Once in a while you’ve got to look back.

Once in a while you’ve got to look back.

This is the time where we want to look back and review the year because tomorrow starts the New Year even though millions of us will continue to write 2010 on our checks well into March. This has been a dynamic year for me and Lauren mostly because I like saying the word, Dynamic. It was just over a year ago we had bought this house (12/11/2009) and it was just 11 months ago when Dusty the Cat and I hit the road to drive across country with our worldly possessions and then rolled into Bethel on January 17, 2010. We had to wait until our new heating system was installed on February 19th to actually move in. From that point on it has been weekends full of house projects and/or company. We’ve actually had more visits than I expected this year which has been really nice. I’ve actually completed less house projects than I had hoped to this year which is life but I can point to three big items accomplished; a new heating system, a new 200 amp electrical service, and a new washer and dryer. Then I can point to a bunch of smaller items accomplished; painting, plaster repair, weather stripping, insulation here and there, tree cutting and fighting bamboo, cutting the lawn, raking leaves etc.

In no particular order here are some things we’ve have done:
We joined the Bethel Historical Society. http://www.bethelhistorical.org/
We joined the Bethel Inn Country Club. http://www.bethelinn.com/
I’m a member of the Suds’ Pub Mug Club and Dart Team. http://www.sudburyinn.com/
We’re members of Western Maine Senior College. http://sad44.maineadulted.org/western_mountains_senior_college
We’re members of the Mahoosuc Land Trust. http://www.mahoosuc.org/
We’re member of the Bethel Outing Club. http://www.wix.com/kirksmegalinknet/boc
I’m a member of the Old Speckled Hen Appreciation Society at the Jolly Drayman English Pub. http://www.briarleainn.com/

We’ve discovered a number of swimming holes and lakes we like. We had a bunch of campfires in the yard this summer. We went hiking and kayaking. We’ve discovered that woodchucks, porcupines, raccoons, mice, deer, and black bears like our home also. We’ve attended the various festivals/fairs, wine tastings, free music events and free talks they have had around here. These are the things we enjoy when we aren’t looking backard or looking forward. We continue to make new friends and acquaintances which is so much of what being part of a community is about. Happy New Year!

Holiday Greetings

I made a very limited number of these handmade Christmas cards which I sent out this year, six to be exact. For the rest of my family, friends, and to those I have not met yet, this is my virtual handmade card to you. Happy Holidays! Peter and Lauren.

Catch of the Day

Does anyone feel like having some Pork-of-Pine Soup? Well this not so little bugger was one of the rodents that have been noisily gnawing away at the floor joists below my kitchen recently and probably the same one I can thank for giving the floor in my pantry the support and feel of a trampoline.
Seeing and hearing the damage that these critters can do to a 2"x 8” was enough to make me go out and buy a Hav-a-Hart trap about a month ago. Last spring I spoke to one of the local Game Wardens about the porcupines and he told me what to use for bait: an apple cut in half, smeared with peanut butter, and covered in salt. It’s the salt that porcupines apparently love the most. So I had that apple with peanut butter and salt in the trap for almost 3 weeks before Porky decided to have a bite. Today was my lucky day and with the help of a neighbor we “relocated” it to a better place.
Now I just have to see if he has any brothers and sisters living under my crawlspace.

Lots to be Thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. It’s a beautiful and sunny 28 degree day here in Bethel this morning. In just a few hours Lauren, me, and her parents Frank and Joan will be heading over to Rooster's Roadhouse to eat our Thanksgiving Day dinner. Lauren’s parents ate at Rooster’s Roadhouse last year on Thanksgiving Day when we were still out in California but after they knew we were going to buy this house we live in now. (They have a habit of scoping out the situation as soon as they know something is happening.) So last year they came across Rooster’s Roadhouse by chance and LOVED the meal they had. We heard about how good the meal was so many times from them that it has now become a joke….”You had a good Thanksgiving at Roosters? Really, tell us again, we’ve never heard that story before.”

It has been a busy November, TBTB…Too Busy to Blog. Just over a week ago we got our new washer and dryer installed and Lauren did the first load at the house. That was on Tuesday November 16th where I had Mike Field of Field Plumbing and Heating install the washer hookup and new drain. Then later that same afternoon Brian Strickland of Autumn Electric came over to install a new 220 volt line for the dryer and a 110 volt line for the washer. I had already installed the vent cowl for the dryer exhaust the previous weekend so by the time Lauren came home from working at her new job it was all systems go and ahead of schedule. So we are thankful for our new washer and dryer.

