Sunday, October 23, 2011

Old Friends On A Quick Trip To Maine

A Lobsterman in Southport Maine
This weekend was a real winner.  It has been years since we have gone away with our good friends Billy and Lisa, and to celebrate their 15th anniversary, we took a quick trip up to Boothbay Harbor Maine.  I have never been to Boothbay, and have spent very little time in Maine that is only about 2 hours away.  When Billy asked me if I would like to make the trip with them I was psyched to spend the weekend together with them and my wife, and also check out Maine.  When we arrived, I was really taken in by the natural beauty of Maine's incredible coastline.  As a Rhode Islander, it is easy to take the ocean and the seaside for granted, but Maine really makes your jaw drop.  What a pastoral place to visit.
An old schooner in Boothbay Harbor
We didn't really have an agenda for this trip, but we were 2 couples out on a little weekend adventure, and on a mission to just have some good old fun and take a couple of days off from everything, including the kids.  One thing that we made certain of is that we had packed a few bottles of wine to relax and sit on the front porch of our bed and breakfast with.  The weather was unbelievably warm for this late in October.  We did some shopping in town when we got there yesterday.  I think Billy and I sucked it up pretty well considering that we really hate the whole shopping thing.  We had an awesome lunch at a place called Mceagulls.  Lets just say that the "Lobster Stew" was to die for.  The 22 oz. beers were pretty damned good too.  After lunch, we checked into our Bed and Breakfast, The Greenleaf Inn, which was right across the road from the water.  What a beautiful place to stay; comfortable mattresses, good shower heads, and awesome breakfast, so no complaints!  We let lunch digest for a while, hunted some sea glass on a local beach, and took the opportunity to take in a few glasses of wine on the front porch of our bed and breakfast.  While we were sitting out there, we had a passing rain shower that created this stunning double rainbow. 
I even risked my beloved Sony camera to grab this shot in the rain.  It has never seen the rain before this, but it isn't every day you catch a rainbow as bright and as vivid as this on film.  When it got dark, we headed on down to this cool restaurant right across the street from us, that is actually an old tugboat.  We didn't really know what the food was going to be like, but it ain't every day that you get to eat in an old tugboat, so we gave it a shot.    They ended up putting us in the basement dining room and it turns out it wasn't underwater.  We ended up eating in a room that was somehow filled with a group of local seniors who were really whooping it up with a local singer.  I think we were the only ones under the age of 75 in the place, but let me tell you we had one hell of a good time, and the food was excellent.  My wife and I danced several dances (the wine didn't hurt in this department).  We witnessed a 90 year old lady playing-the-hell out of a kazoo with other accompanying instruments.  I seriously woke up hoarse this morning because I was laughing so hard.
The Tugboat Inn
All in all, it was a great time with old friends and my bride!  Today, after breakfast and checkout, we took a leisurely drive home along the coast, stopping anywhere we thought looked cool.  We stopped at Hendrick's beach in Southport and hunted some more sea glass, a favorite of Lisa's.  I love to hunt for anything, whether it is a pheasant, or glass so I was totally in.  W also stopped in Freeport and Ogunquan.  It took us about 8 hours or so of stopping and going before we actually made it home.  Virtually every stop included food of course!  I am desperately afraid to get back on the scale!  It really was awesome to get away with Billy and Lisa for this special weekend that commemorated their 15th anniversary.  I have known Billy since I was in diapers, and he remains my closest friend today, and he is really like a brother to me, especially since I don't have any siblings.  Billy dated Lisa all the way back in high school, so I have known her for an awful long time as well, and we have always loved each other.  Add my own bride of 16 years into the mix, and I can't think of anyone else I would rather have been with this weekend.  There aren't many people I could spend 8 hours in the car with and be pleasant with for the whole time, but we just joked around and had an awesome time.  To my old buddies Billy and Lisa, I wish you both a Happy Anniversary!  I love you both, and Cathy and I had one hell of a good time with you on our little 2 day adventure to Maine!  Lets do it again in another 15 years!  We'll fit in with the snow birds even better when we look the part!


Good Times!


Wacky Dad