Headed Home from Maine

I had a fantastic vacation this past week in Maine. From having a crazy good time drinking, eating, and dancing at The Front Porch and Maine Street in Ogunquit to exploring the coast of Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, the trip was truly amazing.

What a gift to spend a restful time with my friend Jeff for a week (and with Lars for a few brief days). It's really a joy to see a new part of the world with friends you love. And really, the only stressful time at all was driving through Boston today.

Even if you follow Google maps, directions from locals, and real-world foldout maps, you are sure to somehow get sucked into the wrong tunnel while driving through Boston. As I told Jeff, "The City of Boston sure doesn't suffer fools when it comes to driving." Miss one exit, and it might take you upwards of an hour to get back on track.

But even with the hectic driving today, Jeff and I still got to see a bit of Cambridge and Harvard Square and we spent a few precious hours at the new ICA museum on the water. (I'll have pics up later.)

But just wanted to let all of you know that you should head to Maine. I'm sure Maine is beautiful in the spring and summer, but this past week in late-winter the state showed us melting icicles and rivers of snow water cascading off of rocks. It not only makes me daydream of its beauty, but it also makes me wonder when I'll head back to Maine next.

A Lazy Day In

Today we got up fairly early for a lazy day--9:30 a.m. I guess. We had expected there to be a few inches of snow, according to the weather forcast. Of course we woke up and it was cloudy, but that was about it.

Lars, Jeff, and I spent the morning reading magazines. Then around noon we went down to the village market in our sweat pants and hats (because we hadn't showered) and we got sandwiches and chips and dip. We came back to the house and I had my steak superbomb sandwich and read two issues of dwell magazine. I loved the magazines, but they made me sad just like Architectural Digest used to--I can't afford any of that stuff.

We played Monopoly. Lars destroyed me and and then went on to beat Jeff, but not as badly as I was creamed. I think I landed on luxury tax at least 4 times and I didn't land on a property to buy for 5 or six whole turns in the beginning of the game. Them's the breaks.

We're headed to a nice dinner at MC's at Perkin's Cove in Ogunquit. It's supposed to have a gorgeous view of the water. Then we'll tie one on at Maine Street again tonight I'm sure. Check out the pic from the other night.

Ogunquit, Freeport, and Kennebunkport

Jeff, Lars, and I are having a blast in Maine. Yesterday we drove an hour from Ogunquit to Freeport to see the flagship LL Bean store. It's a huge campus with 4 large stores--hunting and fishing; clothes; bike, boat, and snow; and the outlet.

After shopping at LL Bean and few other outlet stores nearby, we headed back down the coast through Portland to Kennebunkport. It was a bit tricky, believe it or not, to find the coast of Kennebunkport. But we saw the Bush compound (from afar) and some of the most beautiful New England coastal houses you can imagine. Look at this gorgeous one in the picture. Really hard to imagine the fantastic view they must have.

After sightseeing and a lot of driving, we returned to Ogunquit where we had a night on the town beginning at the Front Porch. We were too late to get one of the 25 free corned beef and cabbage dinners for St. Patrick's Day, but I ordered it anyway. It was great.

Then it was Maine Street where we had fun dancing and singing. Basically just goofing off. After that we headed back to our cottage for a late night dip in the hot tub.