Econo Lodge Freeport

Along the way:<br><br>Heading to Portland, Maine (to visit Tom, Denise &amp; Foster) we drove from Milton, through the Lewiston border crossing (N of Niagara Falls), through New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and finally into Maine, an 11 hour drive. Surprisingly, there are no orchards or farms east of the Niagara River &#8211; it's all bush. <br><br ...

Along the way:<br><br>Heading to Portland, Maine (to visit Tom, Denise &amp; Foster) we drove from Milton, through the Lewiston border crossing (N of Niagara Falls), through New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and finally into Maine, an 11 hour drive. Surprisingly, there are no orchards or farms east of the Niagara River &#8211; it's all bush. <br><br ...

Ni hao! (Hello in Chinese...pronounced "knee how")<br><br>We are now one week away from our departure and realizing that next week at this time we will be in the air over the Pacific and headed to China! The accumulating of stuff is coming to an end and the real packing is beginning. The girls love the whole packing thing...their mother...not so much. Excitement is in the air as the count down begins. <br><br>We are looking forward to ...

... in the city. From small mom and pop boutiques to outstanding malls, Portland has the upper hand on upscale shopping. You will definitely see your share of dazzling jewelry and fine art, and there is no better place to see it than in the fabulous museums and art galleries. The Portland Museum of Art and the Bayview Gallery are two of the premier establishments in town, and the equally delightful Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum is always a treat. You can ...

we sailed into boothsbay in the dark (as usual). we only had limited lights, so it was a crew effort to communicate with chris who was motoring the boat in via GPS coordinates and autopilot. <br><br>"boat at 1 o'clock!" <br><br> "mooring at 11 o'clock!" <br><br> we successfully docked (at the wrong dock than planned but we docked none the less). we had hoped to get farther up the coast but the last few days had been light wind (cary said ...

... had no idea there were so many! but you can only see them by boat, and turns out maine has the longest coastline of any of the 50 states (i'm pretty sure this is what chris told me). some islands have lots of houses on them, plus a few stores, maybe a school. some kids have to take a ferry to the mainland for school in portland. but some islands are privately owned and have only 1 or 2 houses on them. if maine wasn't ...

... 8217;s Mum, as it was her birthday today. (Happy Birthday Mum!) During the conversation there was the most almighty noise as a flight of military helicopters flew overhead at just above treetop level in a scene reminiscent of that of the helicopter attack in the film "Apocalypse Now". Mum wondered what on earth was going on! <br><br>Once we had finished our call it was back in the bus and back down the road to ...

... on to Montpelier, this is the state capital of Vermont, only half the size of Burlington but a real stunner of a town. We parked up the car and completed a walking tour. The buildings and churches were very appealing with their golden domes and spires set against the green of the mountain slopes. Montpelier is one of the leading hospitality centres in the States and there are several establishments including a bakery which are staffed by students from ...

... and the Pennines to name but two) which are completely free and open for exploration and so much better. Conscious of the time we headed out before the sunset; small town America closes down 8pm and it was already 7.30, determined not to resort to Subway again we headed into town with fingers crossed. Unfortunately Freeport may be full of outlet stores but alas no 'take out' places other than MacDonald's. We stumbled across one pizza place ...

... after 2 years and lived on the island for 6. Here I became a "Jackie" of all trades because work on the Vineyard is "seasonal", but I don't regret a minute of it because it helped shape the person I have become. The various places I worked at: Compass Bank (as a teller at the drive through); Marianne's Screen Printing (we held the Black Dog account as well as a majority of the local businesses); Farm Neck Golf Club (where former President ...