August 17
Group of 6 - Hairs, Cawthons and Kallinas
We left DFW this morning on a nonstop to Boston. Since we were celebrating Greg’s 70th birthday Greg and I splurged on 1st Class. The extra room is so nice and we actually had a meal. The attendant with an accent and thick mask was impossible to understand. Finally we realized he was saying protein or vegetables as a lunch choice. A ham and cheese sandwich is a “protein”. We also were able to order an alcoholic drink. We both had Bloody Mary’s. Flight was on time, baggage came out in a fairly decent amount of time then came the shuttle bus to the rental center. Everyone was pushing and shoving. The driver put our suitcases on the bus, but there was no room for us. Greg got his suitcases off and stayed with Ann and Mark for the next bus. Roberta, John and I went on since our luggage was on the bus. Lady behind me kept telling me to get off, that the doors wouldn’t close but I said my bags are on here and I’m not leaving. We all arrived at the rent car center and went to National and of course our cars were not there but the guy with National assured us there would be cars. We actually were upgraded and finally we were off. John had a van which turned out to be a blessing because all 6 of us could easily ride in the van. Our car was an upgraded Nissan SUV but the third row seats were tight. The ride to our hotel, King’s Port Inn took about two hours, most of the time was getting out of Boston. Of course, we are on the third floor and no elevator but the staff did help a little with the luggage. The reviews all said the staff was wonderful in helping with luggage but no so much. The maintainence guy helped carry a couple of bags up and no help coming down. That was the only complaint. The bathrooms were huge and had a very large whirlpool tub.
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| Van |
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| whirlpool tub |
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| shower next to the tub |
Ann and Mark did not get any food on the plane so we went in search of food. We went to
Nunan’s Lobster Hut and surprisingly we didn’t have to wait too long, considering the lines we saw at other restaurants and the great reviews that the Lobster Hut receives. The service was slow but lobster was awesome! Great start for our lobster vacation in Maine.
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| Inside the Lobster Hut |
Day 2 Wed
We met downstairs at 8:30 for our scenic tour. Plans were to eat breakfast at a restaurant that we saw coming in to town but it was closed. Every place was either closed or with a ridiculous line so we opted for quick and easy breakfast at McDonald’s.
Our first point of interest was
Lake Winnipesaukee. Greg and I have watched many fishing shows through the years on Lake Winnipesaukee where the smallmouth practically jump in the boat. In our search to find a fishing guide, which for 2 people was impossible, guides for 6 people wasn't going to happen. We were a year too late. One guide told Greg he was close to being booked for 2022. We still wanted to see the lake. After a couple of stops for photo ops and an opportunity to put our feet in the water,
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| located in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire at the foothills of the White Mountains. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the state at 72 square miles. Surrounded by three mountain ranges, the wooded shoreline and crystal clear water of this spring-fed lake make it a popular summer resort and a place to rest and relax in beautiful surroundings and enjoy water sports of all sorts. |
we went in search of covered bridges. We saw 2, stopping at the second for lunch at the
Covered Bridge Farm to Table. The waitress was so sweet and food was good.
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The first bridge was built in 1990 to look like other covered bridges in the area.
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| The Blair Bridge is a wooden covered bridge originally built in 1829, that crosses the Pemigewasset River near Campton, New Hampshire |
We continued our search for covered bridges. The next one was part of a state park and cost $18 a person so we passed. The next one was on land that had been bought by a water park and not available unless you paid to enter the amusement park. Luck turned around and we saw 4 more bridges as we went up and over the scenic view of the White Mountains.
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At the amusement park. The covered bridge was a bridge for the train now.
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| Scenic Overview as we went over White Mountain Pass |
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| The Albany Covered Bridge was first constructed in 1858. Repairs and restorations over the years have kept the bridge in the usable condition. |
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| A foot bridge only |
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| Landmark covered bridge built over the river in the 19th century, with classic trusses & arches. |
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| Saco River Bridge |
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| In 1850, Jacob Berry and Peter Paddleford built a covered bridge to replace a crudely framed log bridge that had collapsed at this site. The 1850 bridge stood until the Swift River covered bridge crashed into it in 1869. The Saco River covered bridge was rebuilt by Allen and Warren of Conway but it was destroyed again by a tannery fire in 1890. The current bridge was built by Charles Broughton and his son Frank. |
We ended back at the hotel around 6, took a quick break and met back downstairs at 6:45. We headed to the Boathouse which had been recommended but they were booked. Hmmm, website and the clerk at the hotel said they don’t take reservations. We tried Allison’s next with a wait of an hour and a half. The line at the
Clam Shack wasn’t horrible so we queued up. Wait wasn’t terrible, we placed our order, found a table and our buzzers went off pretty quick. 2 of us ordered whole lobster, 3 had lobster rolls and Greg ordered fried clams.
