Vacation part II

 It seems my vacations make the need for a rest from the vacation. Lots of laundry, cleaning up the trailer and getting things done in and outside the house. I also feel like one week was not enough, it takes me a week to really relax, then it is time to go home.

I had planned on resting on Sunday and staying at camp, but it was a nice day with possible rain, so we went to Brunswick, which was the next town over. We were lucky enough to be in an area that had a back road to go up, and avoid the traffic on the scenic route.

Our destination was the swing bridge. We started on the opposite side, which had a paved walk along the river. 

It was a nice walk across, even though the wind made it move more than usual.

It also had nice views down the river.

And looking in the opposite direction.

We also noticed a dam and wanted to check it out. You can walk to it from the paths, but we went to the parking lot, that was close to it. 

And on the other side of the dam was a brewery. Brunswick is another nice town to visit. These were all free to see and they also have a lot of shops to explore. I hope you are enjoying following along with our adventures. I tend to find new things in each place we go and if you have any question about an area or the best places to go, I will be happy to help.

Monday Meanderings!

This week we are staying home and trying to just enjoy being out, when the weather is good. We had an early fathers day with the kids over for dinner. We did a family visit to look at trailers and it was fun to see how we all fit, or not, but nothing that was just right for us, so we will wait until we decide what we want. Hate to buy too much if they don't come with us.

Sunday was a relaxing day at the beach. The air was cool and windy, so there weren't too many people at the beach. We found a few nice pieces of glass and got some exercise, walking up and down the beach. I found some nice driftwood, as well. I need to get a cheap dish pan so I can soak them, then they will lighten up more, when dry.

We also enjoyed the birds in the area, a Great Egret flew over head and the Lesser Terns were in their nesting areas and if you got too close, they would dive bomb you.

Today I decided to go to the beach again. We stopped at the store first and I was able to find a speedo for only 12.00, couldn't beat that price. Once we got to the beach, I realized it was warm enough for suits, luckily I had extras with us, so we could beach comb and walk in the water.

I found a few nice pieces, we walked and looked, more than hunting today, less glass, but easier on the back. Always thrilled when I find a nice piece of pottery with a colored spot.

After beach combing, which was a lot of walking, we walked to the furthest point of the beaches, which took us the the breakers. Between the walking back and forth and the full walk, we did well over 4 miles today, lol.

For a perspective, we are at the end of our walk and the dots in the sky is where we were beach combing.

On the walk we met up with this little guy, a Piping Plover. They are very busy birds, so hard to get a photo.

Then I noticed a knob on his leg and this is what I found. He has a hitchhiker.
I hope  you all had a wonderful weekend and a wonderful week to come.

Art in Maine!

The one thing that you see a lot of in the Blue Hill, Stonington area is art studios. Lots of painters and pottery but I avoided most of the galleries since they are a bit pricey. Then there are the places that sell pieces that are slapped together to sell to the tourists, not what I would buy.

There is one place that is a must stop, if you are in the area. It is called Nervous Nellies Jams and Jellies. I knew they had art done by Peter Beerit, but I didn't realize how extensive the art and displays were, until we arrived. Peter came to Deer Island to start a jelly business and little by little, he has been creating sculptures from found items and building towns based on his travels.

The minute you come in, you are greeted by this lovely couple for a cup of tea.

Bill and Bean are spending time in the jail for smiling too much.

The sheriff is relaxing in his office, unaware of what is going on outside.

Unbeknownst to the sheriff, a jailbreak is in progress.

There are characters in every building and the surrounding areas. This guy is just chilling.

The piano Player....

Bill is getting his fortune told.

After a stop to get some jelly and maple syrup, we found an entire scene of characters, including a castle.

And back to Peter's studio, where a group of characters, were swapping the local gossip, on his porch.

It is a wonderful place to visit and Peter's art is sure to put a smile on your face. He is continually adding to his towns and characters, and there is much more than I have shown here, and more to come. He also has living characters, who visit the bird feeders, that is builds. This little guy was enjoying his perch, waiting for us to leave, so he could raid the bird feeder.

I hoped you enjoyed seeing a bit of Nervous Nellies with me. More to come this week, places we visited, our adventures and misadventures.

Vacation?

I am sure a lot of you go through the same thing, wether you stay home or go away, we seem to need a vacation from a vacation;) This week was no difference, I think I am officially exhausted, but then again, tomorrow is another day and one more nice day before the rain comes in on Sunday.

Tuesday I decided to go for a ride up the Connecticut river and if we had time, over to Graig Castle in   Meriden Ct. We went along the coast to save time and then up a scenic road to enjoy the views and towns along the river.

