Welcome back! We’re home after a short but delightfully delicious and excellent visit to the States to see my mother (as well as my two brothers and youngest sister along with a couple of old college housemates as a bonus). And, the wisteria put on an excellent show to greet us on our arrival home.
We had a great time! Far too much to tell you about so you’ll have to settle for some of my favourite snippets. If you’re overly keen you can see some more of the least bad photos here.
My mother is doing exceedingly well at coming up to 92 this year. Still cute and bright and sparky if somewhat forgetful at times. Hey! That could be me if it weren’t for the cute, bright and sparky bit.
We had dinner at the Canoe Club one night with my mother and youngest sister, Sarah who has recently moved east to spend more time with my mother. The dinner was fine (although both my mother and Penelope were somewhat disappointed with their order of Cassoulet – one should never order a dish where one has had an outstandingly sensational version at a different time in a different place). In contrast, the grilled cheese and pesto ravioli I had was excellent. Did I mention that I put on twenty pounds on this trip?
The evening was a lot of fun partly due partly to the entertainment provided by Marko the Master Magician and Hypnotist. We hadn’t known that he was going to be there – perhaps he does every Monday? This guy was fun! He wandered around the restaurant performing a selection of cute card tricks and clever routines with a variety of foam balls. He had a great patter and visited our table twice to baffle and amuse us. I even contributed 25 cents to watch him commit a felony offense (defacing currency) and then plant the evidence on me!
We also had a great outing to the Northern Stage in White Rivers Junction for a matinee performance of Mamma Mia. This is a cute and intimate little theatre where they put on a lively, toe-tapping, hand-clapping show. By the end of the performance just about everyone, including my mother, was on their feet, jiggling and shaking whatever they could in time with the music. Again, a lot of fun.
As we generally do on these trips, we stayed with my youngest brother Steph and his wife Hope at their magnificent home in Canaan, New Hampshire. Not only are they splendid hosts, if you opt for the four star treatment Steph will fire up the sauna for a wonderfully relaxing and invigorating experience; a hot steamy sweat followed by a plunge (or two) into the recently and barely unfrozen Mascoma River certainly gets the heart going!
We also had a chance to visit my other brother Sandy and his wife Pam in their new home in Castleton, Vermont. We didn’t see it in its “before” stage but, as it has been rented out to college students – rugby players no less – for the past several years, I imagine it was pretty grim. They have now renovated it throughout and they’ve done a great job. We walked down the road for a splendid lunch at the Birdseye Diner on Main Street which is in danger of becoming one of my all-time favourite diners – good burgers, an abundant supply of fries and thick, thick milkshakes just like they used to make in my younger days. Did I mention that I put on twenty pounds during this trip?
After a few days with my mother we took off on a little road trip. Our plan was to meander up the coast of Maine for a few days, a state neither Pen nor I had ever visited previously. We stopped in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to meet up with my nephew Greg who was just finishing his final year at the University of New Hampshire. He took some precious time out from his studying to meet us in town and, after a few confused text messages and calls we finally found him, literally in the middle of the street. He showed us around a bit of the town and then we treated him to lunch at the River House Restaurant overlooking the Piscataqua River. And very nice it was too. The waitress required a fork-lift truck to deliver my burger to the table – the Three Alarm Burger, so-called because it was spicy (and delicious). Pen reckoned it was called the three alarm burger because of the potential for inducing a heart attack! Did I mention that I put on twenty pounds during this trip?
After lunch we made our way gently up the coast towards Kennebunkport for our first night on the road. We were, of course, very early in the season for Maine so most places were relatively tourist-lite and we could explore and wander to our heart’s content.
On the way up we paused (at Sandy & Pam’s suggestion) and wandered along the glorious beach at Ogunquit. The wind was blowing and it’s fair to say it was a bit “fresh” but the place was virtually deserted and we had the whole beach almost to ourselves. I can’t image what it must be like in the height of the summer season.
When we got to Kennebunkport we did a drive-by of the Bush complex on Walker’s Point, explored the rock pools at Porpoise Cove and settled for the night at the 1802 House Bed & Breakfast which was terrific. It’s run by a couple who had lived in the UK for twenty years so we had much to discuss and many commiserations to share. Like us, they were astonished and bewildered that anyone would think Brexit was a good idea.
