BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - LAST POST

Monday 5 June 1995 Provincetown MA

Woke up early this morning after a good might’s sleep and got cracking quite soon. Although we had originally planned to travel on freeways today to ensure that we got to our destination – Cape Cod – with some time to spare, we decided to go on the back roads again as we were further south and earlier than we thought we would be.

Had a couple of problems along the way with some poor signposting combined with miles of road works but they didn’t hold us up too much. Great breakfast along the way at a Friendly’s restaurant – what a bargain. $2.22 for 2 eggs; 2 pancakes; 2 pieces of bacon.

We arrived here in Provincetown which is right at the end of the Cape Cod peninsula at about 16.00 after a brief lunch stop for a bowl of chilli and found a really nice motel, right on the beach. A lovely spot but clearly, as we found out when we went for a stroll, a gay holiday destination. As a heterosexual couple we are definitely in the minority which is a strange, and not entirely pleasant, sensation. Couples of both sexes wander everywhere hand in hand and the shops and night spots are clearly all aimed at the gay market. I spoke to Jane in San Francisco tonight about some business issues and she laughed when I told her where we were. Apparently everyone knows about P’Town but nobody told us.

It is difficult to explain why we feel uneasy because there is no overt unpleasantness of any sort – or even any covert unpleasantness either. Both of us have met and liked gay people over the years, especially in the theatre world. I guess it is simply that we feel we are so obviously the odd couple. Weird, man, or what? It will be interesting to see if we still feel that way tomorrow once we have gotten used to the idea.

Rab flies the flag at Provincetown

Tuesday 6 June 1995 Boston MA

We had a bad night at the motel last night. It was, as I may have recorded a very cute place right on the beach. It was wood built – five rooms only which shared a pair of verandas on the ground and first floors. The couple next door came in late – I didn’t hear them but Rab says she did and who knows what they got up to but they weren’t quiet about it. I woke up at about 02.00 to some rhythmic noises and again at 03.00 to some of the worst coughing I have ever heard. It went on and on until finally we got out our earplugs, especially as the tide was high so in between the coughing fits there was the noise of the waves. There was also the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing and footsteps on the creaking floors from the folks upstairs. We slept better after that.

Although we had been annoyed by the coughing during the night, in the warm light of day we wondered if the person was not well. Perhaps an AIDS victim? That made us feel more sympathetic and less critical. However when I got up and went for a walk along the beach (it was a curious feeling to be ogled by some of the men on their balconies in the other units along the beach) I found that our cougher was not some poor emaciated gay man but a couple of plump dykes who were still smoking something pretty rank. So I guess the second theory – that they were choking on something they had taken – was probably  correct.

We had thought of staying an extra night and going straight through to the airport tomorrow from here, but the restless night – the pillows were lumpy, the room was hot and the waterproof under the bed sheets made an odd noise – decided us on a return to The Eliot for a good night’s sleep before our long flight tomorrow – Cape Town via London.

So we wandered down to the village for a last American breakfast – a 1-2-3 at one of the cafes. One egg, two pancakes and three rashers of bacon. Then we made the final decision on buying a kaleidoscope. The shop we bought it from had the biggest selection I have ever seen and so choosing one was very difficult indeed. Such nice blokes running the shop too.

The passing show as we ate our breakfast was fascinating and as we drove along later we discussed. What we had seen. Rab found the dykes more disturbing than I did but it seemed to be only the really butch ones who bothered her.  I guess it was much the same with me – it is the camp men with dyed hair and exaggerated mannerisms which I do not like and with whom I feel uncomfortable. The regular gays are not a problem – what they wish to do with their lives is for them to decide. I guess I do not like having their views thrust at me, so to speak. The sexual flaunting, like that seen each year at the Sydney Gay Mardi Gras, seems  so unnecessary and does not seem to be aimed at advancing a more tolerant attitude to gays.

