Riding Out A Nor'easter in Camden and Rockland, Maine

  Yesterday's View of Rainy Camden Harbor at Cappy's Restaurant

It's about 6:30 and we are sitting hear watching Morning Joe for the first time in weeks.  I can hear the rain pelting the windows, the howl of the wind.  Nothing like a Nor'easter to make your day.  We are in Rockland, Maine, and our plans for today our to drive around seven hours, to Darien, CT, and spend the weekend with our daughter Beth's family, cutting our visit short a day or two because of the weather.  It's a good thing we did because yesterday afternoon was absolutely miserable outside, with strong winds and pelting rain, so much so that we almost didn't visit the Farmsworth Museum, our destination for the afternoon.  We hope to be on our way by 8:00, arriving in time to see our granddaughter Marisa as she returns home from school, always a joy.

Yesterday, we  both were up at 6:00 and  I went downstairs and got us a cup of coffee.  The Nor'easter had not yet hit in earnest so it was cloudy but only light rain.  I walked down to the harbor to get  a picture.   What a contrast to yesterday mornings colorful sunrise.  Today is the last day that our B & B will be open so they outdid themselves for breakfast, lots of choices and everyone tended to try them.  We had sticky buns, apple cider donuts, spiced pear, plum with a honey sauce, cinnamon raisin french toast, all homemade, and finally an egg, cheese, and sausage strata.  Everything was great so we ate even though we are not  great breakfast eaters.  Unfortunately, Evie woke up with what we think are hives, on her back, chest, neck and hair line.  We assume it must be a reaction to shellfish, her lobster from last night. but we are not sure.  She feels all right, but the rash is itchy so we picked up some hydrocortisone cream at a Rite Aid.

Penobscot Narrows Bridge And  Observatory in Belfast, ME

Bridge Opened in December, 2006

We were on our way to Camden and Rockland by 9:00.  The skies were overcast much of the way but the heavy rains and winds did not commence until we hit Rockland.  We stopped in Camden, picturesque even in the rain.  Not much to do other than shop, which we did for an hour, me tagging along as Evie browsed but rarely bought...fine with me.  We decided to have lunch at Cappy's, a bar and restaurant on Main St. overlooking the harbor (and a couple of gas tanks and buildings.)  But it was nice and I had a haddock sandwich with cole slaw, really good and Evie a chopped salad, also good. When we finished, we had enough of shopping and the rains and wind made it difficult to even get to the car without getting wet.

Wyeth Center in Rockland, ME

We drove for about twenty minutes, checked into the Hampton Inn in Rockland because Evie was still uncomfortable from the rash (no more B & B's for us for awhile) and relaxed in our room for an hour. We then drove into town,  just a mile, to the Farnsworth Museum, the home of Andrew Wyeth's paintings, at least he is always featured along with other exhibits.  It's a modern building, or one that's been modernized, right in the heart of town. There is the museum, with various artists, a wing for Andrew Wyeth and then a church, almost 50 yards beyond the museum which is dedicated to the Wyeth's, all three of them, along with various relatives who also seemed to be painters, a talented family.  We loved Wyeth' paintings because we had seen an exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City about five years ago so it was fun to see more of his work.  We stayed for an hour and a half, choosing to stay in the Wyeth galleries because we knew we would be tired of viewing after an hour or two. Most if not all the paintings were set in Maine, seascapes and landscapes, as well as many portraits of the Wyeth family and friends.   We  were home around 5:30 because all of the shops downtown were closed when we got out of the museum which was fine with me.

A Favorite by Andrew Wyeth (and the only one we could photograph)

We relaxed in our room for an hour, then went out to eat, at a restaurant almost next door to our hotel, tres convenient.  It's not your typical Maine restaurant which we liked.  It's called Applebee's...wonder if anyone has heard of it.  It's becoming quite popular.  We went over around 6:30 though neither one of us felt like going out on a night like this.  We sat at the bar, met two nice guys, both salesmen, one from Milwaukee, the other from St. Louis, and like us, they laughed at going to an Applebee's when we could be in a great seafood restaurant in Rockland but none of us wanted to venture out in the terrible weather.  I had a burger, Evie taco soup, and a beer, just enough to keep us going.  We stayed for about an hour, enjoying the two guys but were anxious to get back to our rooms because we were both very tired from our drive.  So we settled in our beds, after I ran across the street to a soft ice cream stand, famous in this area, and brought back two hot fudge sundaes, with nuts, whipped cream and cherries.  Evie was a happy girl, as we watched the Royals fall behind 1-0 on an opening home run by a Giant lead off hitter.  Poor KC. They eventually won!

Hot Fudge Sundaes from Dormans  To End the Evening