I’m also thankful for my new $5.00 thermometer I hung outside the kitchen window. I get to see just how cold it is every morning and I write the temperature down on the calendar. It has been a mild November so far with many mornings in the mid 40’s.

Now we’re going to go workout and swim at the Bethel Inn before we chow down our Turkey dinner. I hope everyone who reads this has something to be thankful for.

The First Time I Laid Eyes on Her

It was just a year ago. The first time I drove up and saw her standing there. Quiet and solemn, I also noticed that she looked a little “rough around the edges” and yet at the same time proud about her experience. Even though she was older she appeared to have good bones, her shape was classic and it was all enough to call out to me, to catch my interest and draw me in. She stood front and center on the street and seemed to say….what you see is what you get. I got out of the car and walk around her. I looked her up and down. It wasn’t long before I knew I liked what I saw so I made an offer….and it was accepted.


Yes, it was one year ago today when our offer on this house we now live in was accepted. I still think my girl stands proud and is rough around the edges. Day by day, project by project, this house is sharing her love with us. She’s not perfect but that’s okay because neither am I.

Desire moved us to this home and I feel the love.

Past Peak but...

Due to strong winds and heavy rain a few days ago many of the leaves were blown off the trees around here. There are however pockets of protection where Mother Nature has saved some of the leaves and color such as this shot above which is located right behind by back yard. That's my stone wall at the bottom of the lower picture. I love my stone wall. I took these photos yesterday, October 18th.

Today I awoke to the first frost covering the lawn, the car, the pumpkin, and the roof shingles. Across the street I saw a lone cross country skier on his training run, poles in hand, striding up the dirt trail at the Bethel Inn & Country Club Golf Course. With the frost covering the greens at this time it was easy to imagine a few inches of snow on the ground and it will be here soon enough.

How to Remove a 248 Pound Cast Iron Tub - from the Second Floor - with Ease

Yesterday I decided it was the day to act. The goal was to get rid of the 248 pound cast iron tub located on the second floor. The other goal was not to pull a back muscle, give myself a hernia, or damage the stairs in the process. Like all big jobs sometimes the best thing to do is break the task down into smaller pieces, like 10 pound pieces. To do this the tools required were:
-Sledgehammer or Splitting Maul in my case
-Safety Goggles
-Ear plugs
-Three or four 5 gallon plastic buckets
Thankfully cast iron is a relatively soft metal and is easy to break apart. This task only took a little more than one hour including the clean up time. The five gallon plastic buckets made it easy to haul it down the stairs. We then drove it over to West Paris Metal Recycling where they unloaded, weighed it and then gave me a check for $21.08. It was a good day.

More Foliage

Bethel, Maine

Lauren and I took a trip over to Marden’s yesterday in Rumford to pick up some stuff and took these photos along the way.  I bought another leaf rake, some copper piping insulation, a couple of wood chisels, some sheet rock nails and a few plastic buckets. We also conveniently found ourselves next to the Route 2 Diner in Rumford Center at lunch time so we pulled in and both had Hash Benedict where they make their hash fresh each day. The weather has been too nice lately which leads me to believe that there must be a big storm brewing for us in the future.  Enjoy the day!

Rumford Center

Androscoggin River at Rumford Center

Living in Number 2

The Homestead at 8:30 this morning

Living in number 2 is spectacular. In the current issue of Yankee Magazine they rank the Top 25 Foliage Towns in New England and Bethel, Maine comes in at number 2.   

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/ffeatures/top-foliage-towns-ne#/cms/images/image_8570.jpg

For the past three weeks I’ve been relishing the onslaught of colors presented here each day. Mother Nature seems pretty diplomatic on how she goes about this as well. Maybe she knows that not everyone can be in the same spot on one weekend so while one tree may be totally void of leaves the one next to it will be peaked with orange, red, and yellow, while the next tree to that will still be predominantly green saving itself to show off next weekend.

Color Diplomacy

It’s at times like this when I fantasize about being independently wealthy and artistic where I could just roam the countryside, situate myself in a beautiful spot and then spend the day painting it.  

