Ronny2020 brought a lot of us to our wits end. Choosing to travel during the first year of this pandemic of CoViD19 was difficult to say the least.
New Hampshire, Maine, and New York required taken and received results of a negative COVID test within the last three days. We had to schedule an appointment and hope that they got the results back before you left. Stressful but necessary, we received our negative test results and started packing.
Masks were required from the moment we left our car at The Parking Spot in SLC (9AM) to the interior of the rental car in Portland (10PM).
Our stay for the night was an AirBNB an hour drive into Conway, New Hampshire. At this point we decided dinner was cans of Pringles and bottles of wine from the corner store. We arrived around midnight and our door code doesn’t work. Not our first rodeo, we tracked down an alternative code and we were in.
This was a lakeside cabin, a studio inside with a Murphy bed, shower shorter than Ronny, and just the right amount of space to watch shows, cook, eat and sleep. Outside of the cabin was a small table and chairs around a campfire ring, which was delightful to enjoy a beer fireside. Under the porch lie two kayaks.
The next morning Ronny had one of his first Zoom Meetings for SIG, so he stayed inside on the call while I spent the morning taking photos and watching the light change across the lake.
Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at Sweet Maple Cafe. After a lovely breakfast (to-go, due to covid restrictions) headed out in our car and started down the long highways across New Hampshire’s valley.
Cathedral Ledge Lookout was a nice long hike that summits overlooking the valley. Glonky from the night before, we wheezed our way to the top to take in the sights.
Our next stop was Thorne Pond, a small tucked away nature preserve with some stunning colors. Ronny and I were the only ones there, the only sound was of wind and Ronnys fishing line whizz as he fished.
One thing I loved about the east coast is the (what I saw) respect for abandoned buildings. Here in SLC there is so much destruction to anything that is abandoned. Here, old buildings were left. Almost with solidarity. Almost as if we need to see things, and how old things can teach us new things.
Our dinner recap occured downtown Conway New Hampshire at Seadogs Brewery . Fabulous food and brews.
The next morning we pulled the kayaks out and set sail on Pequawket Pond. The weather was perfect, water frigid. We explored different houses and shores, leading us back into the inlet for the lake. Here were a number of turtles baking out on the logs and rocks. The dancing fall colors scattered against the blue sky and water.
Returning to our cabin for the last time, we packed up and turned our eyes towards the coast, heading straight for Portland, Maine.
Our first time in Portland, we had to find the closest brewery. Our stay was at Hilton Garden Inn Portland Downtown Waterfront, and checkin was a few hours away. Sebago Brewery (the location we visited is now permanently closed!) was on the corner of Fore St. The service was awesome, tasty beers (for our palette), great food and beer to go. After stuffing our gullets, we took off up the coast to explore the beaches. We were, naturally, greeted with rain, cold, wind and clouds.
A fun fact of Maine is that a lot of the beaches are private. We are used to Alaska and the like where most beaches are accessible and vast. After waiting out the storm by the coast, some beautiful light broke through and we were able to capture a rainbow and some beautiful views.
Our first stop was a Portland Head Lighthouse. Now, something else we’ve learned is that we don’t care about lighthouses. Sure they are cool, but something about them doesn’t completely get us. We stopped by a beachside eatery and got a crab po boy and lobster po boy. $50 later and stomachs underwhelmed yet full, we explored some lifeless tidepools and breathed in the salty East air.
We spent our last evening sitting in the sunset underneath the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse. Half a bottle in our possession, we shared it as we captured dancing colors as the sun dipped beneath the Portland Skyline.
We cannot wait to return to the East Coast, people were very kind and the landscapes were long and deep, plenty of spaces to find yourself by yourself, and enjoy the scenery, tastes, and sounds.
