Mainly Maine

We flew to Boston (LAX-ATL-BOS) for Chip Lockwood’s wedding to Meg Greenberg. But since we were flying to one of the furthest continental US places from Edwards, we decided to drive further north for a visit to Acadia National Park (actually about the furthest you can get from Edwards).

Our intentions were mixed. First, Maine was Jeff’s 50^th state. Second, the Maine coast was recommended by friends Dan & Bethany. Third, since we have a National Park pass, going to Acadia National Park now effectively saved us the $20 entry fee.

Upon arrival, Elizabeth’s bag was lost by Delta & our Hertz rental car did not have a functional power outlet. Delta found the bag the next morning, but Lulu at Hertz insisted that their “compact” and “economy” cars have deactivated power plugs. “You have to upgrade to the next class to get a working plug.” That’s like saying they unhooked the windshield wipers and that you need to pay extra to use them. It was a lie to pacify us – but corporate was shocked to hear that and mailed us $50 Hertz bucks.

Our first night, we stayed in Boston with the incredibly gracious Joe & Beth Friel. They even let us do laundry on our first day of the trip (so Elizabeth had something to wear back to the airport to pick up her bag).

New car & bag in hand, we ventured north. Our first stop was at the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. No kidding one of the neatest places in suburban Boston. They actually have a working iron mill with water wheel & blacksmith shop. Sadly, no entrance fee, but we did get a passport stamp. Our next stop was Salem, MA to check out all the buzz about witches. The visitor’s center at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site rightfully plays down the witch trial history of Salem. Down the street, however, the Salem Witch Museum will take your money and dramatize the events. Plan a couple of hours in Salem to see the video at the visitor’s center, meander through town and visit the historic ships.

Further up the coast, we dropped into Kennebunkport to take a peak at the George H. W. Bush estate (off Ocean Avenue) before a great dinner at the Sea Dog Brewery in Brunwsick ME. They have a nightly $10 dinner special. The pork loin dinner was top-notch. We spent the night at the Brunswick Naval Air Station.

In the morning, we toured the Maine Maritime Museum (call ahead and make a reservation for the Bath Iron Works shipyard tour). For lunch, we stopped at the iconic red & white striped Red’s Eats in Wiscasset ME for a lobster roll. Be prepared to stand in line and pay $14.99 for about a pound and a half of lobster on a bun. Yum! But please don’t play tourist and order non-standard items. Go here for lobster rolls – not for burgers. One of the best-preserved forts in the country is Fort Knox State Historic Park (the other one) in Frankfort ME. It’s $5 and has good views of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

Our two-day drive up the Maine coast was idyllic. Yet when we got to Bar Harbor ME (gateway to Acadia), we found an equally amazing time! Our lodging for 3 nights was at the Castlemaine Inn B&B in the “Secret Room.” There was a 10% military discount there. The Secret Room looked like an attic turned into a guest room. It was cramped and very bright in the mornings. But the inn was lovely and the innkeepers nice (albeit strange). Upon checkout, we asked them to put this line on their website, “The Secret Room is for ‘early risers.’”

Bar Harbor is touristy (cruise ships tender there), especially so in the summer months. We were told that the town all but closes up during the colder months. Solid eats can be found at Rosalie’s Pizzeria (casual), Mache Bistro (date night) and the Downeast Deli (lunch sandwiches). Hit up CJ’s Big Dipper for homemade blueberry softserve. We had it 3 days in a row. It’s that good.

Acadia is a national park you could spend months exploring. It’s not huge like parks out west, nor does it have anything spectacularly unique (geysers, canyons, etc). But Acadia has a particular charm. Rockefeller and others bought up the land on and around Mount Desert Island and donated it to the US government. Then Rockefeller built carriage roads throughout the park (and 1 loop road). You can learn more about Rockafeller and Acadia here.

We took a carriage tour (as Mr. Rockefeller intended the park to be seen) through the park’s contracted carrier, Carriages of Acadia ($24.50 pp for 2 hr bridge tour). We then had tea and popovers on the lawn at Jordan Pond House ($8.50). Reservations are very much required for both. We saw folks at both establishments being turned away.

Rent bikes and meander around the miles and miles of carriage roads, or hike them. Check out LuLu’s Lobster Boat Ride (not the Hertz employee). We chose to take the park service’s Baker Island Cruise (4+ hrs). It’s a boat ride to an island 3 miles off shore so you get to see the picturesque Acadia coastline. Then you board a skiff and make a landing on the island for a ranger-led hike. It was $43/pp and worth every bit. Pack jackets, water and lunch.

While the park hosts some evening ranger programs, we really enjoyed going to ImprovAcadia (15 Cottage St, $15). Expect a small-town comedy show in a cramped space with only one bartender – but also expect hilarity! Again - Reservations are Recommended.

