Tag Archives: lobster

Approved!

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Hurray It’s Approved! My boss approved my vacation time so it’s official, I can really count on heading to Tennessee in May.

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So far I ‘ve got a at least 1 day in Dollywood with a ride on the Dollywood Express, a day exploring the trolley routes of downtown Gatlinburg and a day sampling moonshine and whiskey.

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Along with the liquid treats my cousin recommended an restaurant called The Greenbrier Restaurant . http://www.greenbrierrestaurant.com/ It’s billed as a romantic,  fine dining establishment.

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Well since I’ll be alone we can skip the romance but I like the fine dining description and I loved the menu. Two of my very favorite things are on it. I could make a meal of just the appetizers, My favorite: Escargot Ala Bourguignon  French selects served in mushroom caps and simmering garlic butter. I’ve never had them served in mushroom caps but I like mushrooms so should be yummy.

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The main course is bound to be just as good : Lobster Tail

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One Tail  or Two ?  Steamed and served with lemon wedges and drawn butter.

Who would think that someone from Massachusetts would always be on the lookout for lobster tails when I’m surrounded by Maine lobster all the time. Well, they are not the same and (I’ll probably have to hide out after this comment) I like the tails better than Maine Lobster. There I said it. My New England Yankee card will probably be revoked. I don’t dislike Maine Lobster I just prefer the Langoustines , those big , juicy tails usually served on the shell. They are a different animal and more common in the south. When I was growing up in upstate New York the frozen variety was more common than the live Maine lobsters. I imagine that’s changed now. Every high end restaurant seems to have a lobster tank.

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Now I’m hungry and it isn’t even noon yet!

Anyway the same cousin that tipped me to the restaurant also gave me a link to a train ride out of Chattanooga. http://www.tvrail.com/pages/etowah-train-rides-train-excursions-in-Tennessee Known as the Hiwassee River rail Adventure it sounds perfect. The ride is described as the historic Hiwassee River Rail Adventure scenic rail excursion through the unspoiled Cherokee National Forest, along beautiful and scenic Hiwassee River, and through the secluded Hiwassee River Gorge. It leaves from Etowah. My only decision is do I do the short or long version?

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I think I’m leaning toward the all day trip but I’m open to suggestions too.

M is for…

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Wow, Did you realize there are 8 states that start with the letter M? I am not going to do all 8 in one post, especially since a couple of them are going to be crossed off as visited.  So before I start can you name all 8 states?

Alphabetically Maine is first. So while you’re thinking about the other 7 states I’ll tell you a little bit about my neighbor to the north. I fell in love with Maine last year when I had the chance to take 2 “mini” vacations.

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YES.

First thing that come to mind when I think of Maine is the gorgeous, rugged coastline. And if you have a rugged coast you need lighthouses.  More than 60 lighthouses dot the Maine coast from the well known Nubble Light in York  to West Quoddy Head, the easternmost lighthouse in the United States. I’ve seen and photographed a bunch of them, Nubble, Spring Ledge, Portland Head, Pemaquid and more but I’m a long way from all 60!+

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Maine is for “Lobsta” or lobster if you want to be accurate. Everyone’s either heard of or eaten Maine Lobster, those feisty crustaceans that are so good boiled, fried, rolled, baked, in salad, well just about any way you want  to eat them. Did you know that lobster were once so plentiful that they were used as fertilizer! Native Americans used them as bait to catch more appealing fish. They were considered poverty  food and fed to servants and prisoners.  You’ve come a long way , baby!

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Maine is for wildlife.

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I saw a big bull moose there while walking a nature trail.

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I braved the sea to get a glimpse of puffins, crazy little clowns. I never realized how tiny they are until I saw them riding those crashing waves.

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Maine has the first National Park east of the Mississippi,  Acadia National Park. The park includes Mount Desert Island and Cadillac Mountain.

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I still want to try a train ride from Boston to Portland. It’s called the “Downeaster”. It can be done in 1 day but it might be nicer to stay over in Portland a night to see a bit more.

By the way, I wrote a lot of posts on Maine last year. Here’s a link to just one of the many :https://aroundustyroads.com/2012/08/29/day-is-done-gone-the-sun/

Portland by Land

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Maine is a really beautiful state. I’ve read about Portland in many travel magazines and had good intentions of taking the Down’easter from Boston to spend the day. Of course it’s one of those things still on my bucket list. So finding myself staying in the Super 8 on the Portland Line I decided that the city deserved at least one day to see what it’s all about.

Based on the directions the desk clerk gave me the previous night I figured asking more directions was useless. “Right down the road”  and “just a little way” weren’t very helpful. The just a little way was over 3 miles! I guess I’ve gotten away from my rural roots.

Anyway with the help of my trusty GPS I managed to navigate the street maze down to the waterfront. I found a parking lot that was pretty reasonable where I could pay hourly or have a discount by paying for the whole day. I took the day option and handed over a $10.00. I found a spot to park in the lot that was right on the waterfront. I recognized the spot as one I’d seen in an article about Portland.

I snapped some pictures and wandered back to the main street. There was a trolley tour right nearby and those of you who have followed my blog for any length of time know I always take the trolley tours. They are a great way to get familiar with an area.

Known as the “Discovery”  trolley you can take a land tour or opt for a land and sea combo ticket. That was my choice. More on the sea  later.

The Land part of the sightseeing  is a 90 minute narrated tour and we had a wonderful driver/guide. She was humorous without being forced and had a wealth of knowledge about the city.

The tour took us by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s childhood home, a stop at Portland Head Light, and loads of other landmarks.

The city of Portland is like a Phoenix, it keeps rising from the ashes. The driver pointed out where time after time the city burned and then was rebuilt. We drove slowly by beautiful stately homes, mansions if you will and a park with views of Portland Harbor.

Back at the trolley stop I picked up a hot dog from a street vendor. I had a choice…red or brown! I was puzzled and must have shown it because the vendor quickly told me I would prefer the “brown”. Sure enough, that was the kind of hot dog I was expecting. She showed me the red ones. I don’t know if they taste different but the casing was definitely red!

My snack out of the way I shopped a little in one of the gift shops picking up a sweatshirt to wear on the boat then headed to the boarding section of the dock. There were several options for the “Sea” part of the combo. One was a harbor cruise in the afternoon, my choice, and the other option was the Sunset Lighthouse cruise which sounded nice but I didn’t want to be hanging around all afternoon. There was too much to see.

While I waited I made the acquaintance  of a “Crusty” native Mainer and some of his friends.

If you take the lobster boat cruise you get to pull your own traps and then take your catch to dinner. The restaurant next door will steam them up for you.

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