What was a little surprising, given community attitudes, was to see two busloads of school kids arriving for a tour of the town under the guidance of their teachers, some of whom appeared to fit into the character of the place only too well. I feel that it might not be a good idea to expose kids that young to data of this nature which they might find it difficult to deal with. I suppose in thinking this way I am guided to an extent by what Matt has said about our first visit to Amsterdam when he was ten. We inadvertently wandered into a very rough area with sexual aids, women offering their wares and porn magazines highly visible,

We drifted around Cape Cod during the morning having a look at the houses down to Hyannis and then headed for Boston, making the trip to the hotel without any problems thanks to some excellent map reading by Rab.

And that is the end of this journal.

Postscript June 1995 Cape Town South Africa

We headed out of Boston to Cape Town via London. Our main aim was to attend the wedding of my youngest brother  Pad – and also to see some of the Rugby World Cup games if we could. We had also decided in principle that we would seriously consider returning to South Africa.

The three years prior to this trip had been difficult for us, Rab in particular missed the comfort of her long term friends. Matt was urging us to leave, preferring to deal with his recovery on his own. So I was going to test the market to see if I would be able to get work for my consulting company and if that was positive to buy a house while we were there so that we were fully committed to the return.

Unfortunately we had to use British Airways for these legs. The Boston/Heathrow flight was not all bad although the cabin was freezingly cold. Gareth, my pal from Bermuda who flies a good deal with BA has a theory that they do it to make the passengers hibernate and thus keep requests to a minimum giving the crews plenty of spare time.

We had trouble checking in for the Cape Town flight with a rude check in chick who objected to the size of our cabin baggage. Despite my pointing out that we had just come off a BA flight which accepted the luggage, she was adamant that it had to go into the hold. So I slowly repacked the cases, taking out the items of value, and holding up all the other First Class passengers who were fuming. Those passengers are really not happy folk when they don’t get the service they believe they are entitled to. The food was pretty grim – as we have experienced often flying out of Britain.

We had a great welcome from friends and family. The start was when we checked in to the Bed and Breakfast establishment owned and run by our friends Lola and Rick. We always have an argument with them when we stay with them because we feel we should pay as it is their business: they refuse. But on this occasion all accommodation in Cape Town was fully booked because of the influx of visitors for the Rugby  World Cup. So we had booked through one of the authorised agents under a pseudonym Capt Matthews. Because we had asked for a specific ground floor room, Lola had gained the impression that Capt Matthews was incapacitated in some way and travelling with his nurse companion. The look on her face as she swept up to the door of her lovely house to greet Capt Matthews was an unforgettable picture.

We had a wonderful time in Cape Town. All our friends said they were happy to see us, the South Africa team won the final and became World Champions, setting off a week of celebrations which did more to heal the damage done by apartheid than anyone could imagine, I decided I could earn a living – and we bought a house. That’s a story in itself, but we were back living in the Cape by the end of the year - see HOME AGAIN - THE CAPE 1995.

 

Flying in to Cape Town with Table Mountain clearly in view

BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - GREENFIELD MA

Sunday 4 June 1995 Greenfield MA

We drove down Vermont for most of the day through some very fine country, having started quite late from The Lodge because I had been awake for a couple of hours during the night. A combination of a rich meal and 3 a.m. phobias and fears. It was raining steadily during the night and one of my big concerns was about an avalanche as we drove through the mountains. That’s a pretty good example of how unreal concerns can be at that time of the morning. So I woke up late and we got going late although it was a perfect day. The rain had gone, the sky was blue, the sun shone down and there was a slight breeze to cool things down. Not really avalanche weather.

Breakfast in Jackson Village was very good – pancakes bacon and eggs. Then Rab wandered off to the shop opposite the eatery for a quick look at the stock. We got chatting to the two blokes who ran the shop and that delayed us further. But no worries – we set off through the White Mountain Nature Reserve which was spectacular: steep cliffs and crags (called notches here) and forest everywhere.

As we headed south towards Vermont we spent about an  hour seeking more covered bridges. There were meant to be five on the route we had specifically chosen and Rab was hell bent on seeing them. They proved to be remarkably elusive and we could not find the first two anywhere. Finally tracking down the last three provided some sense of satisfaction. We had to laugh though as the day progressed because it turned out that covered bridges are fairly common in Vermont and we passed several right alongside the road.