This trip was great up until this point. But what I’m about to tell you makes this trip truly unique. Only at low tide (check local paper for tide table), Mount Desert Island connects to deserted Bar Island via a sand bar. You can hike across (or drive across) this sand bar and go for a hike on Bar Island. Time it well so you don’t get stuck on Bar Island for 10 hours. I don’t know of anywhere else in America where you can do this. It was very neat.

En route back to Massachusetts for the Lockwood wedding, we stopped at the DeLorme Headquarters in Yarmouth, ME. Eartha is there – the world’s largest rotating globe, nicknamed Eartha. We had lunch at a place called Big G’s in Winslow, ME. Mary recommended the place and it was a great sandwich dive. Jeff ordered the Dudley-Do-Right and Elizabeth got the Jane Fonda. Order the half. You still won’t leave hungry.

We made our way to Kittery Maine to visit Dan’s parents. First, Dan’s mom gave us a tour of historic Strawberry Banke. (Think small scale Williamsburg.) Later, Dan’s parents took us on a local tour, where we got to see the Nubble lighthouse. You’ve undoubtedly seen photos in a calendar or advertisement. After the overnight with Dan’s parents, we toured Fort Foster and Fort McLary before heading back into Massachusetts.

Joe and Beth Friel met us at Lowell National Park (again, no fee) to learn about the garment industry and industrial America. We took the park service’s engineering innovation canal tour. For $8, you start at the visitor’s center and take a trolley to a canal. There you get on a flat-bottomed boat and troll around the canals. And check this out, you actually go up in a lock and then back down later. You don’t need to visit the Panama Canal to ride a lock! We learned how the Merrimack River was tamed to provide waterwheel power for dozens of mills. Be sure to visit the Boott Cotton Mills Museum too ($6) where you’ll see old, working looms. The displays will teach you how fabric is made. Lowell is a fabulously well done National Historical Park. If we had more time, we would have visited the New England Quilt Museum.

After dinner at a local Legal Seafood and a night at Hanscom AFB, we went canoeing with the Friels. Our 5-mile canoe trip ended at the Old North Bridge in Concord (Minuteman National Historical Park). They too have a visitor’s center with a passport stamp. Beth & Elizabeth packed us an amazing picnic and we spread out our blanket and enjoyed the August afternoon.

Chip & Meg’s wedding was the crowning day to a fantastic trip. Their wedding was held at the Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts. Their reception (on the lawn) was very classy and the band kept us dancing for hours. Elizabeth even had the chance to spend some time with a good friend from high school we haven’t seen since our wedding two years ago.

“Sideways” Wine Tour and other Central Coast Adventures

As I have previously mentioned Vandenberg, AFB is a great launching point for many California Central Coast adventures. If you’re not looking to drive 100 miles up the coast there is plenty to do right outside the Vandenberg gates.

The second day of our Central Coast Summer Adventure was dedicated to wine tasting. Santa Barbara County has some amazing wineries that offer a more casual atmosphere then its northern neighbors. Most of the tastings in this area will run you between $5-$10/person and typically includes your glass. There are maps of the wine tasting region available at Vandenberg, virtually any hotel and at every winery – so find your way to one and have them point you to the next one. If you are a “Sideways” fan (or just like organized fun) there is a wine map featuring just the wineries from the movie.

We got an early start on Saturday, a bit too early to start the wine tasting; luckily there are plenty of non-wine related activities in the area. Our pre-wine tasting activity of choice – Blueberry Picking! Don’t expect those fat blueberries you see in the stores – these are wild blueberries and they come in a variety of varietals. On this particular trip we were all given a bucket – 15min in I had barely covered the bottom of the basket. Mom was set on filling our bucket (A $15 value or a fraction of that if you failed to fill the bucket) while Dad and Jeff were set on sampling berries from each bush. After an hour our bucket (and Jeff & Dad’s tummies) were full and we headed to our next adventure. There are several U-Pick locations in the area, with a variety of seasonal crops– we chose one we had seen on our drive in the day before. (If you happen to be there not during a picking season there are some other alternatives such as visiting a lavender farm or an Ostrich Farm.)

Right down the road from the Blueberry farm is Nojoqui Falls Park. Nojoqui falls is a 160+ foot waterfall that is actually growing out due to mineral deposits in the water. An easy, albeit uphill, 10 min walk leads to the falls. This was our second visit to this little hike – A summer visit meant much less water coming over the falls, but allowed us to get much closer than in our previous spring visit. There are also plenty of picnic spots here - including one right by the falls!