Pretty durn good!
We finished the evening across the street at the Irish Pub,
Ryan’s.
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| Cheers |
Happy Birthday Greg
We took a lazy morning. Everyone did their own thing for breakfast and met at 10:30 for our 11:00 trolley tour with
In-Town Trolley. It was not full so that was nice but it was starting to sprinkle. We were brave and sat in the open air area but the driver could lower the screens if the rain became a problem. It was a good tour, seeing the beaches and Walkers Point, summer homes of the Bush family.
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| Trolley |
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| Our guide, a local history teacher |
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| White Columns was owned and occupied by Charles and Celia Perkins in the late 1800s, they made their fortunes during Maine’s thriving shipbuilding era in Kennebunkport, which made Kennebunkport one of New England’s wealthiest towns. Later the Nott family resided here before the home was donated to the Kennebunkport Historical Society, hence the Nott House name before it was dubbed White Columns. |
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Walkers Point
The estate was purchased in the late 19th century jointly by Bush's great-grandfather David-Davis Walker and his son, George Herbert "Bert" Walker. Both built mansions on the point in 1902. D. D. Walker's mansion has since been torn down. In 1921, Dorothy Walker and Prescott Bush were married, and Bert Walker built a "bungalow" on the Point and gave it to them as a wedding present. When Bert died in 1953, his son, George Herbert Walker Jr. ("Herbie"), purchased the property from his father's estate. It was not willed to him. Upon the death of Herbie in 1977, the property again went up for sale and was purchased by his nephew, George H. W. Bush. The estate has since remained in the Bush family. |
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| George H.W. Bush spent his boyhood summers here. The former president eventually inherited his grandfather’s view of the Atlantic Ocean, now called Walker’s Point. There are nine bedrooms in this New England style home, plus a pool, tennis court, guesthouse and boathouse. The Bush compound became the Summer White House during his presidency. Guests have included Vladimir Putin, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher and many other world dignitaries. |
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| When the flag is flying, the former president is in residence |
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Originally the sight of the Ocean Bluff Hotel 1872, the current hotel was designed by architect John Calvin Stevens and opened in 1914 as The Breakwater Court. The room and meals rate was $5.-10. per day, depending on view and if you wanted a private bath.
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| The hotel name was changed to The Colony Hotel and opened for the summer season in 1948. |
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| St Anne's by-the-sea Episcopal Church. This is the church attended by the Bush Family and the site of George Bush Sr's , 90th parachute landing. |
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| Oldest commercial building(1775) in Kennbunkport.It was a rum and molasses warehouse. Kennebunkiport was a busy port for trading with the Caribbean Island. |
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| St Anthony's Monastery |
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The statue was originally designed and created for the Vatican Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York by Lithuanian born artist Vytautas K. Jonyas. |
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| Dock Square |
When the tour was over it was beginning to rain pretty heavy. We were able to get into
Allison’s for lunch. Greg and I both had lobster rolls. By the time we finished eating it was pouring but we were determined to find our magnet and a shirt for me. We were soaking wet by the time we returned to the hotel
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| My first lobster roll |
We dried out and relaxed in the room. Everyone met downstairs at 5:45 for the short walk to
Hurricane House. Of course, it started raining again. We had another good dinner and finished the night again at Ryan’s. Greg celebrated his birthday with a couple of Middleton Rare drinks. Good way to cap off his 70th birthday.
Scenes from Kennebunkport
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| Anchored in the Kennebunk River just past the Dock Square Parking Lot, the three dories are a favorite photographed scene by visitors and locals alike |
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| Our hotel |
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| The Boathouse restaurant that we missed eating at |
Friday - Maine to NY
We met downstairs at 8, loaded up the cars and headed out for Amsterdam, Roberta’s hometown. The clerk at the hotel said seeing Perkins Cove and Marginal Way was a must. We headed that way, stopping first for breakfast at
The Egg and I Pancake and Waffle House in
Ogunquit. Service was slow but breakfast was good.
Perkins Cove was crazy busy and the public parking was full and other lots were charging $25 to park. Ann and I jumped out to snap a couple of pictures and then headed to Marginal Way.
We missed the turn to Marginal Way since it was a hotel parking lot, but John turned it. Same story. No parking so Roberta jumped out and snapped some shots.
We took the scenic backroads and John and Roberta went by Interstate. We got delayed by a bad wreck so Kallina’s beat us by a long time but we enjoyed seeing the homes and sights along the backroads.