One of the sights en route was the magnificent hotel at Bretton Woods where the monetary agreement was drawn up in 1944 to stabilise the price of gold and peg it at $35 an ounce! What a place it looks. High and imposing and nestling in the mountains.

Lunch was in a regular old diner right across the border in Vermont. How cool man – juke box on the counter and we played a few old favourites including “Stand By Me” for Matt who we felt would have liked that. We were aiming to stop off for the night in Brattleboro because it looked like a biggish place on the map. But when we got there we found it was a pretty run down town with an enormous drug and rehabilitation unit on the outskirts. Many of the people we saw on the streets seemed to be outpatients. So we headed on and down south and out of town, passing some real slum areas with people living in squalor in run down cabins or mobile homes. It seems that the area that we were passing through does not attract many tourists because there were no hotels or motels to choose from. There were a few inns but we had decided to give them the flick.

It was about 18.00 when we got to Greenfield and stopped at a chicken diner to ask the counter hand where we could find a motel. She told us where we could find a couple. One of them was The Candlelit Inn. We didn’t like the look of it and when we found that it was $46 for the night and that we couldn’t see a room before paying we decided that Howard Johnson down the road while pretty ordinary, might be a better bet. As I said to Rab, The Candlelit Inn probably usually rented rooms by the hour. As we were a bit tired after the longer than usual drive – about 280 miles – we ate at a local family restaurant which provided a meal for us at a very reasonable price – about $15 for the two of us for chicken pie/bacon and liver. It wasn’t great cuisine but it was very tasty.

And so to bed in a room that was comfortable but somewhat musty – it smelt as if it had been flooded out at some time and not dried out completely.

BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - JACKSON NH

Saturday 3 June 1995 Jackson NH

It was a misty moisty morning when we woke. Just what we like. As Rab flicked through all the channels on the television she spotted a game of rugby. It was a World Cup game, but not between any of the major players. Ivory Coast were playing Samoa of all teams at Potchefstroom or some such venue.  Such is the extent of modern communication. I managed to get hold of a program and found that there are games all day today – unfortunately finishing before we arrived here – and there are more tomorrow. I don’t really mean to watch any of the games with so much to see and do, but will try to get some news to see if I can find out who has been winning what. Samoa won and we went down to breakfast, again enjoying the toast, muffins and bagels plus some fresh fruit.

We were on our way about tenish and had an interesting trip across Maine. Rab has polished her map reading skills to a high level and, working our way through the secondary roads we never put a foot wrong all day. Once you get to know the system (and know where to look for the signs) it works pretty well, I must say. We headed for Conway and aimed to see some covered bridges on the way which it was claimed were a feature of this area – which is just north of Madison County. (That reference is to the film Bridges of Madison County which had been released earlier in the year) well, we thought they were a feature but it seems we were the only people interested in them. 

Rab was thrilled when we finally tracked one down and we are hoping to find more tomorrow. Conway was a bit of a surprise to us because we were expecting a sleepy little country town. But it appears that based on its success in winter as a major skiing area, it grew to provide summer facilities. These include shopping malls and outlet stores by the dozen. I was hoping to make a quick trip to the top of Mt Washington (said to be the highest in New England – Mt Cadillac it turn out is the highest peak on the coastline. And I thought it was only Australia which had this hang-up about the biggest, largest, highest etc in the Southern Hemisphere.) but (a) it was too late and (b) it was raining. (We had an opportunity to make this drive some years later. It was quite an experience driving on the ‘wrong’ side of a dirt road with no side rails and sheer drops of hundreds of feet. But the views were magnificent.)

We had a look at several inns and motels which abound in the area and settled for The Lodge which is very comfortable and pleasant at only $79 for the night (that was not the winter rate however!). it has a lovely trout stream running through the grounds. Wish I had my rod with me. The area is full of streams which look as if they should be teeming with fish and with a mayfly hatch taking place at the moment, they should be biting. Saw a couple of blokes in one of the rivers as we went by.