Finally, a respectable hour had been reached and we headed out on our wine tasting adventure. We found a little “shack” on the way to our first winery and picked up lunch. Mom was hesitant to pick-up any food from this place, Jeff thought it looked like a piece of “Americana” but it’s really not even worth mentioning since lunch was nothing special – if I had it to do again I would have grabbed something from a grocery store in town.

You really can't go wrong stopping into any of the vineyards in this area, but I will list a few of our favorites as a jumping off point. (We didn't visit all of these on this particular visit, but have been in this area a few times before.) Riverbench Vineyards & Winery features outdoor seating & wine tasting, a lovely little shop and even a full scale bocce court! Cottonwood Canyon is where we chose to have lunch as they have a beautiful picnic area right out front with umbrella covered tables. We purchased a Chardonnay that went well with our blueberry lunch! Rancho Sisquoc Winery also has great picnic and outdoor seating. There outdoor tables are limited but there are plenty of benches and rails to perch on and complete your tasting outside. Foxen Winery is always much to crowded for us and thus we have never done a tasting here. Foxen has opened a second tasting room to try to alleviate the overcrowding but we missed the turn on this last trip and decided to continue down the road. Its clearly very popular so is probably worth the wait.

Before we knew it the afternoon had passed and we were almost back in Solvang. We decided to stop at Old Mission Santa Inez for Saturday Evening Mass. During Mass I couldn't help but admire the hand painted walls and ceiling of the church. Don't miss the gardens which are accessible through the church or the mission visitors center/gift shop.

We had the best meal of the trip at Root 246 in Solvang and is run by the Santa Ynez Band of the Chumash Indians. Root 246 has some outdoor seating, some funky tables with seating in high back couches in front of floor to ceiling windows and some intimate booths. The menu focuses on seasonal and local produce. The meal was excellent and they, of course, have an extensive wine menu. I ordered two appetizers for my meal and it was more then enough.

After dinner we took a stroll through Solvang. Don't miss the Hans Christian Anderson Museum, which is easy to miss as it is on the top floor of a bookstore in downtown Solvang. Every April 2nd they host a birthday bash for Mr. Anderson complete with birthday cake. If Hans Christian Anderson is your thing then you wont want to miss the Little Mermaid Statue or Hans Christian Anderson Park (which has a great looking playground.) If you are there during the day we saw a Surry Rental place (475 1st Street) with four person surry bikes that looked like a good time. There are also tons of bakery serving up Danish pastries if you want to pick one up for the morning. Personally, I just enjoyed walking through Solvang taking in the dutch influence - windmills, copper roofs with exposed wooden beams and the smell of pastries. I'm already looking forward to our next visit!

50 States - One Great Nation

Our August trip took us to Maine - for a few nights at Acadia National Park. Crossing the border into Maine marked my 50th visited state (Elizabeth isn't too far behind). So it's only fitting to make some mention of the milestone on Out of Edwards. Below I've listed all 50 states and one memory from each. Note: sorry for leaving Alabama for the end.

1 - Alaska, Unspoiled America
2 - Arizona, Meteor Crater
3 - Arkansas, Crater of Diamonds State Park, where you can dig for diamonds!
4 - California, Napa Valley
5 - Colorado, Hiking up Pikes Peak
6 - Connecticut, Diner Food
7 - Delaware, I had to fly Space-A from Dover to my deployment in 2006
8 - Florida, Space Shuttles
9 - Georgia, gorgeous coastal islands
10 - Hawaii, active volcanoes - very cool
11 - Idaho, Coeur D'Alene is beautiful
12 - Illinois, Chicago Cubs games are a true American experience
13 - Indiana, Notre Dame's golden dome
14 - Iowa, visited the Governor's office once
15 - Kansas, you actually won't believe how flat it really is
16 - Kentucky, every state has some caverns, but Mammoth Cave National Park is legit
17 - Louisiana, Bourbon Street is crazy every day of the year
18 - Maine, Acadia National Park
19 - Maryland, Baltimore Harbor
20 - Massachusetts, a huge number of National Park stamps
21 - Michigan, fall colors
22 - Minnesota, Culver's for burgers and ice cream
23 - Mississippi, petrified forest
24 - Missouri, I still don't know why it's called the Show Me state
25 - Montana, it's huge and Evel Knievel lived there
26 - Nebraska, riding the Oregon Trail with the Boy Scouts
27 - Nevada, great food in Vegas
28 - New Hampshire, cheap liquor
29 - New Jersey, full service gas stations
30 - New Mexico, Native American history
31 - New York, Niagara Falls
32 - North Carolina, the Outer Banks & the birthplace of aviation
33 - North Dakota, I-94 is a lot of nothing
34 - Ohio, John Glenn's boyhood home and Neil Armstrong museum
35 - Oklahoma, Oklahoma City bombing memorial
36 - Oregon, rode an Amtrak train through the state once
37 - Pennsylvania, home sweet home
38 - Rhode Island, seafaring history
39 - South Carolina, Clemson
40 - South Dakota, the Badlands
41 - Tennessee, home to Jack Daniels (but it's in a dry county)
42 - Texas, I once drove for 12 hours straight with some friends and didn't leave the state
43 - Utah, drove an hour out of the way once to see Mexican Hat (don't)
44 - Vermont, trees & syrup
45 - Virginia, is for lovers
46 - Washington, Museum of Flight (owns an original Sputnik)
47 - West Virginia, white water rafting
48 - Wisconsin, the Brewers
49 - Wyoming, Yellowstone
50 - Alabama, where the Wright Brothers had a flying school

