A New England Love Affair

We just returned from a trip up to southern Maine. We had the most amazing time and the landscape of New England tightened its grip on me. I was sitting on the beach in New Hampshire, watching Gavin and Adam skip rocks and I found myself thinking, "what more do I need?" Now, to my west coast friends and family, don't be concerned- you all have a tighter grip on me than living back east. I have to admit, though, if you weren't there, I could live in New England indefinitely. I've been thinking a lot about this and I've decided that our time back here is somewhat like a love affair. It's new, fun, and a little adventurous. We've spent the past two years approaching life more as a vacation (well, not entirely sure that Adam would agree, working as a resident and all). I think this has more to do with why I love living here than the actual location. Let's face it, the Pacific Northwest holds its own with an equally beautiful landscape and there are plenty of beaches with rocks to throw. Gavin wakes up every morning and asks, "Have fun?" While he continues to say this all day long and it can get a bit annoying, I think it's a great approach to living. Why shouldn't we all wake up and decide to have fun? So, when we do return to the Northwest, I plan to explore the area like I never have before. And with that, let me offer a little show and tell of our recent trip through New Hampshire and Maine. There are a lot of pictures, but then again, we had a lot of fun!

Our first stop was to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We stumbled upon Fort Constitution, which is really awesome. This fort was used for several wars and it overlooks the ocean. We had a good time wandering through the secret passages.

The fort has a lighthouse and also these lookouts used for keeping watch for boats.

We found a great beach near Portsmouth and Gavin sat and threw rocks for an hour. Adam and I looked around for seashells and just simply enjoyed being near the ocean again.

We stayed in Ogunquit, ME

This area is Perkins Cove, located in Ogunquit. We had dinner at a little place across the bridge.

This is the beach in Ogunquit. The sand is perfect, but the water is very cold!

This bakery, Bread & Roses, will forever hold a special place in my heart. They serve the best Cinnamon Butter Puffs- it's a cross between an old fashioned doughnut and a muffin. They are moist, sweet, and savory. Basically, the perfect bite! We stopped here every morning to get coffee and treats.

We had fun looking for lighthouses. This one is in York, ME.

This was the first time that Gavin flew a kite. While he still preferred rock throwing, he did have fun!

We drove up to Portland, which is about 40 minutes north of Ogunquit. The town looked fun to walk through but Gavin didn't think shopping qualified as "having fun." We took a long walk down by the water on a promenade that was similar to the Burke Gilman Trail. It led to a public beach, yay rocks!

This is Portland Head Light, located in Cape Elizabeth. It was great because you could actually get up close to the lighthouse. Most of the others are located on islands and you can't get a very good view.

After seeing the lighthouse, we had lunch at the Lobster Shack Restaurant. Everything was very fresh and the view was amazing. The picnic tables are located above the cliffs, looking out onto the water. There were tons of lobster pots out, so we knew our lobster rolls would be top notch!

This photo doesn't do the food justice- we got fried whole belly clams which are a Maine specialty. They were delicious and the breading was not greasy or over the top. Gavin of course went for a cheeseburger!

We spent a day driving through a bunch of small beach towns, including the Kennebunks. Kennebunkport is where the Bush family has a huge compound that's been in their family since the 1800s. Don't worry, I resisted egging it! HAHA

Biddeford Pool, ME- another great place to throw rocks.

The last photo is of the footbridge that leads to the beach in Ogunquit. This really was a perfect family vacation. I can't wait to return. Maybe we'll head back up in the fall with our newest family member.