Dinner this evening was at a marvellous restaurant. I had had enough of fish and non-grilled food so that was what we focussed on. We landed up at a lovely spot called the Berenhof, part of which is the Black Bear Pub which looks great fun and has over fifty beers to choose from. Rab and I both felt that the meal we had there was the best we have ever had in the US. I had a well cooked (not well done) bit of steak, dark on the outside and pink in the middle, served with a chicken sausage, also well done, and some very tasty vegetables including roast peppers. Rab had a delicious crispy duckling. The servings were not too big and were just what we wanted. The sweets menu had a terrific choice but we declined on the basis of weight watching.

So all in all a pretty good and interesting day with some delightful scenery along the road.

BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - BAR HARBOR DAY #2

Friday 2 June 1995 Bar Harbor, ME

I don’t know what happened to the showers and possible thunderstorms which were meant to come through this evening, but it has remained fine and warm (in the sun and away from the sea, at least). It was sunny most of the day but not quite as hot as yesterday. We woke up fairly late and had a very pleasant Continental breakfast with toast so we could have a bit of Vegemite. (We always take a tube of Vegemite with us since it is very difficult to obtain outside of Australia) it was great sitting out at a table on the lawn in the morning sun watching the passing show. I have done quite a bit of that here as our balcony gives us a very good view. 

Just before I came in I was watching a seagull dropping some crustacean or other  onto the exposed bricks below us – swooping up, fluttering its wings and then following the prey down. We had seen a blackbird doing this on the driveway earlier on, although it did not seem to have grasped the principle in its entirety as it dropped its quarry onto the lawn a couple of times. I would love to know who learned what from whom??

After breakfast we set off for a drive around the island. The initial part of the drive was spectacular but as the morning wore on and we reached the south east corner of the island the vegetation became more spares and the scenery less attractive. I think there may well be a rain shadow  there, or very poor soil, because what trees grew there  were stunted. 

There was not much sign of life over there either, so we couldn’t even get a bite to eat at lunch time when we were a bit peckish after our light breakfast. A white tailed deer gave us a bit of a fright when it suddenly appeared  in the road ahead of us – there was no danger as it crossed the road well before we got near it, but we kept a sharper lookout after that. Apart from that, a little chipmunk and a bald eagle in the distance we haven’t seen any wildlife.

Grabbed a couple of packets of snacks and cans of drinks when we got back to the hotel and did a bit of observing while we ate and drank. There were a couple of delightful puppies fooling around on the shore. Which reminds me – we saw another schnauzer in town last night after dinner. It was a standard, bred in Hawaii and living in Ohio, here on holiday. We also spotted it walking in the woods with its owners. Rab baled them up and had a long chat with them, of course.

We wandered around the town in a desultory way after we had done our socialising – there is not much to it and we got the impression that it is definitely downmarket compared to spots like Boothbay or Kennebunkport. I reckon at the height of summer the place will be crawling with loud, drunken college kids and biker types all seeing a bit of “the country”. It just has that feel to it. Although the hotel we are staying at is very nice, many of the others look decidedly seedy as do many of the eating places and bars.

The chowder we had tonight was truly delicious and the rest of the meal was good too. We had appetizers again, having finally learned our lesson about dealing with the enormous main courses. And so back to the hotel to watch the boats go out on the evening cruises and return. 

Three sailing craft went out – there is a nice breeze tonight and it was a grand sight to see them hoist their sails and head off across Frenchman’s Bay. I wish Rab would try something like that but she refuses point blank even when she can see that the water is comparatively calm and there are no big swells running. She hs this curious fear of being sea sick despite never having actually been sick. I would love to have gone whale watching today. Even though it is early in the season they have seen a few up the coast, so they say. But it was not worthwhile trying to get her to go, even on the catamaran. Of course she urged me to go on my own, but there is not much fun for either of us in that and it seems  to me to be very unfair to leave her on her own for four or five hours. Maybe…..one of these days….. maybe I’ll get her to try. (Nothing doing yet – almost twenty years later.)

