Pancakes and ice cream

Saturday, June 5 - The goal of our last Saturday of the trip was to see a lot of Vermont, and to get some tasty ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. However, we kicked it off with an added bonus: breakfast at a Burlington highlight, The Skinny Pancake. Not only do they make all kinds of sweet and savory crepes, but they were also the venue that night for our new favorite band, Holy Ghost Tent Revival. Too bad we couldn't stay a second night.

We took a quick walk through town before heading to the second most important destination for Sandy on this trip (after L.L. Bean in Freeport): Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, VT. Sandy knows how to pick 'em. L.L. Bean is the most visited tourist destination in Maine, and Ben & Jerry's is the most visited destination in Vermont.

The first thing that you do on the tour at B&J's is to watch the MOO-vie of the history of the company. That's after you take the Vanilla-vator up to the second floor, if you don't want to take the stairs. After you see the factory, you then get a nice-sized sample. Today's flavor: Oatmeal Cookie Crunch.

After the tour, our last stop was the Flavor Graveyard behind the factory, where there's a tombstone for every flavor that has gone to meet its maker. Every flavor has it's own poem, such as:

Wild Maine Blueberry (1990-1992):

Wild Maine Blueberry

From the land of the puffin

Now when we crave you

We turn to the muffin.

Or,

Peanuts! Popcorn! (2000-2000)

Peanuts! Popcorn!

Mix 'em in a pot!

Plop 'em in your ice cream!

Well, maybe not.

Vieux-Montreal

Friday, June 4 - Did a little bit of shopping in Old Montreal at the Bonsecours Market (domed building) before heading out of town. It's an old government building which has been converted to a space with artist galleries, shops and cafes.

And despite several recommendations, the one thing that we failed to do was sample Montreal's famed poutine. For the uninitiated, poutine is French fries with gravy and cheese curds. We hear that it is delicious, but somehow it didn't get to the top of our list of things to do, see and taste in Montreal.... Maybe next time...?

Exploring Montreal

Thursday, June 3 - Today's been more of a low-key day, which is probably not a bad thing. We started off with breakfast at Eggspectation, one of the places my sister's colleague Anny recommended. Sandy got the "Eggcitement", which was supposed to be strawberry French Toast FLAMBE, but unfortunately, while tasty, it lacked the flambe, which made it a little less eggciting than hoped. I had the "Egg-chilada", which did live up to it's billing. All in all, an eggcellent breakfast.

Walking around Old Montreal was great. And we give our hotel, Le Petit Hotel, high marks. It's a small, boutique hotel that opened less than a year ago. The small staff is super friendly, and will do whatever it takes to help you out. I even accidentally left my camera cable in the lobby/cafe, and they had it for me when we got home after dinner.

We jumped on the Metro and headed up to the Mont Royal area to see the view of the city and river. When walking around up there, we bumped into a stop for the public bicycle system BIXI, where you just swipe your credit card, and you can use a bike. Short term only, though -- after 30 minutes, the price starts to jack up. Not ideal for sightseeing, but great concept, for running errands around town. We also stopped at the St-Viateur Bagel shop, also highly recommended by Anny. We had heard that Montreal bagels are different - and better - than New York bagels. And I have to say, it was really good. Less doughy, more dense. Two thumbs up.

The view of Montreal and the St. Lawrence River is great from up on Mont Royal. Unfortunately, the predicted sunshine didn't break through. However, we did discover that the park at Mont Royal was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park. Olmstead was a busy guy, because he also designed the Arnold Arboretum and the Emerald Necklace, which we also saw in Boston.

We then headed down the Mont, and went to the Miles Davis exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine arts. Really great and relaxing...

We finished up the day at Restaurant L'Orignal, a new restaurant in Vieux-Montreal that was recommended by the staff at our hotel. As you can see from the moose in the logo for the restaurant, it features local cuisine. However, despite the game on the menu, it is far from backwoods or gamey. It had a great vibe, everyone was super friendly, and Sandy's bison steak was great! I had the halibut, which was also very good.