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| We were watching the road closely for a Moose sighting and finally saw one. |
We met up at our hotel, Amsterdam Castle, which is amazing. It is an old Armory which has been turned into a medieval theme hotel. The lobby is beautiful, the rooms are spacious and very nice. Too bad we are only here one night.
Our rooms
After checking in, we piled in the van and off to see Roberta’s house that she grew up in and the lake that she went to every summer, Great Lake Sacandaga which is about 30 minutes from Amsterdam.
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| Camp House then |
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| Camp House now |
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| Roberta's house then |
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| Roberta with Kathryn on a visit home |
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| House now |
We then went to see the home of Roberta’s childhood friend and her husband, Vonnie and Rick. Their house is at the end of the road in a beautiful setting. It is believed to have been a bordello, then a restaurant, a private home, then left empty for many years. It is definitely a work in progress.
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| Not all New Yorkers are liberal |
They joined us for dinner at
Raindancer. We all had the special, Prime Rib, and it was excellent. The conversation was so good that we didn’t realize that we were the only customers and it was 45 min past closing time. We apologized, said our goodbyes, and headed to the Castle!
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| We celebrated Greg's BD a second time |
Sat Amsterdam to Niagara
and a few more sites of Amsterdam, including the old Mohawk Carpet Mills. We drove along the Erie Canal for awhile. When we arrived in Buffalo we visited the
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Historical Site. P:resident Roosevelt took the oath of office in his friend's home following the death of President McKinley who was shot while attending the Worlds Fair in Buffalo.
Our next stop was the
Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo Wings. I do believe Texas has taken Buffalo Wings to a higher level of heat. These weren't that spicy, but definitely good.
We then headed to our hotel,
The Giacomo, in Niagara Falls. After checking in, we walked to the viewing site of the falls. OMG, there were people everywhere. After coming back to the hotel, we went to the 19th floor because the receptionist implied we could see the Falls at night. Wrong. So we went back downstairs, had a nightcap in the lobby bar and headed to bed. In hindsight, we would have been better off staying in Buffalo and driving to see the Fall.
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| Smallest room we had on the trip |
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| We were the only customers at the very limited bar |
Sun
Breakfast was included but you made your choice the night before and selected a time slot. Food came at 8 and we left the hotel at nine for the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the falls. No crowd at all and we were able to get on top at the back of the boat.
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| Headed down to the boat |
After the boat ride we went back to the hotel and cleaned up because we were soaked.
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| on our walk back to the hotel |
At noon we headed back to Buffalo. We had tickets to the Frank Lloyd Wright home at 2:30. We drive around with Roberta showing us her university, Buffalo State College, and apartments that she lived in.
Lunch was at Charlie the Butcher where we had beef on weck sandwiches which is a bar food local to Buffalo. They were excellent and they had RC cola. Hadn’t seen RC cola in years. After lunch we continued driving around and discovered a huge building that was the former NY state insane asylum but in 2017 opened as the Henry Hotel. Unfortunately, it closed due to Covid. So sad to see a huge building just sitting there deserted.
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| Beef on weck is a sandwich found primarily in Western New York State, particularly in the city of Buffalo. It is made with roast beef on a kummelweck roll, a roll that is topped with kosher salt and caraway seeds. |
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| Where Roberta lived after college |
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| Buffalo State Collge |
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| Another former residence for Roberta |
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| Henry Hotel, former NY Insane Asylum |
We then went to the
Martin House, a Frank Lloyd Wright home. The home was beautiful. Much of the complex had been destroyed but was rebuilt or renovated. The main house remained intact but had deteriorated. The House originally cost under $200,000 in 1905 and cost $50 million to renovate. That price included buying back two apartment buildings that had been built on the site where the carriage house and pergola were originally located.
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Designed for Larkin Soap Company executive, Darwin D. Martin, the multi-residential estate consists of the main Martin House, the smaller Barton House, a carriage house with chauffeur’s quarters and stables, a glass-roofed conservatory linked to the main house by a 100-foot pergola, and a gardener’s cottage.
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| The Greenhouse |
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| The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park is the largest inland Naval Park in the country. |
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| USS The Sullivans is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers who, serving together on the light cruiser USS Juneau, were all killed in action on its sinking around November 13, 1942. The ship was christened by the fallen brothers’ mother, Alleta Sullivan, and is a National Historic Landmark. It holds a special place in our nation’s military history and a special place on the Buffalo Waterfront. |
We stopped for an afternoon drink on the waterfront before heading back to our hotel.
We had reservations st 6:45 at
Fortunas, an Italian restaurant that had been there since 1945. Food was very good and very filling.
Last stop was Goat Island Park where we walked down toward the Canadian Falls. We were right above the Horseshoe Falls where the water is going over. Pretty cool.