 

BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - BAR HARBOR ME

Thursday 1 June 1995 Bar Harbor, ME

We left Boothbay Harbor with a deal of regret – it certainly was a top spot, so much so that we even toyed with the idea of staying a bit longer. Our  tentative plan was to breakfast in Wiscasset a little town just back down the highway but could not find a spot there so pressed on to Newcastle. It was already warming up, as predicted on the forecast – about 25C. The breakfast was good but the service was a bit slow and the proprietor was pleasant enough. We had a bit of a laugh because yesterday Rab picked a venue outside of which a road crew were working with jackhammers. No sooner had we sat down this morning than they were at it again. And blimey, if the same thing didn’t happen this evening when we had supper. We reckon they must be following us.

We could not travel on the smaller roads today because there were not any, but at least we stayed on the #1 North rather than the 93, which is a turnpike. There were warnings about moose on the roads. Apparently there are black flies in the woods which irritate the moose and they seek open spaces. According to the local paper an old boy in his seventies died when he hit a moose yesterday on the 93. killed the moose too. (Funny to think I ever thought anyone in their 70s as ‘old’. Time changes perceptions.) But we didn’t see anything apart from the odd squirrel. We have seen very little wildlife apart from them, a couple of chipmunks, a woodchuck and a tortoise. The last was spotted about to cross the 27 at Boothbay yesterday afternoon. A couple of cars had stopped and a grey haired old matron was hobbling towards the tortoise – at about the same speed – to herd it to safety.

The drive up here took about three hours and there was not a lot to see except the woods and the odd small town. It was interesting to see how the woods gradually changed colour as the mix of trees changed. More pine trees started appearing with their darker green contrasting with the lighter beeches. We had some doubts about what Bar Harbor would be like since the approaches to the town had a distinctly tacky air. Waterworld “Not in Working Order”; greasy looking eating shacks; barns of flea markets. But once we crossed the bridge to Desert Island everything changed and it is a truly stupendously beautiful place from what we have seen so far.

Pretty nice view

The receptionist at Tugboat Annie suggested we have a look at the hotel we are staying at – The Bar Harbor Inn, which is clearly owned by the same people since the layout and the furnishings are the same. They offered a good discount as well and the situation of the hotel is marvellous – right on the waters edge. As we sat on our balcony we could hear the water lapping as we watched the activity on the water.(We had learned on previous trips to the USA to bargain for hotel rooms, something that was certainly not done at that time in South Africa where the price was the price.) There was a stately schooner under full sail which looked so good. Since the weather was still fine and is notoriously fickle up here, we decided to go up Cadillac Mountain this afternoon even though the predictions are that the weather will be fine most of the day.

The drive up the mountain which at 1,530 feet is said to be the highest peak on the East Coast of the US was spectacular as was the view from the top. There was a bit of a haze presumably because of the heat and lack of wind but even so, the spread of islands, sea and lakes in the 360 degree panoramic view takes a lot of beating. 

The view from Mt Cadillac

We will probably stay here two nights to get a good look at the country. The forests are very different to those further south and although the wild pears and apples are in blossom, the lilac is only beginning to bloom and we have missed the lupins which will come out in a week or two – apparently they are one helluva sight. Perhaps we will see some inland as we head south again as it has been a bit warmer there. Mount Cadillac was originally named Mt Desert because it is a bald granite outcrop and it was interesting to note, as we made our way up the rather steep road (Not Recommended For Cyclists – I’ll say!) how the vegetation changed. The trees became more and more stunted and then almost disappeared. But what a view!!

The view at sea level was pretty good too

We headed back to town and the hotel and had a brief chat to the Canadians in the room next door before strolling around town and having a light meal at a restaurant near the town square. We only had a salad and an appetizer each, with a beer, which seemed not to please the young servitor who seemed a bit up himself – but maybe my perception was influenced by my hunger. The servings are really too big most of the time – at the one Italian restaurant in Boston the dish Rab had would have fed 4 – 6 people comfortably and mine would have done for 3 – 4. in that instance most people took the uneaten portion away with them – neatly packed in a foil box which made it a pretty reasonable meal but most of our meal landed up in the bin – what a waste. So we have taken to ordering appetizers or sharing dishes and this has worked pretty well.

