Maine-ly Subarus

Two things were oddly noteworthy from our trip to Maine.  One, the sheer number of Subarus.  Not just a lot..but everyone owned one.  Easily two out of every 3 cars was a Subaru..and generally a newer one.  So we felt at home!  Also, the number of businesses who used the "Maine-ly" title.  Maine-ly used cars, Maine-ly sweaters, Maine-ly yarn, etc.  It became comical.
But..to continue out trip north!
Our first stop was Pemaquid Point and Lighthouse.  When planning, I had assumed this would be our least favorite. But it was by far the most fun.  The tide was out and there were rocks to climb on.  I don't know why we become 'rock climbers' on vacation.  But we do..find a rock..climb it.

 We went to the top of the lighthouse.  You can see the rocks that will be conquered.

 And then a look from that far point back towards the lighthouse

 We were climbing fools.

 It was beautiful from that vantage point however
Then we went to Marshall Point lighthouse which is famous for being featured in Forrest Gump.  It was the 'end' of the East coast run for him.  They had a book showing the filming and such.  It was neat

 The lighthouses were all run by volunteers, so we were able to chat with them.  The final lighthouse was Rockpoint which had a long breakwater.  I will be honest..we were exhausted by this time. so we walked a little ways..but it was too far!  It was still pretty!  That is the lighthouse on the right (white dot) and the rock in the center of the photo has a sea lion basking on it.

Then we hit our final destination. Hartstone Inn in Camden, Maine. 

 Camden is a very cute little "mayberry' type town.  It was just a block away from our Inn so we walked around a bit.

 

Mayberry with a harbor

But we made it back in time for evening cocktail hour!

 The next day we were supposed to take a boat ride on the schooner Surprise.  But Hurricane/Tropical Depressioin Andrea had different ideas.  it wasn't raining, but the seas were too rough.  But I had chatted with the captains a while, so they asked us to come visit the boat and hang out a bit. 

We had a little more time to kill so we drove up to the top of Mt. Battie. it is the tallest 'hill' in Camden and allows great views.

 That afternoon, Jason participated in the Chef for a Day with Chef Michael Salmon.  This is WHY we did this trip.  Chef Michael is a great chef who opens his kitchen up to anyone who'd like to learn.  So Jason spent the afternoon cooking for the evening's dinner.  This Inn is ranked in the top 10 fine dining B&B's in the world and top 10 overall B&Bs in the USA.  So he was very excited.

 

 The kitchen was small but there were 2 sous chefs, the head chef and Jason in it.  I snuck in and out and took photos.

One of the sous chefs talks to Jason about making the perfect risotto.

Dueling whisks

I was so busy taking photos, I didn't even notice they were offering me a taste of the dessert.  I found this photo and laughed.  I guess we were both in our elements!

 I love this photo.  All four chefs busily working.  Jason spent 1PM-5PM with the team making a wonderful dinner.  They were all super nice.  Chef Michael is a great person with a lot of patience. 

 After a shower, we had dinner.  A bad slice of quiche at lunch prevented me from enjoying it completely...but I was very proud of him! 

 The next day we went north to Acadia National Park with a stop for lunch in Bar Harbor.  The Tropical Depression had hit and the weather was less than desirable. So we really didn't see much.  We want to go back so we can see more..this park would have been incredible on a pretty day.  The one place that was photo worthy was "Thunder Hole".  on the other side of the railing is a 'hole' that the waves hit and makes a loud clap.

 More Rocks!  So wish the sky was blue!

 the weather was perfect for 'wave watching'..so we just sat on the rocks and enjoyed the crashing waves.  All the other lookouts were blocked by fog/clouds. 

Thunder hole

If you are ever in Camden and want an excellent Inn run by wonderful, caring people..go to Hartstone Inn.  We rarely/if never stay the same place twice or even go back to the same place..but we have plans to go back here and see more of the area. 

 This was our 'big' vacation of the year beyond a few long weekends at greyhound events.  But in a strange twist, Jason will be going to Chester, England for 7 weeks (August/September). So suddenly, I'm planning a vacation to England and Scotland in August.I feel sure Cali will go in to a terrible funk without Jason around for so long.  But we did get a lot of practice last year with holding down the fort while he was away for weeks at a time. But this will be the longest.  But very exciting!!