…and then was off to Freeport for a dessert breakfast. (Hey, custard has milk in it, right? I think that’s a completely acceptable way to start the day!)
Off to Mainely Custard I went to take a peek behind the scenes of what keeps Owner Deb and her staff busy, and what keeps customers coming back for more. Talk about feeling like a kid in a candy store! I was one happy camper getting schooled:
I had a run at making a waffle cone and found out very quickly that I shouldn’t quit my day job. I am SO much better at eating the cones, rather than making them:
…so that’s just what I did, after I had it filled with chocolate malt custard and topped with my favorite of all time krunch kote:
(That’s Marcia Wiggins and I. She’s my new friend and whoopie pie extraordinaire. Talk about crack each other up! We have had way too much fun together these past two days. I think we may have been separated at birth.)
Thanks to “Super Scoopers” Katie and Hope, and Owner Deb for schooling me and being part of the Blue Lollipop Road Adventure!
The day turned sunny and gorgeous, a perfect backdrop for a trip back to the lighthouse I went for a run by this morning. Portland Head Light:
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? I know right- is that fake? Unbelievably gorgeous! That blue sky, the water crashing and the sound of the fog horn- I had to make a video:
(That’s F-R-E-E. I really can spell:)
I cannot say enough that if you have never been to New England in the summer or fall it is a must do for a road trip. Hop in the car and go live in that that brochure life for a week or two. (Yes, it really is all that charming and quaint.) Stop at the roadside farm stands. (Sweet corn, apples and honor boxes!) Talk to the local sitting next to you on that stool in the diner. (He’s lived at least 88 years and has some hilarious and intriguing stories!) Wander into that Mom-and Pop shop. (Handmade/homemade/fresh-made gifts rock!) Go for a bike ride down a country dirt road. (Relax without your crackberry for a few hours!) Take a hike in the woods.(Maybe even lay in a field for a few minutes!) Sound good? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Tomorrow is another day wandering about The Vacationland. Million Mile Joe and I will be hanging in a little over 24 hours. I’ve taken it easy on my fabulous loaned Civic thus far in the miles department (at only near 800 after 7 days, that is very low for me) so after I meet Joe, I might have to let you in on a little secret about how I am going to rack up some serious mileage before the end of this current journey. (Now is the time right? I have an uber economical hybrid!)
Hint: Stripes.
***Total miles driven today, day 7: 68
***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 793
***Total blue lollipops gifted/left behind since trip start (9/2/11): 12
Whoa nelly was today a fun day! One of those days where I just think as I sit here to type this at 1am- somebody pinch me! Life is oh so good. I wake up after a great visit with a childhood friend, get to drive this fantastic car that Honda has loaned me, I step behind the scenes of a delicious treat of a company and help make whoopie pies, and get to meet another truly amazing person who I’ve laughed and enjoyed every second with. (And there’s still so much more to come!)Â For anyone who thinks life can’t be exactly what you want it to be, I am here to tell you to think again! Go out and get it. It’s all out there for the taking.
On that note, today I was all about taking in desserts! More specifically Whoopsies Gourmet Whoopie Pies. How many did I eat today while helping in the kitchen? (Um, lost track.)
As soon as I walked in the door, I mean as in- like the minute I walked in the door, Owner Marcia plated up and served me a pumpkin whoopie pie with amaretto cream cheese nutmeg filling. I wasn’t shy:
After my snack we had to get to work! I put my chef coat on and started scooping:
The last bit in the bowl before washing it? I couldn’t let that go to waste!
It was a sampling party:
…complete with too much laughing, and jokes about saucy whoopie pie names:
This was round 1 of fun, with more to come tomorrow. I get to make caramel again! This was my masterpiece from today:
Mmmm…
Everyone loves a whoopie pie- Even Million Mile Joe, (so I found out today!) 2 days till I get to meet the man behind the miles. Perhaps I will have to bring him a treat after all my hard work in the kitchen as a taste tester!
