Tour du Jour: Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me

Monday 6/13/11

After breakfast, we checked out of our Inn at the River B&B and drove a short way to Moxie Falls. Keeping in mind it had rained all night long, we wore our most durable shoes. The predicted 20 minute walk down the path to the waterfall took a little longer because we had to navigate across enormous puddles and climb over trees that had fallen onto the path. I am not one to tolerate rain on my vacation, but I will say I can't imagine a prettier time to go into the depths of a spring forest (and it is definitely early spring in these parts) than right after ~~a little shower~~ an all-night rain. The wet blackness of the tree bark made a startling contrast to the various shades of greens, and there's nothing more beautiful than leaves, ferns and moss all decked out in raindrops. But the black flies and mosquitoes were ahhhhhhnnoying. Gaaaah!

The two waterfalls were powerful and gorgeous, quite worth the walk and bug swatting. We walked along an ATV trail on the way back to the car which was interesting. By the time we got to the parking lot, we were totally understanding why the moose go to the middle of the road to get away from the flies and mosquitoes. Sheesh.

Then we broke our travel rule of never eating at the same restaurant twice on the same trip. We use that guideline to make ourselves be adventurous and try new places. But there aren't a heck of a lot of places to eat in the middle-of-nowhere-Maine, so we went back to Northern Outfitters where we had eaten last night. We shared a bowl of their yummy chili and our first lobster roll. We had heard of lobster rolls but neither of us had ever had one. Well, yum! It was fresh lobster claw meat mixed with a kiss of mayo served on a lightly toasted hot dog bun. Guess we're true Mainers now.

We drove about 3 hours from NW Maine to Camden in Central Costal Maine. We were on two-lane country roads, and remember spring had just sprung, so the flowers were abundant. Apparently, the lupines that we have seen by the thousands, bloom for two weeks each year, much like the Texas bluebonnets, and we just happen to hit their peak blooming days. Go us! I may have take a picture or fifty of them. Jeff is getting good at finding good photo ops for me and we stopped along the way several times to capture the beauty of rural Maine...even in the rain.

We arrived in Camden late in the afternoon and were in awe of the number of amazing homes and gorgeous landscaping. As I mentioned, every spring flower, tree and bush known to God and man is in full bloom this very week and the town looked like something out of a magazine. Jeff did a great job selecting our b&b, and there were many to chose from. Ours was called Hawthorn Inn...it was formal, yet comfortable and was a very short walk from the quaint little downtown.

This is the view from the back. Our room is the upper right one of the carriage house (red building).

We walked around the main street, but the stores closed at five o'clock since the summer season doesn't begin until this coming weekend when school is out. Hard to believe that a) school is still in session, b) that cute shops close so early and 3) the summer season has not begun...it's the middle of June, for heaven's sake. The lilacs were in peak bloom and could be smelled a half block away. Ahhhh...

We walked around the harbor, then stopped in a cute place, Cappy's Chowder House, for directions and something to drink before going to dinner at the Waterfront. And then, the meal we had been waiting for (drum roll)...l.o.b.s.t.e.r! We enjoyed every mouthful of that steamed goodness from the sea. We had been told this was the best place in town to get lobster and there were a lot of people enjoying it along with us. As we walked back to our place, it began to rain AGAIN. While everyone down South was sweltering in droughts and heat waves, we were cold in the 48 degree dampness.