On Top of the World

The beauties of the surroundings of my new home are absolutely breathtaking.  Here in South Portland, it’s the architecture of the cape-style homes, in Portland, the history behind the brick buildings and cobblestone roads.  As I travel beyond the city, it’s the plant life, not just the abundance and varieties, but the shear heights of these trees are incredible!

With this much outdoor beauty so close at hand, it’s hard to believe it’s taken my husband and I this long to finally do a day hike.  Really, we had to find a pet sitter for the dogs and I was a bit leery about letting a total stranger come into my home and play with my pups.  Thankfully, we’ve found an amazing lady with a passion for animals just a few short blocks from us.  We knew she was the perfect fit when she walked thru the door and Lulu didn’t bark at all!  Any who, with the dogs taken care of, we planned a day hike and fully executed it yesterday.  Here’s how it went down.

To start, my husband had a late ballgame Wednesday night which pushed our wake-up time back an hour.  Of course, it took us a good three attempts to get out of the apartment with everything we needed.  We had to stop for gas and Ananias’s didn’t have any breakfast sandwiches prepared so I had to wait for those.  We took off for our hike at 10:30am, MUCH later than planned.  For those of you who’ve hiked the Rockies, you know that this hike would not be happening.  With the sudden change in weather on the mountains, the thin air, and the difficult level of the trails, this late start time would have been the perfect recipe for disaster.  Thankfully, my husband and I were driving to the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire where the distance between sea level and mountain summit are much smaller in comparison and alleviates oxygen deprivation.  There’s also much less threat of erratic weather.  As for the terrain, I would say it’s very comparable, at least if I base it on the soreness I feel today.

Though we got a little turned around a couple of times (thanks Siri), we made it to Piper Trailhead by noon and began the 4 1/2 mile hike to summit Mt. Chocorua.  Now I have to preface this with the fact that by the time we arrived, we had changed our plans and weren’t going to summit.  We ran into another couple about our age at the bottom and the guy told us this was at least a 10-hour hike, top to bottom.  This caused us some worry, as there was no way I was hiking this at night.  We had decided to hike to a lookout about 2 1/2 miles up and then head back.  This is where I get to brag on us a little.

My husband said we needed to, “Book it,” meaning go super fast which is much easier for him with his long, Nairobi legs than me with my Miss Piggy legs.  Either way, I did my best to keep up and we hiked the crap out of that mountain!  From parking lot to summit, we made it in 2 1/2 hours!  And the views were totally worth it.

The descent was a little scary as it is much easier to climb up rocks than down them and apparently in my older age, I’m becoming less than thrilled with heights.  Fatigue had begun to set in our legs which we hadn’t realized until we stood up after enjoying our mountain top view.  It also didn’t help that on our way up, rather than stay on the path, we crawled wherever we wanted to make it to the top.  This caused for a bit of confusion on the way down and thankfully with the help of a couple of nice and well-informed hikers, we found our trail to get back down.  At this point, we were hungry, thirsty, and tired and still had 4 1/2 miles to go.  No worries, though.  We blazed that trail making it back to our car in under an hour and 20 minutes.  We even ran the last 2 miles of the trail!

The drive back to South Portland went much smoother as we didn’t get lost and were able to reflect on our day over some much needed water and snacks.  Back home, we enjoyed some great bar food and drinks at Gritty McDuff’s Brewpub in Old Port.  Tonight’s agenda includes a four-course dinner at raved restaurant Bar Lola in Portland’s East End followed by tickets to see La Boheme at Merrill Auditorium.  Just another day in paradise!

That’s a big boat!

DavisPhotog

Walking to the grocery store the other day I couldn’t help but notice someone had parked their rather large boat down by my favorite watering hole, J’s Oyster.  Now with my dad having been in the Navy for 20 years I’ve seen a good number boats, but this one dwarfs them all for sure.  Upon further investigation, this gal’s name is Glory. She’s 14 stories tall and houses about 3000 people for 7 days at a time.  Carnival Glory departs from NYC and cruises to Boston, Portland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, then makes it’s way back to the Big Apple.

