A Taste of New England

We were supposed to take another motorcycle trip last week.  But our plans changed when D was browsing ebay and came across something we've been looking for the past few months. 

Meet our new toy!  It is a 2007 LTV (Leisure Travel Van).  It's small enough to maneuver around town, up and down hills and back roads, but yet powerful enough with its diesel engine to pull our motorcycle trailer.  We're hoping to take some longer trips where we can park and camp and venture out on the bike to explore the area without all the long hours on the bike to get where we want to be.  One little glitch - it was in MAINE!  What else to do - but fly to NH, rent a car and drive to Booth Bay Harbor to make sure this was as good of a deal as it seemed and drive this little cutie back home.  Of course, neither one of us had been to Maine so we didn't have to think too long about making the trip.

Beautiful Booth Bay Harbor!  It seems as though it must be quite a tourist destination, as this little town was quite busy with families taking the whale watching tours and enjoying the shopping and the sights.  Since we didn't get to Maine until Thursday morning and we had to be home by Sunday evening, our sight-seeing time here was limited.  But now that we have a taste of the area, we'll definitely be back! 

So we did get a taste!  My one goal if I ever got to Maine, was to have fresh lobster at dock side.  We were lucky to find the Lobster Dock (not sure that this link will work though).  And now I can check that one off my list.  It was delicious, as were the crab cakes (a Bobby Flay Throwdown contender) !  Our first night in the RV was spent at Shore Hills Campground near Booth Bay.  If we're going to do much camping, I probably should start a campground review page like so many rv'ers have done.  So I would give this one maybe 8 1/2 stars out of 10. Our campground experiences are slim and from several years ago but this one is pretty good, except for the pay showers.   

Our long drive home began the next morning and  was broken up by a few stops along the way.  The L. L. Bean Flagship store in Freeport took a couple of hours just to see everything and I could have spent more time browsing some of the other stores in the town center.  At least with the RV, we have lots of space to load up on souvenirs - but we didn't! (But what we did for the grandsons are adorable - wish I could show you but then I'd spoil the surprises!)

After dropping off the rental car back at the Manchester, NH airport, we took some back roads for awhile to wind our way back to Indiana.  The towns along the way were just what you would expect in New England. Pretty white churches and houses were nestled in the wooded roadsides.  I was able to catch a photo of this classic New England (United Methodist!) church as we headed across New Hampshire. One regret from this trip is that we didn't have time to stop and soak in the  beauty of the area and take many photos.  Most were caught out the window as we drove home (similar to the motorcycle trips we take, except I was able to use the big camera).  After a quick overnight stop at  Hinsdale Village campground near the NH/VT border we were back on the road.  We weren't at this campground very long so rating is difficult, but they were very accommodating about getting us a site at a late hour and the bath house was nice with separate shower rooms and clean, modern restrooms.  You have to drive quite a ways through a nice "trailer park" to get to the campground and the sites are level but the roads aren't paved.  So I guess I'd give this one an 8 on the OTRWJ rating scale!

 

We crossed the lower part of Vermont across some beautiful hilly, twisty roads.  It's not far across this little state at this point and we were quickly into New York.  But along the way we stopped at a little store to buy some maple syrup and cheese,  then at Hogback Mtn. where we saw dozens of motorcycles (this is a great road to ride, we'll keep that in mind!) then a another stop at the little town of Wilmington where I found this great quilt shop, Norton House, and the wonderful County Store full of everything (including fudge!).  Oh, how I wish we'd had more time here!

The rest of the trip home was pretty un-eventful.  We abandoned the pretty back roads and traveled I-90 across New York (a fortune in tolls for an rv!).  We spent our last night at a KOA south of Buffalo near the shore of Lake Erie (probably only a 6 on the OTRWJ scale) with a friendly office staff and good wifi.  We got up early for the long trip the rest of the way home.   Now that we're home again, we'll start to plan some trips where we can pull the motorcycle and then do some day trips out and about from our campsite.  D is even planning on working from the road a little so good wifi is important to where we plan to camp.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to take my sewing machine along, but maybe the embroidery machine or else just plan on doing some type of handwork to keep me busy.  I'm sure some of you think we're crazy but we're looking forward to this next adventure.  We don't really think of this as a new hobby, but as a better way of doing what we love to do and seeing more of this beautiful country! 

