So much has happend since we last talked. We took a trip to New Hampshire & the New England coast. It was beautiful, I could totally see myself living up there. We drove through White Mountain State Park, that's where that picture you see above was taken. On that drive we stopped at a hiking trail & the Hunk proposed & I said yes. YAH!! Which means now we have alot going on around the GWW household, lots of wedding planning is happening as we are planning for the end of May.
WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!
Also on our little vacation we took a road trip up the coast of Maine (home of the lobster roll) & it too was gorgeous. The beaches are incredible, nothing like our Gulf Coast beaches but just as breathtaking. We said we wouldn't mind taking a summer trip to Maine & try out their beaches for a week or so. The beaches there are very rocky, the sand is almost black but it's just like what you see in movies, we loved it.
On our trip that day we stopped for lunch at Capt'n & Patty's, just south of York, Maine. It was a small little place overlooking the harbor. I was determined to get a lobster roll that day & Capt'n & Patty's did not disappoint. It was a delicious blend of lump lobster meat mixed with a little mayo, maybe some lemon juice & fresh parsley all stuff in a split slice of buttery, toasted french bread. It doesn't sound like much I know but trust me I could have eaten several of these things & for every meal. It came with a side of their home-made onion rings which were equally as good.
We drove further up the coast to the Nubble Lighthouse, it was originally built in 1879 & the house in 1901. It was very picturesque as you can see above. It reminded us of the house in Beetlejuice too. Ha!
The feeling you get when you see this picture, you know where you just look at it & go "ahhhh", that was the feel of that entire area. Absolutley wonderful, easy, breezy & relaxing.
The lighthouse sits on an island of sorts & can only be reached by a bucket that's suspended on a pulley like system. It wasn't open to the public so we only got to see it from the opposite shore, along with about 100 other folks. We didn't realize what we were going to see when we said "let's follow the signs to that lighthouse, that would be neat." And look what we found.
We saw alot of pretty scenery while in New England in addition to Maine & midcentral New Hampshire. We even drove over to Vermont one day to look at covered bridges. We had a pint at some really neat pubs & good food at some really neat restaurants as well.
One of those restaurants was the famous Red Arrow Diner. We had lunch on our last day before we hit the airport. We discovered it when searching cool places to go & found that this was on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, so of course we had to check it out. And let me tell you it was well worth the time, they have a huge menu, almost anything you want plus they have daily specials. I would love to go there for a solid week & have every meal even though I still wouldn't get try everything I wanted.
It was a tiny little L-shaped diner with only about 6 feet between the counter & the wall & only 5 booths on one end. You actually went through the kitchen to get to the bathroom, the Hunk had to go & the cook says to him "hey buddy, that way" & points to the restroom. Ha! We thought that was pretty funny.
Anyway, we sat at a booth & discovered that we were sitting where Adam Sandler sat when he visited the Red Arrow, the name plate above was on the back of the booth. We started looking around & I was sitting where Al Gore had sat, there were several other celebrity notations on the other booths too along with their signed picture of them sitting in said booth. Not a bad end to an awesome trip.
The Red Arrow, & alot of places in New England, are famous for their beans. So of course we had to order a side of them. They were really good, a little sweet, alot like baked beans without the BBQ sauce in them.
And to us they are just baked beans that everyone has at any summer time cookout. But to the folks of New Englad they are a staple. You really can find them on almost every non-specialty restaurant menu.
My actual lunch was a turkey club, you could choose any side & I chose one of my favorites, mac & cheese. The turkey club was very good, it wasn't sliced deli turkey it was freshly sliced turkey from a fturkey fresh cooked that day, you could tell. The bacon was plentiful too & cooked perfectly. The mac & cheese was creamy & delicous & they put an extra spoonful of the cheese sauce on top before they serve it. The Hunk tried one of the specials, a cheeseburger quesadilla & had a side of their famous chicken & rice soup. We wished we could have taken an extra order of both home with us.
But there was one thing that might overshadow the famous beans & soup & specials & sandwiches. And that is their house made twinkies. I ate too much at lunch & couldn't eat it right away. But I did dig in the next day when we got home & it was pretty good. A nice sponge cake with a marshmallowey-icing like filling. You definitley should stop by the Red Arrow & get your own Twinkie next time your in Manchester, New Hampshire.
We had a great trip & I'm so glad I'm finally getting to share it & our good news of the approaching wedding with you.
I'll be back later in the week with a new recipe & a DIY project on the new At Home section of my blog.
Love,
GWW
