Road Trip: Days 1 and 2

We spent last week enjoying various aspects of New England. The next few posts will summarize the trip.

Goals

Planning this at (basically) the last minute, we wanted to get away on one of two weeks that were free of commitments for all five of us  this summer (camps and activities abound as they age). Last year, we spent the summer finishing our basement, so we hadn't had a multi-night getaway in some time. The goals were:

- spend quality time together as a family

- get away from the standard rhythms of life and relax

- see something new

- connect with old friends

Day 1

We decided that Acadia National Park, Maine, would be our prime destination. But that's a good distance away, so we planned to take two days to get up there. 

On day one, we stopped in New Jersey for lunch (Chick-fil-a) and enjoyed being near lots of Philly fans. Then, it was a convenient pit stop at Liberty Park in New Jersey. Just minutes off the main road, we got a nice view of the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline. With free parking and bathrooms, I recommend this heartily.

From there, it was the dreaded "get through NYC" portion. I enjoyed going over the double-decker George Washington bridge, though the inevitable traffic jam was no fun.

From there, it was on to Connecticut. We were blessed to have a short visit with an old friend (whom we hadn't seen since our wedding almost 19 years ago). We enjoyed a great dinner with her and her family at the 110 Grill in Canton, CT, before hitting the nearby Barnes & Noble (books!) and continuing on. We had hoped to stay locally, but availability was limited, so we made it up to Sturbridge, MA, before calling it a night. Day one driving: 6:45, ~380 miles.

Day 2

Another day of mostly driving, we enjoyed an excellent breakfast (with a pancake machine!) at the Holiday Inn Express before setting off. About halfway was Freeport, Maine, of L.L. Bean fame.

Freeport was packed. I mean packed; it took us several runs through the parking lots to find a space. L.L. Bean has a campus: a suite of stores dedicated to various outdoor pursuits; all are huge. We checked out one or two (and the outlet that is across the street) before heading to lunch. We ate at Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern. The lobster roll (my first ever?) was . . . fine. Unpopular opinion: I don't think it was worth $32 and honestly don't get the fuss about lobster. Crab is better. But what was amazing there was the blueberry barbeque sauce. That was lights out. They make their own and sell bottles there (they were out); we looked in local grocery stores but found nothing.

Anyway, after lunch it was a bookstore (where I picked up The Shining), souvenir stores (one had a great sign, shown below), Ben & Jerry's ice cream ("when in Rome"), and then back to L.L. Bean where I was mildly afraid that my wife would be financially irresponsible (she wasn't). I found some things I liked, balked at the price, and headed outside. As I waited there, I beheld I free s'mores cart and was mildly afraid that I would be digestively irresponsible (I wasn't). 

After almost three hours in Freeport, it was on to Acadia. We arrived at dinner, and after some excitement during check-in, eventually ended up at our wonderful hotel right on the bay. We were exhausted but excited for the next two days. Day two driving: 5:15, ~330 miles.

Tune in next time for our first day in Acadia National Park.