Category: Maine

Back to Maine: Chocolates & More

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GETTING TO MAINE

Portland and the Maine coast are popular vacation destinations.  Flights to Portland, generally on smaller planes, fill up fast and with summer thunderstorms often an issue, travel can be delayed.  Getting to Maine took us two days after one cancelled flight, one seriously delayed flight, and then a nonstop flight to Boston.  From Logan Airport, we had the new experience of riding Concord Coach Lines’ express bus service to Portland!  Time en route is generally 2 hours and a bit, depending on traffic. The bus was comfortable and had WIFI. 

We were happy to arrive at the Portland transit center to begin our Maine time, and the Chief Penguin was delighted he didn’t have to navigate the traffic out of Logan!

First lobster roll of the season, a must!

PORTLAND TREATS

It was hot and humid in Portland (hot for Maine, that is), but we were determined to check out a specialty chocolate shop, Chocolats Passion.  Our friend Margaret introduced us to these intriguing artisan French chocolates.  Despite the heat, we trudged up Spring Street to be rewarded with a cool little shop and an array of scrumptious chocolates.  Our handmade selections included pistachio raspberry, orange creamsicle, pineapple black pepper, and Palet d’Or, made only with chocolate from Madagascar.  We learned from the woman behind the counter, a co-owner, that she had recently spent time in Madagascar and loved it. We enjoyed sharing with her reminiscences of our 2009 visit.  

VIEWING—FRENCH CRIME

If the heat is getting you down and you need a change of pace, you might sample this slightly quirky French series.

The Wagner Method (PBS Passport Walter Presents)

Cesar & Elise (tpt.org)

Cesar Wagner is a police detective based in Strasbourg, France.  He and his small team are tasked with solving high profile murders.  Wagner is a serious hypochondriac, always armed with medications, and every ready to break with protocol in his actions.  He frequently finds himself at odds with his boss and her boss.  Adding further to this dilemma is that his mother (who doesn’t look old enough to be so) is the city’s mayor.  She regularly reminds him that his actions may reflect poorly on her.  

The interactions and repartee between Wagner and pathologist Elise Beaumont provide extra spice as Wagner’s team members, Farid and Lea, put up with and are amused by his frequent so-called attacks of ill health.  

Episodes are 90 minutes long and overall are more police procedural than fast-paced action. In French with subtitles, the first two episodes dealt with the death of a rising soccer star and the murder of a journalist.  Season 1 has four episodes and Seasons 2 and 3, just two each.  I’ve watched all of the first season and found I liked these characters more each episode. And Cesar is a handsome eyeful.   Recommended!

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

Art is high on our summer list.  We will return to Portland to see the ground-breaking exhibit, Jeremy Frey: Woven, at the Portland Museum of Art.  It brings together fifty examples of his Wabanaki basket artistry.  And no visit to Maine is complete without seeing the newest exhibits at the Farnsworth Art Museum.  Featured this year is Unsettled, an exhibit of some of Jamie Wyeth’s darker images.  

Watch for future blog posts on these exhibits!

Note: Header photo of Maine cove and other of lobster roll ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine Time: Rockland Outing

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FARNSWORTH AT 75

Two Chihuly pieces and pair of robins by Ann Craven

One of our favorite places to visit while in Maine is the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland.  Aside from their extension collection of works by three generations of the Wyeth Family, they have wonderful special exhibitions.  We hoped we’d see the Edward Hopper/Andrew Wyeth exhibit, but it was only up for a short time, and we waited too long.  

The White Dory 1955, Andrew Wyeth

Nevertheless, we always like seeing items in the permanent collection.  The Farnsworth is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with an exhibit entitled: New Voices from Maine in American Art.  It includes both old and new acquisitions. Also on display was an exhibit of works presented by the Alex Katz Foundation. There is a range of styles and media. I was captivated by the pair of robins, the bright Chihuly glass, and by the new Wyeth acquisition above and these marvelously colorful juice glasses by Janet Fish.

Detail, Fruit Juice Glasses, 2005, Janet Fish

The Alex Katz Foundation gallery highlights several of Katz’s paintings (a cutout of a green cow, for one) plus works by friends and other artists.  I like Katz’s pieces and find that his dramatic use of vibrant color draws the eye in. 

Poppy, Alex Katz

His foundation’s mission is to encourage newer artists and to give their work greater notice in a museum setting.  To date, the Katz Foundation has donated more than 1,000 works to various art museums. 

VISIONS OF MAINE

Next door to the Farnsworth is the Blue Raven Gallery.  Originally a bank, this red brick building boasts a gorgeous interior with arched windows and a beautiful ceiling.  The current exhibit is photography by Peter Ralston. 

Gallery interior with Ralston photos

I first came across Mr. Ralston in the pages of Down East magazine, and now I get his weekly e-mail of photographs and commentary.  Growing up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, his next door neighbors were Betsy and Andrew Wyeth.  Once he was out of school and working as a photo journalist, the Wyeths enticed him to Maine.  He never left, and today lives and works in Rockport.  His images capture the beauty and the mystery of the Maine coast.  

Sheep in a Boat (Ralston, Down East)

CASUAL LUNCH

On previous trips to Rockland, we’ve enjoyed lobster rolls at the Brass Compass Café.  Sadly, at least for us, that space is now Sweet Dirt, a cannabis store.  Left adrift, we walked along Main Street until we came to Clan Maclaren.  Reminiscent of Ninth Street Bakery in Durham, NC, it’s a simple place and space.  

Order your sandwich at the counter, help yourself to ice tea or coffee, and then bus your dishes when you finish.  We sat at a table on the street and enjoyed lobster rolls in slightly chewy buns with a pickle and chips on the side. A somewhat unusual presentation, but the lobster was that-morning-fresh and delicate. 