There's obviously still so much more to see in the city, but we definitely got a great taste today.

Hello Vermont, Boujour Canada

Wednesday, June 2 - After such a great day on the canopy tour and relaxing lunch on the porch of the Mount Washington Hotel looking at the mountains, it was really hard get into the car for a 3 hour drive. But, this is a road trip, not a stay in one place trip. You never know what fun is around the corner.

Once on the highway, we entered our 3rd new state for the trip: Vermont. Only passing through today though, en route to Montreal. We'll explore Vermont in a couple of days. And speaking of surprises around the corner, we made a last stop in the USA to get gas before crossing the border in Orleans, VT, and what was right next to the gas station? The home of Ethan Allen furniture.

We got to the border and immediately turned off our data roaming on our iPhones. No Words with Friends or Foursquare checkins for Sandy in Canada. Oh my! (FYI to anyone who's interested: if you want to play Words with Friends with someone, Sandy's always up for a new game. Screenname: sandyg128.)

We broke in our new passports, and when the agent gave them back without stamping them, Sandy asked if she would stamp them for us. "Ok, since there isn't a big line." Guess that's not a big request on the US-Canadian border...

It's funny how it immediately feels different when you leave the US. Neither of us has been out of the country for a while, and it's been even longer since visiting Canada. We made it to Montreal without incident, although there was a flash rainstorm for a few minutes.

We went straight to our hotel in Old Montreal, Le Petit Hotel, and went to a restaurant/wine bar down the street called Modavie, where they have live jazz. Live music + glass of wine + windows open onto the street = very relaxing evening. Feels like Europe!

Best Breakfast Ever

Monday, May 31 - As Sandy knows, I'm always in search of the perfect breakfast. We came pretty darn close today at the Cafe This Way in Bar Harbor. Awesome breakfast burrito, great oatmeal and very tasty yogurt with cinnamon and honey. The last breakfast we had that was this good was last summer at a little place called the Capitol Reef Inn & Cafe outside the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah.

After breakfast and before heading into Acadia National Park, we took a quick walk around downtown Bar Harbor. Really nice, quaint town. It reminds me a lot of Harbor Springs near home in Michigan.

Red's Eats

Sunday, May 30 - There was a big buildup to the visit to Red's Eats in Wiscasset, which is right on Route 1 by the water. First, our friend Lynn - a former Maine resident and current #1 booster - told us that we had to visit. Not only because they have the "best lobster roll in Maine," but also because our friend Wendy's uncle started it, and her cousins still run it. And, it's also featured in "Roadfood" with a "Worth Driving from Anyplace" rating. To top it off, when I told Derek, who I know through work, that I was going on a road trip through Maine, he said out of the blue, "there's this place in a little town called Wiscasset with the best lobster rolls..."

And so, it was meant to be. Everyone in the line (and we hear that there's always a line) was very friendly, and we struck up a conversation with our line neighbors about the Frontier Restaurant, another top 10 road food place in Albuquerque that we had been to last year. Margo and Joe were from Boston, and she was going to visit her daughter in Albuquerque next week. We ordered a lobster roll, fries and one of their famous Whoopie Pies, or as Sandy accidentally ordered it, a Whoopie Cushion. One of the reasons Red's lobster rolls are famous is because you get so much meat in them - over one whole lobster. This picture proves it.

Now, everyone who knows Sandy knows that she's a meat and potatoes girl, and the thought of a lobster meal is about as foreign a concept as a visit to Mars. In other words, it's such a foreign concept that it would never cross her mind, and if it was ever suggested, you'd hear a big "no, thank you." Well, as I tried to persuade, when in Rome... Or, for an analogy closer to our experience, when we were in the Southwest, we ate Mexican, so when we're in Maine, we have to at least try lobster. Ever the good sport, she agreed to a bite. And these photos document that it actually happened. (Although she didn't eat that whole piece.)

