Boothbay Harbor

September 10, 2007
The day started out cold and got worse. We took an hour harbor tour which was simply amazing. The morning was overcast and as the tour got closer to the open ocean, the fog became deeper. Notice the lighthouse which was difficult to see until we were on top of it. Given Maine and a working harbor, we expected the lobster to be inexpensive .. not the case, unless you buy directly from the fishermen (there's a couple of photos here with fishermen in their small boats inspecting their traps for lobsters. How do they know it's their traps .. you may have noticed the small bouys in the water ... each fisherman attaches a colored bouy to the traps they set, returning every other day to discover what they've caught. There were bouys throughout the harbor and lots of colors. I was hoping to get close enough to see what was caught for dinner, but the tour captain had other ideas. He was bust ferrying residents and tourists, from the different hotels in the harbor, to squirrel island and back. This alone was worth the visit to Boothbay.

Wiscasset - redux

September 9, 2007
Half way to BoothBay Harbor it decided to rain. I don't remember where we were, but when the rain drops started, we immediately pulled over, removing jackets and gloves and struggling to don our rain gear. I don't know why, other than needing to lose 15-20 pounds, it's a struggle to get the rain pants, jacket and water proof shoes on with becoming winded and laughing hysterically. Finally changed, the drops stopped .. but the sky looked really ominous. Once on, this stuff is not coming off, even though we both look like farmers just off the plow. Another 5 miles and the skys opened up. If there's anything I dislike more than rain, it's cold. Because leather gloves become a mess when wet, we both rode with no gloves. 10 minutes of cold and wet make one's fingers difficult to use.
I had really wanted to stop in each quaint town along the way and take pictures .. but, you'll forgive me, no deal. Our intent was to get to BoothBay in one piece. We did stop once for coffee and to thaw our fingers. It was difficult to leave but the gal at the register promised me we were 45 minutes north of BoothBay.
Well, apparently I was so intent on finding Wiscasset, I didn't notice BoothBay.
We road through Wiscasset and the 4 miles of road repairs, groves cut into the highway to better hold new asphalt and perfect for grabbing bike tires. We continued on until I noticed the signs for Bath .. perfect! I missed BoothBay. The attendant at the next gas station told us it was 25 minutes back the way we came. 25 more minutes of freezing fingers and roadway under repair. Another ride through Wiscasset, over the bridge once again, turning at route 27 and another 10 miles to BoothBay. I'm glad we're here .. it's a working fishing village (the lobster is no cheaper than home .. why?), very quaint and old.

Take a look at the 1st Wiscasset posting, especially Red's Eats. Why? We drove by 6 times over 2 days and every single time, the line of people waiting was simply astonishing. Even when raining, the waiting patrons opened their umbrellas and rain gear, waiting for whatever delights the weather would not deny them. We didn't stop .. I wish we did (we ate across the street).

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September 17, 2007
post-script;
A note of interest; Red's Eats always had a line wrapped around the block (each of the 6 times we drove by .. rain or shine). It turns out that we missed quite a landmark (we picked the place across the street).
Here's just a few commentaries on Red's;
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/19/sunday/main559439.shtml
www.hollyeats.com/Reds.htm
www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=2959
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Tell me what you think of these pictures of Boothbay Harbor .

Arcadia National Park

September 9, 2007
We started the morning enjoying breakfast at the Two Cats, on the southern part of Bar Harbor. Great restaurant, strong coffee, intriguing meals.
After several hot days, this morning started out cold, cold enough to wear thermal long johns. From breakfast, we rode east on 3, entering Arcadia National Park. Harriet, my sister, told me she and Allan spent a week there, climbing Cadillac Mountain. My bike had trouble powering up the mountain. Harriet, how did you do it? how did you not get lost? The views were breathtaking, which you could see if I could get this damn Sprint card to work more than 4 minutes. We visited Jacob's Pond, which turned out to be quite a large lake, the water ice cold. We spent a good 2 hours riding the park, the decided to start the ride back, for the weather was supposed to be incliment, starting later this afternoon. It was difficult to leave Arcadia; not just because of the beauty, but because we rather quickly discovered we were lost, when trying to get back to route 3. It turns out that the 8 miles or so we rode took us in the right direction (no markings anywhere). The road brought us back to Bar Harbor, riding us through downtown once again, but we then knew where we were. Notice the last couple of shots .. the lake name ... Jacob's Pond .. Jacob must be one big fella.
Zipping down 3 south at 11am, we were intent on quickly getting to BoothBay Harbor.

Bar Harbor

September 8, 2007
We're here, We're tired. We'll talk later.

Wiscasset, ME - pretty as a post card

September 8, 2007
As long as you don't speed in Wiscasset, all is good, or so we were told. Everywhere else on the 150 miles from 295 to Bar Harbor, well, let's just say we were within the 10% over rule (or was that 20%?).
We enjoyed a lobster roll lunch right on the water.