 

Note: Header photo is Cismont 1962 by Lynne Drexler at the Farnsworth Art Museum. Unattributed photos by JWFarrington.

Maine: Good Times with Granddaughters

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MEMORIES AND TRADITIONS

Colors of summer

After so many years (30+ for the Chief Penguin and me), Maine is a fixed point on our summer calendar and that of our son and family.  This past week, T and J and the girls, E and F, were here for their annual visit.  It’s a time to add to our collective memory bank and to honor our Maine traditions.  

E and F arrived late in the day on Sunday, but in time to brave the cove water for a swim.  E has become a good swimmer and relished being the first one into the water each day.  F takes longer to get in and sometimes needs a bit of coaxing, but she is determined and likes to challenge herself.  Once in, she quickly dunks under and, like her sister, is capable of swimming over to a float.  

Enjoying Maine’s cold water

They were in the water every day despite cool gray skies.  Their last effort was collecting cove water in an empty salsa jar to take home.

The girls and I made blueberry pancakes one morning (they are becoming good pancake flippers), and we re-visited the Boothbay Railway Village, always a treat. Tim made us wonderful spaghetti and clams one night (thanks to Scully’s delicate Damariscotta River clams), and we dined at Cozy’s Dockside twice, ending each meal with ice cream and sprinkles. 

In addition, there were multiple trips to Sherman’s for new books, a round of mini golf at the Dolphin course (their dad came in first, but Grandma was on a roll and acquitted herself well), and finally, a visit to the botanical gardens.  

Bridge at the gardens

The little house and the water pumps are required stops, but the lure of the fairy village is greater with the opportunity (satisfied) to each make a fairy house.  In between all the activities, there were periods of quiet reading and many noisy games of Sorry, most of which I lost! 

 It was a fun week.  As F said, it went too fast, but we created a new cache of Maine memories to see us through until next summer.   

CASUAL FARE 

Cozy’s Dockside

Located on Cozy Harbor’s edge, Cozy’s is perfect for families and anyone in the mood for casual dining.  With picnic tables overlooking the dock as well as attractive inside seating, Cozy’s menu runs the gamut from hot dogs and burgers to a daily chowder, fried haddock, hearty salads, and several sandwiches including, of course, a lobster roll.  The Chief Penguin and I have dined here numerous times this season, and the food is consistently very good.  

On one visit, we sampled the excellent fried calamari appetizer with banana peppers.  We quickly devoured it.  A favorite of ours is the romaine salad which includes a generous handful of capers and thin sheets of Parmesan.  It can be topped with grilled chicken or shrimp grilled, blackened, or fried.  Also popular are the haddock tacos and for our granddaughters the selection of ice cream flavors and toppings.   It’s always a treat to eat here!

Cozy’s tacos

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine Moments: Reading & Eating

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RECENT READING

BOOKS SET IN MAINE

Lilies and evergreens of Maine

Lily King is an award-winning novelist who happens to live in Portland, Maine.  With that credential, she has written an engaging piece “Reading Your Way Through Maine” for the New York Times series focusing on literature from specific locales. Amongst her list of twenty titles, I was pleased to see familiar ones: from Elizabeth Stout’s Olive Kittredge to Landslide by Susan Conley, and More Than You Know by Beth Gutcheon, along with several by authors new to me.  King also includes nonfiction titles and several popular children’s books, namely Blueberries for Sal and Miss Rumphius.  

Appropriately, she doesn’t include her own fiction (not set in Maine), but I have thoroughly enjoyed Euphoria (loosely based on a young Margaret Mead and contemporaries), Writers & Lovers, and recently, the novel below.

A FATHER’S GRIP

Father of the Rain by Lily King

King (goodreads.com)

Published in 2010, King’s novel Father in the Rain, portrays daughter Daley’s decades-long struggle to be noticed and loved by her father.  Charismatic and charming, Gardiner Amory is wedded to the bottle and is often hurtful and verbally abusive to his daughter and others.  When Daley’s mother separates from her father, Daley spends weekends shuttling from home with her mother to her father’s chaotic household.  Ki

Gardiner has remarried and has stepchildren. Daley must navigate, or at least survive, the ravages of this dysfunctional household each week.  This is probably one of the most harrowing and painful sections of the book.  Later, when everyone else seems to have deserted Gardiner, Daley returns to assist him, setting aside, temporarily she tells herself, her own life and love.  

What do we owe our parents and what is the pull and attraction of the daughter-father bond?  The writing is wonderfully graphic and descriptive, and the characters are believable, but I have to admit to becoming impatient with Daley—the sacrifices she makes, for what return?   (~JWFarrington)

DINING OVER BOOTHBAY HARBOR

McSeagull’s Restaurant

Harbor View at McSeagull’s

Located in downtown Boothbay Harbor overlooking the harbor and the footbridge, McSeagull’s offers a tempting menu of local seafood and fish.  We brought our friend from Sweden here for lunch, and the guys began with cups of chowder.  It looked very appetizing topped with some crispy bacon.  Later, the Chief Penguin declared it the best clam chowder of the four iterations he’s sampled this season.

The C. P. and I had fried haddock with coleslaw and fries.  Very fresh and lovely fish and a generous portion.  (Someone I know took some home!)  Our friend enjoyed some local oysters on the half shelf and sampled some of my haddock.  

The porch overlooking the harbor is a most pleasant place to dine, but the inside seating is also bright and attractive.  We’ve vowed to return at least once more this season!

Note: Photos except for author photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved) Header photo is Monks Cress.