're here but I'll save the details for a future post.

Our first morning's elegant breakfast; baked blueberry
french toast, smoked salmon and fresh peaches

The "trial" guests; Scott, Jane Hulting-Cohen,  our hosts
Alan and  Jeanette Feuer, Trudy Burke, Jim Cohen and J.P.L.

Family Time Finally

Sean and Will ran the Capitol Hill Classic 10K race on Saturday
 morning. Three thousand people participated in this and
the shorter 3K distance. Sean came in 19th and Will 25th.
Sean's pace was 5:59 minutes. It was a hot day too.

We had a great dinner at Proof, a trendy excellent restaurant
in the Penn Quarter with Will's parents, Gary and Kathy
DeKrey who were visiting from Minneapolis. James and
Morgen joined us as well.

We flew Spirit Airlines through Ft. Lauderdale to Washington DC. Spirit was by far the cheapest alternative although we paid $53 for each check in bag ($28 per bag at the time you book and then $25 at the airport for overweight - our bags weighed about 48 pounds each). We didn't have carry on bags but if you do they are $30 on line at booking or $40 at the desk. Another odd detail, you can't bring water on board the plane. They sell water on board.
 We stopped for four nights to see our two youngest sons, James and Sean. The Capitol Hills District where they live is really lovely and every garden was riotous with flowers. We walked Sean down to work the next morning, stopping at Ted's Bulletin (505 8th SE) for a great breakfast. We never buy their homemade pop tarts but they always look great.
Friday night we had fun dinner out at Karl and Kris's home, James girlfriend Morgen's parents, in Maryland. Then Saturday we met Will's parents, Gary and Kathy visiting from Minneapolis, at Proof (775 G St. NW) for a fantastic dinner. Sunday Sean hosted a brunch followed by a BBQ at his home for family and friends - all day great food and fun. A diet is in my immediate future.
Monday we were off again to Boston to see our oldest son Josh, his wife Michal and five of our grandchildren; Daniel (9), Ariella (7), Maya (5), Jonathan (23 months) and Shira (6 months). Josh is a radiation oncologist and has just bought a practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma so they'll be moving out there soon. A big change for us as they've been the only one of our children close by geographically.
On Thursday we finally flew home to Rutland, VT on Cape Air. It is really fun flying in this tiny plane - only 10 passengers and yet again Scott was co-pilot (not really but he sat there). Our home looked great after so long away and our garden amazing. We'll be back for six months now. Imagine that, all in one stretch. We'll see...

Sean, Will, Gary and Kathy in Sean's kitchen

James and Morgen at the Sean's BBQ

Our oldest son Josh and his wife Michal have five kids -
here Daniel, Ariella and Shira with Grammy

Grandpa and Shira adore each other.

And she's still small enough to easily carry
around

Daniel practices his dribbling in the kitchen

And Ariella her piano.

Jonathan rides his horse

Maya's off to school, ever fashionable.

Even when adding a raincoat!

I'm going to brag now...Jonathan knows all his letters and
also the sound they make. He's not yet 2!

Twenty Four Hours in Antigua, Guatemala

This is the view we woke up to our first and so far only morning in Antigua! That's Volcan de Agua in the background.

Our last days getting the boat ready to leave were occasionally miserable. During the middle of the day it was really hot and once the boat was up on the cement yard it baked us. We had to remove and fold the sails and canvas, wash down the walls and floors with vinegar and water, and lift up the dinghy to be secured on the foredeck. Scott had several things to do on all the engines and I sorted out our food supplies and cleaned out the refrigerator. We couldn't stay on the boat and I didn't mind a bit. We can't use the toilet while it's on the hard. We took a very pleasant room at the nearby Mar Marine Yacht Club - for $25 a night a good deal - air conditioning and U.S. TV stations.
 In a few days we were finished and on the road. The 5 hour bus trip to Guatemala City took 7 hours but it too was air conditioned and we were not working. Heaven. As we were too late to catch our scheduled bus on to Antigua, they sent us by taxi at no cost. Rather nice we thought. And once there it was lovely. At Walt and Honorees suggestion we stayed at Chez Daniel with our very nice hosts Daniel and Maria Elena (chezdanielantigua.blogspot.com or facebook). Our beautiful $49 a night room included a great breakfast with croissants, french bread, butter, jam and juice. We took their suggestion and ate that night at La Pena del Sol (lapenaantigua.com) - terrific meal and live music. Unfortunately it was a rainy night so we didn't get much of a walk but did have time in the morning as my pictures show.
Antigua was founded in 1543, the third capital of Guatemala, and served the Spanish as their governing center for most of Central America and part of Mexico. In 1717 and 1773 it was hit by terrible earthquakes and much of the town was destroyed. The capital moved once again, this time permanently to Guatemala City. The city was ordered abandoned but of course many did not. Today it has about 34,000 inhabitants.
We'll be back here for sure when we return in January.

And when we looking over the roof tops to our right, more
volcanoes appeared. The one farthest left had a plume
of smoke rising from the crater.

The narrow quiet street where our
Bed and Breakfast - Chez Daniel - is.

The lovely tree lined streets are paved with cobble stones.

A small church near our B & B

This little girl and her mother are dressed in
quite the western fashion but the baby is still
carried the traditional way.

This woman is in traditional costume and the embroidery
 work on her apron and blouse is very fine.

This Tuktuk driver would love to take me for a ride.

Broad tree lined streets just out of the main center are lined
with homes, many ex-pats from USA and Canada.

Local buses try to outdo each other in color and decoration

This "fashionably" dressed young boy is getting his
 shoes shined. Imagine!

Vendors sell everything and often only one item each - here
freshly cut mangoes

One of the several churches destroyed, we assume,
by earthquakes with only it's facade intact. 

The extensive and beautiful central park is surrounded by
old buildings.

A group of children line up for a walk.

We lucked out by being in Antigua when the
Tour de Guatemala went through. It was early morning
and huge crowds had turned out to greet the teams.

We had never seen an all xylophone band before. They
sounded great.

I guess when you're signing a male fan's
clothing, his back's a good spot.

Motorcycles/Scooters are a popular way to get around
and often we see whole families on one.

Another partial facade testifying to how often earthquakes
have rocked this town.