Dorothy Piotrowski’s blog

The weather man said it was going to be another sunny day so we decided that we should hit the beach again.  Before heading out, we enjoyed belgium waffles with strawberries and whip cream while watching our neighbors pack up.

We headed a bit further south today to Ferry Beach State Park.  The first thing I noticed that there wasn’t as many cars in the parking lot.  I wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not.  Once we hauled our gear about 100 yards (this according to the ranger), we settled onto a beautiful beach.  As we drove in, the ranger station had a sign saying that today’s water temperature was 64 degrees.  That’s still too cold for me to go in.  We did the usual things that you do at the beach … read, nap under our towels (it was a bit windy) and snack.  The sun decided to hide behind the clouds and that was our cue to head out and get some lunch.  Karen found an Olive Garden that wasn’t too far away and we were shocked that we were actually able to get in.

Since we were further south than yesterday, we made our way to Kennebunkport to do some exploring.  The town is filled with many shops and restaurants.  It’s a charming New England town.

We knew that former President George H.W. Bush has a summer home in Kennebunkport so we went about trying to find it.  The home is located on Walker’s Point and using our map reading skills we were able to find it.  Secret Service are in the guard house at the entrace of the driveway but if you drive past it, there is a spot where you can pull over and have a look at the property.  The place is huge and I can imagine the views that they have.

We picked up dinner from The Clam Shack and headed back to St Ann’s Episcopal Church.  We saw the church on our way to the Bush Compound and we noticed that people had pulled up onto the grass and were sitting and waiting for the sunset.  We didn’t stay for the sunset but we did enjoy our dinner and fried dough with powdered sugar, while sitting along the water’s edge.

Saco is fortunate enough to have a drive-in so we went to check it out.  The price is right ($14 for the first two people and $3/person after that) and they ladle the butter on the popcorn.  Tonight’s double feature was “Dinner For Schmucks”  and “Salt”.  I believe “Dinner For Schmucks” is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life and we left “Salt” after the first hour.

After all that walking and working on the lobster boat yesterday, we decided that we would take it easy today.  That means it’s a beach day.  We started the morning with the blueberry pancakes as big as my head for breakfast again.

We packed up the car with our beach gear and headed to Scarborough Beach State Park.  It’s a big beautiful beach which seemed even bigger because it was low tide.  We did bring our bathing suits but unfortunately the water was 62 degrees.  There was no way I was going in.  If I did, I’m sure I would have been dragged back in a body bag.  We spent the hours reading, napping, snacking and people watching.  Since we didn’t bring lunch, we left and stopped by Panera Bread before hitting The Christmas Tree Shops and Marshalls.

Before heading back to the campground, we stopped at the Portland Head Light to take some pictures.  It is the most photographed lighthouse in the world.  We needed to have supper so we stopped at the Lobster Shack At Two Lights.  The restaurant is situated along Maine’s rocky coast.  We had the best view of the ocean while enjoying our lobster rolls.  I’ve had some form of lobster every day since being in Maine and boy do I love it.

We enjoyed another quiet evening around the fire.

One of the benefits of staying at the Saco KOA is that they have an on-site restaurant called the Merry Moose and they serve the biggest Maine blueberry pancakes I’ve ever seen or ate.  It was a great way to start the day.

We headed into Portland today for two tours that we decided to do.  We had such a great time doing the food tour in Chicago that we wanted to try one in Maine.  We found Maine Foodie Tours on the web and decided to do their Old Port Culinary Walking Tour.

We met up with Pamela (director of Maine Foodie Tours) and John (our tour guide) at LeRoux Kitchen where we sampled Lobster Salad.  It was a quick walk over to the wharf to Harbor Fish Market where John showed us how to tell the difference between a male and female lobster.  We got to sample smoked maple glazed trout.  I’ve never had trout but I loved it.  We made a mental note that we would have to come back to get some trout to take home.  While walking along, John explained that there are over 300 hundred restaurants and 90% of them are chef owned.  Portland is a real foodie city.

Our next stop was K. Horton Specialty Foods where the owner Kris Horton explained and we sampled some fine Maine cheese.  Maine is not know for their cheese since almost all of the cheesemakers do not wish to get any bigger than they are.  They prefer to make quality products in small quantites.  Stonewall Kitchen was where we had scones fresh from the oven topped with wild Maine blueberry preserves.  This company was started by two guys named John and Jim who made jams at their homes. 

Dessert was up next at Dean’s Sweets, a shop run by a husband and wife team.  Kristin explained how truffles are made and she gave us some samples.  It was a quick walk to Two Fat Cats where we had a whoopie pie.  John told us that Maine is about to make the whoopie pie the official state pie since legend has it was invented there.  They’re so much better than the ones at home.  The chocolate cake is to die for, and inside is made form home-made marshmallow!