On the recommendation of the proprietors of the 1802 House, we had dinner at Hurricane right in the middle of Kennebunkport. It was very good but we did find the arrangement of the dining tables somewhat skewed. The place is right on the river so, not surprisingly, most diners prefer to sit at the windows overlooking the river. As a consequence, there are far too many tables crammed in by the windows so that one ends up with the neighbouring diners virtually in your lap. This might not be so bad apart from the size of some of these diners – perhaps not as huge as those we encountered last year in the south but still substantially large. As the party next to us prepared to leave it was clear there was no way they were going to be able to get out from behind their table gracefully and I was obliged to vacate my chair to enable one relatively rotund gentleman to shuffle past. It had been his birthday (I told you the tables were placed intimately) and he was served the largest piece of carrot cake I have ever seen. No wonder he was somewhat large.
After a substantial breakfast the following morning, we were on our way up the coast to Rockland. On the way we made a slight detour to Two Light State Park, the site of two lighthouses, you will be amazed to learn. One is now a private home but the highlight of this particular spot were the rock pools which Ms Playchute explored thoroughly – they reminded her of many happy moments exploring rock pools on her childhood seaside holidays. Regrettably, there wasn’t that much to see in these.
We also stopped enroute to explore the mammoth shopping complex that is the LL Bean campus in Freeport. My goodness, that place is huge! Fortunately/unfortunately we had placed our LL Bean orders to be delivered to my mother’s apartment prior to leaving the UK so this was just an opportunity for some additional window shopping. And my goodness was there a lot to see! I have to confess, I was struck, though, by the notice that all firearms had to be deposited at the Hunting and Fishing information desk upon entering the store. Anyone packing heat and walking into a store in the UK would be arrested – of course, in the States it’s almost one’s constitutional duty.
In Rockland we stayed at the Berry Manor Inn, a wonderful old substantial house with 19th century décor and a couple of wacky owners. One of the highlights of staying at this place is the regular production of homemade pies which materialise at intervals throughout the day. On our arrival a cherry pie had just emerged from the oven and we were offered a piece with a scoop of delicious vanilla ice cream along with the suggestion that if we felt peckish at any point during the day or night we should help ourselves. Did I mention that I gained twenty pounds on this trip?
As it happened, we arrived in Rockport just in time for AIR – Art in Rockland. On the first Friday of the month from May through October, all the galleries in town (of which there are seemingly several hundred) open their doors from 5 to 9. Many of the artists whose work is exhibited attend so one can chat and ask questions and, even better, each gallery has a selection of nibbles and wine or beer on offer.
There was a lot of really good stuff to see (as well, of course, some things which left us less than moved). One magnificent painting I really enjoyed – a front-on view of five or six young boys, probably about nine or ten years old, cycling headlong down a steep hill, the wind in their hair and the expressions on their faces ranging from delight and joy to absolute panic and terror. I would have bought it in a heartbeat but, unfortunately, the price was a bit out of my reach – $32,000. Also, I’m not sure we’d have anywhere to hang it in our 18th century home.
After grazing our way down Main Street we found our way to our restaurant for the evening, Eclipse, which is right on the water overlooking Rockland’s harbour. As it was Cinco de Mayo we enjoyed a couple of margaritas to start and then consumed another mountain of food. Did I mention that I gained twenty pounds on this trip?
Breakfast the following morning was both deliciously ample and surreal. The blueberry waffles were lovely if excessively sweet for our taste but the highlight of the morning was the host’s performance. While the wife was busy in the kitchen, the husband carried out the serving responsibilities while wearing a beaver hat, complete with long, dangling ears. Meanwhile, every inch of the sideboard in the dining room was jammed with stuffed toy animals of varying varieties and sizes. At suitable points during breakfast, the husband would wander over to the sideboard and switch on one of the animals which would sing, dance or otherwise “perform” in some manner. I think my favourite was the great white shark which sang “Mack the Knife.” Honestly, you couldn’t make it up!
Before leaving town we made our way to the Maine Lighthouse Museum which I had been looking forward to visiting. If you are interested in the history and workings of lighthouses in general and the dozens of Maine lighthouses in particular, this is the place. Unfortunately, it was also excruciatingly dull which is a shame as it could have been so much more engaging with just a handful of interactive displays.
And so we were off up the coast towards Bar Harbor, our destination for the last night of our trip. Route 1 up the Maine coast is probably one of the most glorious drives in the United States. Or, at least it’s presumably glorious on a nice, sunny day. In contrast, we had a day of driving rain and fog. I suppose we really should be grateful – it reminded us of home! Sadly, because of the inclement weather we abandoned the climb to the top of Owl’s Nest lighthouse nor did we take the elevator to the top of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory – the only bridge observatory in the US and one of only four in the world! Not much point going up if visibility is limited to about 50 metres! Hey ho.