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Mis Padres

The hardest part about being in a new place with so many wonderful experiences is not being able to share it with my parents.  So far, I’ve encountered two unconnected situations in which I’ve fielded questions regarding how my parents are handling the distance that now separates us.  I’ve done pretty well at hiding the obvious.

As we’ve decorated our new apartment, I feel torn by the need to exhibit by husband’s photography and the desire to show my family photos.  There’s an internal conflict in displaying these photos as I feel the need to be artistic and the need to decorate our new home with a modern flair.  My husband’s photos are very much modern and convey so much meaning.  Every portrait portrays a distinct trip, moment, or feeling shared between the two of us.  But the family photos, even the super corny ones, are moments I hold so dearly.  Often times, we take those nerdy moments for granted and never realize their true importance.

So it’s tonight’s post that reminds everyone to hold those you cherish close, tell them you love them everyday, and in everything that you do, make them proud.  I live my life for me and mis padres and I’m certain they couldn’t be prouder.

What a Crappy Miracle!!

These are amazing photos!

DavisPhotog

Let’s just say that the day I was pooped on by a seagull was not my favorite. (If you’re lost, give the last post a read and check out the July 6th post while you’re at it, that should get you up to speed)  Now, last night I went to bed pretty early for a spicy 30 something on a Saturday night, but I wanted to be fresh for my baseball game this morning in OOB.  Yup, ten o’clock came pretty quick and my eyes fought BPFS (Bird Poop Fatigue Syndrome, it’s a thing) as hard as they could.  Sadly, they were overcome, and my spry and equally spicy wife, funneled me to bed while she continued to read and blog.  So, here is where my timing gets a little fuzzy.  It was definitely after my Godzilla dream, (watched a bit of that in the afternoon), and before…

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Life’s a Beach

This may come a surprise to some of you, but I’m not a big fan of the beach.  Really.  Coming from the Midwest, I was never around water much other than a swimming pool.  My parents weren’t much for water.  My mom used to freak out when she came to the pool with us and the waves would get much higher than her belly button.  It must have really been a sight to watch my sister and I coaxing her into the deeper end of the pool.  I had never even seen my dad in shorts until a year ago when my brother-in-law made him wear them to the creek with us.  His legs were blindingly white!  In my early teens, my best friend’s parents convinced my parents to let me spend the weekend with her at her grandparents house on Grand Lake.  My first time out, I was not allowed on a boat and if I decided to jump off the dock, I had to be in a life-jacket.  Thanks, mom and dad.  Super cool.

I had never visited a beach until I was in college.  My boyfriend, aka super-hot-now-husband, planned a surprise trip for the two of us to Gulf Shores, AL.  It was unbelievable!  We had this cute little home with a private beach for a week.  I remember stepping out of the car when we had arrived and feeling this overwhelming drop of my stomach, the kind you get when plummeting down a roller coaster at top speed.  I had never felt so tiny in all my life.  It was the weirdest/coolest feeling ever.  To our dismay, however, we had arrived in late July, jellyfish season.  Needless to say, the shrieks heard throughout the beach kept me almost completely out of the ocean.  But I did get a great tan!

Now that we’re here in South Portland, one of the things we do daily, weather permitting, is visit the beach.  I love getting a tan, but I am a clean freak!  Beaches to me are so dirty!  The sand, salt, sweat, yuck!  And then you drag it all back home with you and are forced to sweep it up for the next three days.  That being said, I truly do appreciate the beauty and revere of the ocean.  The consistent sound of the waves lapping the sand are like a metronome, slowly lulling me to sleep with each beat.  The water is far too cold for my comfort, but the joy it brings my husband as he splashes around like a child are worth every minute.

