Trips We've Taken: October 2007 Archives

We went out to Mashapaug Pond last Sunday for a small hike. These are a few of the photos we took. It was so beautiful that day.

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We’ve had a nice little vacation to Maine the last few days. It’s been the first time we’ve been able to get away since classes have started at UCONN and I have had a change of staff at work. But now that things are settled down, we thought it would be a nice time to get away for a few days. We are heading home this morning.

We left home on Wednesday afternoon for Ogunquit, Maine, a nice little town along the coast of Maine, that we enjoy going to every year. The history (at least the gay history of Ogunquit), is that it has, over time, come to fully accept its gay travelers. There are many gay establishments here now, and we feel comfortable going just about anywhere in Ogunquit. We’ve never had a problem. In fact, if two men or two women are walking about the streets window shopping or having lunch or dinner at any of the restaurants in town, it is assumed that you are a gay couple. It makes it easier to enjoy your vacation if you don’t have to spend energy trying to look a certain way for your own safety. So, we enjoy coming here.

We stayed at our usual place, Juniper Hill Inn. On Thursday, we went to Rachel Carson Preserve. It’s one of my all time favorite places to visit. Even though it was overcast, we captured some nice photos. From there, we went to a new place called East Point Rocks. I’ll publish my photos on these later with a link here. I got injured while taking these photos. It actually could have been far worse than it turned out to be. We were out on these really big rocks. I was trying to get around Kent to position myself for another shot from a different angle. I stepped down on a rock that was slanted down. It looked wet, but was in fact covered with algae. My foot went completely out from under me. I fell flat on my back on this rock that was for the most part, flat. But, on the way down, I cracked my elbow on the side of a rock. I actually thought that I had broken my arm. My elbow felt hot. I couldn’t feel my hand or forearm at all. And for a bit the pain was incredible. I held my arm with my other arm and Kent said that I was losing my color. I told him I thought I might throw up. Then all of a sudden, the pain went away (you have to love those endorphins), but suddenly returned with greater intensity. I just sat there for awhile. We finally left and when I took my shirt off, the skin had been broken, and there was bleeding under the surface. It’s slowly getting better, but boy, it could have been really bad.

That evening, we went to Five-O Shore Road restaurant. They were closed for their regular dinner, but had room for their five course wine dinner, featuring 5 different wines from the Beaujolais Region of France. It was quite delightful.

Friday we left Ogunquit and moved up to Portland. The entire day was a complete washout. I wanted to visit, Wolfes Neck Woods Park and Casco Bay again. Those were taken of Casco Bay, and a few around Portland last December. Instead, we made the best of the day and just relaxed. That night, we had dinner at Cinque Terra, in Portland. We had dinner there before, and really enjoy the place.

On Saturday, we left for an early breakfast at Betsy’s, Dinera local favorite breakfast spot for the fisherman before they leave for their routes out at sea (Betsy’s opens every morning at 4:00 a. m. Good food but nothing fancy. After that we went to Wolfes Neck Woods. We had a great time. We later left Wolfes Neck Woods for Bradbury Mountain State Park, a place we had not gone before. It’s a bit popular. Many more people there than Wolfes Neck, but well worth the visit if you like hiking. We hiked up to the summit and had spectacular views of fall colors and the area.

Saturday night, we were a bit tired, but went to Fore Street Grill. Every time we come to Portland, Fore Street is an absolute must to visit. You need reservations well in advance since it is a very popular place.

In Portland, we always seem to stay at the same place, the Hilton Garden Inn, on Portland’s downtown waterfront. It’s very comfortable, and in walking distance to Cinque Terre, and to Four Street. And just across the street are the peers, which offer some scenic views as well.

This morning, we head home and get situated for our work week. This was a much deserved get away. I’m rested up and ready for tomorrow. After I get things worked out at home with unpacking, etc., maybe I’ll have a bit of time for photo sets. We’ll see, but they will get posted eventually.

We took a really nice canoe trip yesterday down the Housatonic River in western Connecticut (and a tiny bit of Massachusetts). We drove to Clarke Outdoors in West Cornwall, CT. The total length of the canoe trip, according to our GPS, was 9.3 miles.

The section of the Housatonic we were on was very placid for the most part - only one small rapid. Normally, they would drop us off downriver, but because it’s been so dry, water levels were too low in that part of the river. Instead, they took us up-river, above the dam. We had a great time, and the weather, even though a little warm, was nice.

It’s still a little early for fall colors, and because it’s been so dry, they may not be very good this year. We stopped for dinner at a Bertucci’s in Canton, and collapsed when we got home. We are still a little tired and sore today, but we had a great time and it was still a really nice day.

Here are a few photos from the trip. Feel free to view the full photo set.

Bill, just after we had lunch

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