So after a fun wedding weekend at the Jersey Shore, I took the commuter train into New York's Penn Station. Having never ridden a train before (besides the one at Disney or the Zoo) I was very excited for this experience. It would be a four hour ride into Boston.
Since I was already up North, I decided to combine my trip and head on up to New Hampshire for my annual Fall trip to Emily's. What a fun and relaxing way to travel! Not to mention spacious. I had a nice window seat with electrical outlets and WiFi.
I could have easily napped but I was too afraid of missing something. We traveled out of New York, through Rhode Island, Connecticut and into Boston where I caught a bus to meet Emily in New Hampshire. I was a month earlier than usual so the leaves weren't changing yet, but it was still beautiful and a fun experience.
Bruce and Emily purchased a new home back in the spring and I was excited to be able to see it first hand. They have been busy painting, decorating and making it theirs for the past several months.
It's perfect for their large family. Lots of space inside and out.
So happy for them to finally feel like they are settled in New Hampshire. Owning your own home helps to put down roots and create a feeling of permanency. God has provided so many things for them and continues to confirm that their move was His plan for their family. It's been amazing to watch them trust Him through this journey and see all the blessings unfold.
So, I spent the first part of my week just chillin with Emily at the house. It was so nice to just relax, chat and catch up. Bruce took Thursday and Friday off so we could go play as usual. The last two years we have headed into Boston and had a blast. This year we wanted to do something a bit different. Bruce suggested a road trip into Maine. When we discovered we were only an hour from Kittery - we got so excited!!! We got on the internet and figured out a day trip - we could travel up the coast, never more than about 2 hours away and search for lighthouses! Eeeeeeek!!!!!
I love this kind of travel. Russ and I do it all the time. Just hop in the car and go explore. So that's what we did. We took off on Thursday morning and headed to Maine.
After a stop at the Visitor's Center to pick up maps and get directions along the coast, we stopped here in Kittery to see out first Lighthouse of the day. The Whaleback Light. Such a beautiful area.
We took off driving again and came across this area near York Harbor. We decided to get out and walk a bit.
We had lunch at an adorable restaurant on the water at York Beach. The weather was perfect and the ocean beautiful!
View of Boon Island Lighthouse from our table. It's about 6.5 miles off shore.
Cape Neddick (aka Nubble lighthouse)
Also from our table
After lunch we took off for a closer view of the Nubble Lighthouse
Like the others, the Nubble is only accessible by boat.
So many fun things to stop and see along the way. We loved this church. So pretty. I'm a sucker for stone architecture anyway. Would love to have it incorporated into a home one day.
Our next stop was Ogunquit, Maine.
Beautiful area. And the beginning of The Marginal Way - a mile long walking path along the coast.
I had to walk down and put my fingers in the water.
We enjoyed this area so much.
Next, we headed into Kennebunkport.
Lovely little town with lots of shops.
And just outside of town is President Bush's home. How cool is that?
Our last Lighthouse of the day - Didn't catch the name of this one.
We knew that we had to try Lobster while in Maine. I had never had it before - at least not like this:
Ya - a bit overwhelming. Couldn't quite get past the thing staring at me. Suddenly I felt like I was in Science Class again.
At least we looked cute while trying something new, right?
While the lobster was good - we both decided that all of that was way too weird and too much work. I'll stick to my shrimp.
So - we had so much fun on Thursday, that we hopped in the car and headed back on Friday to hit all the shops. This time we started in Kennebunkport and headed South.
I was the navigator on our trip and I did manage to get us off course a few times. But sometimes those are the BEST times. We got off the map a little and wound up at this beach area at sunset and had the best time exploring!
I ventured out on the rock and soon discovered I was in the middle of wildlife!
These little guys covered every rock
The bigger they got, the prettier their shells.
And we soon discovered that they traveled!
They are quite talented, don't you think?
We made one last stop where we began the day before. At the harbor in Kittery.
Beautiful -
Between the layovers, the wedding, the train ride and our journey into Maine, I was in 10 different states this trip. Kind of blows my mind. The New England area is so beautiful and I am really thankful I was able to experience more of it this time around. It really was hard narrowing down all the photographs. I hope you enjoyed them.....
As always, time spent with Emily is so special. Very thankful to have a friend like her in my life.
We decided that next year we might want to try Whale Watching. How fun would that be????
Until next time.....