A Fall Weekend with Friends

Moose

This past weekend our longtime friends Doug and Ellen Guidry came to visit us and check out the Bethel area.  It was Ellen’s birthday on Saturday and her wish was to see a moose.   As you can see by the picture above we were able to deliver her birthday wish.  We saw this Bullwinkle in Grafton Notch State Park after we had checked out Screw Auger Falls.  It was off to the side in the woods when I spotted it so I pulled over and shut off the engine.  Instead of going further into the woods like I expected it would, it walked up the embankment into the middle of the road, stopped and posed for us while we took this photo.   We continued on our leaf peeping journey working our way into the center of Andover, ME where we stopped for an ice cream cone at the Andover General Store and Diner on what was likely the last day for this season to get one according to the nice young girl who was working this day. We then showed Ellen and Doug the swimming hole at the Andover Lovejoy Covered Bridge which Ellen told me reminds me her so much of the swimming hole of her childhood in Pennsylvania.

 

Saturday night Lauren cooked up a fabulous dinner of Baked Haddock, Sunshine Squash, and Roasted Red Beets.   The beets and squash were locally grown in Bethel while the Haddock came from our lobsterman Tucker C. Jordan of Cape Elizabeth who sells it here at the local farmers market.

On Sunday before Doug and Ellen left to head back to Gloucester, MA we all stopped at the Swain Farm Stand to buy some squash and take pictures. This is the first year I ever ate Sunshine Squash and it is now, officially my favorite squash of all time.  It is a deep red orange color when cooked and is sooo…Delicious.  If you have never tried it before please do and then tell me what you think. 

All weekends must come to an end and the Gids eventually had to go. Thanks for coming to visit us Doug and Ellen. We really enjoyed your company and having you visit helps the house feel more like a home. 

The Pace of Life on Main Street in Bethel, Maine

Objects Found

Every now and then I try to imagine who may have lived in this old house before us.  I know some of the answers thanks to the neighbors and the Bethel Historical Society but I certainly don’t know them all.  The other night I was sitting in the guest bedroom, which is now the nicest room in the house, and is also the oldest part of this house.  I can tell it’s the oldest by the Post and Beam construction, hand hewn beams, and the wide pine boards, some over 20 inches wide.  It would have been a cabin when it was first built, basically a living area and kitchen on the first level and the sleeping room above it.  There was most likely an outhouse somewhere nearby. I tried to picture how many people lived here way back at the beginning. Were there a bunch of children? What did they do to survive? This lot of land is only ¾ of an acre now but was it once a larger parcel that they had cleared to farm?  Did they cut timber?  Did they work at one of the original mills across the street on Mill Brook making staves or grinding grain?  What did they eat most of the time? What did they wear?  With no electricity what did they do at the end of the day and what time did they go to sleep?  My imagination was reeling so vividly that I felt like I could almost see them and feel them in the room. 

So now and then I find an interesting object(s) that get me thinking and here’s a sampling so far:

Do they think I'm the 19th hole?

I know the story here; bad golfers.  Living across the street from the second tee of the Bethel Inn and Country Club a severe slice will many times end up in my yard.  I haven’t been hit yet by a golf ball but I did see one land 6 feet in front of me a month ago.  I also noticed that the golfers don’t yell “fore” when they head my direction like they do when they can actually see someone that their ball may hit.  I’m thinking if I ever do get beaned by a ball and don’t hear “fore” maybe I should unload the contents of one these boxes back in their direction one by one every second and when the box is empty I’ll yell “fore”.  Well that would be mean, but funny if you could see their reaction.

Cut Nails

Cut Nails. They’re very cool and I did not think they were manufactured any longer but they are.  The Tremont Nail Company in Mansfield, MA http://www.tremontnail.com/    makes them just like they did 190 years ago.  It looks like you can buy a pound of these (approximately 165 nails) for $7.15.  That seems like a bargain.

Moosehead Padlock

An old padlock with a moose head engraving.  I found this tucked away between some rafters in the unfinished loft area. I wonder what they used the lock for?   I wonder where the key is?  I wonder if Antiques Road Show would tell me it’s worth $20,000?

