On the road to Bar Harbor

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Was it only Monday that I packed up my car to head to Maine?  Seems so much longer ago than that! The sun was shining and I was on my way by 9:30 am . 3 stops later for gas, cash and miscellaneous and I was on Route 24 for the first leg of my trip. My GPS routed me through Boston via the expressway (known locally as the “distressway”) but other than a slow-down by the Granite Ave exit because of an accident, (not me) I made good time.  On the north side of Boston the traffic was clear and it was smooth sailing up 93N to 495.  A quick hit on 495 and I was following the GPS directions to Joe (JR)’s house in Plaistow. I pulled up right at 11:30 exactly as the GPS predicted.

JR saw me pull up and came right out. WOW looks like we’re really running smooth here but no, a glitch. JR was so anxious to get going that he locked his car keys in the house. He wasn’t driving so he didn’t need them… except his luggage was locked in his car…OOPS! A quick call to his parents brought the cavalry to the rescue and in short order we had his gear in my car and we were back on the road.

First stop was at the rest area in Maine where we met our first Moose.

Then it was on to Owls Head, Maine. This was JR’s pick of the day. He worked at the Thornton Burgess Society for a time and really liked the people there. He visits as often as he can to keep in touch. JR’s really good about nurturing friendships. He doesn’t let distance interfere and really puts a great deal of time and effort in keeping his network strong. In any case, at his last visit he was told that Jean, a former co-worker, had moved to Maine to open a Winery and he wanted to drop in to see how she was doing and renew the contact.

He had the address so into the GPS it went and we were off. It was a pretty nice day for a drive. It had been sunny in Taunton, overcast in New Hampshire but as  we moved farther north it cleared again. I’d never even heard of Owl’s Head much less been there so I didn’t know what to expect .

Owl”s Head appeared, by our drive through, to be a quaint New England town, a nice tourist destination, not too crowded or urban. Owl’s Head is located on Owl’s Head peninsula which extends into Penobscot Bay. As you can imagine, it was quite picturesque.

The Vineyard is Breakwater Vineyards located at 35 Ash Point Dr, Owls Head Me. It was easy to find with it’s gleaming white house located on a hill overlooking the water.

The house and it’s lawns and gardens are elegant and beautiful.

I could have stopped our trip and stayed right there, it was that lovely.

Jeanne greeted JR with enthusiasm then invited  us into a beautiful room where wine tastings are held.

JR did the sampling, as I was designated driver, and pronounced the wine very good. We bought a bottle of American Riesling to take with us to Bar Harbor. We had visions of sitting outside sipping our wine at the end of the day. While JR sampled the wine, I made friends with the black lab that was keeping Jeanne company. When they were done  “catching up” Jeanne took us out to a big barn which had been converted into the winery and turned us over to Jake to show us around.

Jake did a great job of explaining the process of wine making but soon we were going back to meet up with Jeanne.

She wanted to show us one more thing before we went on our way.

Website: www.breakwatervineyards.com

I’m Baaaaack!

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Sorry I didn’t follow my usual custom of updating all of you when I’m traveling.  This little jaunt was to Bar Harbor in Maine and it was only 4 days. What that means is that 2 days are spent driving to get to and from  there and 2 days are crammed full trying to squeeze everything in. Bottom line is that every night when I got back to our motel, I collapsed into bed too tired to even think. 🙂

But I promise I will fill you in on everything from  “Goat Whispering”

to having a “Zen” moment at the top of Cadillac Mountain.

It’s not often I  become the photo subject!

I didn’t travel alone so these pictures are courtesy of my traveling companion and fellow Photog, JR. and it’s just a taste of what’s to come.

P-Town

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Provincetown or P-Town as its known locally is located at the very tip of Cape Cod. It’s not a short drive to get there by any means but it is a unique destination. For one thing it’s home to the Dolphin Fleet, a well-known whale watch tour company. I’m told they are very successful with their trips out to Stellwagon Banks.

The town itself is very touristy, known for its arts and crafts think “Artist Colony”. A favorite trait of the town is it’s pet (read dog) friendly policy. Shops up and down Commerce Street have water bowls out for your leashed pets. We even saw a dog pulling his owner while the owner rode his skateboard..shades of Cesar Millan (Dog Whisperer) .

The other thing that P-Town is known for is gay pride. It is very accepting of alternate lifestyles. There are  families and children side by side with lesbian couples and gay men. It’s a relaxed and easy atmosphere. Everyone is friendly.

We ate a Mojo’s, a little take out restaurant twice that day. Once for lunch and again for dinner. Lunch  for me was a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich on whole wheat and dinner was the fried scallop plate. Lightly breaded, moist fresh scallops. Makes my mouth water just to think of it.

The day started out cloudy and cool and never really warmed up but eventually the sun did come out. We spent a relaxing day just wandering the town and the wharf area. No shopping this trip just enjoying the sights and indulging in a photo taking orgy.

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