In ever changing exciting trip news, I’ve been invited to go behind the scenes of another treat shop tomorrow in between Whoopsie time. I am digging adventures in desserts! More video fun of me noshing. I wish you all were with me so I could share! What else is coming up after that? Oh- you know, more lighthouses, sugar, lots of miles on the car to surprise places, and of course- the Honda Civic Tour. YEAH!
***Total miles driven today, day 6: 80
***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 725
***Total blue lollipops gifted/left behind since trip start (9/2/11): 9
I would usually cringe too, (photos in a bathroom?!) but the toilet seat had candy pieces in it. I had to take a couple. A candy filled toilet seat is just the beginning of how they roll at The Friendly Toast.
As you saw in my shaky and loud video above, the food at this quirky joint is enormous, and so is the personality. They call the bread a “slabs” of toast on the menu, and there are so many tchotchkes, it makes your head spin.
Why not have a naked doll in funny-looking helicopter hanging in the corner?
To leave no detail un-funkified, our coffees even came in these tall plastic vintage cups:
For eats we had a piece of the drunkards french toast (with grand marnier and raspberry sauce) to share:
…and for my breakfast I had grilled toast with a fried egg inside:
A delicious carb-fest it was. Before we left we had to visit the moving stuffed leopard in the back of the restaurant:
…which was totally entertaining for my friend and I as we were taking these photos, not to mention when I uploaded them tonight and we saw them on my computer screen. They look so ridiculous and creepy we just rolled on the floor for 10 minutes laughing. Usually these photos would go in the trash as unusable, but they are so odd and we laughed so hard looking at them- there was no way they weren’t going to be included here:
Seriously people: The Friendly Toast. Like no other. A must see. Thank you so much to reader Abby for the recommendation! I would have never known about this place without your input and that would have been a complete bummer. I love reader input!
After breakfast we walked around the perfectly quaint and picturesque town of Portsmouth.(Talk about two different world in one town!)
Historic and storybook New England towns, you charm me every time with all your character and beauty:
After a while wandering, we stopped for a cold beer in the sun by the water:
(It’s been very warm and humid since my arrival in the Northeast. it feels like North Carolina in August. So not September weather for here but perfect timing for me- I love it!) The spot we chose was where the locals hang out; Harpoon Willy’s. All the patios were packed because of the gorgeous weather and last day of the holiday weekend. We chatted and relaxed for a couple hours next to this oar sticking out over the water with information about tartar sauce:
We wondered the rhyme or reason, but never asked. Some of these completely random things I just snap photos of, let go, and giggle later like I am now enjoying the fact that I will never in my lifetime be bored or not have fun things to look at.
All that chatting and relaxing got us hungry for a treat, (I know you are so surprised) so we were off to the Portsmouth Baking Company for a cupcake:
…where we met Owner and Head Artisan Baker, the friendly and welcoming Harvey:
Harvey told us he went to pastry school in NYC and had worked there for years. He just opened up PBC with his partner about 3 months ago. What a fantastic place! Clean, sleek, just overall beautifully designed. I loved the giant communal table in the middle of the room with the glass display stands:
…and there’s a train track along the ceiling that carries out loaves of bread from the back when they are done baking!
So many good things to eat, but we were on a mission for the cupcakes. Oh the choices so perfectly displayed:
You know me, I’d usually opt for the double chocolate, but I have been on this chocolate peanut butter kick lately, so that was my choice:
Can we talk about the scene of 2 grown women (that would be my friend and I) in dresses, looking like appropriate touring adults walking around town, but each shoving giant cupcakes in our faces as if we were 5 year-olds who couldn’t wait? Yeah- that was us. Lets just say there was lots of laughing. The joy and entertainment for a few bucks. Little moments like those make me so happy. Thanks for the treat Kim!
