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+--- Thread: On the road again (/thread-19946.html)
- Kcwhippet - 08-22-2005
Off to Washington (DC, not state this time) later today. Be back Friday afternoon. Be good to each other.
- Innkeeper - 08-22-2005
Us too. Leaving for our annual annivesary (42d) trip to Grand Manan tomorrow. Be back on Sunday.
- Georgie - 08-22-2005
Have fun and be careful youse guys. KC, probably too late to tell you this, but there's a dandy German restaurant in DC called Cafe Berlin. 322 Massachusetts Ave.
Here's its location. http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=12367870&city=Washington&state=DC
[This message has been edited by Georgie (edited 08-22-2005).]
[This message has been edited by Georgie (edited 08-22-2005).]
- Innkeeper - 08-29-2005
We got back last night (Sunday) after being away since Tuesday. On our way up to Grand Manan we spent a night in Bangor. We had a nice meal in Portland on the way up, so we stopped by Bangor Wine & Spirits and picked up a bottle of Churchill’s 10 yr old Port, some drunken goat cheese, some sharp Canadian cheddar, and some Belgian chocolate. These made a nice supper with wine and cheese leftover.
On the ferry ride on Wednesday we saw some whales blowing in the distance and porpoises up close. That night we had our anniversary dinner at our inn, The Compass Rose, in North Head. We dinned on Coquilles St Jacque washed down with Mission Hill Pinot Blanc. Later that evening after driving to the north side of the island to watch the sunset, we enjoyed Bev’s Glenora Champagne (actually Finger Lakes Sparkling Wine) in our room. It was lovely.
The next day we did some beachcombing for scallop shells and rocks. We noticed that the wholesale/retail lobster operation that opened last year was now doing take out and had clean freshly painted picnic tables alongside. So, we went by the island package store a bought some wine. For lunch that day we picked up a freshly baked baguette from the excellent island bakery and dove to a place called Long Pond where we picnicked on baguette and drunken goat cheese, while watched migrating Canadian Geese landing on the pond, and boats going to and fro out on the ocean. That night we went to the lobster place and each ordered their combo lobster chowder and lobster roll. Each combo ran $18 Canadian ($.856 exchange rate right now). The chowder was at least two cups and full of lobster, and the roll was a hoagie roll full of lobster in mayo with no other fillers. We enjoyed our picnic dinner with a bottle of ’05 (not a misprint) Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape ($12.XX Canadian). From our picnic table we could see Grand Manan’s Nantucket Island off shore. It hardly gets any better.
On Friday it was time for whale watching. We went out with Whales & Sails who run a 58’ yawl. Saw all kinds of sea birds on the way to the whaling grounds. These included puffins, two kinds of shearwaters, two kinds of terns, and others. There are estimated 100 North Atlantic Right Whales in the Bay of Fundy this year which is from a third to half their total remaining population. We saw bunches of them up close, including a “courting circle†that involved one female and up to a dozen males. Our captain made a couple of profound remarks. “How you feel being surrounded by the rarest whales in the world?â€, and when a large male came right at us and dove under the boat, “When a Right Whales has ‘Hey, baby baby’ on his mind, you get out of his way.â€
That night we went to the dining room at Whale Cove Inn and Cottages, which is where we stayed for full weeks last year and the year before, and which is probably the finest dining room on the island. We had dinner of salmon for her, and haddock for me with all the fixings. Her salmon had a red pepper and chile paste on it, and my haddock had a salsa of ripe tomato and marche. Both we accompanied by a fresh veggie mélange, braised red cabbage, and nicely scalloped potatoes. We washed all down with Delee Island Winery Dry Riesling VQA Ontario. Many, many yums.
On the ferry back on Saturday, we saw Harbor Porpoises and a Harbor Seal before even leaving the harbor. Later we saw a Humpback Whale on one side of the vessel while there was a Finback Whale spouting on the other side. This was the first trip on which we ever saw whales from the ferry. Stayed with friends in Searsport that night for good times and lots of vino. Started out killing a bottle of Mirassou Merlot. Then another friend came in and we all went out to Dr J’s Lobster Bar and Bistro in Belfast. It all gets foggy after that. I know I was drinking a journeyman cab with a marinated rib eye, when the owner called me over to identify another red wine. It was a Malbec that was much better than average but I can’t remember the name of it. Sometime after that we got back to our friends’ house safely.
On Sunday we returned to Northwood where our daughter had put together a birthday banquet for her husband and Bev. They both actually celebrate it today, but she wants us to go out tonight, so she cooked yesterday when she wasn’t working. Had a great meal of spit roasted chicken, green beans, potatoes, rolls, and carrot cake. Washed it down with an ’04 Inniskillin Riesling, Niagara Peninsula that we had brought back ($12.XX Canadian). All was very nice.
Good trip, but wish we could have been in Washington earlier.
- hotwine - 08-29-2005
Fabulous trip, IK. How do you remember all of that stuff? If I remember to write notes on a napkin, it usually goes straight into the trash when I get home without even being read.
- Kcwhippet - 08-29-2005
What a trip! I'm jealous.
- winoweenie - 08-29-2005
As said meeny times afore'....the memories the 2nd thing to go. WW
- dananne - 08-29-2005
Sounds just great, IK.
- chittychattykathy - 08-31-2005
IK, Reading your post was close to being there...
Great writing!
What a great trip!
We're just back from Hood River-- where I managed to be bit twice in the face by a mosquito and wake up the next morning with my right eye almost swollen shut...
Seriously!
It was a nice trip anyway, lots of great wines, succulent food, the rivers were beautiful and the falls lovely as always!
(Dan and Anne, I am so "bug bait"
Must be my "Nordic" skin...)
- dananne - 08-31-2005
"Mmmmmm," I'm sure they think. "Supper."