Porcelain doll arm - Broken pottery

The pottery chunks I found in the house and I can’t tell if they’re kind of old or really old.  The arm is like porcelain and would be from a small doll.  I found this out in the yard a few weeks ago when I was raking. I imagine a young girl named Lisa was out in the yard playing with her doll one day when her brother came over and teasing her, grabbed the doll and then tossed it where upon the arm broke off.  The girl ran into the house crying to mother that Eddie had broken her doll.  Mother yelled “Eddie… come - here – right - now.”   Although Eddie tried to say it was an accident he couldn’t pull one over on mother who spanked him, gave him extra chores to do, and then sent him to his bedroom for the rest of the day.  The doll arm remained right where it broke off all these many years covered by dirt and leaves just waiting for me to pick it up and write this blog.

Turmoil

This last item is really the most interesting.  I found it near the padlock under a loose board and a bunch of dirt in the loft.  I began to read… “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil…” and then I really couldn’t make out much of the rest of it.  My thoughts were wow, this was written by a tortured soul and could this be a suicide note?  It was a creepy feeling.  I didn’t realize it was a Psalm until I Googled the part I could read and lo and behold it brought me right to Psalm 94:19 which in full reads:

"Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer."

I feel a little better knowing this person was asking for renewed hope and cheer but this is the kind of stuff when you find it that really gives you a sense of what at least one person was feeling who lived here. 

The Culahs are coming, The Culahs are coming

This past week there was a very noticeable change in the colors of the trees.  Saturday was a beautiful sunny warm day and although we had many house projects to do it was way too nice do to any of them.  Instead we did what any rational being should…we goofed off.  After we went to the transfer station we decided to explore the hills and some areas where we have not been yet and all I can is wow. Having been in California for the last five fall foliage seasons I have really missed this special time of year in New England which is so brief and so beautiful. It feels wonderful to be in the middle of it as each day more trees join the chorus of colors.  So here are a few pictures of the start of the season and we’ll see when she peaks.

Later this day we were invited to dinner at our friend’s house who earlier had met a thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail when she was walking her dog in Grafton Notch State Park and invited him to dinner also.  Greg Harris, with a trail name of “small-blue-dot” is from Austin, Texas and he started walking the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain, GA in April of this year.  I can’t remember if he said he left April 6^th or 26^th but either way he’s been walking for awhile.  He plans on reaching Mount Katahdin before October 15^th when they apparently close Baxter State Park for overnight camping.  Greg was a very thoughtful person and it was a treat to for us to be in his company for a few hours.  We wish you safe travels on the rest of your journey Greg.

Apple Picking

Sunday Lauren and I went apple picking at Lyon Orchards on Grover Hill Road in Bethel which is only 3 ½ miles from our house.  It was an overcast and cool day which was perfect for apple picking.  The Lyon Orchard is a picturesque place with rows of apple trees the follow the gentle slopes of the hillside.  They have five varieties of apples; Cortland, Red Free, Macoun, Red Delicious, and Macintosh. What I noticed most was how healthy all of the apples looked and how so many were growing on each tree so close together.  They were absolutely vibrant and we ended up picking 16 pounds of them for the two of us.  When we returned home Lauren made what I believe was the most delicious apple pie I ever tasted.  The crust didn’t come out picture perfect but I did not care because flavor trumps look any time.  I came across this article written by Donald Bennett on the history of Lyon Orchards and Herbie Lyon; http://www.thebetheljournals.info/Names/Herb_Lyon.htm

This apple picking adventure reminded me of a time when I was nine or ten years old and my brother Erik who was six or seven were trying to pick some apples off of one of those old abandoned trees out in the field behind our house in Easton, Mass.   The tree was big and overgrown while the apples were high and out of reach.  My genius idea was to grab the steel rake, throw it up in the tree where the rake would get stuck on some branches and then with the long handle hanging down, grab hold of it and shake the living daylights out of the tree branch until the apples fell to the ground. 

I remember telling my brother to stay the heck out of the way while I threw the rake up in the tree branch. The rake went up, hung on the branch for a brief second and then fell down; right on Erik’s head with at least one tine that poked into his head and another that poked right through his lip.  I imagine that didn’t feel too good and he started to cry and bleed at the same time.  I did what came natural to me at that age… I yelled at him.  I yelled something like “You jerk…I told you to stay out of the way” and I’m sure that made him feel better.  Yes, he needed some stitches which by this time were something my Mom was familiar with.

I feel bad about yelling at my brother that day, so Erik I’d liked to say I’m sorry for yelling at you then.  I should have waited until after you had your stitches. J   Hey I know why don’t you come up and visit soon and we can go apple-picking?  Don’t worry, we don’t need a rake.