We called up Peta tonight since we are pretty close to Canada up here. Rab and she chatted for the best part of an hour so it will be interesting to see what that will cost on the AT&T card. Not that I begrudge the cost in any way at all – in fact I feel almost guilty that we didn’t get across to Toronto to see her, or at least arrange to meet up in Montreal. She has had such a rough time over the last couple of years. . It is just a catalogue of awful events – a brother dying of AIDS within a couple of months of her mother being diagnosed with Alzheimers being just the latest in a long series of event. She says she gets depressed at times which is hardly surprising and that is why she has not written.

BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - BOOTHBAY DAY #2

Wednesday 31 May 1995 Boothbay Harbor, ME

What a view to wake up to.

We ate at the restaurant attached to the hotel last night which has an even more magnificent outlook than our room. As we ate we could watch the setting sun gild everything and then see the water which was flat with barely a ripple turn that peculiar silver tone which it takes on at dusk. A batter old boat anchored in the bay looked for a moment as if it was made from beaten copper as the last rays of the sun caught it. 

We watched a seagull trying to peck the rubber out of the door of a car, take a casual peck at the aerial and then investigate the windscreen wipers before swooping off, it’s reflection clear in the water below. All this and a tasty meal to boot. Cajun popcorn prawn to start with – a meal in itself – followed  by Fettucine Alfred con Mare for Rab and fresh haddock for me. Neither of us could finish our meals. Those American servings defeated us again – they are huge.

The church in the morning light

When we got back to the room, the old church on the other side of the harbour had been floodlit and stood out like those little minutely detailed balsawood buildings carefully carved and mounted for sale in souvenir shops in the Far East. Small boats drifted here and there, engines quietly turning over and navigation lights glowing. The lighthouse in the distance flashed its double signal and the marker buoys in the bay responded.

Peace!

We had a lazy day today. Having decided that the ambience of Boothbay Harbor was such that it needed more time to savour we extended our stay by a day. The forecast was for a warm day and it was – about 25C - so we had a lateish breakfast and spent the morning exploring the town – the shops that is. We made our way back to the hotel and after picking up our car, we just toured around the area. It was a lovely day and we saw so many beautiful scenes it is difficult to remember them all. The sun certainly makes a difference.

After dropping off a couple of films for developing we went on down to the Lobsterman’s Co-op on the other side of the harbour for an early meal. Rab went for the shrimp dinner which was very good and I tried another lobster which was only $9.75 compared with $13.50 at Ogunquit. But the body meat was still tough and not as tasty as our crayfish. The claws were delicious but. It was very pleasant sitting in the afternoon sun sipping or drinks, especially as there were not too many visitors about yet.

Later we sat on our stoep back at the hotel watching the passing scene and sipping on a bottle of Napa Valley Cab Sav while the sun set. When it got cool we had a coffee and shared an enormous cinnamon scroll. Great Day!

(One of the places when we drove around we found was a woodcarver who made the most magnificent signs and nameplates for houses. We kept his details and in due course when we bought our house in South Africa we had him carve one for us – Rabshaven – a safe place for Rab. It made a lovely memory of a great couple of days)

BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - BOOTHBAY, ME

Tuesday 30 May 1995 Boothbay Harbor, ME

After a terrific thunderstorm last night we awoke to a beautiful sunny day with the birds chirping away like mad and the ducks on the river quacking. The woods looked splendid, dappled with the morning light. (We had a laugh when Rab spotted a deer and her faun nestled together under a tree in the grounds. It was quite a sight – but it was a statuette, which is why they weren’t moving!)

Mother and child - Bambi perhaps?