Today we decided to take our dogs to the Eastern Promenade in Portland.  We started by having brunch at a diner, though briefly before that, my husband got pooped on by a seagull while inside our car!  You should check out his post on this site.  It was hilarious!  Anyway, the dogs hung out while we ate.  Then we scooted over to the Promenade.  There were plenty of people as it was one of the first sunny days in about a week.  We walked past sunbathers in the park on Munjoy Hill, sea kayak rentals (something we will be participating in soon!), joggers, sightseers, the works.  Then we found a nice spot for the dogs to play unleashed while the hubs and I enjoyed the sights of the bay.

Michael and Lulu fighting over who actually gets the stick.

Winslow, keeping watch, a safe distance from the water I might add.

Me trying to deceitfully convince Lulu that the rock I’m reaching for is the stick.

And the train on the walk back to the car allowing tourists a glimpse into what is now our new life.

Today, baseball games, more beach time, and fantastic food and wine.  Yep, just livin’ the dream, folks.

Crappy Day!!!!

This is too funny! I wouldn’t have believed it if I wouldn’t had seen it with my own eyes!

DavisPhotog

For the most part I try to stay positive, but today was truly crappy.  Well, to be honest it was only a crappy morning.  Or really, just a crappy moment this morning.  The day actually started just fine.  Sun came up, I hopped out of bed, watched some news, drank some coffee; all in all, normal.  It was when I decided we would go have brunch at a fairly famous local dive frequented by Guy Fieri, of Food Networks, “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”.  Now, Becky’s Diner was wonderful and classic in every way.  It wasn’t brunch that titled this blog post.  No, no… It was what happened right before we approached the parking lot of the diner.  It was at the corner of Commercial and Park where the incident occurred.  I was in the driver seat, window down, and music at a reasonable level. Holly sat in the passenger…

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Dog-a-palooza

If you’re a dog-lover, you’re going to appreciate this post.  If not, you’re missing out.

One of the things that brought us to Maine was the dog-friendly atmosphere.  We have two medium sized dogs who we consider our children.  No, we don’t dress them up or carry them around in my purse, but we speak to them like tiny humans.  Of course, they respond to certain phrases.  Lulu does what we call the “Dinner Dance” when I ask if she’s “so hungry.”  Winslow howls when I ask if he wants to go on a car ride or for a walk.  They both go nuts when I ask who wants a treat.  Back home, the two joined my husband and I every Sunday while we went grocery shopping, waiting patiently in the back seat for two hours while we traveled from store to store for the best deals.  Yes, we love them and consider them our family with tails.

When we chose this apartment back in March, one of the biggest draws to it was that it is located about 50 yards from the Greenbelt Walkway.  This paved trail runs in one direction to Bug Light Park and the opposite into Portland.  Of course, there are trails that spawn off of it creating a never-ending series of walks/runs for my husband and the dogs.  Since we don’t have a yard that the dogs can run freely in, it was important for us to find an easy way to exercise the dogs each day and thus far, they love it.  We leash up at least once a day, usually in the morning, and make the 1 1/2 mile trek to Bug Light where Lulu swims and Winslow smells, then we head back home.  It’s a perfect 3 mile walk with something for everyone.

There are several other dog-friendly beaches, but summer rules allow dogs only during certain times due to the influx of tourists.  Last night, we decided to take our babies to “our” beach where they could run on the sand and play with other dogs.  Willard Beach is located about 1 1/2 miles from our apartment as well, just slightly south of Bug Light and off the campus of Southern Maine Community College, SMCC.  My husband discovered this beach while I was interviewing our first week here and it has been “our” beach ever since.  It’s small and somewhat hidden, certainly a beautiful gem within walking distance.  When we arrived, we could hear barking and people calling out to their pups, but I was overwhelmed when I caught my first glimpse of the beach.  There were dogs everywhere!

