Sep 07

Day Two we headed north along the coast from Boston through Massachusetts, part of New Hampshire and on to Bar Harbor Maine. What a beautiful drive from one little seacoast town to another. We were constantly amazed at how clean and well kept all the houses were. No junk anywhere and the homes freshly painted. The gardens and flowers were beautiful. We made a photo stop at the town of York, Maine for ice cream (there were always a number of people on the bus who managed to get their ice cream whenever available) and views of the York lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean.
Our lunch stop was at Freeport, Maine where we had our first taste of yummy fresh Atlantic crab. The area we stopped at what was actually a type of factory store outlet, but looked like a charming small New England town. L.L. Bean also had a large retail store there. I didn't know it but this was my last Starbucks stop for four days and the hotel coffee was terrible. We then proceeded on to Bar Harbor which is actually a island off the coast of Maine. That night we sat down to dinner and were provided with a bib and crackers and were each served a whole lobster. Delish!

The next day we toured Acadia National Park and stopped at Sand Beach which is made of little bits of sea shells rather than sand.
Then we made a stop at Thunder Hole where in storms and high tide the water splashes up around 30 feet in the air.
From there we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain where we had a spectacular view of the bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Cadillac Mountain is the highest mountain on the East Coast.

Lunch was in downtown Bar Harbor where I had fish and chips with, once again, fresh Atlantic fish. I really think the seafood here is the best I have ever had - even better than in the Northwest. Then we boarded a cruise boat and took a nature tour of the bay where we saw eagles, eider ducks, seals, and even porpoises. Besides that we were able to see some of what they call cottages that were unbelievable. They are really mansions that are called cottages because they are only used for a couple of months a year and the owners real mansions are in another location where the winters aren't so brutal.

After the tour we wandered around the town for awhile grabbed some crab and lobster rolls for dinner and headed back to our hotel.

It's now noon in Boston and feels to me like it should be about 5:00 pm. We're not sure if we slept any at all on the flight last night. I guess we both must have slept a bit. We were able to check into our hotel around 9:00 am and after unloading our suitcases went for a walk to Beacon Hill for breakfast. It's a very scenic place with tons of history and fun quaint little shops. The breakfast was delicious - a little hole in the wall restaurant called Paramount Cafe. After eating we walked through Boston Commons which is a huge and very old (about 400 years old) park. While walking I spotted a Starbucks which naturally I couldn't pass up. From there we walked to this old Puritan cemetary. I believe it is the first cemetary in the United States and some of the headstones date back to the 1600's. I had to take a picture to show Steve. There are so many historic places to see. The Massachusetts State House is just one.

We did manage to squeeze in a little nap in the afternoon.

We stayed at the Omni Parker House Hotel which is America's longest continuously operating hotel. It was a very nice very old hotel and is located at the foot of Beacon Hill and adjacent to Boston Commons. A convenient location for seeing Boston. We had dinner in their dining room and ordered Scrod, Parker House Rolls, and Boston Cream Pie, all of which originated at the hotel. Scrod means "Special Catch Reserve of the Day" which in our case was baby cod and yummy. The Parker House Rolls were almost as good as Carm used to make and the Boston Cream Pie was to die for. It is also the place where John F. Kennedy made his first public speech at age seven, and where he proposed to Jackie.

It is 11:00 pm St. George time and here we are sitting at McCarran airport waiting to get on our way. My eyes want to close. This is crazy thinking we can manage a redeye flight. We got here too early but what are you going to do on a Sunday night when the airport is a hundred miles from home. Tomorrow is going to be a bit difficult I'm afraid. There is a slight chance that we may be able to check into our hotel early and my fingers are crossed that we can. I'm sure a little nap will be welcomed.

Hooray, they just announced that we can begin boarding.

More tomorrow.