To date we've been through 18 states in the last two months. That's pretty good, I figure. But there has been the temptation to try and do more. To go for volume, rather than quality. For instance, where we were staying in Massachusetts is only about an hour north of the Rhode Island border. It was tempting to make a run across the border and add that state to our list of visited ones on this trip.
We ultimately rejected that option though. We hate to get into the mindset of having to go someplace just to say we've been there. And the point of this trip isn't numerical - it's not to try and be in as many places as possible just to say we've been there. We're enjoying seeing what we want to see and getting there by the most reasonable routes possible. If that means adding another state to the list of those we've passed through or visited, so be it. If not, well, hopefully we'll have another opportunity sometime in the future to see the states we've missed.
After all, we're completely ignoring the entire southeastern portion of our nation. In just a few days of driving, we could add ten more states to our list. Hmmm...
Never mind.
Portland, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean were particularly appealing to me though, and so we had decided early on that we would spend one day driving the two hours to Portland and another two hours back. I'm glad that we did. For more reasons than simply bringing our states experienced total to 19. Though it accomplished that as well ;-)
After several days of rain and snow, the sun was out at times during our drive there and back. We stopped in the little town of Alton Bay, NH, to let Caedmon have some fresh air. The wind was blowing so hard, he certainly got plenty of fresh air. Fresh, cold air that whipped up the waves and whitecaps on the little bay next to us. Couldn't resist a few pictures of us happily freezing!
Portland was a cool little place, if a somewhat weather-beaten one. Go figure. Gena talked with the proprietor of a little shop who indicated that winter temps are routinely below zero, though this has apparently been a more mild winter. The wind was blowing very strongly, and it had a biting chill to it along with the smell of salt water.
We went directly to the area of town along the coast. Chock full of restaurants fronting more dilapidated buildings that seemed more directly concerned with the bringing in of seafood. We settled on a very small and laid back diner for lunch. Alec discovered he likes clam strips, which was exciting to us. Caedmon decided he liked lobster, which is pretty much tough luck since he's not likely to get a taste of it again until he's old enough to pay for it. Gena enjoyed some award-winning fish chowder with her clamstrips. I opted for the obligatory Maine lobster.
On the way back to the van we bought postcards and some treats from a delicious local bakery. It was a great day!
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