Saturday/Sunday - July 31/Aug 1/10

Kelly & Pat got up early and went for one last walk on the beach before heading for home while Nan & I decided to catch a bit more sleep.

We were on the road about 9:30 and had a good trip home. We stopped in Portsmouth and I bought John an iPad, nice to buy it there with no taxes!

On the way home we stopped at Quechee Gorge and the girls & Pat walked down into the gorge while I stayed up and walked over the bridge to see it. They said there was quite a steep climb up and down and with my knee giving me grief we figured it was better for me stay up on terra firma.

We stopped and took pictures of this old covered bridge.



We stopped Saturday night near Saratota Springs, NY then on home on Sunday. Serita picked Pat up at Limeridge Mall in Hamilton, which saved us about an hour’s driving time by not having to go into Brantford, then we arrived back at Nan’s in Bolton about 5:30. John was already there, as well as Tim & Derrick to pick up Kel and Carl, bless him, had dinner ready for all of us – yummy chicken, sausage, potatoes, salad etc. It was nice to have a home cooked meal again!

As soon as we ate John & I headed for home, arriving about 11:30, it was so nice to sleep in my own bed again!!

We had a great trip and I think we all enjoyed it and I can’t imagine anyone would say we didn’t do enough shopping!!! A very nice summer holiday!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Today was another sunny, warm day – a great day for our visit to Boston. We were up at 6 a.m. to be at the Amtrak station to catch the 8:15 train to Boston. It was a good ride in and we got there about 10:15 and had to be back at the station to catch the 5:40 train back to Saco.

We picked up a trolley tour and did pretty well the whole tour of Boston before getting off to do a harbour cruise. After the cruise we walked over to Faneuil Hall and stopped for a bowl of yummy clam chowder for lunch, then walked to the Statute of Paul Revere and toured the Old North Church, then on past Paul Revere’s House to a pick up stop to get back on the trolley and back to the train station.

It was interesting to see the planes flying into Logan Airport, which is the only airport in the heart of a city. They were very low flying in over the harbour.

I will let the pictures show what we saw.




















All in all it was another great day but very tiring. (Kel & Nan on the train home!!)


We got back to the hotel, ordered pizza for dinner, ate and pretty well crashed.

And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to another great day tomorrow.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

It rained a bit during the night but we awoke to bright sunshine and enjoyed another hot, sunny day.

This morning our first stop was the train station at Saco to buy our Amtrak tickets for our trip into Boston tomorrow. From there we headed to the outlet malls in Kittery, which is just on the New Hampshire border.

Boy, talk about a busy place and a weird outlet mall – the road runs between the shops and there are 4 or 5 different areas so you have to keep moving the car. Our first stop was fine and we had no problem finding a parking spot but that was not the case at the next area we wanted to stop – it was a flipping zoo and we couldn’t find a parking spot so drove around a couple of times and headed to the next one. Fortunately we got a parking spot there and managed to find some really good bargains at the Columbia Sportswear outlet so left there happy.

Our next stop was Best Buy but they didn’t have the iPad I wanted so it was on to downtown Portsmouth. We stopped at Albacore Park and saw the Albacore submarine, a submarine that was used during WWII; we didn’t take the time to do an actual tour of it but did check it out and agree that there was no way any of us would be able to sail on something like that.


We got downtown and finally managed to find a parking spot so we could walk around a bit. We went to the Portsmouth Discovery Centre and watched a video on Portsmouth then the lady at the centre recommended we tour the Moffatt-Ladd House which was built in the 1790’s. It was a beautiful home and we really enjoyed the tour.

Portsmouth Brewery Sign


Loved the Name of This Pub

From there it was a stop at Wal Mart then back to Biddeford for dinner at the Olive Garden, which was very good, then back to the hotel around 9 p.m. We sure do seem to put in long days!!!

It is now time to hit the sack as we have to be up at 6 a.m. to be at the train station in Saco in time for the 8:15 a.m. train. I think another long day is ahead!

And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to another great day tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

And the gorgeous weather continues although today was a bit hotter and more humid than yesterday, but thankfully there was a nice breeze.

Our first stop this morning was a quick run into Wal Mart to get water plus a few other things we wanted. From there it was off to Old Orchard Beach and the mini golf, what a blast that was and yahoo, I got 3 holes in one; and wow, I was the only one to get any holes in one – just pure luck!!

Next it was a stop at Tim’s for a coffee then on to Prout's Neck and then Cape Elizabeth where there are twin lights. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a way to get close to the lights but managed to get pictures of them from the Lobster Shack where we had lunch. It was a nice lunch sitting at a picnic table overlooking the ocean and after we ate Nan & Kel walked down on the rocks a bit. We drove around the cape looking at the houses and wow, are there ever some beauties!