Our final stop before we headed across to Meriden was Eagle Landing to take a break and give Bean some play time. I love the views from this side of the river, and a large park to walk around with access to the shore.

On the other side, a view of the swing bridge and opera house.

We finally got to Castle Graig, it is 976 feet high and the tower is 32 feet, so you can see for miles in all directions, in Connecticut.

We walked a bit on the trails that followed the cliffs, great views from every point.

Wednesday I needed a break, it took me awhile to decide what to do if anything and it was warmer, so we headed to the beach for a few hours. I think this was the most relaxing day, just sitting, swimming and walking along the beach. You can visit my You Tube page to see videos I took from our trips, including me getting thrown backwards by a wave;)

One way to amuse myself was to throw corn chips and watch the seagulls fight over them. The bad thing is, you end up with way too many feathered friends and half of them are flying over your head, luckily no accidents happened.

Thursday I decided I was going to brave a long drive and traffic and go to Woods Hole Massachusetts. We went through Newport and I picked back roads so it wasn't too bad until we had to connect with highways to get back on a back road.

I have been going all day and night and no time to really plan a day, so we just go and see what we can see, but I could not find anything once we got to Woods Hole and there was no parking and no beaches that weren't private and I just gave up and headed back up the coast.

We did find a wonderful town on the way down, called Mattapoisett. There are a lot of small towns and seaports all along the coast, so maybe we will visit some another time and explore the areas. We enjoyed views of the islands off of the coast and Bean got a treat from the Harbor Master, who wanted to pet him and give him a biscuit.

After we left Woods Hole we looked for a place to stop and relax. I had my phone map and each park I saw, was either private or impossible to get to. We finally found the perfect beach in West Falmouth called Old Silver Beach. Lots of sandy beach and shallow water, so Bean and I got to have some play time together.

The rest of the ride home was traffic, since we were hitting the shift changes and everyone trying to get home or out of the area so by the time we got to RI, the sun was setting and no where to park for a nice view and too late to head to the lighthouse. We caught a nice view as we crossed the Newport Bridge, minus the dirty window.

Today was a rest day, I wanted to stay closer to home and just enjoy some beach time and a hike. Yes that is rest to me, lol. But, we ended up walking the entire length of the beach, the regular walk around the trails and added on a new trail, so we hiked over 7 miles, way too much for me and now I am ready to crash.

Today my son sent a photo of Alex, they made it home safely, so we will probably be visiting them tomorrow. Can't wait to give my sweet grand boys some hugs and love. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

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Monday Meanderings!

This weekend was a bust, I was just so tired from getting ready for the trip and being on the go, then coming home and having to do a ton of laundry. I wasn't about to bring anything upstairs until I washed it all;) Today I got the final things done and started on my sewing room, sewing really does build up a lot of dust and it was time to move a few things and do a good vacuum.

One thing I wanted to mention is, Denise, The Krazy Kraft Lady is offering a free pattern as a challenge. A primitive mouse that you can make into your own softer, any way you want. Her challenges are fun and it motivates us to try something new and be creative, so be sure to visit her page to get your pattern and join in, in the fun.

Here is Denise's mouse, he is so unique and a creative use of fiber arts. She made the body and use roving over that, love the look.

I thought you might like to see more of our travels in Maine. On the way up we took the highway and got off in Freeport. Once in Freeport, you have a nice ride along route 1, going through wonderful towns, over bridges and lots of water views.

I spied this old mill as we drove over a bridge and when my husband stopped for gas, I noticed the road to it, was right around the corner, so we went for a visit and short walk. I wanted to get better photos, but I was standing on a narrow ledge of the dam and the wind started blowing and I almost fell over;)

Bean was too excited about the trip to go to the bathroom at the rest stop, so when I saw Camden Hills park, I knew it was the perfect place to stop for a potty break and to stretch our legs.

The reason I wanted to go to Blue Hill is the diversity of the towns and parks. One park we went to, started on the water, went through woods and more water views and we even found an old cemetery and apple orchard hidden in the woods. The walk ended at a bridge connecting a small island, great place to stop and enjoy the views.

The next day we went to another town, Castine and spent most of the day there. The first stop was the harbor where Bean got to play with the other vacationing pups. This is the restaurant we ate at one year, they do not allow dogs, so no sweet steamers this time.

We drove around the scenic route and stopped at a lighthouse. It is now a private home, but there is a walk to the cliffs, but the stairs were too steep for Bean.

Then we went down the road and stopped at a park and hiked around the maine trail. This area was home to the french and they had areas with plaques for the regiments that camped there. It came to a beautiful lookout point, another perfect place to enjoy views and relax. The smell of pine was heavenly when we walked back through a pine forest.

We ended the day with a walk along the public beach. There was only two families there and a lot of beach, so I enjoyed a nice walk, barefoot in the cool water.

