It's all Kaaren's fault

So, it's a beautiful Saturday here in our town.  I should be out kayaking, but because of this post of Kaaren's, I chose to go looking for tomatoes instead.  I've been thinking about this sauce since she posted last week, and now it's Mine!    And it is awesome.  DH helped make it, we added some onions and peppers, and I can't wait for dinner!  I didn't record the process like Kaaren did, but I will say that it's very easy to make, and well worth the effort.

On my way to the produce stand, I was noticing the fall colors around town. 

 

When we returned home from vacation last week, the trees here were still all green, which was a notable change from the colors we had seen in New England.

 

I just love everything about Fall, except that it means Winter is coming.

 

Even my lunchtime stitching project has been for Fall.  I put in the final stitches a couple of hours ago, and I hope to get it finished off in the next couple of days.

And now I'm heading off to the sewing room.  Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.

LOL!  Thanks Kaaren!!     ........      Sunny

 

 

One FLower Wednesday

I can't believe I didn't think to pick up a pink fat quarter or three while I was in Maine!  If you'd like to see more pretty flowers, go to the linky list on Karen's Blog.  She keeps us motivated to cultivate our flower gardens each week.

Keep on stitching.....Sunny

 

 

Back to Reality

One of the chores one must endure when returning home from vacation, is sorting through all the junk mail that filled the box while away.  But it wasn't all junk or bills this time.  I had a lovely handmade envelope containing my September BSA blocks.  Yes, two of them from Becky.  I just love the blue floral that she used!  Thanks Becky.

Another envelope contained this beautiful cross stitch pattern from Liz at Sunflower Fields Pattern Company.  I had admired the piece on her blog, and she sent me the pattern!  It's an original design, and I'll be stitching it up in the very near future.

If you don't know Liz, you should pay her a visit.  She specializes in wool these days, and has some adorable designs.

I thought I'd throw in a picture of my afghan.  I made good progress on it while traveling.  I have to make good use of all those hours in the car!

 

Keep on stitching.....Sunny

 

 

The End of the Adventure

 

We were treated to this rainbow  while eating our final dinner in Bar Harbor.  This was the most vivid rainbow I ever remember seeing.  And it was huge!  My camera could not capture the entire thing.  It's hard to see in the third picture, but there was a very faint  second rainbow off to the left. People were leaving the restaurant to take pictures. Was there a pot of gold at the end?  I'm still waiting for DH to check our lottery numbers to see if we won a pot of gold.

 

Keep on stitching.....Sunny

 

 

The Adventure....Friday and Saturday

Friday - Bar harbor and a hike

For some reason, we slept in a little longer than usual, and by the time we drove into Bar Harbor and had breakfast, it was too late to take the ferry that we had planned.  So we walked around town again, this time going down to the pier, which we hadn't done yet.  Another cruise ship had docked, and the passengers were being ferried ashore, so the shops were very busy.  But we had no agenda at this point, so we just wandered around.

We were staying in an EXTREMELY inexpensive motel a few miles from town, and we dreamed about where we'd like to stay next time, assuming we win a lottery between now and then.

There must have been some sort of car convention in one of the towns, because we saw cars like this all over the island.

And I took a few pictures of boats, because I like pictures of boats....

 

Then we were off to the southern end of the island for a hike. Our destination was Ship Harbor, and it was a pretty little harbor. The pictures would have been much better with a little sunshine, but it was in short display on this day.

 

Maine is all about raw beauty, and the forces of nature.  It can be a very harsh environment, and I admire the people who choose to live there year round.  The towns and villages are very beautiful, and there are flowers everywhere.  The people we've encountered are very friendly and accomodating, as tourism is their livelihood.   If I thought I could endure the winters, I'd love to live here. 

Saturday - the trip home

Our route home this year is a little different than in years past.  We're going through New Hampshire and Vermont.  The morning was dreary and drizzly, and as we neared our first stop for the day, the sun came out and all the clouds disappeared just in time for our drive up Mt. Washington.  I read the warnings that if you're afraid of heights, this may not be a pleasurable experience.  But I figured if I was in a car, on a road, how bad could it be????  Let's just say, it was not the most pleasurable experience on the way up, but experiencing the summit was well worth the white knuckles.  And DH was driving.  I couldn't have done it.  For those of you who live near 'real' mountains, you're probably snickering right now, but I've lived on the East Coast for nearly 30 years now, and this is a 'real' mountain to me now!  And that's a scarey road!!

The top of the world

 

Next, our travels took us to Vermont.  I think this is the most beautiful state I've ever been in.  We didn't get many pictures, because we didn't take the time to stop, and the light was all wrong, but believe me, this is incredibly beautiful.  "Leaf Season" is beginning, and I would love to be able to come back in another week or two, to see the state painted in nature's most glorious colors.  We stopped a couple of times today, and bought apples, potatoes, and maple syrup.  I have a real desire right now to quit my job and the rat race, move someplace in the country, and take up a much simpler life.  I'd like to have the time to garden, and can my own vegetables, bake foods using my own produce, and be far more self sufficient than I am.  I'd like to erase the daily commute, and spend more time living!  and enjoying!  and sewing and creating!  To that end, we did purchase a couple of lottery tickets today.  Keep your fingers crossed.