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| Our hotel |
Monday
We asked for a breakfast from 8 to 8:30 but was told the earliest we could get was 8:30 to 9, but the receptionist said she would request 8:30. Didn’t happen. Ann and Mark got their food about 10 min before 9. Roberta and John’s arrived as they were leaving and ours arrived after Greg had left. I grabbed was I could take with me and left. This hotel was definitely the loser of the four hotels.
We left the hotel with food bags in hand and headed for the Finger Lakes. We had a noon wine tasting at
Wagner Winery and arrived with a few minutes to spare. This winery was a hit with most of us .
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| Family Owned and operated, the 4th and 5th generation Wagners are in the vineyards on Seneca Lake and in the cellar to bring you the best quality Finger Lakes wine. Wagner Vineyards has been one of the region’s most popular wine tasting destinations since opening in 1979. |
After signing up for their club, we went to
Ginny Lee Cafe for lunch. We are on the deck enjoying the nice weather with a great view. We could see rain building across the lake which gave us a nice cool breeze.
Second winery was Boundary Breaks. Greg and I had visited here a couple years ago and it is my all time favorite Riesling. Not everyone participated and outside tasting was the only option. The tasting atmosphere was not as enjoyable as when it was inside. The wine is still my favorite!
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| Seneca Lake is the deepest of the eleven Finger Lakes in Central New York. Even though winter temperatures can fall below zero, Seneca Lake rarely freezes over. |
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Because Seneca Lake is so large and deep, it moderates the weather conditions around its shores. Temperatures near shores of the lake during the winter are warmer than temperatures at higher elevation a short distance away. The warmer temperatures near the shores of Seneca Lake create a more hospitable climate for grape vines planted there. This means grapes planted closer to the shore of the lake are likely to get riper during the short growing season. |
Our last stop today was
Leindenfrost Vineyards. It was raining by this time so we were definitely inside. The atmosphere was nice, the hostess informative, but the wine didn’t grab us which was too bad.
We headed to our hotel,
Harbor Hotel, in Watkins Glen. This hotel is the best so far in regards to the layout and the girls all loved the vanity area. Bed is a bit hard however.
We ate nextdoor at
Senaca Harbor Station which is located at the marina. Setting is great, food was good along with the service.
It was a short walk from hotel patio to the restaurant..
Tuesday
We all did breakfast separately and agreed to meet at 10:30. Roberta and John did not join us due to John not feeling well. We drove up to Geneva and walked around the visitor center
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| Visitor Center |
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| Geneva’s row houses were built between 1808 and 1820 in and around Pulteney Park |
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| Originally the row houses served as shops with living quarters located above. |
Our first stop was
Stonecutter’s Tavern at Belhurst Castle for lunch. We were going to do a wine tasting here but decided not to do so. The Tavern was full and the patio was closed due to a bee problem. The hostess said the bees weren't as bad and we could eat outside if we wanted to, so we were brave and sat outside. It wasn't too bad, but they did start hanging around when our drinks showed up, so we had to put napkins over the top of the drinks.
Our first winery was
Prejean Winery. It was a small winery owned by the family of the lady serving us. It was a pleasant surprise. There were a couple Rieslings we liked, a couple of Chardonnays that were better than any other Chardonnays that we had tasted and a couple of reds that the boys liked. Most importantly, there were several sweet wines that Ann loved. We bought a case between us!
We wanted one more winery and hadn’t seen much Pinot Noir which is the other wine besides Riesling that the area is known for. We searched for a winery that produced Pinot Noir and headed to Ryan Williams. Not a good choice. Their wine tasting was a choice of 4 predetermined flights which was to serve 2 people. None of the flights fit our tastes so we each picked one wine to taste. Greg was greatly disappointed in the Pinot Noir and our choices were also underwhelming. We payed and left.
As we passed Hector Falls we were able to stop and get pictures. Nice falls right on the road. Luckily, it had been a wet summer, in a dry summer the falls can be a mere trickle.
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| Over 250 feet of waterfalls combined cascade down this hill from near the top and into Senaca Lake |
Dinner tonight was
Captain Bill's dinner cruise on the Senaca Legacy. We all ordered surf and turf. Prime Rib was tender but more medium than medium rare. Scallops were in a thick cream sauce. Tender, tasty and very rich. Cruise was enjoyable and a nice end to a very special trip.
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| Our hotel from the boat |
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Good night
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Wed
We had a 2 hour drive back to Buffalo to catch our flights home. Drive to the airport was uneventful, guys dropped the passengers and luggage at the curb and went to return the rent cars. Check-in and TSA were super easy. Buffalo Airport is an easy-peasy airport. First leg of the flight was to Charlotte with a short layover for the flight to DFW. Another good trip in the books.
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