seriously down east
 

This is a trip report in progress. We four, two parents and two kids, on a college tour/vacation, just arrived at the most beautiful rental house in the world. It's on cape split, near where john marin painted. It looks out over the ocean and some islands. Here's a link so you won't think I'm making it up.

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p117475

Day before yesterday we stayed in Boston at a rooming house/B&B called the Beacon Inn near Fenway and saw the sox beat the indians. Then we visited the JFK birthplace in Brookline, the apartment I lived in when I worked as a messenge in Boston, and toured Boston College. BC has nice builldings and small classes.

We saw Colby College in Waterville Maine today which has a great art museum and small classes. I would rather have cheap tuition and classes in the stadium. Too cold in January I guess.

Anyway, we're having fun but don't know what we'll do tomorrow. Maybe drive to Acadia. Maybe eat lobster. Or sip chowder. Or just practice saying "chowdah" properly. Let me know if there's something you feel we must do. Besides eat blueberries.

wow, I have rental house envy!!!

What an amazing house/location!

Even though there was a certain amount of stress attached to it, I loved the college tour trips! Are there any other schools that are you visiting?

DS was accepted to Bates but ended up choosing Tufts b/c Bates felt a little too small to him. However, the Maine schools-- Colby, Bates and Bowdoin--are all wonderful schools. DH has had a couple of Colby grads work for him in the lab and they have been very good.

I have my SW degree from BC and I always noticed how happy the kids there generally looked as they went about their day. (Mid 1990s) Picking a school is such a personal thing! A matter of the right match, and--if at all possible--letting a kid go with their feelings.

Santa

Do you remember the Sopranos episode, when Tony takes his daughter to see colleges in Maine and winds up killing a guy in the witness protection program?

What a house! I will bookmark this!

Definitely eat tons of lobster and blueberry pie! Beautiful house

Adu, I do remember that episode. Unpleasant business. I'm glad not to take my work with me, although I do check email from time to time. We haven't done much down east stuff to report yet. We saw a couple bald eagles fly by this morning, we took kayaks out, collected mussels for dinner, and went swimming at a local cove. Very cold water, you gotta be kidding cold. Tomorrow we may go on a lobster boat tour or look for blueberry pie or something really worthy of a trip report. Lobster delivered to the house $4.25/lb.

Social, we liked BC too. Beautiful campus. I think he liked Tufts too. I trust DS#2 will pick a school that fits. Price competition would be nice. "What tuition would you need to pick Tufts today?" "This semester only, two credits for the price of one!" Oh well. Blueberries, lobster.

The financial thing is out of sight! DS graduated from Tufts in 2000 and I think tuition at most private schools is dangerously close to *double* what we paid for his freshman year, (altho that was almost 15 yrs ago!) Time flies!!

Today we drove to Jonesport to have lunch at Tall Barney's and hike at the Great Wass Island Preserve on Beals Island. Tall Barney is closed on Monday so we went to a model railroad museum (attracted by the "open" sign) while we looked for the Nelson Decoy Store where the family shopped for my birthday, bless their hearts.

Then we headed to Beals Island where we had very good lobster roll at a takeout near some lobster docks. Then off to hike. The teenagers have the strength of elephants but short attention spans, so we turned around without making it all the way to the coastal views. It was foggy anyway.

Stopped at grocery for butter and lemon for our lobster toight. Bought both boys yellow jack daniel sweatshirts on sale for $14.95. Will this be what starts them on the road to alcoholism? Or was it the model railroad?

Then back to cape split where we will kill four innocent lobsters this evening. Then eat them with butter and lemon.

Here's a newspaper article about the railroad:

http://www.boston.com/travel/explore...labor_of_love/

Today we drove with the boys to Acadia National Park, two hours from where we are renting. Acadia is beautiful, sandy beach, rock cliffs, tall pines. Many visitors, many lines. Somewhat impatient DW. So no popovers at the Pond House. No bike rides on the carriage roads. But the beach was nice. Then home for dinner and the Perfect Storm. The Andrea Gail sank again, just like the last time we saw the movie. We can hear the waves at night here. Ominous.

Sounds like you are all having a wonderful time! However, I am so sorry that you missed the popovers!! I still remember the amazing lobster dinner (my first ever after moving to New England) back in '76 at the original Jordan Pond House, sadly long since burnt down. In thinking back, it may have also been the first time I ever ate popovers! They were heavenly. as was the Maine lobster!

You sure picked a gorgeous rental home! Enjoy the rest of your trip.

lobster delivered! oh do order some more and make lobster rolls!
lobster meat
a hint of Hellmans mayo
on a top split hot dog roll that has been buttered and lightly griddled

We had lobster rolls on Beals Island off of Jonesport yesterday. Very tasty. Today we kayaked, saw the Sardine Museum in Jonesport, went to Sandy River Beach just outside of town, and then had dinner at Tall Barney's. Sandy River beach is a nice long stretch of sand and pebbles, with a beautiful green grass marsh nearby, and Tall Barney's had great baked haddock followed by bluberry pie w/ice cream.

I got Maine figured out. It's all about change. Summer, winter. Clear days with intense colors, foggy days with colors muted almost to black and white. And the tides, they're changing like crazy.

Fun place.

I'm enjoying your trip report. You are doing a great job enjoying a little known area of Maine. Makes me want to visit. We haven't been up that far is quite a few years. Last visit to MDI was in 1997.

Yesterday, our penultimate day, we drove about an hour to Roque Bluff, near Machias. Roque Bluff has a long sandy beach, a fresh water pond, a volleyball court, and a friend from our neighborhood in Maryland with a house on the water here. Machias has Helen's, a restaurant with prize winning blueberry pie and a cold meatloaf sandwich, with mayo, and fish chowder, among other things.

Our friend, who is of indeterminant age and is going to go treking in Patagonia but has never been kayaking took son #1 kayaking around some islands and both survived. Then we cooked lobster at her house, listened to loons, watched the sun go down, and ate blueberry pie.

When we got home to Cape Split the kids and I lay on our deck and watched shooting stars. Today, our last day, a two hour lobster boat tour. Details to follow. Unless there's a storm and we get swept away to a tropical island which is what happened to Gilligan.

Sounds like a wonderful vacation...Thi is our first summer in quite a few years where we're not going to mMaine. So I'm envious having to sweat it out here in DC and dealing with the horrendous storms and power outages.

I am loving reading the details of your trip!

One surprise for me is that from your screen name, I thought you were a west coaster discovering the east for *maybe* the first time! Amazing how far afield our assumptions can carry us!

Tomorrow we go home to dc where there have been storms and power outages. Our boat trip was fun. We saw puffins, lighthouses, lobster boats, and nice beaches. Then we went swimming. Unfortuately the water was still cold. Then, tonight, we went to a reading by Betsy Scholl, the poet laureate of Maine, at the Cape Split chapel. Cool, huh? Then home to the end of the sunset. Then, home to our real home and the end of our vacation. Phooey. But it was fun sharing it with all you foderites.