This is the travel blog for Eric, Jessica, and frequently Erica. It was originally created in 2014 to record the 10 months that the three spent in Paris and exploring Europe. All of that can be found below. More recently, I have been recording other trips we have taken. 

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

 "The mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections among people, plants and nature through horticulture, education and research." 

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are located in Booth Bay, adjacent to Booth Bay Harbor. The gardens cover 323 acres, plenty big enough to get completely lost without a map. The grounds are meticulously kept, and a brilliant combination of nature and art in the form of sculptures and architecture abound. We wandered the grounds for hours. I took 250 pictures. Here are a few:

One of 5 trolls. Jessica running scared.

From Freeport to Rockland

 Having satisfied our hiking needs, we left LL Bean and headed for Rockland. We checked into a funky B&B - The Granite Inn. Frequently, one meets interesting folks at breakfast when staying at a B&B, and this stay was no exception. Conversations ranged from living on a tiny isolated island off the coast to a 51 year old moving her chocolate business from Vermont to Maine.

We took walks in town during our short stay. The high point in Rockland itself was dining at Primo on a tip from our Cleveland friends Gay and Quentin. They steered us well. The restaurant is a two-time winner of a James Beard award. We learned that people come from far and wide, many by private and chartered aircraft, just to dine at Primo. Some stay at the Granite Inn.

The highest point of our stay in Rockland was our trip to Booth Bay Harbor, and our visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. This deserves a blog entry all its own.

Portland, Maine

 We spent the day in Portland before continuing our northward trip along the coast. Our major stops were the Portland Museum of Art, a microbrewery for lunch, and of course the obligatory walk along the coast.

The Museum was nice, but a bit of a disappointment since much of the museum was closed. I thought this piece captured the both the museum and Maine well.

The walk was challenging. It was cold and quite windy. Fortunately, we chose to walk in May, not January. So, it was a relief to head for Bissell Brothers Brewing in South Portland. Two days earlier, we had tasted their brew while dining in Ogunquit. It was so good that we wanted to check out the source.

They did not disappoint. Microbreweries are scattered far and wide in this area of the country. We felt that we had discovered a really good one. Here is a photo of my traveling companions hard at work completing their various tasks.

Here is a panoramic view of the whole operation:

Tonight, we spend in Freeport just north of Portland. Tomorrow, we explore the Flagship Retail store of LL Bean. We do not have to worry about when we get there. They are open 24/7/365.

With the memorable memorial event behind us we turned our attention to the coast of Maine. First, we had to pick up Erica in Middlebury who was visiting her friend Priscilla. The four of us went for a walk on the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail.

From there, we headed east. We stopped to spend the night in Woodstock, Vermont. We stayed at the Woodstock Inn, a spectacular hotel in the middle of a bucolic New England town. We recommend it.

After a leisurely breakfast, we headed east, stopping briefly in New Hampshire to "fill up the tank". Then it was onward to Ogunquit, our southernmost stop along the Maine coast. This is a funky little town which gets seriously overrun by tourists every summer since it is not too far from Boston. We spent the night.

The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, we took a walk along the ocean, and then visited the Ogunquit Museum of American Art.

Later that day on our way north, we stopped at the Rachel Carson Natural Wildlife Preserve. We walked a mile on a well established trail, observing wild orchids (specifically Cypripedium acaule aka Pink Lady's Slipper) amongst many wonders of nature. Rarely, the Lady's Slipper can be white instead of pink. Here is a white one that we saw, and also the more common pink variety.

white Cypripedium acaule

pink Cypripedium acaule

A few miles up the road, we reached Kennebunkport, of George H.W. Bush fame. The mansions that Kennebunkport is known for were well hidden. Instead, we briefly toured the shlock shops along the main drag where one could acquire memorabilia of all sorts. We soon took off and headed for our final destination of the day, the Lincoln Hotel located in Biddeford. Tomorrow is dedicated to Portland.

We lost our dear friend Doris recently. The family has a burial plot at the cemetery located in Manchester, Vermont. A memorial service was planned for Doris on May 13. We decided to make a journey out of it.

Starting on May 9, we loaded the car and we headed for Brooklyn, New York. We stopped off in Stanhope, New Jersey for the night.

There, we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast, The Whistling Swan Inn.

The next day, it was off to Brooklyn to spend time with our two Brooklyn kids. That afternoon, Jessica took a stroll from our hotel to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). 

Later, Erica flew in from SFO to join us for the three week journey that was to follow. We ate well, and took in some theater.

After two full days, we headed for Vermont to join the family to celebrate the memory of Doris. Twenty of us shared stories about the woman who had touched so many. The cemetery is a peaceful place, nestled in the hills of southern Vermont.