The MAINE Event: Our visit to New England

We took a trip to the East Coast for some fun and to attend the wedding of my cousin. It also meant Megan could meet some of my extended family that couldn't make it out for our wedding. We were very excited to go on this trip!

A bumpy ride from SLC to Denver

Megan was a little worried about the flights. Flying while seven months pregnant with twins isn't comfortable or very fun. Checking in at the airport was interesting. The guy at the check-in counter was having trouble getting the correct baggage tags printed out. Before leaving on our trip, I read some horror stories about luggage trouble when flying on different airlines, which we would be doing. The airline representative eventually got it all straightened out, so that eased my concerns a little.

The first leg of our journey went well, until we started our descent into the Denver airport. Things started getting bumpy, kids started screaming and crying, and people started getting queasy. The landing didn't help, as we skidded sideways a bit after touching down. All of this proved a bit too much for Shane, so he got to enjoy his complimentary beverage a second time.

Layover in Denver Airport

We had a long layover in Denver, but the first thing we needed was food. We decided to try out a place called Woody Creek Bakery & Cafe. When we walked up to the shop and looked at their menu, we realized, it was exactly the same as the Paradise Bakery & Cafe that we know and love from home.

After that delicious lunch, we found a spot near our terminal to camp out until our next flight. We checked email using the free WiFi, chatted, and got ice cream from the Ben & Jerry's shop (yum!). Shane and I investigated a screen across the terminal that turned out to be a matching game. We tried to beat the "best time" displayed on the screen, but we couldn't get within ten seconds of it.

The flight to Boston was calmer. We arrived late at night to a mostly empty terminal, and I was glad that all of our bags showed up. We hopped on a shuttle to the car rental building and our adventure on the road began.

I brought a GPS device with me that I had received as a gift a couple years ago. I had already programmed the address of my Aunt and Uncle's house--which is where we'd be staying--into it. I told it to avoid toll roads, but I found that sometimes paying tolls is worth it.

We hadn't even left the airport area before we ran into a street that had been closed off that the GPS wanted us to drive down. So we followed the signs to get out of the airport, and started following the new route the GPS calculated. That took us over a bridge and into an industrial area, where there was a road closed for construction and another confused individual following a GPS route. We took a wrong turn at a roundabout before finally getting on an Interstate. It was at this point I enabled toll routes on the GPS.

After a few slow spots on the Interstate due to some late-night construction work, we made it to the house in New Hampshire where we'd be staying. We unloaded our bags and promptly feel asleep after an exhausting day of travel.

New Hampshire House

We slept in the next morning, and explored a bit around the house. After lunch, we drove back to Boston to see some of the historic sites. This drive was a little better, but we were still driving roads we didn't know, so it was a little rough.

Once we parked in the parking garage that only accepted cash, we walked over to the Paul Revere house. I loved the cobblestone square outside the house and getting a glimpse of how this family lived in the 18th century.

Boston

We followed the Freedom Trail from the Paul Revere house to Old North Church. Along the way, we spotted Mike's Pastry and Giacomo's Restaurant. I enjoyed walking through the Paul Revere Mall where the trees offered some shade and we could see the Old North Church's steeple framed by the trees behind the statue of Paul Revere.

Paul Revere

Old North Church was cool. Actually, by that time, it was warm. We sat in one of the boxes and listened to one of the guides talk about the church goers of long ago paying for their boxes, with the wealthiest getting boxes close to the front. The seats were in boxes to help keep the people warm during the cold winters.

Old North Church

Dinner at Giacomo's

We had to stop by Mike's Pastry and get some world-famous cannoli. We got ours to go in a little white box with blue lettering, wrapped in twine. Since Mom had eaten at Giacomo's Restaurant before and really liked it, we decided to eat there. It was wise to get there when we did, as they still had open tables. That didn't last long; as we were waiting for our food to come out, people started lining up outside to wait for a table in this small restaurant. When we tasted our hot, fresh food, we knew why they were willing to wait to get in. The food was amazingly good! Seriously, if you're going to Boston, eat there. A word of warning: Giacomo's and Mike's are cash-only establishments, so hit up an ATM before you go.