The Randall Family Farm in Standish, Maine

September 8, 2007
I'm not sure it can get any better than this. I've always wanted an apple farm/orchard; can imagine the delight in getting up early in the morning to harvest your apples and make cider (notice the processing machines just for that purpose. For me, this is heaven.

I was having such a good time, I didn't care that the apples (Macintosh) all had poison lightly coating them. The woman (didn't catch her name and she wasn't throwing it), said that the poison breaks down (where? in my body), yet it didn't matter. I wiped the apple across my pants, just as she suggested, then ate every bit, delighting in the crispy tartness of this little bit of heaven. I did wonder when the poison broke down and how much of it actually ended up in the cider that they were pressing from the apples.

Laconia, NH

September 7, 2007
Fresh from our visit with Tony Sconsa, and the oppressive heat causing palpations, off Terry and I went, riding onto Laconia, about 60 miles north of Manchester. The temp was over 90 and it was wearing on me. From being pretty darn cold yesterday morning to sweating profusely this afternoon, even at 75mph, I’m thinking this global warming has something to it. We passed through Laconia, a favorite place for bikers before Labor Day, and rode onto Weirs Beach, called that because it sits on the southern edge of Lake Winnipesaukee, just down the road a piece from Meredith, a very quaint town, where Terry bought a cigar to celebrate the fact that he quit smoking cigars last week.

Tomorrow we take 25 around the Lake and then onward to Bar Harbor, Maine. Here's a few pictures of Weirs Beach.

Two Tonys

September 7, 2007
A promise is a promise. This is a short tale of two men that it’s been my privlidge to know. The first, a long time ago, in my 30s while working for Data General, was Tony Angeletti (Mary, I can’t remember the exact spelling). Eastern Air Lines was my account, my celeb d’fame, and the reason I missing out on Sun Microsystem’s going public. I was in my 30s, Tony was in his late 40s and we got along splendidly. Tony hated Eastern and yearned to be free, to move to Utah with his beautiful wife, Mary. I left DG and to my great regret, lost contact with Tony. To my great sadness, I later heard that Tony had passed on, losing his fight with cancer. What a loss the world suffered that day.

Forward a decade and then some and you would have found me at 3Com. At a party put on by a co-worker, I met a wonderful fellow named Tony Sconsa, with his girlfriend Mary. Guess who .. yup, the one and same Mary, who I hadn’t met before. I was reminicing about Tony #1 and Eastern, when Mary, with a tear in her eye, said that was her husband. Imagine my shock. It turned out that Tony and Mary and I became best of friends. Tony S was a wondeful of a man. Whenever we would meet, we’d hug and I’d admonish him not to grab my rear, to which he’d respond, if only just for a moment. We’d laugh, then talk about the stresses of the day. Tony was a collector of wines, having thousands of bottles, his delights, and he was exceptionally generous. One day, while in Texas on business, Tony collapsed and passed on. It’s good not to suffer, but again, the world was diminshed with Tony’s passing.

I promised Mary I’d visit Tony at his resting place in Manchester, New Hampshire. I fulfilled that promise today. Tony and I had a long chat and I, with great sadness upon my heart, extolled him for leaving us so soon. Here’s a picture or two for you to wish Tony well.
Mary, you are a lucky woman to have Two Tony’s in your life. Thank you for sharing with me too.

The Robb Family Farm

September 7, 2007
From the covered bridge, we drove through Brattleboro, looking for route 9 west. We decided to find and visit the Robb Family Farm, that we first found on the internet, searching for Maple Syrup farms (www.vermontmaple.org/visit.html);
Charles Robb Sr (802) 257-0163, 827 Ames Hill Road, Brattleboro, Vt. 05301E-Mail: robbfarm@together.net, Website: http://www.robbfamilyfarm.com/
We met Helen Robb, a delightful woman, who spent a good hour showing us the farm operations. We must have sounded like complete bumpkins, oo’ing and ahhh’ing at the cows, the chickens, the cats, and especially the cow pies that seemed to have filled up the groves in my shoes. Really, it was delightful.

Thank you Helen. We then went to the sugar house to see what it takes to produce maple syrup. Imaging taping 2,400 maple trees, collecting the precious sap, then boiling it for hours to reduce it to the amber liquid I’ve become more than fond of. Notice the magnificent maple tree right in the front yard. Helen told us her mother-in-law planted it about 45 years ago. It's big enough for a double tap, which, apparently, has regenerative powers, just like when we give blood, only sweeter. On the other hand, how would the tree complain? Behind Helen's wonderful home, notice the very large maple trees behind it. Just magnificant!

Of course, we had to order a good four pints each and will enjoy every golden drop. I included the Robb family web site, in case you’re inclined to order their delicious syprup, especially appropriate as wedding tokens for each guest (note Vicky’s impressive work).
Please enjoy these pictures and know that the Robb’s were wonderful people to visit.

A paved road for the bikes was the only thing missing.