I hope you enjoyed our visit to maine. The area is a must if you are ever in Maine, the views are breath taking, the air refreshing and there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Friday Finish!

No crafty finishes, just the finish or the end of our vacation. Yesterday everything just got too overwhelming so we packed up and came home last night, I wanted to sleep in my own bed and have a real kitchen to cook in.

I am disappointed and I wasn't expecting the perfect vacation but the good moments were ruined by the musty house and not being able to sit and relax at night, so it tired me out.

We did have some fun adventures and Bean loved the cottage and the beach, he was like a little puppy again. The minute we went outside, he would run to the beach, the tide was usually out in the morning so I let him run on the beach while I went rock hunting.

He seems to have a thing for seaweed. Here, the seaweed washes up on the shore, our seaweed was growing on the rocks. As you can see, he thought it was the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the views.

The first day was rainy and the long ride was tiring, so we checked out some local places to kayak, though we never got to go, it was fun exploring and even in the rain, the views are beautiful.

One day we went to Castine, an old seaport that was occupied by the British so there is a lot of historical homes and beautiful views from the town docks. We visited the lighthouse and then went for a walk at the park and on the beach. Bean loves to explore and the park was empty so he could go on his long lead and get some good exercise. He seems to know when I want him to sit for a photo, he hops on the bench while Bill takes horrid photos of us;)

Thursday we went to Acadia. It as then that I realized we should have stayed there, lots of places to eat and stay and they even had a restaurant that is dog friendly. We went by a back road and I spied this beautiful home with a lighthouse, in Surry.

Then we drove up Cadillac Mountain. Did you know if you are over 62, you can get a pass to go to all the national parks for life, sometimes being old is good and it is a good thing that Bill is old, lol. The views of the harbors and islands is breath taking.

I took this photo while we were driving through Surry. There was just something peaceful about the scene and it made me think of Danielle. Every friday I post on Danielle's Facebook page with a saying and a photo and this one seemed perfect for today. It does not make me sad, it brings me peace, so I leave you with the peace of the beautiful vistas and wishes that you all have a wonderful weekend.

Monday at Blue Hill!

Well, it is late and I am exhausted as usual so I am going to be short tonight and when I get home, I can show more photos and news about our trip and a real review of the home. The house is not what is looked like in the photos, it is old and it is musty, so it is hard for me to relax inside since the smell is sickening. We got scents to cut it down so that helps but not enough;) The outside is wonderful, love the views and sitting outside.

We got rain yesterday so we went out and got supplies and things and today we got out and walked and hiked around a sanctuary, and rode around the islands to see what the areas would be like for paddling. Tomorrow will be raining again, so we will do what we can and then three days of sun, so we can paddle then.

This is end of Deer Island, Stonington, a beautiful seaport.

This is the view of the bridge coming back from Little Deer Island, to the mainland. This area is a public boat launch, looks like a nice place to paddle from.

When the tide goes out, we can comb the beach areas in front of our house. Bean loves to run around on the rocks and today he went in the water, he loves it here. This is my collection today, some I will keep and some I will put back, I will decide which ones later, but I am having fun, finding heart shapes and some I just like, the top left one is a little bird.

Vacation Plans!

I have spent most of my time going through rentals and finding great places, just to find out that they are already taken, but I finally decided on one that seems to have everything we want and close enough to other areas on the islands.

The house is in the Blue Hill area of Maine, on the coast so we have our own water frontage and beautiful views, going across to Acadia. An added bonus is a jacuzzi so I can sit and soak my old bones when I over do it, which I always do;)

This is what our view from the porch will be like. There is also a gazebo so we can sit out, even if it rains. Another thing I like is the fire pit by the beach, we can sit out at night and it will be like camping too.

And here is a photo of me, enjoying the views in the same area. I think this is just what I need, a place to relax and just enjoying being outside.

On the home front, there is Bean. Bean tends to take up a lot of my time lately, he just loves to play but he is getting better at understanding that I need my rest time too. He loves balls, this is his newest ball, I figure it is large enough that it won't roll under the couch.

And this is part of his ball collection, a border collie can never have enough balls. Some are missing, he tends to lose them and then we find them when we are cleaning and then there are the larger outside balls. Now I am wondering how I can pack the car since he usually stays in his cage in the back, it takes up all the space and we need it for clothes and gear, so he may have to sit in the back seat. The problem with that is I keep my good things like computers and craft gear, as well as food in the seats and he will drool all over them or worse, get car sick, lol. I am thinking that I need to see if I can find something to keep him in his own space on one seat, any ideas would be appreciated. I know he won't like the long ride, but he will love running around the beach and going hiking.