Beautiful, beautiful Maine.

VM:  How blessed I am.  That’s all I could think about today.  Blessed to have time with my girls.  Blessed with wonderful friends.  Blessed to be seeing our amazing country.  I am a lucky woman.

We had a bittersweet departure from New Hampshire yesterday morning.  We were sad to leave Lisa, Grandma, Max & Luke, but we were excited about the adventure that lay ahead. 

One of the best things about New England bar none is the ease that you can travel from one spot to another.  We left New Hampshire at around 10am and by 11:20ish were already crossing the Maine border.  We arrived at our AWESOME Kennebunk inn by noon. 

We are staying at the Houndstooth Inn.  Yep, it was chosen primarily cause it’s a dog-friendly spot.  The innkeepers are dog lovers and believe in making travel accessible to all pooches and their owners.  We were immediately greeted by happy welcome howls from Izzy, the innkeepers’ Welsch hound.  She is the CUTEST.  Our only disappointment was to find out no other doggies were checking in as the owners had a wedding to attend tomorrow & all the other guests were part of the wedding party.  Nonetheless, we gave lots of lovin’ to Izzy who was happy to soak in all the attention.

Randi & Norm, our hosts, thought of everything.  They suggested a GREAT sandwich shop, hooked us up with beach chairs, towels & a parking pass & pointed us in the direction of Mother’s Beach, a local beach known for it’s calmer waves.  I didn’t venture into the frigid water, but the girls loved the novelty.  The fact that the day was alternatively sunny then overcast didn’t bother them a bit.

After cleaning up at the inn, we drove thru Kennebunkport to board for a sunset sail on the Pineapple Ketch (http://www.pineappleketch.com/) which left from a local hotel, the Nonantum Resort.  While we waited for the ship’s other guests, we thoroughly enjoyed watching an outdoor wedding complete with a dog and a small pig with wings on his back.  Found myself explaining the phrase “when pigs fly” to the girls.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating to provide a picturesque sunset, but we got a nice sail past Walker’s Point, where senior President Bush was apparently hanging with Barbara.  Two of the guests on our boat had just run into the ex-president that day at their hotel and said he was gracious.  Don’t think I would’ve expected anything less, but it was still nice to hear.

Our cruise was cut short due to impending weather, but I think it was just as well.  Girls tried to make a trip to the “head” down below but it did not agree with their tummies.  And, by the way, the captain discounted the trip as it had to be shortened.  What a deal.

We took a nice drive up the coast and saw Walker’s Point from the shore.  I’m quite amazed at how vulnerable the property appears, both from a general security’s sake and from the weather.  I know it’s well guarded by Secret Service, but I must say that during his presidency the spot must’ve given them heart palpitations to protect.  It juts out all on its own into the sea.

Upon our innkeepers’ recommendation, we drove on to Cape Porpoise for dinner at a local harbor dive, Island Chowder Company.  It is a real working harbor & was perfect.  We saw and SMELLED all the local lobster boats.  The girls sampled real New England clam chowder but none of us made the lobster leap.  I have had bad experiences in the past & as much as I would like to try again, I can’t risk getting ill being the sole driver of this voyage.

We ended the evening in Kennebunkport, checking out the alternating kitschy and charming shops.

Today we meet Titi (my sister) in Boston.

HM:  Our Maine journey has ended too quickly.  We’re staying at the Houndstooth Inn and we got greeted by Izzy, a cute Welsch hound.  After that, Mr. Norm also greeted us.  He’s one of the owners of the inn.  We got a magnificent tour of the whole inn and I think that it’s really pretty!  Our room was very comfortable and BIG and the beds were extra comfy.

After that, we went to the sandwich place.  Their bread was amazing and they cooked the bacon to perfection.  Then we went to the beach.  And I actually went in the water!!!  It wasn’t bad once you got used to it.

Then we on a sunset sail.  I didn’t feel too well but I still had a lot of fun.  After that we headed to dinner and I tried clam chowder for the first time and loved it – the broth not the clams.  I also tried some of my mom’s fried shrimp, and it was amazing!  I wanted to try lobster but my mom wasn’t sure that would be a good idea since I didn’t feel good on the sailboat so I just had chicken fingers & fries.  I’m going to try lobster in Boston when Titi (VM note:  HM’s aunt) gets here.

I explored the beach too, forgot to mention that.  When we were driving to the restaurant, we saw George H. Bush’s house.  We saw one of his Secret Service and when we were driving away I SWEAR I saw him walking through the house!!!

This morning for breakfast we are having French toast with fresh berries because they have a blueberry bush in the backyard.  Yesterday, EM and I each tried one fresh from the bush.  They were yummy!!!

See you in Boston.

EM:  Hi from Maine.  I liked the boat.  I like Izzy.  Those blueberries were good from the bush.  I like the hotel.  I like that dogs can come.  I wish there were more dogs here.  And puppies. 

The water at the beach was cold.  We saw President Bush’s house.  It was neat.

We go to Boston today.