We had hoped to stay at the Saltair Inn in Bar Harbor but, alas, they had only one room left at a price somewhat higher than I wanted to pay so we ended up at the Bar Harbor Inn which was marginally more reasonable but, at the same time, well above the standard and quality we are accustomed to enjoying. It’s in a fabulous location right on the sea and we had an ocean view room. When we arrived I did wonder how much of the ocean view we would enjoy but the following morning was gloriously sunny and the views were gorgeous!
Bar Harbor was a fun little town which again, because we were early in the season, was three-quarters deserted. What it must be like at the height of the season doesn’t bear thinking about!
We had planned to visit Portland, Maine on our way back but we decided to give it a miss and make our way from Bar Harbor straight back to Canaan. We went via the White Mountains in NH and had a leisurely (but very long) drive home. At one point we stopped at a Subway (the only thing we saw, I’m afraid to say) to grab a snack and to provide me with an opportunity to visit the little boys’ room. I had a 6” spicy Italian [insert your own joke here] and Penny, after some hesitation, decided to have a chicken salad. When we sat down and Pen had a bite of her salad she asked, “Why did the lad heat my chicken?” “Hmm,” I said. “Perhaps it’s because he asked you if you wanted it heated up and you said, ‘Yes’”.
On the way back to Canaan we stopped and picked up some salmon to throw on the BBQ when we got back to Steph & Hope’s. My mother came out for dinner and we had a fabulous feast followed by one of the meanest and most wicked saunas I’ve ever endured! Steph and I both threw ourselves into the icy waters of the Mascoma River (twice) although the girls declined. I can’t decide who was the more sensible – the girls, I guess. We slept the sleep of the innocent as both Penny and I sawed lumber vociferously through the night.
And so, like all good things, our visit to New Hampshire came to an end. We set off for Boston and our flight back to the UK. However, we still had the pleasure of a quick visit with our very good friends, Chip & Leca Boynton to look forward to.
I shared a house with Chip at Yale for a period of time – he must sincerely regret his decision to join our house in New Haven as it means that we turn up regularly, like bad pennies, to abuse his generous hospitality.
As it happens, the Red Sox were playing at home that evening so Chip had generously secured some tickets to the game at Fenway. If you know anything about baseball you will know that Fenway is a shrine which is on every baseball fan’s bucket list. We went for an early dinner at Eastern Standard where we started with copious numbers of oysters. Very tasty too although I think the idea of “tasting notes” for the different variety of oysters (as they provide at Neptune’s) would be an improvement – my uneducated palate is insufficiently sophisticated to be able to discern one oyster from another. The rib eye steak which followed was exceedingly tasty and, as usual, enormously sized – did I mention that I put on twenty pounds on this trip?
After dinner, Chip and I walked the short distance to Fenway just in time for the first pitch. Sadly, the weather was a bit brisk (although it didn’t rain) and the Red Sox lost but it’s always a real treat to visit Fenway and the Boston fans are amongst the friendliest in the world.
Penny, of course, would rather watch paint dry than attend a baseball game and the mere mention of oysters is likely to make her puke, so she and Leca made other plans. It turns out they went clubbing and ended up in a place with trapeze artists performing above them. They were even later home than we were that night!
Our flight home wasn’t until late the following evening so we had most of Saturday to enjoy. After a leisurely breakfast and relaxing morning, we set off to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for a Matisse exhibition which was terrific. There were some paintings with which I was familiar and, as always, it’s a treat to be able to see these masterpieces “in the flesh.” The exhibition was based around a collection of objects which Matisse used in his paintings in a variety of ways and contexts which made it even more enjoyable.
“Matisse in the Studio” is the first major international exhibition to examine the importance of Matisse’s personal collection of objects, offering unprecedented insight into the great artist’s creativity. See these rare pairings of Matisse’s major works with objects of inspiration in “Matisse in the Studio” in its only US venue at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
After the exhibition we made our way to a place in the theatre district for dinner, Erbaluce where we enjoyed one final excellent, excellent meal. This was a small, quiet and very cosy place with delicious food, fine wine and marvellous service. Many of you know that I am not a fan of parsnips (or turnips for that matter). However, one of the starters on the menu that evening was scallops in a parsnip sauce. When the waitress saw the crunched up face I made when she mentioned parsnips, she laughed and suggested I try it. She assured me I would not be disappointed. And I wasn’t – it was excellent. Still, parsnips (and turnips) remain, for me, the devil’s food.
By the way, did I mention that I gained twenty pounds on this trip?
The flight home was fine although neither Ms Playchute nor I got a wink of sleep – probably too much fine food! All in all, a wonderfully splendid trip. Here’s to the next time.
And finally. . .
I guess you all will have heard of the cyber-ransom attack which affected significant numbers of computers in the NHS in Britain. This appeared in the New Yorker the other day:
Yep. That sounds about right.
Much love to you all,
Greg