My 100th Post !!!

Here it is..... my 100th post! Many bloggers celebrate this milestone in different ways. Some host nifty give-a-ways and contests, some post a list of facts about themselves, and some have flashy graphics. But I think I'll just give myself a rose! When I started this blog stuff almost a year ago (yes, my bloganniversary is coming soon too!) I didn't have any idea what kind of response there would be or if I would even keep it up. But I have to say that overall it has been a great experience. My cousin over at A Little Something EEEEEkstra (who also celebrates her 100th post this week!) was one of my inspirations. As were many of the folks over at RV Dreams . Once I got hooked and began following several other bloggers with similar interests, the addiction began. I'm sure many of you can relate! Probably the most satisfaction that this has brought me has been the fact that my crafting interests, particularly quilting, have been stimulated! Plus, the connection with friends (old and new) and family has been wonderful . Though occasionally we may be a little boring, I hope you all get some enjoyment from reading about our adventures and if nothing else, a little amusement!

E, our first born, visited this weekend. It's hard to believe, but she hasn't been here since Christmas so it was about time she came to see Mom and Dad! We did nothing special, just hung out, shopped and ate! She had a little re-finishing project for Dad to help her with, though she is quite capable on her own, they made a good start on it. While I sat in on the B.O.M. meeting over at Among Friends Quilt Shop she browsed and found some pretty batiks to try a sewing project for herself. Just another one of my talented children!

Dad was thrilled that she agreed to a short ride on the Harley with him. He really enjoys showing off his toy! The company she works for has gone to a four day work week so the drive to our house is a little easier now. It was great to have her home!
Saturday evening, we enjoyed a family dinner out with E, B and N. I've not quite acquired the taste for sushi as the rest of them have, but some of these were cooked and really pretty good. For you foodie photo fans - here you go! I forgot my camera, but the iphone met the challenge!
This was a new restaurant, Beijing Grill and Sushi Bar (no website yet). I even tried a Vietnamese noodle bowl, Bun Xa Ot. Interesting and worth trying again sometime.
Cupcake swap time! Hey Sharon, I've got my swap gift just about ready to mail! Hope I'm not giving too much away here, but Susan at Blackberry Creek will soon be getting this package filled with ?????. I know I have to get this done before I take off to welcome grandbaby #1. This is all for tonight. I'm ready to aim for the next 100 posts! Thank you all so much for stopping by and reading. Thanks also to those of you who take the time to post a comment. Maybe some day I'll surprise you all with a give-a-way for commenters! Stay tuned and have a great week!

Shopping and the City Life

As promised, I'll share a little more of my road trip last weekend to Wisconsin and Chicago. Even though the trip was inspired by my desire to honor the memory of a relative, there were some pleasant moments along the way.

On the way back to daughter E's home on Saturday evening, K and I stopped in Delafield, Wisconsin for a little retail therapy. This quaint little town is home to the Lang Companies. Several years ago we lived just a few miles from here. There were several nice stores and restaurants then, but there's been a lot of renovations and new construction and it looked like there are a lot more now. We found a few after Christmas bargains at The Lang Store but since it was getting late we didn't stop at any of the other cute shops. One more stop at a local grocery store for cheese curds and beef sticks and we were back on the road.

Sunday was a fun day. E, K and I started the day with breakfast at Wildberry. Then E drove as we headed toward downtown Chicago. After three straight days of driving, I was glad to let her especially since she's much more familiar with "big city" driving! Our first stop was a certain Home Depot - E was in search of a new paint from USG called Michelangelo and very few of the stores carry it. It is a new single coat faux finish and the plan is to try it in her half bath. I'm anxious to see how it turns out. (Have you started yet?) I might try it in our dining room if it works out for her. Trouble is, we'd have to go to Chicago to pick it up! Another stop in the same area was The Land of Nod. (If you like Pottery Barn for Kids, you might check this store out) As a future grandma (nana?, mimi?, mamaa? need some other suggestions here!) I'm finding new places to shop !

