The Sabbath, Shakers, Lobster, Eartha, Vodka and Custard

Sunday, 10/10

A gray morning, but we all head to New Gloucester to visit the SabbathDay Lake Shaker Village, dating from 1782.  Shakers were, and are, a religious group with colonies scattered throughout the east and Midwest.  This colony is considered the last active village.  Unfortunately, the village was closed to visitors on this day.

Turning lemons into lemonade, we head for Freeport where everyone visited the multi-building LL Bean store, had more lobster rolls and clam chowder, wandered along the streets looking for that special bargain.  Well, the women did while the men enjoyed standing in the sunshine, learning more about the area from the "locals". 

Freeport's stores have to love these shoppers.

Further exploration took us to "Eartha".  Not a female, Eartha is the largest known globe in the world.  Designed by the employees of the DeLorme Company, this 3 ton rotating globe represents one of the largest computer mapping databases in the world.  The printed data on the globe is a composite of satellite imagery, ocean-depth data and information about road networks & urban areas.  Sorry, but no picture can present the works, but you can go to www.delorme.com to learn more about it and the company.

Then, there's vodka.  Potato vodka, that is!  Of course it has to be made from potatoes if it's to be made in Maine, one of the largest potato producing states.  A tour and samples (of course!) were part of the afternoon.  By the way, blueberry flavored vodka was not a hit, although blueberries are another major Maine crop.


Hey!  Men can shop too!

 Custard?  Yes, to appease Doris, we had to stop at the frozen custard shop before it closed for the season, as so many shops do in Maine's coastal area after the tourist season .  A warm afternoon aided everyone aboard to consume even more calories ... but they were good tasting calories, which makes them legal.

After all this fine dining, I can't remember what we did with the rest of the day & evening, but you can bet we didn't stop terrorizing the local lobster.

East to Down East

Saturday, 10/09

We're blessed again.  It's a traveling day and once again, the weather is perfect.  Driving along US 302 into Maine and southeasterly along Sebago Lake toward our destination, the morning sun slanted through the forest of pine and mostly brilliantly colored foliage alongside the road.  I'm beginning to wonder if our group will finally say they've had enough of this foliage stuff!  Nope!  The CB chatter says otherwise.  I've seen so many foliage-filled autumns back here, yet even I am awed by this year's presentation of autumn artistry. 

Arriving at our Freeport, Maine RV park, there's a bit of confusion as the owner had erroneously canceled one space, the first kerfuffle of the trip.  Once sorted out, we establish our residences for the next four days a short distance from LL Bean's famed headquarters, store, and surrounding village filled with interesting shops and restaurants.  "The Lobster Locusts" as this group has become begins its independent search for the finest (or at least the most) lobster that everyone can consume.  After all, that's what one does in Maine, and we're all going to do it with gusto!

Doris & I have an advantage.  Cindy & Holly, our nieces, live nearby and have selected a special restaurant with seating by the fireplace and exquisite service.  But first, we are taken to Cindy & David's home in nearby Yarmouth, a quintessential New England village, where we enjoy reconnecting and a libation.  A tour of the garden with their new puppy is special. 

From Nova Scotia, this pup LOVES fresh tomatoes from the vine.

A wonderful down east lobster dinner with family.  A great combination.

Fryeburg Fair

Friday, 10/08

This morning's sunshine brought out Tony's obsession with Vitamin D.  Or maybe he's just drying out after the rains.

Sunshine!  It was either astute tour planning on my part, or (more believably) dumb luck favoring us wandering Californians that gave us sunshine on the day we chose to cross the nearby border into Maine and partake of the Fryeburg Fair. 

On this trip, Doris & I have enjoyed the Wyoming State Fair,The Tunbridge (VT) World Fair, and now the Fryeburg (ME) Fair.  None are like the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton because all three were in the country and filled with country style exhibits and activities for farmers and ranchers rather than the carnival atmosphere of the more suburban fairs.  This time with friends, we really enjoyed the agricultural aspect.  Blue ribbon winning work horses, oxen, sheep, goats, chickens ... you name it, we saw them all.  Especially interesting was the ox pulling contest.  No, we didn't pull the oxen.  Instead teams of ox competed in pulling heavier and heavier weights.  Maxing out at  pulling 11,700#, the team that won certainly deserved an extra dessert.

Ox pulling contest,  near standing room only audience.

If you're going to pet the goats, you better bring food!

With signs like this at the fair, we began telling everyone that we're really from Canada, not California.