Maine Attraction

One of the great things about living in New York is that you can pop up and pop out and pop over to places. Today my friend Ellie and I popped up to Maine. Maine!! (In California we never popped up to Maine. It just wasn't done.)

We left this morning on Jet Blue from JFK, probably one of the coolest flying experiences around leaving from that brand new terminal. Sort of Jetsons-like air travel with a modern, retro feel.

(I just KNEW Ellie would be a security risk!)

We flew to Portland and drove down the beautiful tree-lined I-95 to Ogunquit, Maine. Here we met up with Ellie's daughter Mary and her husband Tot. Great couple who, well, more later.


Ellie and I walked the famous Marginal Way.


I have always thought the word "marginal" as solely connoting a dodgy neighborhood, but ironically applies to the edge along a gorgeous coastline with million-dollar homes. A marginal neighborhood of a whole different sort. We ended up at Perkins Cove and took the festive trolley back. The whole place with jagged cliffs and lighthouse and sleepy boats in harbors makes you just want to go, "Arrrrrrrrrrr" and talk silly pirate/sea-shanty talk. Arrrrrrrrrrr.



Tonight we went with Mary and Tot to Barnacle Billy's in Perkins Cove for lobster dinner. It was great fun. Our waitress Chelsea was so wonderful that Mary left a note praising her to Barnacle Billy himself. (He lives! He's real!) But the conversation was so wacky and funny and fun and Mary and Tot and Ellie are just so quick and funny.(I know they are reading this, but it is true.) We had the best time laughing and dripping melted butter. (On ourselves and our respective lobsters - not each other, it wasn't that kind of evening.) The kicker is that Mary asked the most insightful questions - I was blown away. I told her she could be Columbo and have me confessing to murder in short order.


What a great first day on our trip.

Tomorrow..."Singing in the Rain" at the Ogunquit Playhouse starring Ellie and Mary's friend Jon Peterson. (George and Barbara Bush went to see him today.)