Doors

Recently we’ve been scraping and painting doors in our house. I actually love some of the doors in this house because they appear to have been so well built. The rails have tenons that fit perfectly into the chiseled mortises at the stiles of the door which are then pegged with wooden pins. They are solid and even though they show the wear and tear of everyday living over the many years they exude a sense of pride. I can imagine that patient carpenter or cabinetmaker working with a clear sense of purpose while building these doors, build it well, build it to last.

After scraping and sanding as much of the old paint off as I could they were ready to paint. One of the areas where “light has dawned on Marblehead” is that there really is a difference in paints. You would think I would have known this by now but I thought if you were paying $35.00 a gallon for Benjamin Moore “Premium” paint you were buying the good stuff. Wrong. Benjamin Moore has this paint for $50.00 a gallon which is the good stuff called “Aura” and despite the cost it is worth the extra $15.00 per gallon. We found that in the guest bedroom on the doors and trim it took one primer coat plus three “Premium” coats to fully cover the wood whereas I could get away with one primer coat and one “Aura” coat to fully cover this door. I guess the secret is better pigmentation and a higher percentage of solids in the paint which is the “stuff” that actually sticks to the surface. It sure does go on nice and spreads like butter. By the way, if you’re planning on painting in an area of higher humidity and wetness like a bathroom or laundry room Benjamin Moore has a special “Aura” Bath & Spa paint which provides a mildew resistant coating.

So in researching information on doors I came across the following factoid: The oldest door in England can be found in Westminster Abbey and dates from 1050. This got me to thinking; my doors are old but where is the oldest door in America? I couldn’t seem to find a straight answer to this question so believing the oldest door may be located on the oldest house I Googled “Where is the oldest house in America?” And the answer was: The Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA is thought to be the oldest standing timber frame building in North America. Built circa 1637-1641. http://www.fairbankshouse.org/index.html

A Fine Door

I would have guessed something nearer the coast like Plymouth, Salem or Ipswich but Dedham it is. Now that I heard about The Fairbanks House I’d really like to check it out. They have some really interesting photos on their website. If you have any experiences and opinions on good or bad paint please leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by.

Now for the Trim

Ruth is #1

We had our first visitor to Bethel from San Diego (not counting our daughter) last week and it was Ruth who worked with Lauren at the Braille Institute. Ruth has some long time friends she came to visit who live on Clemons Pond in Hiram, Maine which is a little more than an hour’s drive from here. So on her second day in Maine Ruth and her friend Dolly came up for a visit. First there was lunch at the house and then Lauren took them to see the town. Unfortunately it was a short visit because Ruth had a busy agenda planned where she was going to a concert that night at Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, Maine http://www.stonemountainartscenter.com/ArtsCenter/ We also had a lot to talk about with her friend Dolly because her daughter now lives in Gloucester, Mass and married a fisherman.

I trust you enjoyed your vacation in Maine Ruth. You picked a great week for the weather. Thanks for being our first San Diego visitor. Now who’s going to be the next visitor from Braille? Joy, Debbie, Jay, Vint, Rick, Louise, Julie…..? Come visit us under The Dome. :)

Kayaking, Swimming, and Lobster

Amber, Tommie and Maya came up to visit us this past weekend and Kayaking, Swimming, and Lobster pretty much sums up what we did. First we had a campfire Friday night and cooked up some chicken and eggplant on the grill. Then Saturday we went to the Farmer’s Market in Bethel and picked up eight live lobsters from Tucker C. Jordan who’s a Lobsterman from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. www.mainelobsterboys.com
Next we trucked over to Virginia Lake and spent a wonderful afternoon swimming and kayaking. We had the whole peaceful beach and lake all to ourselves for most of the day. It’s hard to believe it was a Saturday in August. It was overcast but still warm and wonderful. Later that evening, back at our house, we lit the campfire again, put on our pot of water over it and then cooked those lobsters to perfection. The day was a 9.5 with the ½ point taken off for being overcast. We were going to try to see a movie on Saturday night but ran out of time.
On Sunday we HAD to go to dump to do some shopping as well as take over our trash. I scored a wire basket from a locker room which I can use to collect my golf balls in. Amber scored a Bundt pan. I can’t remember what Lauren picked up. It’s a little gem over there at the dump aka the “Transfer Station” and as someone told me they have an excellent return policy :)
On the way back from the dump we stopped at “Gourmet in a Pinch” to pick up a breakfast sandwich, muffin and coffee where they do a wonderful job with the food and the service is friendly.
After Amber and Tommie left to head back to Mass Lauren and I decided to see a matinee movie after all. It was my first time seeing a flick at the Casablanca Cinemas, it’s very cute and of course the service here is friendly too. They had four choices and we felt like comedy so we picked “The Other Guys”. That was a mistake because it just wasn’t funny. So if you’re considering seeing it, I’d say make another choice.
Thanks for the visit Amber, Tommie and Maya. There are only so many summer weekends you get in your life and we are glad you spent this one with us.

