Southern Maine with Mom

The day after Father's Day my mom and I took a journey southward leading us to Old Orchard Beach.  The forecast said it was going to be a scorcher of a day, and although it was hot out I don't think it was as bad as they thunk it was going to be.

I hadn't been to Old Orchard Beach in over 20 years and really just wanted to check it out and figure out why all those Quebecers travel there. On the drive down Mom told me the time about when Gram rented a house on the beach for the week one summer and how she'd like to do that sometime. 

We got parked just before ten with some sweet street side meter parking.  It was $4 for two hours, quarters only, and the cheapest way to park.

Between Mom and I we had about a dozen quarters so I asked the guy at the store right there if there was a change machine and he pointed me to it.  I slid my dollar in and three quarters popped out initially I was confused and then I read the sign on the machine to discover the most tourist trap  / carny thing I've ever seen.

We walked downtown and only a few place were open, but the arcade was so we headed in for a few rounds of skeeball and other ticket games.  We would play some games, leave and walk around, the comeback and play some more games.  We got a good ticket haul and cashed them in for some grade A junk!  Mom also played many of claw games and I got some pinball time in which is always fantastic!

I got a foot long hot dog at Ramunno's Pizza & Grill.  It was a damn good hot dog, the bun was golden toasted and the dog as skinless all beef frank.  A couple years back while working on my Hot Dogs of Maine blog I was image searching Maine Hot Dogs and the image from the mile long dog on Ramunno's sign came up.  I'd been wanting to go down to see it for myself since then.  Glad to finally do it.

We checked out the pier, it's run down, and did some beach viewing.  There are some neat museum in the streets signs that tell you some history of the Pier.  Mom remembers how much nicer it used to be.  

We stopped at Dickinson's Candy Factory where I found some frooties and whistle pops for the kids.

I had to try the famous Original Pier French Fries and they did not disappoint, not by a long shot!  Hand cut and twice cooked for a very crispy outer layer and soft potato center.  I would come back just to have Kate jump out to buy fries while I circled the block.

We finished up with our quarters and cashed in our tickets.  Before we left mom wanted to grab a slice of Bill's Pizza.  Apparently back in the day after Grandpa Hobart left and before Gram married Bump she dated a fella that was a school teacher and in the summers he worked at Bill's Pizza.  Mom recalls the pizza being delicious, and it was.

After leaving OOB we stopped at the Southern Maine Indoor Flea Market on Route 1 in Scarborough.  I was hoping to find some old issues of Tales From the Crypt or other EC comics.  I had no luck, but did buy a couple comics for 50 cents each.

We had grazed during the morning but now we were both a bit hungry for lunch.  With no destination in mind I pointed Vanna to Falmouth to finally try Harmons Hamburgers.  Kate and I had tried once before but a near 1 hour wait deterred us.

We both got cheeseburgers and although our topping differed we both got the red relish which I thought was quite tasty.  We also got a small hand battered onion ring and hand cut fries, they were both great!  Finally we washed out lunches down with and ice cold diet Moxie.

The finally stop was in Freeport, after getting rock star parking on a side street mom bought herself a purse at the coach store.  We got a couple things at the corelle store, Wesley some swim trunks and PJ's OshKosh, and I got a pair of dress shoes at Famous Footwear.  

It was a grand day full of fun, excitement, and food.  

Later Readers!

Father's Day 2018

This year Father's Day was split in two for me.  On Saturday I had a great morning with Canaan and Addison and Kate made Bacon Cheeseburgers for lunch for us all, a tradition she started back in 2013.  Cheeseburgers are amazing, but when you pile bacon on top, man-o-man it's just splendid!

Sunday after I got out of work we headed north to check out some wind mills up close.  A few weeks back Cousin William had posted some pictures on Facebook of them and he told me you could drive right up to them in Mayfield, so we did just that.

Wesley ready to get this adventure underway

The drive was decent and didn't take very long taking the interstate to exit 133, then 201 cutting over to 151 right to route 16, twelve miles east of Bingham, to the logging road that leads up the hill.  The road is nice and wide and on this day in great condition.

When you drive up you have to keep going past the first turbine to the right and up another hill where you will be be greeted with an amazing view!  It's hard to describe.  This wind farm is part of the largest in Maine with either 58 or 62 turbines depending on the information I found on the internet.

Next we headed towards Bingham on route 16 and they have a lot of signs along the way talking about the steep downhill grade warning trucks to go around and they are not kidding.  For at least 3 miles you are just continuously going downhill, it's really weird.

We found the trail head for Houston Brook Falls right next to the Point Pleasant Transfer station.  It wasn't a difficult hike in about 1/4 mile.  It was downhill the whole way and there was a marked path it was just full of tree roots.

When you get to the falls it is very scenic but not very three year old friendly.  So we just admired the falls for a bit and head back for the uphill walk.  A little more than halfway Wesley was tired of the walking and asked me to carry him, I'm a sucker so I did.

