A day in Maine

Yesterday we went off on an adventure. :) Jim needed to go over to Freeport, Maine, to try out and purchase a special tool for the barn he's building this summer, and the kids and I tagged along. We had hoped to add in a night or two of camping by the ocean, but life has been so busy lately that we decided not to try to plan a camping trip on the spur of the moment. Maybe later in the summer.

Anyway, we made a full day of it! Our first stop was at the Whole Foods Market in Portland. We had a lot of fun checking it out, and bought 4 or 5 things. It's too far away to be able to shop there frequently, nor could we afford to buy a lot of stuff there, but we enjoyed seeing all that was available. Maybe one day, there will be one closer to us! I can dream, right? :) I thought it was interesting that they sell ready-made kefir and kefir smoothies, in the dairy section. I poked around, but didn't see any kefir grains for sale, though. I may try getting some off ebay, like Rachel. I LOVE the idea of a health-conscious grocery store like Whole Foods. I just wish there were a bunch of those type of stores around, so the prices would be more competitive. Well, it does seem like more and more Americans are starting to become more health/natural conscious, so perhaps someday down the road, we will start seeing more stores like this.

We finished up shopping right around lunchtime, and headed up the highway to Cole Farms restaurant in Gray.

My family had eaten there once when I was in my teens, and I had good memories of the food, so we decided to see if it was as good as I remembered. As we drove in and saw how packed the parking lot was, for lunchtime on a weekday, we knew it must be good. :) We were not disappointed!! Let me tell you, there is nothing like fresh Maine seafood!! Of course, I had small twinges of guilt to find such enjoyment in deep-fried fish and fries after just shopping at Whole Foods . . . but hey, at least the fish part is healthy, right? :) Jim had fish and shrimp, and he said the shrimp was the best he's ever had! Sam had fun eating (and trying to cut) his own chicken fingers.
Julia had fun eating fries and trying to grab the placemats. :)
We may just have to make Cole Farms a once-a-summer tradition!

After lunch, we headed to Freeport, which was our main purpose of the trip. At Timberwolf Tools, Jim purchased the new tool he wanted. He really liked the fact that they let him try out the tools before buying. The new tool will save him a LOT of time and make his barn-building much easier.

From Freeport, we drove up the coast a little farther, to Popham Beach State Park. This was another place that we visited several times when I was growing up, and Jim and I had been there once or twice in the first couple years of marriage, but it's probably been 5 or more years since the last time. Popham is a gorgeous sandy beach, perfect for beachcombing. Even though it was a foggy, somewhat chilly day, we had a wonderful time. We hadn't been to Maine at all since I was pregnant with Sam, and going to the ocean made us wonder why we don't go more often--like at least once a summer! We only live 2+ hours away, so we really should take advantage of it!

Wild roses at the beach
Sam loved running on the sand. It was so much fun to watch him experience the ocean for the first time!
Me & the kiddos--Sam is holding up a shell he found.
Julia got to stretch her legs for a few minutes.
Jim wrote "Sam was here" in the sand . . . .
. . . . and Julia, too! :)
All of us (self-taken, as you can tell!)
On the way home, we got lost in the Portland area (I'm not the best navigator you ever saw), which made our return trip 30-45 minutes longer than it should have been. Then we got caught in a bad thunderstorm about half an hour from home. But we arrived at last, worn out, but with many happy memories of a wonderful day!