FREE

During the past few weeks we have gone swimming in two glorious lakes. The first picture is of Roxbury Pond in Andover which I had mentioned in an earlier post and it is a nice shallow yet good size lake with warmish water. It’s warmer than the ocean and most of the rivers anyway. The second picture is of Virginia Lake in Stoneham and this happens to be part of the White Mountain National Forest. This lake is a little more difficult to get too but equally warm and beautiful. The next pictures are of the blackberries we picked and the tasty blackberry pie that Lauren baked…mmmmYum! All of these things are free and fun. Sure, if you want to get technical we spent a little gas money to get to these places and the pie crust cost something but it’s close enough, so I’m calling it free. Did I ever tell you I Love Summer?

A Late Afternoon in Andover, Maine

Wednesday I knocked off from working just after 5:00 pm and Lauren and I drove up to go swimming at the covered bridge in Andover, Maine. I guess technically, looking at the map it’s considered South Andover. It’s about 18 miles from our house and a beautiful ride though that valley that probably has a name but where the Ellis River serpentines its way south toward the Androscoggin River which it joins at Rumford Point. The Andover Covered Bridge which is also known as the Lovejoy Bridge was built in 1867. There is a plenty of perfect white “beach” sand on the east side of the river bank where you can plunk down your towel before you jump in for a swim. The water was cool and refreshing. The scene was… well…did you ever see an ugly wooden covered bridge? It was beautiful. We stayed for about an hour and then decided to drive over to a nearby lake which we heard was another good swimming spot. The lake apparently has three different names, Ellis Pond, Silver Lake, or Roxbury Pond, so take your pick. It was a beautiful lake with the sun getting ready to set beyond the tree covered hills on the west side, a couple of kayakers, a water skier, a few kids happily swimming from the dock of their family cabin, and multiple other conversations carrying over the still water of a peaceful summer late afternoon. Lauren did a solo swim at this lake which was quite a bit warmer than the Andover Bridge swimming hole.
We then continued to drive to the east side of the lake to check out the summer camps and cabins which eventually turned into a dirt road. Now I love dirt roads even though you shake, it’s loud and you stir up dust as you drive along. You really know you’re in the country when you are driving along a dirt road. Just before we crossed Garland Brook I spotted two Moose off in clearing maybe 100 yards away. We just stopped the car and watched them. They watched us… and after about 8 minutes of that they decided we were boring and headed into the woods. Naturally we forgot our camera which we seem to do a lot on occasions like this. The pictures above are from other times when we actually remembered our camera.
My plan was to take a road I saw on the map on the north side of the lake that heads back east toward Andover. It was 7:30 pm now beginning to get dark and I think Lauren was beginning to get nervous, out in the middle of nowhere… on a dirt road….with me. She took out The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer to check out my plan. Then she got technical on me and pointed out that the dirt road we’ve been shaking are brains around on for the last 15 minutes was considered a “Other Passable Road” according to the map legend and that the next road I was planning to take was called a “Unimproved Road”, and that the next thing below that would be called a “Trail”. So in a sign that I must be maturing in life I turned around and headed back in the direction we came.
We made it back to the center of Andover just before 8:00 pm and were hungry. Luckily we made it in time to eat at the General Store and Diner before they closed. What is the best way to end a day in Maine? How about a Lobster Roll on a toasted bun, with French fries and homemade Cole slaw for $7.99? Yes, we took two. Mmmm…Per-fect-O! So far this is the best tasting and best lobster roll deal I’ve come across. But we are not done as we seek to find more swimming holes and eat yet more lobster rolls. Thanks for stopping by. - Pete

Beer

Beer

When I drink beer

I drink IPA

When I drink beer

IPA lot