First-Anniversary Trip

Hello, again to my growing readership! Thank you for your interest in the goings-on of a still-newlywed.

Yes, my cutie-pie groom and I were married on June 16, 2007 (the 100th wedding anniversary of my paternal grandparents, by the way!), so we have just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. I'll fill you in on some details in this blog post.

My loving husband carefully planned a weekend getaway to Maine for the end of our first year together. He had had sole responsibility for the honeymoon plans to Puerto Rico last year, and I have to say I hope that his handling the planning will become a tradition! He puts a lot of thought and research into arranging things to my likings in places that are naturally beautiful and offer a variety of activities.

As I said, this year we went to Maine. We left our home mid-morning for a 2+-hour drive up I-95. We planned to lunch at O'Naturals restaurant at 83 Exchange Street in Portland. Even though we had directions from the Internet, we had trouble finding the place because we ran up against--yet again!--the terrible Yankee phenomenon of not labeling all the side streets off the main drag. What a bust! But, with the help of a police officer who remained friendly despite my Southern accent and use of "yessir," we made it to our destination and had a healthful (please note that I did not say fabulous) lunch. My husband had the salmon sandwich with a natural cola (nothing artificial) and I had a Greek salad with water, of course.

The best thing about our stop here is that we availed ourselves of the bathroom facilities AND the free tourist brochures that oriented us to the area attractions. We also bought postcards to send to our families on this pit stop.

We then continued our trip to the bed and breakfast, The Freeport Clipper Inn. This B&B was conveniently located just a block and a half north of downtown Freeport, so we took some nice strolls, past the Friendly´s (or, in my Southern Belle mother´s description of that ubiquitous Yankee establishment, "that place where they have the ice cream in the front, and the roast beef in the back") and the post office,

down to the L.L. Bean Flagship Store and picked up a few items. (Among these was a birthday outfit for my sweet groom, S, in his favorite "boy" colors--boring earth tones, but don't tell him because I want it to be a surprise for him next month!)

Our first night there we went to Azure Café at the recommendation of the B&B owner, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals. I had the Maine shrimp scampi, and my groom had the stuffed haddock. We were both starving after our light lunch, and S even ate his dinner salad, although he usually steers clear of non-spinach-leaf salads. We laid off the dessert, however, in anticipation of the homemade cookies at the Inn.

After the day´s drive up from Massachusetts, we were glad to climb into the hot tub at the B&B to relax our muscles before retiring for the night.

The next morning´s blueberry pancake breakfast was served with "Piano by Candlelight" musical selections in the background. S was able to recognize the instrumental version of "My Favorite Things" from his new favorite movie "The Sound of Music." (How can any 30-something American have grown up never having watched this classic at least yearly on network TV at Easter?? Anyway, thanks to my suggestion that he make up for lost time by watching --WITH THE CLOSED CAPTIONING ON-- a three-nights-in-a-row showing on the ABC Family Channel this past fall, S is now well-versed in the splendid song stylings of the amazing Julie Andrews and the myriad cultural references from this great movie.)

When breakfast was over, we set out back down to Portland for a combination tour package with Mainely Tours. We first boarded a trolley tour of the peninsula with our guide, Marie. She was a great narrator and we got a good overview of the city this way. Check out the bigote:

One of the highlights was the stop at Portland Head, the most photographed lighthouse. We couldn´t resist being part of this tradition, and are thankful to a kind elderly gentleman who graciously offered to take this picture of us:

We wolfed down some sandwiches (S had a roll-up, and I had the "Califorina" [sic] BLT on wheat) in our 30-minute break before boarding the boat for part 2 of our tour package. We sailed around the harbor to view 7 different lighthouses. During the final third of the 1.5-hour tour, the wind picked up and I got really cold, even with my Pat Martin L.L. Bean jacket on. But S is much more warm-blooded than I am, so we toughed it out. Though not as informative as the trolley leg, this part was still a TRIP--just ask S to confirm that!

