Maine is a state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Lower 48. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest, and shares a maritime border with Nova Scotia. Maine is the largest state in New England by total area, nearly larger than the combined area of the remaining five states. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural.[11]Maine’s capital is Augusta, and its most populous city is Portland, with a total population of 68,408, as of the 2020 census. WIKIPEDIA
Trini and I have done the New England cruise in October 2012 and were so fascinated and amazed with the change of foliage colors that we decided to return and experience this magical autumnal phenomenon again! Our friend, Julia Simpson, the wife of my former co-worker in Manila U.S. Embassy (may he Rest In Peace) invited us to stay with her in Dresden, ME, about 45 minutes from Portland, ME. We knew that she lived in a farm but we were amazed to actually see it! She and the late husband built a clapboard two-story country house in their 18-acre property surrounded by mature trees with a natural pond near their backyard. There were fruit trees nearby and vegetable gardens which of course only thrived after the cold weather.
Julia gave us a tour of her spacious beautiful country-style home where many of the furnitures and furnishings were brought back from the Philippines when their tour ended at the U.S. Embassy.
Julia is a bee farmer and sells honey on the side just to keep her busy and earn a few bucks. She proudly showed us her “honey home” and explained the interesting process of how the bees make honey. Fortunately, the bees are not active during cold weather!
As we were craving for Maine lobster which we tasted in 2012 when we did the New England Cruise (still the best lobster we’ve tasted!), we asked her to take us someplace where we can enjoy this world-renowned delicacy again. We drove for about a half hour to a small town where you can tell that it was very popular among tourist judging the queue outside a restaurant!
We decided to go to the other side of the street where there were fewer customers (as soon as we finished ordering there was a long line after that). We each ordered the popular lobster roll and one order of steamed clams. It was pricey but it was well worth it! The roll contained at least one whole steamed lobster and it was unbelievably delicious!
After the unforgettable repast, Julia drove about a half hour to another quaint touristy town called Boothbay Harbor. We walked around enjoying the pleasant weather (in the high 50’s) and admiring the colorful souvenir shops. I bought the obligatory magnet and ball cap for my collections. Julia talked to a shop owner who said that the tourist season is winding down in about ten days and they will be closing shops until next spring.
We went home to get ready to meet Julia’s friends in a pub that night. After a restful nap, we went to the Old Goat Pug around 5:45 pm and there were already a lot of customers considering it is the only pub in town! We ordered drinks and after a few minutes Mike and his wife Barbara arrived. They are Julia’s neighbors who lives about a mile and a half away since everyone seemed to have multi-acre properties. Mike and Barbara lived in Seattle before they moved to Maine. Mike is a retired engineer with Microsoft and Barbara is retired from academia.
It so happened that this night, a salesman from the beer company Samuel Adams held a contest – hold an oversized beer stein filled with water at arms level without spilling the contents and lowering the stein. The contestants were all women and everyone cheered for them. I tried it but could not hold more than a few minutes. Good job, ladies!
Mike and Barbara were very interesting conversationalists and enjoyed traveling like us. They invited us this coming Saturday for a gut-busting steak and seafood grill party! I can’t wait….
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