Pacific Coast Fun: Up the Coast to Hearst Castle

Vandenberg AFB is one of our favorite launching points for some Pacific Coast Highway Fun. My parents were in San Francisco, so when they suggested we meet somewhere on the coast for the weekend Vandenberg was the perfect launching point for a mid-summer adventure.

We drove up from Edwards in record time and were able to meet my parents, who had spent the day winding down Hwy 1, for dinner. We decided to hit up The Hitching Post II, made famous in the movie Sideways, based solely on the fact that we knew where it was. The Hitching Post surpassed all expectations and was a perfect pick for some hungry travelers. The meals here are large – you pick an entree and it comes with an appetizer, salad or soup and the entree. Jeff and I split a meal where I ate the app and the salad and he at the entire. They also put some fresh veggies on the table to start. If you’re a wine drinker don’t miss the wines made in house. We shared a nice rose from the Hitching Post’s wine label.

Vandenberg lodging is very comfortable – if you call ahead you can request “The Sideways Room” which is decorated in Sideways memorabilia. All the rooms are done well and the beds here are the most comfortable of any AF lodging we have stayed in. There is a Starbucks walking distance from the hotel, but its only open on weekdays. (To find the Starbucks, follow the path between the lodging buildings toward the club.)

Day one of our adventure took us up the PCH to Hearst Castle. You will need to reserve tickets to Hearst Castle in advance since they often sell out. We followed almost the same itinerary as when we ventured up the coast a few months earlier to see the butterflies. We booked 2pm tours giving us the morning and most of the afternoon to get up the coast.

The first stop was San Luis Obispo where we visited bubblegum alley, the Old Mission San Luis Obispo and the creek walk. The San Luis Obispo Historical Museum, housed in the old library, is also worth a quick peek. On our visit the museum housed an exhibit on SLO weddings. San Luis Obispo is a great lodging alternative to base – filled with little bed and breakfasts and Inn’s. On a previous trip Jeff and I stayed at Petit Soleli.

Heading further up the coast we made a stop in one of budget travel’s coolest small towns – Cayucos, CA. We picked up lunch at the Old Cayucos Bakery and Deli – all their sandwiches come with this amazing salad – for a picnic further up the coast. We stopped in at The Brown Butter Cookie Co for some sweet treats. (The honey cookies were the group favorite.) Then we wondered over to the Cayucos Pier where there was a farmers market going on – we purchased some hummus and tubule to round out our picnic fair, loaded the car and headed up the coast.

Right outside the gates of Hearst Castle, on the other side of Hwy 1, is a great little picnic spot and state park. It’s the site of the old pier that Hearst used to get all the people and gear to his castle. Up top there are bathrooms and lots of picnic tables. If you have time you can wonder down the path to the beach, which usually has some seals sunning themselves. On this occasion our time was limited so we ate our lunch and headed across the Hwy.

Hearst Castle always seems to be crowded – so leave time to find a parking space and get your tickets. My parents booked tickets on the Introductory Tour (Tour 1), but since we had been there before Jeff and I went on the Upper Floors of Casa Tour (Tour 2). As the name suggests we saw the upper floors of the big house and got a much better picture of the life Hearst lead at the castle. It was much more informative then the Introductory Tour. After meeting back up with my parents at the Visitors Center we got back on the bus, this time as a group, and went on the new, self-guided, “Your Gardens and Vistas” tour. This tour allows you to roam around the outside grounds until sunset. This was amazing – strolling the grounds peering into the house windows and climbing all the stairs. You almost felt like you were a guest at the Castle. If you have the chance to do this self-guided tour it is well worth it.


The only downside to Hearst Castle in the evening is trying to find dinner after. Jeff found Madeline's in Cambria that is a wine bar by day and a restaurant in the evening. With a local menu this was a perfect little romantic dinner place. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep on the way back to Vandenberg because the next thing I knew we were pulling through the gates.