We will finish the drive home tomorrow, and in all likelihood, there won't be any pictures or interesting stories.  Thank you to everyone who has followed our journey.  This blog is also my scrapbook, so I tend to include a lot of pictures when we're travelling.  I plan to get caught up on all your blogs in the coming week, and get back to stitching.  I still have a few small items to complete before the end of the month. 

Good night from beautiful Vermont!!

The Adventure....Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday – Rainy Day

So what’s a girl to do when it’s raining in an outdoor adventure land?  Visit the Local Quilt Shops, of course.  There’s a very nice shop in Bar Harbor, called Fabricate.  They have a lot of specialty fabrics for the area, and I found a couple of little fat eighth bundles that will work wonderfully in the quilt that I’m designing in my mind.  I spent more time and more money there than I should have, but it was raining!  Then we hit the shops in Bar Harbor.  You can find any number of shops carrying T-shirts, postcards, and mugs.  But there are also a lot of artisans and galleries in the area.  There was a cruise ship in the harbor, so we had to trip over a few blue-hairs, but we had a fun morning despite the dreary weather.  We had lunch at one of the many lobster pounds on the way to Trenton, and then, “oh Honey, there’s another Quilt Shop just a couple of miles up the road”.  DH always has a book in the car, and he was very obliging today.   I managed to purchase a book with Maine motifs for applique, and a lighthouse applique kit.  Everything is buried in the back of the car, so no photos of my haul for the day.

We drove around in the park for awhile, and eventually ended up at yet another lobster pound in Southwest Harbor.  We had chatted with another couple at breakfast that recommended this place, and advised us of the beauty of being there to watch the sun set.  And the sun had indeed made a presence around mid day. 

Sunset in Southwest Harbor

Dinner for Two?

 

Thursday – Boat Cruise

We got an early start today with breakfast in Northeast Harbor, followed by a scenic boat cruise out of the harbor.  Our guide was a National Park Ranger, and he was very informative and interesting to listen to.  When we got to a lighthouse, and again when some harbor seals were spotted sunning on some rocks, the boat captain turned the boat so that everyone could get a good view.  We also spotted several Loons, an immature Bald Eagle, an enormous Osprey nest, and several other birds.  We learned a little about the lobster business, and saw some beautiful scenery.

Bear Lake Light

Harbor seals sunning

 

Vehicles are transported to and from the outer islands by barge.

Boats in Northeast Harbor

 

We took another drive through the park in the afternoon, stopping at a couple of spots that we had skipped the first day.  A few trees are starting to turn, and we got some gorgeous photos of orange trees against a very blue sky.  I love the weather this time of year.  It’s sweatshirt weather, and when we dined outdoors tonight, the restaurant had heaters so it wasn’t too cool. 

Along Park Loop Road

Near Thunder Hole

Now that I know where to find WiFi, I'm almost caught up with the adventures.  More to come later.  Thanks to those of you who are following along.  We'll return to your regularly scheduled blog next week.

My kind of dining establishment

 

 

The Adventure Continues

Our parting shot of Mt. Katahdin

Monday– Calais and Campobello Island.
We are now in Bar Harbor, Maine, in a motel that advertises Free Wi-Fi, but the signal is so weak that I can barely get online, and I can’t begin to download pictures.  So I’m writing my blog post in Word, and will copy it to my blog when I get the opportunity.

I never imagined there were as many trees in the world as I’ve seen the last couple of days in Central Maine.  That’s almost all we see as we drive down the road.  It doesn’t matter if it’s Interstate Highway, or two lane back roads.  Trees.  Everywhere.  Don’t get me wrong – I love trees, but I want to see some other scenery as well.  From time to time we’re rewarded with something like this.  This was taken from a rest area along a two-lane highway.

No roadside rest areas like this in Maryland!

We drove to Calais, and one of the first things DH saw was a sign for Lobster subs.  It was a little early for lunch, but we couldn’t turn down the opportunity for a lobster sub. 

If you're ever in Calais, stop here!!

The bread was freshly baked, and it was an awesome sub!

Next stop was Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.  I was very disappointed that we didn’t get our passports stamped when we crossed the border.  Campobello is the home of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, as well as a couple of picturesque lighthouses.  We spent the afternoon driving around, visiting the lighthouses, and touring the FDR summer home. 

Mulholland Light

East Quoddy Light

 

The flowers around the Roosevelt "cottage" were amazing!

 

This next lighthouse is West Quoddy, and is located near Lubec, on the eastern most tip of the United States.  As you can see from the shadows, it was late afternoon, and we wanted to sleep in Bar Harbor, so we had to hit the road.

Tuesday -  Acadia National Park

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of Maine blueberry pancakes before we drove to Acadia National Park.  Finally, we spent a large portion of the day outdoors instead of in the car.  We took a short hike at the top of Cadillac Mountain, had afternoon tea at Jordan Pond House, took a walk down to the Pond to take pictures, and walked around at Otter Cliffs and Otter Point.  The day started out warm and sunny, but was quite cloudy and blustery by the time we returned to Bar Harbor.  It’s very invigorating to be out on the rocks, watching the sea crashing ashore.

view from the top of Cadillac Mountain

 

Tea at Jordan Pond House

The "Bubbles" as viewed from Jordan Pond

near Otter Cliffs

It began raining while we were eating our dinner of you-guessed-it:  seafood!  Yummm.  It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so we’ll have to get a little creative when planning our activities for the day.  More later when I get WiFi again!