Hubby and I decided to head up to Boothbay Harbor for a little mini-vaca with our good friends, the Coopers.
Our first stop was for lunch in Portland. We went to our current favorite place, The Old Port Restaurant. Then Hubby talked us into walking to the crazy record store he found the last time we were in Portland! What a surprise...he found some records to buy!
Good thing Kate could direct us with the GPS on her phone...we would have never found our way back to the car!
Naturally, the guys also found a guitar store to visit.
And aren't they cute in their matching hats?
Then we continued on to our B and B right in downtown Boothbay Harbor.
It was right on the waterfront and had some nice chairs on the lawn and on the dock.
We all got to spend some quite time on the dock.
And the view was terrific! (as long as it was high tide....at low tide the dock sat in the mud!)
Kate's cousin has a summer place in Boothbay Harbor, and had graciously invited us all over for dinner. We were able to walk to her place from the B and B. When we got there, Lois had wine and
hors d'oeuvres on the back lawn. Then her son David offered to take us for a boat ride! Well, that was a very nice and pleasant surprise!
Rick and Kate on Lois' back lawn.
After Lois and her family fed us, ( and including a very delightful short concert on ukulele by Lois' two granddaughters) we headed back to the B and B for a nice, long game of Dominoes. Next thing we knew, it was 1 am! (Who stays up and parties until 1 am? We do!)
After a nice breakfast in the morning out on the deck of our B and B, we took the short drive over to the Maine Botanical Garden. A few photos:
The Labyrinth is one of our favorite features at the gardens.
The pot of succulents in the middle gives me an idea for my backyard garden!
Tag working hard to make a Fairy House in the Fairy Village
A very comfortable snoozing bench. Seems like both guys enjoyed it!
Fields and fields of my Mom's favorite flower
My Hydrangea never got this many blossoms!
Cardinal flower
Tag having a short rest
Rick and Kate enjoy the Meditation Garden
Their view
Hubby posing for his statue called "The Stinker"
The only place I've ever actually seen a frog on a lily pad. And there were dozens of frogs!
Hubby providing us with a puppet show in the Children's Garden
Dahlia - another flower I intend to plant in my garden next year
A very pretty waterfall in the Rhododendron Garden
After walking all the way down to the bottom of the Gardens, we didn't mind taking the little golf cart back to the top!
After the Gardens, Hubby and I did some window and art gallery shopping in the downtown area......while I'm pretty sure the Coopers grabbed a nap! Hubby managed a short nap too, when we got back. Because then we got together and found some dinner - we wanted to go to this iconic place but for no good reason, they were closed! (the sign says, "Sorry where (sic) closed today - see you tomorrow") Luckily, we went back the next day right before we left and were able to get the foot-long hot dogs with chili and/or sauerkraut.
After that we did some window-shopping, got some ice cream, and came back for a much shorter game of Dominoes before an early bed!
After breakfast on our last day, we took a great boat ride out of Boothbay into the harbor. It was a Lighthouse and Seal watch.....but we only saw the heads of a couple of seals and we saw two lighthouses. The weather was perfect and the views were stunning!
One last visit to the stores. because Rick told Tag he'd found a "60's store"! All "New Age" stuff with an overwhelming incense smell!
And naturally, our trip wouldn't be complete without finding a store with used records
(yes, we do realize it says "antiques" right above their heads.....how appropriate!)
The two of them reminded me of Howard and Leonard on Big Bang Theory as they look at comic books: "Got it, got it, got it.....need it!"
For a last hurrah, we stopped at Brown's on the way home so I could finally get some fried clams!
What a wonderful adventure and so much fun to share it with two amazing friends!
PS...some of these photos were taken by Rick....I stole them!