It made me a little nervous at first because Lulu can sometimes bark at other dogs which automatically makes others think she’s aggressive, however, once she’s near water, it’s the only thing she can focus on.  She took off like a crazy lady running straight into the water, splashing, barking, just going nuts!  Winslow, in typical fashion, trotted down the stairs and immediately began sniffing every dog he could see.  We found a spot, got out Lulu’s stick and her ADHD kicked in.  She swam non-stop for almost 2 hours!  My husband took plenty of pictures, I got soaked trying to steal the stick from Lulu and every other dog that fetched it.  We coined Winslow “The Creeper” as his instinct to smell dog butts is much greater than his instinct to swim.  The people were all very nice and eager to share their dogs toys.  I found myself smiling and giggling like a dingdong at all the fun everyone, dogs and owners alike, were having.  All this fun while enjoying the sand and Atlantic with the beautiful backdrop of sailboats and another lighthouse.  Everyone had a great time and was thoroughly worn out by the time we got home.

This morning, as I began writing this post, I found the evidence of last night’s adventure.  So far, I would have to say that the bigger the mess we bring home, the more fun we had.  Well, I swept up a pile of sand, and laughed while doing it.  Yep, it was that much fun!

Here are some pictures of Lulu doing her best to pull me in the water with her.

Willard Beach at Sunset

Disclaimer:  All these pictures were taken by my wonderful husband.

Starving and Saved by Grace

I wouldn’t consider myself a religious person.  Actually, the thought of going to church frightens me and therefore I avoid it at all costs.  So I found it incredibly strange and contradictory that I found this restaurant when I googled “date restaurants, Portland, ME.”

Grace is, or should I say was, a Methodist Church which has been completely refurbished and redesigned as a contemporary, urban restaurant.  Built in 1775 and nestled beside the Portland City Hall in Portland’s Art District, this is certainly a site to see.  When we arrived, I was taken aback by the fact that not a chard of the exterior appeared to be anything but a church.  The enormous red doors opened up into a modest church foyer where staircases on either side led us to the main dining hall and cocktail lounge.  The stained glass depicting the Holy Trinity and the church foundation plaque on the wall offered an eery elegance.  As we walked into the sanctuary, I was taken aback my the grandeur of this place.  True cathedral ceilings, original woodwork, stained glass, even the piping where the organ once stood were just a few of the details still in tact.  The bar stood as the restaurants’ centerpiece while the completely open kitchen stood behind, in blazing glory.

The host seated us and handed us the starter menu.  I giggled as I noted the signature cocktails with the fitting names.  I enjoyed the Holier Than Thou, my husband’s a dedicated fan of the Manhattan, which I might add, was delicious.

We both ordered and continued to take in the artwork we were seated within.  I was more than thrilled as we poked through the appetizers when my husband found Iberico jamon on the menu.  For those of you who don’t know, this form of Spanish cured ham wasn’t allowed in the US until recently due to FDA regulations.  My husband and I were lucky enough to experience this pork sensation while on a visit to Spain four years ago.  If you’ve never had it, I would encourage you to save lots of money, fly to Spain, and gorge yourself on jamon and manchego for a week.  Other than the rapid weight gain, you will not be displeased…  Moving on, we ordered and enjoyed yummy appetizers, holy drinks, and continued the wonderful conversation.

Now anytime my husband and I try a restaurant for the first time, we always work together when we order our main course so as to experience as much of the cuisine as possible.  In this case, I ordered the grilled Maine farm pork chop and my husband, the pan roasted Atlantic bluefish.  Both of us were more than thrilled as each dish was delightful.  We did end up switching dishes as I’m much more of a fish than pork chop kind of girl.  Halfway through our meal, the baby grand was fired up and we were musically entertained by the likes of Frank Sinatra and other classics.  It was truly a wonderful “first date” in our new hometown.

So, next time you’re in town and would like a unique religious experience in an architectural mecca, I recommend Grace.  I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed.

Other incredible pictures…