We ended the tour at Gritty McDuff’s where we sampled Vacationland Summer Ale and Best Brown Ale.  Karen said that’s the most beer she’s ever had.  What’s cool about Gritty McDuff’s is that they have something called a mug club.  You get a numbered mug that hangs over the bar.  You come in, give them your number and your mug comes down and gets filled with 21 ounces of beer.  There is a five year wait to get into the club.

We said goodbye to our new friends and headed in search of some lunch.  Karen’s friend Paula has a sister who has visited Portland and highly recommended J’s Oyster Bar.  We each had the haddock filet sandwich and it ranks right up there with Port Dover perch.  This place is right on the dock, and known as a hang out for lobstermen.

The other tour that we booked was a lobster tour with Lucky Catch Cruise.  The tour takes you out into the bay where you get to see what an actual lobster fisherman does.  But you actually have to participate and help out.  We dressed in nice orange rubber smocks, filled the bait bags, hauled the traps, measured the lobsters to see if they were keepers or not, put rubber bands on their claws, and set the traps.  It was just like on “Deadliest Catch” except that it was lobster and it was in the summer, and we didn’t have to chip ice off the boat.

After getting back to shore, we made a quick stop at the L.L. Bean outlet in Portland before heading back to Saco.  We decided to pick up dinner from Ken’s Place and take it back to the campground.  We enjoyed a fabulous lobster salad plate on our picnic table.  After supper, I grabbed my laptop and started working on the blog by the crackling fire.

We decided to have a bit of a sleep in and a good breakfast before heading out for a day of shopping.  The Hampton Inn Nashua was only about five minutes away from a Christmas Tree Shops and that’s where we started our day.  We spent about an hour there and luckily for us there was a L.L. Bean outlet next door.  There were so many bargins in the store today.  Firstly, New Hampshire has no sales tax.  Secondly, all women’s pants were 50% off.  I picked up three pairs of jeans.  Pair #1 … original price $49.50 … today $4.99.  Pair #2 … original price $44.95 … today $9.99.  Pair #3 … original price $29.99 … today $14.99.  (Teresa … total savings was $95.47!)

It wasn’t a long drive before we made our second stop at the Christmas Tree Shops in Salem, New Hampshire.  Before hitting our third stop at the Christmas Tree Shops in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we had a quick bite to eat at Chipotle.  We did some more shopping at The Kittery Outlets in Kittery, Maine but by this point, it was getting late in the day and we wanted to get to the Saco KOA in Saco, Maine.  This is where we will be staying for the week.

We got to the KOA and were greeted by some friendly staff members.  The lady in the office explained that you can get firewood and ice delivered to your site.  You can even get fresh home made pizza delivered.  We will for sure be trying this one night for supper.  After getting the key to our Studio Lodge ($124USD), we were escorted to our site by another staff member in his golf cart.  (He later delivered our fire wood … sweet!).

The Studio Lodge is so nice and so cute.  There is a main room that has a queen size bed, a small table with 2 chairs, bar fridge, microwave and a flat screen tv with dvd player, and a few channels.  And wi-fi of course.  There is a very small room that has bunkbeds.  And the best part, it has a bathroom, which is a real bonus when you’re camping.  Outside there are 4 nice wood chairs by the fire ring and a picnic table under a canopy.  We are “glamping” in the wilderness area, which is beautiful and surrounded by lots of trees.

The lady at the front desk recommended that we have dinner at The Clambake Seafood Restaurant in Old Orchard Beach.  You order your dinner at a counter and then you go and find a seat in their huge dining rooms.  Eventually your number is called and you grab your dinner and enjoy.  Karen and I each had the Lobster Roll, which is basically large chunks of lobster on a hot dog bun.  She had hers with mayonnaise and I had mine with butter.  I’m really going to enjoy Maine lobster.

After dinner, we hit the grocery store to pick up supplies before heading back to enjoy a campfire.  It will be  nice to sleep inside, and not worry about the temperature or the possibility of rain.  Much more relaxing than camping in a tent!

We wanted to get away again this summer, so we decided we would do a driving trip.  We did some research and decided on Maine.

Once we got the car packed up and we were on the road by 9:30am.  While driving down the QEW, I saw the sign saying that there was a one to two hour delay at the Lewiston-Queenston bridge.  We laughed since there is never a delay on the Whirpool Bridge.  It’s the bridge reserved for Nexus card holders.  We picked up lunch from the Cracker Barrel and kept on going down I-90.

We stopped for some quick shopping at the Prime Outlets - Lee before continuing to Nashua, New Hampshire.  Since it was getting late, we grabbed dinner from Panera Bread and checked into the Hampton Inn Nashua ($80.10 USD).