Special Edition: Boston

I had a few days in Boston and did a bit of this and that. It is strange for me to think that my first visit to this city was less than a year ago; now I feel as if I have a handle on the city and know my way around.

Stephen took me to this really cool dim sum place inside an old opera house. It was definitely authentic and I was glad that he was experienced to guide me through it!

Stephen is the best host. We went from maybe seeing eachother for drinks once a year when he was visiting OKC to getting to see and talk to him regularly this summer.



I drove to the outskirts of the city to visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. I checked out the William Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock last year on my way home from North Carolina, so I thought this would be a good inclusion for my trip, especially since I had access to my car to get here. The libraries definitely had different feels as the presidents served in different times, but I was glad to visit this place of so much history and change. 

 

A friend from high school, Maddie is now attending Harvard Law. The first time I met Maddie I was a senior and she was a sophomore at McGuinness. I remember she knew who I was and I thought that was pretty cool, so I set out to find out who she was. Little did I know that she would soon make a name for herself. Personable, intelligent, athletic, and beautiful, Maddie is a rockstar. She took over the reigns when I left McGuinness, attended TCU with a great scholarship, became student body president there and prompted a lot of change. Now Maddie is in a new city and reading away to do good for the rest of her life. 6 years ago I said I could not wait to see what Maddie would do, but I don't think I ever thought this! As we had dinner on another threshold I again thought "wow, I cannot wait to see what this girl does for our world". 

 

A Final Vineyard Weekend

Mike, Esther, Jolyne and I made 48 hours on the Vineyard count! We visited every corner of the island, caught sight of all 4 lighthouses, visited the Farmers Market, and ate some good food.

Mike and Jolyne made the trek trans-Atlantic to visit me when I lived in Austria in the spring of 2012. We had some awesome times together visiting Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Munich.  Last spring Esther and Jolyne came to visit me on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drank wine & beer and laughed a lot. I twas really cool to have the 3 of them come to see me on Martha’s Vineyard. Jolyne is the only person who has seen all 3 of my temporary home and Esther and Mike are the only ones who have seen 2 of the 3!

Mike and Jolyne (my second parents) helped me pack (moe like cram) my entire life into my Ford Escape on their last day on the island.Moving is always stressful, but especially so when you have a finite amount of space in your car and have to take a ferry and beat a hurricane. So, a tad bit of stress was overcome with their help. We obviously made it to the mainland,but the waters were a little choppy leaving the island! We were aboard the freight vessel and the captain came over the loud speaker to tell people to get in their car or get a towel because waves would be coming over the bow of the ship! Island life, am I right?!

 We stopped by Cheers for a pint while in Boston
 

Mike, Jolyne, and Esther spent a little time in Boston before flying out on Tuesday. We met with Esther’s niece and her husband who live in Beacon Hill. This was a really cool experience to be inside a house in this historical neighborhood. Jason was full of so much history and information that I was ecstatic to learn. He offered us a tour of the house and Jolyne and I received a brief walking tour of Boston on our way to dinner! The weather was drizzly with Hermine moving in, but it was perfect for a corner restaurant in the North End with all the windows open. We relished wine, anti-pastas, wonderful entrees, and great company. This was a really enjoyable and special night of the trip.

Esther + Jolyne

Well, we came, we saw, and we conquered Maine. It was such a treat to visit this beautiful state while living in New England. I neve rthought I would have my Oklahoma car in Maine, but Helen had the chance to cover some ground this past week. We visited Portland, Rockford, Booth Bay Harbor, Bath, Newcastle, and Old Orchard Beach. I checked a couple things off the bucket list like “eat lobster in Maine” and “stay in a bed and breakfast inMaine”. I always imagined these as such quintessential Maine doings and really seemed like the pace of the place. Jolyne booked some great lodging for us including the oldest bed and breakfast in Old Orchard complete with beautiful porches and floral wallpaper, an inn with a harbor view in Booth Bay Harbor with a restaurant in a tugboat, and the oldest hotel in Portland with a beautiful downtown location and antique touches.

We started off with a dinner in New Hampshire at a fun brewery. Portsmouth was really, truly hopping on a Tuesday night! The downtown was so cool to drive through with their wonderful business signs sticking ou tin the street – reminiscent of Salzburg. So New Hampshire, check.

After drinking some zinfandel on the beautiful porch of the bed and breakfast we caught some zzzs in my favorite floral room.  Esther made some friends at breakfast and we headed down to the beach and famous pier. The weather was gray, but Esther got to dip her feet in the sand.

We meandered further north and took in some beautiful landscapes. The huge evergreens and serene water seemed to be around every bend. Every view was if out of a postcard.

We kinda-accidentally-on-purpose-but-misinformed visited a meadery! Who knew. You’ll have to get this story from me in person. But, alas,we visited a meadery in Maine so not everyone can say that! And we’ll never have to visit a meadery in Maine again.

We found our way to a lighthouse in Owls Head with some cool dock views we stumbled on nearby.

In plenty of time for sunset we arrived in the beautiful town of Booth Bay Harbor. This spot was so New England small town with Main Street shops, a beautiful bay, and one way streets. The parking lot for our inn was a deck over the water- we didn’t drop any keys or phones between the cracks in the boards! Room 403 had a beautiful view over the boat-filled bay as the sunset the town aglow.

This is a very important point in the story. I feel like the gravity may be taken lightly via this blog post, but I want you to understand how narrowly we avoided missing this life-changing opportunity. We were walking up and down the main drag reading curbside menus and trying to decide where to dine. None of us were too motivated to decide, but we made our way into a local fishy place. It was a little dark and drab for me, not my preferred dining experience, so we made our way back to a previously visited spot and boy am I glad we did. After climbing a set of stairs up to the second floor patio we made our second great decision- blueberry pomegranate sangria. Though it sounded too sweet, it ended up being our only option, so we went for it. Yum.Then, the life-changing moment. Are you ready for it? No, we didn’t meet a celebrity. No, tongues of fire did not light up the already beautifully lit deck. And no, I didn’t meet the love of my life.

I ordered the truffle oil lobster tail over asparagus risotto with truffle pearls. My mouth is watering typing those words. Yes, the most delectable, decadent, and scrumptious meal. 

Phew.

From Booth Bay Harbor we went to Booth Bay and the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden









  

Accidentally matching the black-eyed Susan fields








 

Portland was a really cool spot in the trip. It was bigger than the towns we had visited with a bustling downtown, but it still wasn’t a big city. In early September it was beautiful and I kept thinking “why don’t I live here?!” until seeing the “No Parking in this Area During Snow” and“Emergency Snow Route” and realizing I wouldn’t survive the winter months. Just outside of Portland is the most beautiful lighthouse I have ever seen. Last summer I visited lighthouses in the Outerbanks- many stories tall, black and white striped, with sandy ocean views. The Maine lighthouses were different,but beautiful in their own right. This lighthouse is the most picturesque view I’ve ever witnessed.

This lighthouse was wayyy off shore. I'm not sure the story behind it, but I can't believe it's still standing.

 We visited the Portland museum of art with a special bird exhibit!