We went back to the B&B to freshen up, then ventured up the U.S.1 to a wonderful five-star restaurant in Georgetown (yes, in Maine!!! Who knew??). As we had been warned that this trip involved an unknown bridge, it was my turn to drive. We got there early, so I insisted that we stop and take a couple of novelty photos along the way:

God bless the concerned local Mainers, though. As we were pulled off to the side of the road to take these memorable shots, two cars slowed down when they saw me standing by a stopped car (S was scrambling up "turtle rock") because they thought I was a "damsel in distress" stranded, suffering from car trouble. Nope, just insanity!

The food and service there at The Robinhood Meetinghouse were top-notch. The waitress was kind enough to take out photo for posterity, and she even gave us a copy of the menu as a souvenir.

And it is always helpful to read the menu at a 5-star restaurant very carefully to know exactly what it is you ordered. I had the "Basil-Butter Poached Maine Lobster with Brandy, Shaved Asparagus, and Sweet Potato Gnocchi" as my entrée. S had the Chef´s Choice item, "Halibut with Jasmine Rice Cake, Coconut Lime Broth, Glazed Chicken Sausage, and Shaved Vegetables," for his meal. We shared the "Sweet Corn Crab Cakes with Remoulade and Basil Oil" for the appetizer and a Coconut Almond Macaroon Ice Cream Cookie with Raspberries and Chocolate Sauce for the dessert. The bread basket offered 5 different varieties to start our meal, and in between courses we had a lovely berry sorbet to cleanse the palate. A spectacular meal at a better-than-reasonable price!

Back at the B&B that night we exchanged anniversary gifts. As everyone knows, the first year is traditionally celebrated with paper. S gave me a copy of a book he heard about on "Focus on the Family". His hope is that "For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men" (learn more here at author Shaunti Feldhahn's website, 4-womenonly) will help me understand his way of thinking better. That´s my hope, too, especially since we are pushing for 49+ more years together!! We know we got a late start, but we're still aiming for the Golden Anniversary.

For my anniversary gift to him, S received a storage box of "paper"-themed items, among them:

• personalized, monogrammed napkins from our wedding reception,
• a Kiss Coupon book (from which he has yet to make a redemption!) with Rhett and Scarlet on the cover for inspiration (As you might guess, "Gone With the Wind" is another classic movie that S has never seen, although I threaten to put the special-edition DVD on everytime it rains and we're bored. Can you believe that a born-and-bred Southerner has never seen this American antebellum classic??),
• a set of "couples quiz" books comprised of questions to reveal "Do You Know Your Husband/Wife?",
• a manly stationery set of notecards,
• a Superman kite, and
• a framed photo of him with his Groom Bear Beanie Baby I sent him in the dressing room before our wedding last year, and this year's model, the Beanie Bear with Wedding Rings as his symbol (more on that one in tomorrow's post!).

The next day we departed the B&B after a breakfast of Eggs Benedict. The steady rain altered our plans, and we ended up shopping around Brunswick, ME until lunchtime. Again taking the recommendations of Ron at the Inn, we ate at the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Co. Now, lest you think that we are wholly unoriginal, please know that this joint comes highly recommended by many, even earning a mention from The Phantom Gourmet and a nod on Rachael Ray's "$40 a Day". We each had the Lobster Dinner, and we were both equally repulsed by the grittiness of the steamers. (S had no appreciation whatsoever for the earthiness of the protrusion, which he called "the animal's dirty cloaca".) Being a good wife, however, and an even better date, I dutifully gulped down every last one of mine since S had shelled out a pretty penny for those ugly shells! Here's a shot of the happy couple in the "before" picture:

It was a messy but delicious lunch otherwise, and we were quite full until our next stop at Len Libby Candies in Scarborough, ME to see Lenny, the Life-Sized Chocolate Moose. He was so cute, and is now accompanied by a dark-chocolate Mama Bear and her two cubs. We satisfied our sweet tooth with free samples of blueberry caramel corn, blueberry soda, blueberry jam, caramel-chocolate fudge dip, toffee, and two types of fudge. Just enough to "hit the spot" and "cut the grease".

What a sweet way to end a wonderful celebration weekend planned by my sweet groom! Good luck with your planning for year two, dear. You've set the bar really high now. Thanks for spoiling me!