August 26, 2003

Eastern Travel, August 10-11: onto Portland, ME

After Montreal, our trip took a decidedly existential turn. Apart from needing to be in Washington, D.C. by August 17th, we had no specific plans. We knew we wanted to see Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, all the way to the Coast. We knew we wanted to visit the Ben and Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, Vermont. And we desired some time in the Adirondacks to get our nature on.

Leaving Montreal, we looked at our map, and said, "Let's go to Maine."

The journey proved more fun than the destination.

We re-entered the U.S. in Vermont, driving down through St. Johnsbury (known as "St. Jay" to locals). We stopped for a meal at the St. Jay Diner (good egg salad sandwich), and noticed in some local pamphlet that there was a "Dog party" happening on "Dog Mountain." Stacy is a total suck for dogs, so we headed out there to see what was going on.

Dog Mountain is the creation of the artist Stephen Huneck. It's main feature is the Dog Chapel, which honors canids both alive and dead. The Dog Party is a yearly event on Dog Mountain, where folks drive up, bring their dogs, and celebrate. It's definitely a day of joy and play, even when the weather proves inclement (as it did this day).

peterme_chapel.jpg
That's me in front of the Dog Chapel. You can also see my developing food baby.

stained_glass_whole.jpg
The Dog Chapel features stained glass windows celebrating qualities of our canid friends.

stained_glass_detail.jpg
A detail from a different window.

stacy_dogpark_view.jpg
Climbing up the hill, you're rewarded with a remarkable view of the countryside. It was raining, so we didn't stand around for long.

Leaving Dog Mountain, we continued east. We stopped briefly at Maple Grove Farms, one of Vermont's three thousand roadside maple purveyors. Sadly, there were no tours that day (being a Sunday), but the gift store was open, and many maple products were purchase. Mmmmm... pure maple candy...

peterme_maple.jpg
My new best friend, a giant tin of maple syrup

St. Johnsbury also features perhaps the most pedestrian historical marker in the United States:
marker_scale.jpg

We then drove through New Hampshire and into Maine. Our timing was such that we simply headed straight for Portland.

It turns out that, at least in the summer, Portland is a very expensive place to stay. Our Motel 6 room cost $79, and it was among the shabbier Motel 6's I've ever stayed in.

Portland is a fine enough town. The waterfront area, with the shops and restaurants, is a little over-touristy for me, but there are spots where the locals go.

It's a remarkably food-oriented town. Lots of nice restaurants (we ate at Walter's, and had a good cuisine-y meal), a foody grocery store (Portland Greengrocer), and a yuppie-friendly public market.

Apart from eating, though, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot for visitors to do. So we made our way back west...

Posted by peterme at 11:10 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Search


Travels

See Me Travel
Archives
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
Archives from June 13, 2001 to January 2003
Archives from before June 13, 2001
Recent Entries
Eastern Travel, August 10-11: onto Portland, ME
Subscribe to my feed:
Powered by
Movable Type 3.2