
We started our morning by driving over to the House of Seven Gables. It’s a wood frame house that sits right
beside the shore. And, yes it does have
7 gables. I counted. Interestingly, when Nathanial Hawthorne wrote
his book the house had only 3 gables.
That’s because the owners had modified it to eliminate 4 of them. After the book because famous the house was
again modified to restore the original number of gables.
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Vermont |
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Maine |
Soon we were on the road again and within twenty minutes we were in New
Hampshire. It’s quite apparent that
drinking is a big deal for New Hamshirians because when there is a liquor store
at an exit there are huge highway signs, government signs mind you, that give
you ample warning about the proximity of the liquor store. Usually there are at least two or three signs
for each liquor store. Contrast that
with Maine where one of the first signs we saw told us about how snacks aren’t
meals!
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We didn't even ask! |
Our original thought was to spend a few days in Kennebunkport. However, when talking with a Visitor Center
guide she suggested going a little farther and trying the rocky peninsulas
between Brunswick and Boothbay Harbor.
We took her advice and while driving north I talked to several B&Bs, trying to find one that was a good
fit for us. (Actually, Mona was driving….I
was doing a poor job of navigating while researching.) We finally landed on an inn near the town of Harpswell,
Maine.
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The Harpswell Inn |
As we entered the inn we were greeted by Bob Newhart….no, not actually,
but geeze there is a striking resemblance!
(I could have sworn I heard the Bob Newhart theme song playing softly in
the background!) Bob…er Richard, showed
us around the Inn. There’s a great room
with a large fireplace and a baby grand piano.
Adjoining that is a large kitchen with a fridge with soft drinks and ice
water…next to which is the never-empty cookie jar. Chocolate chip today! Our room is the Lilac Room, upstairs. The room has a large four-poster bed, a small
fireplace and has ample room for the love seat and matching chair; both upholstered
with lilacs of course. And yes, we do
have a private bath…complete with a clawfoot tub.
After getting settled in we walked a couple of hundred yards down to
the shore. There’s a lobster dock there
where fishermen bring in their catch.
Not much action there today, so we’ll head back tomorrow. Then we decided to take a drive and get oriented. The town of Harpswell is located on two rocky
peninsulas and several islands. We
decided to drive all the way down the other peninsula to Land’s End to see the
sights. One of the sights is a unique
bridge…actually the only one like it in the world.
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The Cribstone Bridge |
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Here's what is holding
up that bridge! |
The Bailey Island Bridge, more commonly known as the Cribstone Bridge,
is built upon blocks of granite laid in a crosshatch pattern. Think of a Jenga stack with the middle blocks
omitted. It’s totally amazing to see
that an 1150 foot bridge is built on blocks of stone with no mortar, no pilings,
no nothing! Just blocks piled on one
another. Even more amazing, and scary,
is how they leveled the big blocks with little chunks of stone! I’ve seen it, but I’m still not sure I
believe it!
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Puzzling at The Inn |
Lunch was lobster at a lobster shack….wow! Dinner was lobster at a nicer restaurant…wow! Not sure how much more wow I can handle, but I’m willing to do my part to help out the local fishermen!
Two more things about the Inn.
1. Every room has a flashlight
because power outages are common out here.
2. You don’t lock your room door
when you leave…only when you’re in the room.
!?!?! 3. The floors appear to have the planking from
the original 1761 construction…and they are a little creaky. I’m hoping that will give us ample warning of
any ghosts!
My oldest son and family lived in Dover, NH, while he was working on his doctorate. I was able to travel to NH several times and visit Maine, Vermont, Mass., and New York. Beautiful part of the country!
ReplyDeleteUmmm., lock your door always . What a beautiful house. eat some lobster for me! :-)
ReplyDelete