New England Vacation

Although my vacation through the glorious regions of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine has come to an end, the many insights that came from the time away remain on the surface of my mind and heart.  It was a gift to have time, to appreciate the little things and really soak it all in. 

Just Beer's Summer Fest in Westport, MA

The trip started out a little rocky with a bit of a back injury to me, meaning I couldn't move much for a couple of days.  Fortunately Ryan took it in stride, drove us up to MA and took to hanging out at my parents house with ice packs instead of embarking on adventures to Martha's Vineyard or Newport.  I was able to get it together to head to the local brewery for their beer fest and concert (and some fresh seafood)... Which leads me to Lesson #1: Drink Locally

Annie supports local beer!

Red Hook Brewery in Portsmouth, NH

Marshall Wharf in Belfast, ME

We stayed true to this throughout our trip, visiting Just Beer in Westport, MA, Red Hook in Portsmouth, NH, lots of local beers throughout Portland ME and finally Marshall Wharf in Belfast, ME. 

Lesson #2: Eat Locally

Picking up the steamers with Annie

 

 

 

Throughout our trip, I was reading a great book by Barbara Kingsolver about a year during which her family made a commitment to buy all of their food locally and cultivate as much of their food themselves as possible.  It just so happened that the trip also included a vast array of locally cultivated foods to enjoy along the way.  Not only does the act of eating locally make you feel more connected to the community (and for me, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside) but the food tastes remarkably more delicious.  It also decreases the amount of waste and energy used in getting the food to your table.  This was fairly easy to do in Maine, where farmstands, co-ops and farmers' markets were aplenty.  Back in Philadelphia, this will prove a bit of a challenge but not one that can't be overcome by paying more attention to the schedule of the local farmers' markets.  We enjoyed a lot of delicious local seafood (lobsters delivered from a friend's lobster traps and steamers from the local fish shop on the dock) in addition to great farm-fresh cheeses, breads and an abundance of veggies from my cousin's gardens. 

Mark and Ryan prepare to massacre the lobstahs

Lesson #3: Never leave the campground without putting the rainfly on the tent, regardless of current and projected weather conditions

View of Casco Bay in the background!

We decided to leave it off (there wasn't a cloud in the sky and no storms were predicted) while heading out to dinner... and of course then the sky turned black and torrents of rain, coupled with lightening, helped us to learn this lesson.  We were able to get a few towels in order to dry up the puddles, and ended up just sleeping on the air mattress with whatever stuff we had in the car as pillows and coverage!  Oops, that will definitely not happen again.  But if that's the worst that happened on our camping adventure, I'll take it!

Just some of the carnage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cleaning up and clearing out!

We laughed a lot and were grateful that this was the last night of camping... we left in the morning for Belfast, ME and our gorgeous accommodations at my cousin's house overlooking the bay.  It's a miracle we ever left their house.  Not just because of the house, but because Mark and Annie are some of the kindest, funniest people and most outstanding chefs I've ever met!  But Ryan honed some of his culinary skills while I honed my eating skills, and I think we'll do our best to bring these and our many other lessons back to Philadelphia with us!