View of Old Orchard from Prout's Neck


Prout's Neck Post Office



Nan & Kel on the Rocks at Cape Elizabeth


The Twin Lights



We came back to the hotel and Kel & Pat changed into their bathing suits and we were off to Biddeford Pool, a beach the girl on reception here at the hotel told us about. I didn’t bother with my bathing suit as I hadn’t really been too impressed with the beach at Old Orchard Beach but the one today was much nicer, with very little seaweed, and the water seemed a bit of warmer so I sort of wished I had put on my suit, on the other hand it was much cooler at the beach as it was after 5 when we got there so it was just nice sitting there. Nan doesn’t have a bathing suit and hasn’t been able to buy one so we kept each other company on the beach while Kel & Pat swam.

From there we drove around Biddeford Pool and Fortune’s Rock, once more oohing and aahing over the beautiful homes overlooking the ocean and we had to listen to the girls bemoaning the fact that they don’t have rich parents with a nice house on the ocean – poor them!

Biddeford Pool



Fortune's Rock

Back again to the hotel and after a quick change we went to Restaurant 99 for dinner and had another yummy meal.

I don’t know how the days can go so fast but they just seem to fly by, guess time flies when you are having fun! Again, by the time I get this finished I will be ready to hit the hay!

And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to another great day tomorrow.

Monday, July 26, 2010

We are so lucky with the weather as today was another gorgeous, sunny day although it was hotter than I like but guess that is better than freezing cold and wet.

We had breakfast at the hotel as it is included in the price, then headed out for a day of touring. Our first stop was the Lighthouse Shop where we enjoyed browsing through the store and, good heavens, we all found a couple of things that we just couldn’t live without purchasing!! We then drove to Kennebunkport where we admired all the gorgeous houses and got our first glimpse of the ocean. We found a parking spot and walked a bit along the waterfront where we took some pictures and drank in the scenery.

Kennebunkport





We toured in a southerly direction along the coast enjoying the scenery, even though there were throngs of other tourists doing the same thing – imagine that at this time of year!! We eventually arrived at Perkins Cove, a small community along the coast with the usual tourist shops, and gorgeous scenery. We parked the car a couple of blocks away from the tourist stuff (the only place we could find a parking spot!) then walked down into the cove. There is a pretty walkway along the ocean, Marginal Way, and we enjoyed the walk along it and the scenery.

Views from Marginal Way






We returned to the cove where we had a delicious lunch on a covered patio looking over the ocean, then wandered through some shops in the cove and took pictures. I managed to hold onto my money while wandering the stores there but a couple of our group managed to find something that sparked their attention.

Perkins Cove





We came back to our hotel, relaxed for a few minutes then headed to Pine Beach at Old Orchard Beach. The tide was out when we got there so it looked kind of yucky with the seaweed on the beach but we all went down and waded in the ocean for a bit, but Pat was the only truly brave one who actually went for a swim. She and Kelly then walked further down the beach while Nan and I just sat and enjoyed the scenery and watched our belongings.

It was about 8 when we got back to the hotel so we ordered a pizza to be delivered for dinner and it was delicious. We have had a brief chat on Skype with Art in Australia and I am now trying to get this done before I crash.

And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to another great day tomorrow.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

This morning I woke up to comments about how loud I was last night, my sister & Kel both seem to think I was doing some serious snoring but Nan said she didn’t hear a thing so I am taking her word and not believing the other two – tee, hee! (I couldn’t figure out when I woke up about 5:30 why Pat had a pillow over her head but didn’t think too hard about it!!). Anyways, I have never laughed so much first thing in the morning and I have promised them I will try to do better tonight and be much quieter.

Nan & Kel Loading the Car this Morning


We were on the road by 9:15 and it took us 9 hours to drive 300 km, needless to say we did some stops along the way. The drive through the White Mountains in New Hampshire was beautiful and we stopped in the Franconia Notch National Forest and walked to The Basin, what a pretty walk and so nice in the woods. The Basin was very interesting and it was so tempting to just jump in the water and cool off! Of course it is all posted “No Swimming”.

Pictures from The Basin Walk






The Basin


Views of the White Mountains




We went to North Conway in New Hampshire and had lunch and spent a couple of hours shopping at the outlet mall there as well as a stop at the L. L. Bean outlet. We all found some good bargains so it was a very profitable stop for us. On Kel’s recommendation we went to the Christmas Tree Shop, which is like a dollar store and again found some bargains there. I have never seen or heard of the Christmas Tree Stores but will stop again if I ever come across another one in our travels.

After a very scenic drive on the back roads of New Hampshire & Maine we arrived at our hotel, Comfort Suites in Biddeford Maine about 6:15 and got checked in then headed out to find something for dinner. We ended up at Applebee’s where we had a great dinner for a great price, I was the only one who has been to Applebee’s but now they all say they will go again as we really enjoyed it.

After dinner we walked over to Kohl’s for a quick look around – no spending there, then stopped at Target where there were a couple of items bought. Then it was back to the hotel to finish unpacking etc., get caught up on e-mails and I want to get this done before going to bed, which will be soon as I am wiped.

And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to another great day tomorrow.