Sorry I haven't written, but I was so tired when we finally arrived at the hotel the last two nights. After leaving Massachusetts, we traveled on Route 1 all the way up the coast of Maine and made a number of stops. One thing I can say about coastal Maine towns is they all have a chiropractor, beauty salons, day spas, nail salons, gift shops, and, of course, many antique shops. Although the coast was chock-a-block of restaurants and food stands barking lobster rolls, I still haven't had my first lobster roll (coming soon complete with a picture).

We stayed mostly in Hampton Inns or Comfort Inns on the way. Most were under 100 dollars including tax. However, when we arrived in Rockland, the Comfort Inn was full and we had to stay in an overpriced Hampton Inn (200 dollars with tax for one night--UGH!). I didn't sleep very well because the bed had a stupid plastic cover on the mattress. The other quilted mattress cover kept slipping underneath me, and the plastic made me sweat (even though the air-conditioner was set at 61 degrees). I did complain to the desk clerk only after she asked me how our stay was. Of course then we found numerous cute (not chains) hotels AAA approved on the way from our over-priced Hampton Inn to the no-vacancy Comfort Inn and beyond that. The only thing good about the Hampton Inn in Rockland was that it was next to an Applebees so dinner was easy--no driving involved.

We stopped in Freeport (of course) and visited a number of outlet stores. We also visited the great LL Bean. What a place (still overpriced). We're still looking at kayaks that are affordable (just tried Craigslist and saw two inflatable Coleman's for 200 dollars). Later we stopped at an antique shop and I bought my first Ironstone pitcher. I have always wanted a collection of Ironstone that I could display in my white kitchen.

This is a Starbucks in Freeport, Maine.

On the way up, we stopped in Bath and did some shopping (mostly window shopping) and had lunch at JR Maxwell and Co. It was a cute restaurant with a nautical theme. I had a reuben and Bob had a cheeseburger (what else?). We both enjoyed a beer (Bob had Shipyard Summer Ale).

The towns we passed through were so charming and the water vistas were breathtaking.

The day before yesterday, we were getting a bit anxious to get to the cottage. We went to an antique place where I finally found my coveted turquoise fiestaware pitcher (the oldest version). During a stop at an outfitter's, we bought  a number of books--a Dover press seashore guide, Maine islands books, a Maine atlas and gazetteer (I wanted to buy a badminton set, but Bob said he wouldn't play--party pooper).

The rest of the trip was full of "Oh we have to stop here on the way back!" because we were ready to get to the cottage. We stopped at a Walmart and bought groceries. Interesting how we were very careful to buy healthy foods. There is also a new beverage center, so we did buy some beer and wine.

Our drive from Ellsworth (the closest thing to civilization) was a familiar one. On the way, we checked to see if there was anything new. There were a few restaurants that weren't here in 2009--that was, believe it or not, exciting. Milbridge, the nearest town, didn't seem to be any different. The cafe was still for sale and 44 was still there. The drive to the cottage was full of anxiety, anticipation, many emotions. Booking a place from a picture is a bit scarey. However, when we arrived, Bob was almost brought to tears by the stunning bay vista and the larger cottage than we anticipated. The first thing we saw were two ospreys diving straight into the water and emerging with fish in their talons. It was awesome. After an inspection of the very cute, much larger cottage than last trip (2009), we began unpacking and organizing things in the cottage. This took a few hours, but then we both sat in the living room admiring the awesome view. There are six windows across the cottage that faces out to the ocean (bay) and one in the corner next to the 6 windows--all showing the beautiful, unobstructed view of the Back Bay. The cottage is surrounded by trees and 3 miles off the main Hwy 1. In the near distance are three islands--tree-covered, but with beaches. Our access to the water is 7 steps down and there are enough trees on the property near the water for our hammocks. The mosquitos are pretty thick, but we are prepared with our super-duper repellant FANS. These are clipped to our shirts and they do a good job of keeping the skeeters away.

Our wonderful hosts left us a bottle of Chilean wines (my favorite), Dubliner Cheese (another favorite), crackers, and a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers. How sweet!

We had a late dinner of Maine red-skinned hot dogs (I know, not too healthy) and hamburgers. Bob cooked, I cleaned up and we went to bed early (around 9).

Today we were up early since the cottage was filled with sunlight and the loud chatter of birds. Bob said there was a guy out clamming at 5AM (I'll have to try that), and he heard gunshots at 2:00 AM (not so happy about that). We had coffee and I gave Bob his father's day gift (two Guinness shirts I had bought for him in Portsmouth NH that he didn't know about--I bought them while he was feeding the parking meter--yet we stlll got a ten-dollar parking ticket!).
So Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there.

BTW, I have no idea if anyone is actually reading this blog, so I'd appreciate a comment every once in a while. Thanks!