Thursday, September 25, 2014

The Maine Event-Our East Coast Vacay!

Well, it is utterly sad that I am JUST NOW posting about our fabulous vacation that happened in MAY!!! With such a big topic and hundreds of pics to choose from, I keep waiting until I "have the time" to really work on this.  But now that I'm having a baby in less than 5 weeks, I realize, there's no time like the present, so I'm trying to catch up on everything random from blogging to cleaning out our linen closets. (Because that MUST be done before you have a baby, right?) 

So anyway, in May, Jeremie and I celebrated our five year anniversary and upcoming baby with a trip to the East Coast.  I have been wanting to do this for as long as I can remember! The rocky beaches, the darling Cape Cod homes, the lobster rolls......so we booked it and hopped on a non-stop flight to Boston! We arrived in Boston but immediately headed to our first destination: Kennebunkport, Maine which is the MOST DARLING town I have ever been in! The drive to Kennebunkport was SO pretty, we took the scenic route through several little charming towns including, that's right:


We stopped in Ogunquit to take a look at our first Maine beach....It was beautiful...



We stayed at the Seaside Inn, which was over 100 years old. It was precious, right on the beach and served the most fabulous home cooked breakfast in the mornings.


Reminder, I was 17 weeks pregnant at this point......mama was TIRED....so we headed to a darling restaurant to watch the sunset and another restaurant for some dinner.

The next day we were ready to explore, so we took a walk on the beach and met some sweet people who had been coming to Maine to vacation for over 20 years! They gave us some fabulous recommendations. That day we hung out in Kennebunkport, and rode to several little surrounding fishing villages including Cape Porpoise and Goose Rocks Beach. Everything was totally breathtaking.

I just THOUGHT the bump was starting to show in this pic! HA!


We also had our first lobster roll which was AMAZING. I could eat one every day. J embarrassed me by asking someone at the visitors center what a lobster roll was before we went to lunch. That is like asking a Texan what BBQ is. I thought I had explained the lobster roll. 

This is George Bush's summer home, Walker's Point




Cape Porpoise....you can't see it, but there is a light house out there.


I was a little obsessed with all the Cape Cod style homes.
Goose Rocks Beach
That night we ate pizza and actually drove BACK to Cape Porpoise for some blueberry pie that the lady at the visitor's center had told us about. When you say blueberry pie to a pregnant woman, you'd better stand back. On the way, we caught the most beautiful sunset.



So we arrive at this restaurant specifically for the blueberry pie; we are already full from pizza.  Well, apparently, the restaurant is REALLY famous for their fresh lobster and our waitress made that QUITE apparent. She looked at me and J like sinners bound for hell when we didn't order lobster. J was totally embarrassed and made me scarf down my pie before they threw us in the boiling water with the lobster. As we were paying the check, the waitress said "Well, next time, maybe you can come back for the lobster."  Yikes. As a Southern lady, I guess I understand. That'd be like showing up to my tailgate and not eating any of my sausage balls. So next time, We will hit up Nuna's for the  lobster. We promise.

The next day saw a few more gorgeous landmarks before heading to our next destination of Cape Cod.


The "Wedding Cake House" in Kennebunk


One of our favorite suggestions from the sweet couple we met on the beach was a little area called Perkins Cove. There are several charming restaurants right on the beach and a 1 mile walking trail that connects Perkins Cove to Ogunquit.  If you ever go to Maine, I would highly suggest this! We walked the trail and then ate an amazing meal at Jackie's Too and even ran into our sweet couple while there!


The rocky beaches are just breathtaking. I think I may even like them more than sandy beaches. 
We were excited to head to Cape Cod, but honestly sad that we only stayed in Maine a couple nights. It was a last minute add on to our trip, but definitely one of our favorite destinations. We will definitely be going back in the future.

The drive to Cape Cod took a good 3.5 hours as opposed to the 2 we were expecting. Boston traffic was terrible, but we finally made it there and enjoyed the view from our new hotel in South Yarmouth. Now I may be retracting my statement about the rocky vs. sandy beaches.



The next day we spent driving all the way up "The Cape", hitting up some darling towns like Chatham, Provincetown (which was quite eccentric) and Brewster. All these little towns had their own personality/style.

Chatham Beach was probably the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. 
 Jeremie and I agreed on this home overlooking the beach. 
This picture is not impressive, but Provincetown was probably the most crowded little town I have ever seen. The streets are super tiny with shops, restaurants, and people EVERYWHERE. It was crazy.

On our way back to South Yarmouth, we stopped at some antique shops this old general store in Brewster.

The next day we were up BRIGHT AND EARLY to catch the ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket. I was a little nervous about how my preggars self would do on a boat,but the motion was actually totally relaxing for me. An hour later, we were on the PRECIOUS island of Nantucket. Definitely another one of our favorites. 





We took a van tour around the island which had a little delay because we had a flat tire. After lunch, we spent a LITTLE too much time tracking down this candy store that had chocolate covered cranberries our tour guide told us about. (But they were totally worth it.) Then we made a quick trip to the whale museum which was super interesting. 

The next day were were gone like bandits again to our next destination: Boston! We stopped in Plymouth on the way and toured the Mayflower replica and had lunch. The history lovers in both of us LOVED some Plymouth! Such a cute town. Plymouth Rock itself is what it says......a rock. We discovered there is actually some mis-information in the fact that the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth. They actually landed in Cape Cod, but first SETTLED in Plymouth. (In case you were up late at night wondering.) 



Yep, that's it folks. The Plymouth Rock.



J inside the Mayflower penning a letter. Pretty sure we weren't supposed to touch the relics.

We arrived in Boston to the first nasty weather we'd had on the trip.  It was rainy and chilly. Fortunately, we hopped the trolley pretty quick and rode around Boston before checking into our hotel, The Harborside Inn.  That night we actually went to a Christian concert at the House of Blues-Jesus Culture and Kim Walker were performing. It was really great except for the fact that our tickets didn't mention it was standing room only. After about an 1.5 hours, this mama literally plopped herself on the floor of the House of Blues. 

In Boston, also went on a historic tour on the Freedom Trail, which is a trail around Boston that holds several American History landmarks. It was fabulous and led by a guy in full Paul Revere-ish costume. Lord knows I love a costumed tour.  And American history. The tour included stops like where the Declaration of Independence was first read, the Boston Massacre took place, and the Granary Burying Ground where people like Sam Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere himself are buried. 



The rest of our time in Boston we spent walking around places like Beacon Hill (the "upperclass" neighborhood), Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the public library, etc. It really is a beautiful city! 








We also went on a harbor cruise, which was a great way to see the city!


That night, J took me to The Chart House, a seafood restaurant we went to in Daytona Beach. Again, the seafood is great, but the dessert is really what I was after.  This place has HANDS down the BEST dessert I've ever had in my life.......chocolate lava cake. You have to order it 30 minutes in advance because they hand prepare each one. I'm drooling just thinking about it now.  


On our way out of town, we swung by Harvard for a little while, which was a beautiful campus. 


We had SUCH a blast on our East Coast trip. I just love seeing different parts of the country, but most of all, the time spent with J is the best.  It's crazy to think that this was our last big vacation before we have a baby! 

And now that I have finally blogged about our vacation, I can move onto other nesting obsessions, like alphabetizing our canned goods.....just kidding....maybe....