We’re back from Maine and Mass. What a fun trip! Both states are jam-packed with great food and wonderful sightseeing. It is definitely a trip for die-hard foodies. Too bad my pants don’t fit anymore. Maybe I need to get back in touch with Rigo at the gym. It’s time to start thinking about my CORE again. But first let me get a canoli and cappuccino and tell you about our trip.

The sign upon entering Maine says, “Maine…the way life should be.” Another one further down the road said something like, “Come to visit, end up staying.” Jay says that the signs suckered Mark and Shelley —who are happily becoming Maineards. (Mark’s favorite saying these days is, “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”) 

 I’m very impressed with the knowledge they already have of off-the-beaten path sights and fab restaurants. They tried to swear us to secrecy about our experiences but I explained that I’m a blogger now and therefore nothing can be sacred. It’s all fodder. They are worried about others wanting to invade their newfound utopia, and understandably so. It’s lovely. Truly. But here’s the thing that really stands out …the people are so incredibly nice. I mean NICE!!  

It’s like this. I’m shopping at LL Bean and the checkout lady starts making conversation. “Are you going to the LL Bean concert in the park tonight?” She asks about our visit, where we are from. This happened over and over. It wasn’t just in LL Bean, where I’m sure they are trained to be so helpful and nice. But the fact is they just are. They don’t have to be that way. But they are. As Shelley said, the people there are unaffected. I think it has something to do with the 25 mile an hour speed limits. You just mosey along at the speed limit and get there when you get there. No one gets up on your tail to try to bully you into going faster. That in and of itself makes people nicer I think. That, and the food. Crikey, you’d be happy, too, if you ate lobster rolls all the time. Just say it…lobsta roll. What can you find wrong with a place that claims lobster, clams and blueberries as some of its best food?  

I signed us up for kayaking at the LL Bean Outdoor Discovery Center. Olivia had flashbacks to her Disney days. “Are the kayaks on tracks? Do they go fast? Will we be in rapids?” No, no, and no, unless you paddle strong and hard enough to make them go fast, like Zach the beast did. I tried to race him but, alas, was no match. Still, what fun. I could get hooked on that. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Along with the chocolate martinis Mark made later that day.  Oh, and the double rainbow over the Portland lighthouse.

We met up with Veronica, Todd and the kids in Boston. Reunited and it felt so good. Doing Boston with them is like some kind of eating marathon. I thought we were bad. Geez. In the middle of a huge, gluttonous lunch at the historic Oyster House Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in America, Todd asks, “What are we going to do for dinner?” Those Sazeras know good food, and good food we all had. Do make it to the North End, aka the Italian district. Italian restaurants and bakeries abound and let me tell you, they are GOOD. You can tell by the throngs of people filling them. Chinatown rocks, too. We didn’t make it to the Ethiopian restaurant but I’m sure that would have been awesome, too. Oh well, next time.  

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