We started towards Phillips to go on a train ride and decided to stop at Pinkham's Elm St Market for lunch.  Back when Kate went camping with her family at Flagstaff Lake they would always stop here for supplies as they pack their own meat here.

Kate had the chicken salad, I had a turkey sandwich, and Wesley was ordered nuggets and fries but basically didn't eat them.  Kate really like her sandwich and mine was very good.  I would order it again, my only complaint is they toasted the bread even though I said I didn't want it toasted.

It was a busy day at the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad, father's road for half price after all.  Wesley loved the train ride, but he didn't care about the time spent at the train station in the woods along the river, he just wanted to ride the train back out.

We were going to check out Dagget rock today as well, but after the train ride I was simply too tired to do so.  Wesley boy was pretty tired as well, Kate drove us home and we both fell asleep on the way.

Later that evening after I took a nap Paul came over and we watched WWE Money In The Bank Event.

It was a great Father's day adventure.

Later Readers!

Mother's Day & Addison's Birthday 2018

This year Mother's Day and Addison's Birthday fell on the same day Sunday May 13th.  We had, had Addison's birthday party on Saturday and it was a nice gathering of family with an amazing rainbow cake made by Kate's Mom.

On Mother's Day we hit the road before 8 am west bound for New Hampshire and the edge of the White Mountain National Forest.  We headed to North Conway via Fryeburg on a route that we'd taken many times before.

Our first stop of the day was at Diana's Bath a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall.  It's part of the White Mountain National Forest so you do have to pay fee for a day pass but it's only $5 for the vehicle.  There is a large parking area with bathrooms near the head of the trail.

The trail is a well maintained trail that is 6/10 of a mile to the base of the waterfall.  It is stroller friendly if you need one.  We didn't bring ours and Wesley had no problems imitating his brother as they climbed over and jumped off rocks all along the trail.

Once you get to the bottom of the waterfall the trail continues onto another trail system, however to get to the top of the waterfall you will need to leave the stroller behind.  We found a little shore like area for Wesley to throw rocks in while the bigs explored up to the top.  It was quite beautiful.

Next we headed to Cathedral Ledge just a short drive down the road.  The auto road to the top is about a mile and is free to the public.  The road is paved, but closed in the winter time as it is not maintained.

The ledge is fenced off for safety and does provide some spectacular views.  We even saw someone rock climbing up the rock face.  Canaan, who is afraid of heights was hesitant to go to the edge.  Eventually he did and he did not regret it.

After leaving the ledge we were driving on the West Side Road heading back to Route 302 to head south.  Along the way I saw a sign that said Schartner Farms Jam Year Round Drive Up.

Exploring we found two small drive up barns that housed fresh made Jam, the first all the Strawberry and the second had a five flavors.  The jam is for sale based on the honor system so of course we had to buy some.  We love the roadside stands like this, you can really find some great tasting treats at them.  I have had the chance to taste it since Sunday and it is damn good.

We settled in for the ninety minute drive south to La Festa Pizza in Dover, New Hampshire.  This is our third consecutive year going to La Festa for Mother's Day.  In the past we took route 16 all the way, this year I wanted to explore a different road just in case we found or saw something neat along the way. 

We took Route 153 from Conway to Wakefield and I can say for certain I have never seen so many sharp turn signs on one road ever.  It seem like before and after every bend in the road was a sign telling you, you were approaching a bend in the road.  There was nothing of note to see on Route 153 except on kind of neat thing.

The road it cuts back into Maine before returning into New Hampshire and for a short stretch of it it actually rides directly down the State Line.  I mentioned this and both Kate and Canaan thought it was interesting, in fact I looked to me left at a home and pointed out the Maine registrations plates on the vehicles in the driveway.  Then at the very next house which was on the right you could see those vehicles had New Hampshire registration plates.  It was pretty funny.

We got to La Festa after the lunch rush, they still had plenty of slices to choose from, but they did not have the sausage and pepperoni one I was hoping for.  This was the bigs first time going and they both thought it was fantastic.

Addison stuck with pepperoni, Wesley cheese, Canaan got a slice that had bacon, pepperoni, sausage, ricotta cheese and BBQ sauce, I also got one and it was fantastic.  Kate had her usual buffalo chicken and of course we got some garlic knots.

Before returning to Maine we stopped at Duston's Deli & Bakery for a desert treat.  Wesley got a cookie, Addison picked out a giant brownie, and the rest of us got min-eclairs.  I thought the cream was tremendous but my pastry was a little on the firm side.

On the way to the interstate we stopped at a greenhouse and I got my mom a dahlia pot, there are four greenhouses from Berwick to the interstate.  When we got to my mom's she had just gotten home from work so it was great timing.  She love her flower.  The kids played outside for a spell and when Canaan came out with a squirt gun Wesley took it from him and let him have it.

It was another great adventure with all the kids, the first of many of the season for us.  I look forward to our next.   

Later Readers!