We had our morning coffee on the back  stoep – just chatting and enjoying each other’s company after all these years and tribulations. We bought a T-shirt for Matt yesterday at one of the stops. It is a long time since we have done that as he has some pretty definite ideas about matters sartorial and I guess he may never wear it. The slogan is a simple one “No rain – No rainbows.” There are other messages on the back which are true clichés, but, as I said with the note I sent with the shirt when I mailed it to him, most clichés are true. As this trip unfurls we realise more and more how fortunate we are and revel in our happiness like a couple of honeymooners. Only we know better than any youngster  just starting out on their lives how precious and valuable life really is – and how fortunate we have been.

We got going fairly late – Rab had decided to wash some clothes last night and thought that by turning up the heater in the bathroom she might get it all dried by this morning. A couple  of things did dry in an atmosphere which was like a Turkish bath, but the rest were very damp. So we headed down the road to find a Laundromat with driers, which of course turned out to be a dime a dozen. We picked one conveniently located next to an omelette bar so we were able to have breakfast while the washing dried. They didn’t do pancakes so Rab settled for French toast and bacon, while I got adventurous and had a Mexican omelette – all onions, tomatoes and peppers, which was a good way to kick-start the day (but pretty pricey at about $15 with a tip).

Kennebunkport

After a couple more stops for gas, postcards and post office we were on our way on a lovely sunny day, although there was a bit of a breeze at times. Mind you we didn’t get very far because we had a break at Kennebunkport to have a look around. Pretty high quality stuff there allright including a beautiful brass kaleidoscope I would love to have had and which was worth every penny of the $350 they were asking. While it was only the equivalent of a day’s accommodation in Bermuda we felt it was too much to pay – odd how we have such differing values for different things. We drove on through the suburbs of Kennebunkport and saw some magnificent homes, including George Bush’s compound out on a spit.- marvellous place he has there. It sure beats Bob Hawke’s place. Funnily enough the car radio went off the air as we drove past the house and only came on again about a half mile down the road – no doubt part of the security arrangements.  

Our drive north today was similar in many ways to yesterday, except that there was more colour in the sea from the sunshine and some of the beaches looked better. Again we saw a mixture of residential areas – some with glorious houses, some that were really ropey. It is clear too that we have got ahead of Spring to a certain extent. We noticed this afternoon that there were lots of gorgeous tulips around, which had come and gone in Boston and some very full flowering plums, peaches and apples, which were losing their blossom in Marblehead. The very pleasant young lady who checked us in here says that although we are only a couple of hundred miles (three hours she said) north of Boston, Spring is usually two weeks behind. (Years later I saw an estimate of the ‘speed’ of Spring being calculated as between 17 and 20 miles a day, so this young lady’s observation seems about right.)

We picked up a couple of delicious clam cakes as a noontime snack at a rather dismal and deserted seaside village shortly before we got to Freeport – which is famous for its Outlet Shops. These are shops which sell designer goods at wholesale prices and, if they are “seconds” substantially below wholesale. In fact I got a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans in Boston on Saturday at an outlet shop. There is a slub in one leg which a blind man would be glad to see and yet I only paid $15 for them against a RRP of $30. no wonder all those Bermudians said it was cheap to shop here.

I can relate to that!

We did not spend too much time in Freeport – in fact we probably wouldn’t even have stopped but for the fact that Rab spotted the Barbizon shop. They specialise in underwear, nighties etc and she has been looking for years for some of their products, but had been told they had gone out of business. Clearly they hadn’t, so I left her there and made a quick foray into the LL Bean shop which, it is said, has been trading on the same site for 80 years. It covers all manner of sports and outdoor activities and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is unbelievable – an Aladdin’s cave. I bought myself a new Swiss Army knife with a five inch locking blade. I had first spotted this in Bermuda but felt that $64 was more than I wanted to pay. I also saw one in Boston, but still felt that $45 was too much. But at $29 at LL Bean it seemed OK.

We decided to make for Boothbay  for the night because a young lass had recommended us to pause there on the way to Bar Harbor. It seemed a good idea – and what a happy choice. The hotel we picked – from dozens – is right on the harbour and has truly wondrous views. We sat on the balcony for about an hour after dinner just taking in the tranquillity and beauty (and a couple of cups of coffee)

The view from our bedroom at Boothbay Harbor