We ended up sharing a table with our new friends Joe and Margo, and had a great time sitting behind Red's by the water to eat. On our way out, we were lucky to catch Wendy's cousin Cindy, who is the owner with her sister Debbie. The whole operation is a family affair, and we also met Cindy's son Christopher, and her friend Jill. Everyone was so nice -- such a great experience. It completely lived up to all the hype. So, if you're ever near Wiscasset, you know what you need to do.

Breakfast at Becky's

Sunday, May 30 - After a little run around Portland first thing in the morning, our next stop was widely-acclaimed -- by both friends and guidebooks -- Becky's Diner. (They also have a cute website.) The clientele is a mix of locals and tourists, and it's listed in the Road Food book with a rating of "Worth Planning a Day Around." And it was.

They had a sign posted that they are going to be closed one day next week since the Food Network was coming to film. Our server said that Guy Fieri was going to be there for his show Diner, Drive-ins and Dives. Keep your eye out for it.

Portland Old Port

Saturday, May 29 - We unloaded at the Portland Regency Hotel in the old armory, and headed out to explore the Old Port part of town. We put our name on the list to eat at a highly recommended restaurant called Fore Street, and then since we had over an hour to kill, we walked around Old Port. One of our first stops: one of our friend Lynn's old haunts: Gritty McDuff's. Sandy liked their seasonal "Vacationland" beer, probably more for the tap with the little car and camper on it than for the taste...

We then headed back to Fore Street, where we were hoping just to get a seat at the bar. We had called ahead earlier in the day to try to get a reservation, but the earliest available was at 10pm. So, we decided to try to just walk in. Since their walk-in list for the evening was full by the time we got there at 7:45, we put our name on the bar list. However, somone was looking out for us, and we actually got a table in the dining room.

A lot of their food is cooked in their wood-fired oven, which we had a good view of, since they have an open air kitchen. The dinner was amazing. I had halibut from Nova Scotia, and Sandy had local chicken. Both were fantastic. Sandy made a comment to our server about the oven being 1000 degrees, and she said yes -- it's actually 1000 degrees! No wonder we could feel it at our table. If you ever make it to Portland, you must eat at Fore Street.

Back Bay in Boston

Saturday, May 29 - We definitely recommend the Back Bay Hotel, which is in the old Boston Police Department headquarters. Sandy particularly liked the Kiehl's products in the room. Great room, great location, friendly staff and very helpful concierges.

We wanted to grab a quick lunch or brunch before heading out of town. On our walk, we bumped into the marathon finish line, so we took advantage of that photo op. We walked along Newbury Street, and asked a clerk in a store which of our options she recommended. She said that the place across the street would be "wicked busy", and thought we should go to the Parish Cafe, since it was on our list. It would be definitely worth it. We actually ate there for lunch last year on Marathon weekend, because all of the sandwiches on the menu are from acclaimed/well-known/celebrity chefs. We got lucky (I think saying "wicked lucky" is probably not the right context for the word...), and got seats almost immediately at the bar.

By the way, the word of the day is "wicked." A word uniquely and entertainingly used in New England.

Boston Dinner

Friday, May 28 - We had a great dinner at Sonsie on Newbury Street, where the entire front of the restaurant is completely open to the street, and all of the bistro tables are set up in European fashion so that everyone looks at the street. We read a couple of tips on Foursquare that you had to get the chocolate bread pudding, and it did not disappoint.

A couple of blocks down the street there was a J.P. Licks, a Boston-based ice cream shop. As you can see, Sandy was having a good time enjoying her "Cow Trax" flavor of ice cream while juggling her iPhone in order to check in to Foursquare. Despite the fun atmosphere, we decided not to get one of the frequent-buy "Cow Cards," as regular usage could lead to undesirable results...