LOBSTAH!!!!!!

After our lobster meal yesterday and checking recipes on the web, we decided to try our luck at cooking our own!

It was to be a big adventure.

We went to the local market and picked out two lobsters, frisky pound and a halfers.

We lit the propane grill that travels with us, and waited for the water to boil.

It didn't.

The grill just wasn't hot enough to bring that much water to a boil.

We brought the pot inside, lit the burner and waited.

The lobsters are ready, and Earl is extremely interested in the bag they came in.

Earl is fascinated!

You have to wonder what would have happened if the claws had no rubber bands on them.

I am jumping back after dropping a lobster in the pot.

I'd heard there was a noise made by the lobster when it was dropped in the boiling water, but if it happened I didn't hear it.

Then again I am close to deaf, plus I love the taste - which might have softened the sound.

Twenty minutes later.

Earl is sitting in my chair, ready for dinner!

My first attempt at boiling lobster was a success, unless you ask Earl.

He didn't get any.

Mount Hope

Mount Hope is the oldest cemetery in Bangor.

Check out the cobblestone walk in one of the family plots.

Mount Hope cemetery certainly looks like a Stephen King type of place, and in fact it was used in filming "Pet Sematary", but it's also famous for one of it's unusual headstones.

This is the grave of Rufus Dwinel, a lumber baron and one-time mayor of Bangor.

A life-long bachelor, he promised a cash settlement to his housekeeper if she made sure he was buried above ground.

She collected her prize, but in fact the top sarcophagus is solid and Rufus is buried beneath.

Bangor, Maine

I don't know about you, but there's no way we'd drive past this sign.

I love lobster, and this is just the first of many stops in Maine.

I hope to grow tired of them, but I doubt it will happen.

It was a better meal than we expected for $12.95; but after a beer, 2 glasses of wine, a salad upgrade and a cup of clam chowder + tip we had a $60 lunch.

I've already bought a stock pot, and we plan to boil our own!

The word "wicked" is an adjective here.

I bought some cheese that was described as "wicked shaap."

This is the Penobscot River, named for a Native American Tribe. I love the word Penobscot and am trying to work it in most conversations. It sounded so familiar I Googled it and found that Hot Lips Houlihan from the TV series MASH married Major Donald Penobscot.

The older homes here are so beautiful.

We went to the historic area and found many were in the process of being painted.

I imagine the winters here cause havoc on house paint.

Very few homes are without flowers.

I love 'em all. I don't want to keep 'em clean but I love 'em.

Further in the neighborhood the houses become more elaborate.

And more...

And more............

These are the homes of the old lumber Barons.

This next home is really special.

I bet you can guess who lives here, but just in case here's a clue....

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A close up of the detail in the wrought iron gate.

Yep - this is Stephen King's home.

It's an imposing home.

The house extends back for what appears to be a half-mile,

with two other buildings in the back.

We drove down the street so many times to get photos

they may have called us in as stalkers.

They claim a man shows up occasionally with "evidence" glued to his car,

proving that Stephen King killed John Lennon.

Why do I always miss the good stuff!

Gorham, Again

Trail heads are common throughout the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, but the Appalachian Trail passes by Gorham.

The stores all carry hiking shoes, I suppose to replace the worn out ones abandoned by serious walkers.

The hikers can be seen in little clumps throughout the town, two or three young people sitting in the shade or stretched out in the grass. They all look really fit, even if they are in a stage of exhaustion.

The walk would be hard enough on it's own, but there is an added menace.

Mosquitoes.

Unbelievable hordes of mosquitoes.

I've been in Alaska where mosquitoes are considered the state bird - but these are nothing to sneeze at.

They are inescapable.

Everybody is wearing the same cologne-Deep Woods Off.

City Hall in Gorham.

Isn't it majestic?

Patriotism oozing from every brick.

But if you take a closer look.......

And the wind blows the flag up.............

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Hummm?

A Mason's symbol?!

Does Dan Brown know about this?

Gorham, New Hampshire

Libby's Bed and Breakfast in Gorham, N H.

The Victorian homes in New England have me in a state of "swoon" .

Libby also has a bistro in town, she's quite the entrepreneur.

A car from the first ski lift in the area.

When I asked how the skis were carried up they couldn't tell me, but swore the skis were some how attached to the back of the thing. You had to be good friends to ride together in this thing, but there wasn't enough room to get in trouble.

Notice the weird railroad car in the background. See how the side is pushed out?

It's a snow plow! A HUGE snow plow!

The old station, built in 1905, is now a museum.

The drive up was so beautiful, pictures don't do it justice.

We left Bennington in the south west corner of Vermont, and arrived at Gorham in the north east part of New Hampshire. There's no spare country here, most of the land is inhabited. You'll leave a small town, get up to speed, and almost immediately hit the brakes for another town. It makes travel a slow process but a lovely trip none the less.

I did leave one part of Vermont; sadly; unseen.

I didn't go to Ben and Jerry's.

Bennington, Vermont

Vermont has to be one of the prettiest places on Earth.

We're staying in a small, jewel of an RV park off the beaten path south of Bennington.

Half way up the side of a mountain, we are surrounded by pine trees.

The temperatures are far above normal (80's) and all the locals are apologizing.

Yesterday I came to an amazing understanding - we are in New England!

I was kind of stunned to realize it. No wonder this place is so beautiful. I had been thinking of Vermont as a maple syrup source and ski location, but there's a lot more here.

(Local farmers have signs stating they produce maple syrup, and I'm sure in season the stands are filled with shoppers much like the cherry orchards in Wolcott, New York. After gorging on cherries for a week I have sworn off the sugar-loaded little weight producers for life.)

This is the Battle of Bennington Monument.

In 1777 the Green Mountain Boys defeated the British, a battle that was considered pivotal in the Revolutionary War.

The battle didn't really happen here, but to the west in New York.

Let's not nit pick though; these people are mighty proud of their monument.

Built over 100 years after the battle in the 1890's, this is the tallest structure in Vermont at 306 feet.

This is the First Church, built in 1805.

The town of Bennington began in 1761.

Bennington is home to an enterprise venerated by gear heads all over America.

Nice gas station, huh?

It's full-service.

I didn't know they existed outside Oregon.

The sign over the gas pumps.

The facilities might give you a clue.It's Hemming's!

Hemming's Motor News is like the Bible to car restorers.

They have a museum filled with the Hemming's cars, all painted dark green trimmed in black.

They also have deisel at $4.09 a gallon, a reasonable price today.

Bennington County is home to 5 covered bridges.

Built starting in1835, they are all of the same lattice design.

I always wondered why the bridges were covered, and it's a simple answer.

It was to protect the wooden bridge from ageing.

Double click on the above photo to read the warning sign.

The view from the bridge.

Walt Disney couldn't make a nicer stream!

Wood carvings are so popular here.

Many homes have multiple carvings in their yard.

This dead tree was transformed in the side yard of a restaurant.

Bears are the most often carved, and black bears are seen here rather often.

A home video was on the news last night showing a bear wrecking a bird feeder.

Wild bears aren't the only wildlife around here, though.
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Now that's a sign you won't see just everywhere.

We did see a moose, too.

O K, that's not the kind they meant.

These moose are all over the place, and like the cows in Kansas City painted to reflect the wishes of the sponsor or the vision of the artist.

It's a motorcycle moose; with handlebars, headlight and a flamed-out sidecar filled with flowers.

Is this beautiful or what?

It's called the Green Mountain State for a good reason.

There are no billboards in Vermont; they were outlawed 40 years ago.

Everybody recycles.........everybody.

They've got it figured out.