After the cupcake scene, there was only one thing to do: Go for a late afternoon run. (Now that’s what I call balance!) Sure it as a little slower moving than usual, but as always, felt great to get out and pound the pavement making room for the next round of treats. After my run I took a ride to Rye Beach. Of course I passed by fish markets with lobster rolls and chowder:
…and there were plenty of places to pull over and listen to waves crash:
The sea air at the ocean in the Northeast smells like no other. Salty, salty, salty and heaven.
Getting cleaned up for dinner and dessert back down by the water was the last part of the full, fun day. Yet again I’m going to bed stuffed and smiling, thinking I should have had more fruits and veggies, but really being Ok with the fact that I didn’t. I’ve only got a couple weeks to blow this all out, so I am going to take advantage of all the amazing road food I can!
This is where I have to give a shout out and huge thanks to my host for the past 2 nights, and again all the other near perfect strangers who have hosted me over the years during my travels. I continually meet generous people, who open their homes and lives to me, share their friends and family, and often have have either met me once or never before. I am very appreciative always, and could never say thank you enough. The best part of being let into the home and life of someone you barely know when you travel, is there seems to be an instant bond that happens (you do dive straight into their life after all.) The one when you know even though you just met, you will see each other again, and probably stay in touch for many years to come. Thanks again Kim! What luck meeting that one time because of two guys two years ago eh? Until our next cupcake date…
Tomorrow I will go just over the bridge to Maine for some exploring in York, then back to NH to see an old friend and original blue lollipop crew member. It’s been 14 years so I am looking forward to us seeing each other again and reminiscing. This week I’ll be meeting and hanging with whoopie pie goddess Marcia and fellow Honda lover Million Mile Joe. Yeah! Stay tuned, thanks for following and keep voting and sending ideas on places for me to check out!
***Total miles driven today, day 4: 14
***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 577
***Total blue lollipops gifted/left behind since trip start (9/2/11): 5
***(I am averaging 43 mpg with this car currently, and have just now finally had to put gas in it after all the above miles since the kick-off of this trip. Whoop whoop! That means I can spend more money on cupcakes…:)
As I am sure you all are very aware of, the Northeast- particularly the Southern parts of Vermont where I have planned to head to to kick off this Honda Adventure has been severely damaged by Hurricane Irene. This means a lot of things, one being there are several road closures, detours and spots that are simply off limits as the enormous clean up is underway. Considering my pre-planned route and meetings go from NJ, through NY and into VT then through NH into ME, I will essentially be attempting to go through the thick of it all. I have been a less planning, more doing kind of girl during my travels over the years, just rolling with what happens on the road, so It’s ironic that I pre-planned some things for this trip, and one of the worst floods in Vermont’s history happens right before I plan to be there.
This is all to say that as I set off on my trip north on Friday, I have no idea the random roads I will end up on, what detours I will have to take, which festivals and events will still be on or cancelled, or in general what to expect. I do know there will still be meetings with people like Million Mile Joe and Marcia, the maker of Whoopsies Gourmet Whoopie Pies, along with some other interesting characters yet TBA, which I am very excited about.
Thanks to you all for fantastic suggestions, participating in my plans, and rolling with the adventure as it is ever changing. Here’s to expecting the unexpected!
I told you there would be something good coming. (And this is only the beginning.)
Guess who I get to meet and hang out with in 2 weeks? The one and only Million Mile Joe!
Joe, like me clearly loves his Honda. His 1990 Accord that is soon to hit a million miles is the same exact year and model that was my very first Honda. How cool is that? Joe has logged his miles and miles in notebooks, (which I have done during various trips over the years) and taken countless photos of his odometer. (Me too!) I’m thinking Joe and I will have plenty of good stories to share when we meet. It’s as if we are kindred spirits in Honda love. Maybe it’s because we are both New Englanders?
I was thrilled weeks ago when Honda has mentioned a potential meeting, It’s been hard for me to hold my tongue, so naturally I am very excited to share the news here now.
There is a lot more to come in the way of surprises and tricks up my sleeve, so stay tuned and keep following! 7 days and counting until I pick up my loaned Hybrid Civic and officially kick off this next great adventure!