Next stop was Michigan Ave. We had tickets for a musical at 2:00 so didn't have time for a lot of exploring. So we just stuck with a few places near the theater. Lush, H & M, and Lucy . E was able to find half price tickets for Altar Boyz at the Drury Lane Theatre in the Water Tower Place. Very fun show! It is a story of a fictional boys band of the praise team variety and their quest to save the souls of everyone in the audience. For a solid hour and a half, five very energetic and talented actors danced and sang (and perspired!) their way through this funny, entertaining show. It was sad that the theater was only about half full, but maybe that is typical for a Sunday matinee in January. Anyway, we enjoyed it.

It had been a long time since our big breakfast so we were ready for dinner at The Grand Lux Cafe. As with most restaurants anymore, our dinner portions were way bigger than we could eat. E has plenty of leftovers in her fridge for the rest of this week! I had the barbeque salmon with mashed potatoes and succotash. (Pretty potatoes !)

Then we shared this hot apple pie. Yum.....
And a glass of wine! Thanks E for a nice weekend!

After dropping K off at the airport on Monday morning, I was ready to head back to Southern Indiana. No problems with traffic, or bad roads on the way home. In fact, probably one of the fastest trips back from Chicago I've had. I really didn't mind the drive and I love my BMW. I listened to some of my playlists on the ipod/iphone and didn't even make it all the way through them. If it hadn't been that we wanted to attend Bill's memorial service, my sister and I probably wouldn't have made the effort to get to Chicago and spend some time with E, even though we've been talking about that for awhile. A little over a year ago, we spent some time in NYC with one of her girls. Now I guess we'll have to plan a trip to Dallas to see S!!

On the Road - to the Mall !!

Many of you know I love to shop. I'm not a power shopper but I do enjoy a good day at the mall. The best malls near here are about 30 minutes away over in Louisville so I don't go over there just on a whim. I don't go near as often as I used to. Moving to our new home a couple of years ago made me realize that we have too much stuff anyway. But I do enjoy having a shopping partner and usually my friend C or daughter B can be easily convinced to ride along and don't get me wrong, having a shopping companion is truly one of my favorite things. However, sometimes it is just as enjoyable to venture out on y0ur own, when you can set your own timetable, skip lunch or graze in the food court, spend as little or as much time making a decision as you wish, and just browse an interesting display. Plus, Dennis was out of town today, so I really had no itinerary or time frame !

So here are my purchases for today. A new pair of jeans (Nine West, on sale and best of all, one size down - I think they run big), a top to wear with the new jeans (on sale also), SHOES (yes honey, I need another pair), exercise pants, and Yankee Candles ( I had a coupon !)

After the mall, I stopped at Whole Foods . I wish we had one of these great grocery stores on the Indiana side of the river. I probably would buy more there if it were closer. Today, I made the mistake of not eating lunch, so I wanted to stuff my cart ( and my mouth at the sample tables !) They have great bulk foods there so I picked up some roasted mixed nuts for my absent husband. I also bought low fat Bear Naked granola, a Spinach-Tomato Amy's pizza for my supper (yummy - I almost ate it all !), other miscellaneous but boring stuff, and this beautiful mini fruit tart for my dessert. Their bakery is awesome, as is the deli, the meat department, the fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers and the selection of cheeses.

Tomorrow night is dinner with my book club. When we first began a few years ago, we read a book almost every month, but lately, everyone's schedules are so full that we decided to just meet and enjoy the companionship and conversation and maybe we'll read a book every season or so. Our current selection is Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I hope we aren't planning on discussing it until next month because I haven't started it yet. I'm still trying to finish The House of Spirits Isabel Allende. I might be able to do that tonight when I get done here. Has anyone else read either of these? You might have noticed the I-35 Book Club blog on my sidebar. This was just started by my neice and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you check it out. So far, all I've done is purchase the book but haven't started that one either. I guess my blogging hobby is beginning to take away from my reading time.

Thanks for stopping by. Come shopping with me sometime!