Mike's Pastry

As we were heading back to the car, we decided to look for a restroom to use before driving back to New Hampshire. We found one in Quincy Market, next to Faneuil Hall. When we walked past the front of the building on our way out, we stopped to watch a street performer's show. Towards the end of the show, he asked Shane and another tall, young person to help him onto his really tall unicycle. Shane said he weighed more than he thought.

Shane and Boston Street Performer

The next day we packed up and headed up to Portland, Maine. We had a wedding dinner in downtown Portland, where Megan finally met my Aunt Diane, Uncle Scott, my cousin Casey, and Nana. It was fun spending time with family members we don't get to see very often, and we enjoyed some good food, too.

Pre-Wedding Dinner and Evelyn Johnson

The next day we got up early to do some shopping in Freeport, Maine. We checked out the big LLBean store, a North Face store, and a JCrew store. The North Face store had a demo sale going on, so we picked up some jackets for a good price for the twins. I was all shopped out by that time, plus it started raining during our shopping. It would still be raining two days later. Yep, the last few days of our trip, including the wedding, were soggy.

Shopping in Freeport, Maine

The wedding for Dan and Danielle was held in a club house. I think they were supposed to have it outside, but, because of the rain, it was moved inside. The ceremony was short and simple. The bride and bridesmaids looked lovely, and the groom and groomsmen looked sharp. We snacked on hors d'oeuvres while the wedding party had photos taken. We ate some tasty food and declined the champagne and coffee offered after the meal.

Diane was excited when the bride and groom cut the cake, as that meant we would shortly be enjoying some of the cake. She wasn't the only one looking forward to the cake, but she was especially excited. Who can blame her, though? It's cake!

After the happy couple danced, the bride danced with her dad and the groom with his mother, then everyone danced. Well, almost everyone. Megan and I did, even though I probably looked like a dork. I didn't care. I was dancing with my beautiful wife.

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Eastwood

Dan and Danielle get married!

One thing Megan had to eat before leaving Maine was lobster (or "labstah"), so on our way out of Maine, we stopped at a seafood restaurant for lunch. Megan got a lobster roll, and even though it was just okay, now she can say she's had Maine lobster. We even got a picture with a giant lobster.

Other East Coast food we enjoyed on the trip: Whoopie pies, Friendly's, Dunkin' Donuts, and Grande Mexico, a surprisingly good Mexican restaurant.

Eastern Eats: Whoopie Pies and Lobster Rolls

Hampton Beach, New Hampshire

We wanted to go to the beach the day before we left, but the rain put a damper on that. We still drove out to Hampton Beach to at least see the ocean. The sea was angry, the wind was howling, and the rain was sideways. It was not a good day for a swim. We did enjoy a drive along the coast, admiring the stunning beach houses along the way. On the way back, we stopped for some ice cream, just because.

Headed home...Goodbye New England!

The day we flew home, we woke up at 3:00 a.m. Eastern so we could shower, pack up, get on the road before rush hour, return the rental car, take the shuttle to the airport terminal, check in, go through security, and get some breakfast in the airport, all before our flight left at 7:45. Flying into and out of Denver wasn't too bad this time. Also, we decided to head all the way to the end of the B terminal in the Denver airport to try Heidi's Brooklyn Deli. Megan and I got the Cajun turkey with avocado. We didn't know it would be so spicy. When we were done with our sandwiches, our mouths were on fire, so we had to get some frozen yogurt to cool them down.

The flight from Denver to Salt Lake was in a smaller plane, but it had the biggest seats and most leg room of all the planes we flew in on this trip. Since it was smaller, though, it was easier to blow around, and the winds were crazy in Utah. Our descent into the Salt Lake airport was a roller coaster ride, but this time everyone kept their lunch down.

We had a fun trip to New England, and we hope to go back some time!

Megan provided the photo editing, and B-man wrote the text for this entry.