My flights on Friday were ridiculously delayed so instead of getting to Maine by 2pm, I didn't get there until 9pm. Yeah, that was a long day. I was really mad about the flight situation so I complained to US Air and received some miles (as requested by me) as compensation for my troubles. Since I work in the hospitality industry I usually hate complaining about things like this, but the day I had on Friday really put me over the edge. I'll spare you the details, but am glad with the miles since I was flying on a free ticket and would not have earned any otherwise.
My first night was in Portland at my sister's since we were running the 10K the next day.
Sarah, Greg & I went out to dinner once I got there. They took me to Pan Mei Miyake, a delicious noodle bar with yummy Japanese inspired small plates. We shared a few of plates (tuna roll, pork buns, ribs & gyoza) and they also had this great ginger beer from Japan. Unfortunately I can't remember the name, but it was delicious. Portland has so many great restaurants, I wasn't surprised this place was so good.
Saturday morning was the 10K and later that day we headed down to my parents house in Wells to see our friends Derek & Celeste for a lobster lunch! They were delicious as always!
One sad thing that did happened was that my parents had to put one of their cats, Lizzie, down on Friday night. She had developed a blood clot in one of her legs and there was nothing to be done. Poor Lizzie, she was the sweetest cat, just had a really good disposition. It was sad because it was so sudden. I was sad I didn't get to see her that day since my flight was delayed! I was also sad when I saw her mug on the kitchen counter at my parents house :(
Yes, she would jump on the counter and drink out of that mug... probably not the best cat behavior, but what can you do.
Saturday night was my cousin Amanda's going away party. She moved to San Francisco the next day. Love San Francisco! Can't wait to go and see her in October!!
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| No this wasn't an earthquake themed cake |
On Sunday 10 of us drove up to Quebec City for 3 nights. I drove in the car with Sarah, Greg & Lily. So basically I was Lily's slave for the 6 hour drive. More binkies, change the movie, read the book. For a two year old who rarely sleeps in the car, she did really well on the drive. She even slept for like 30 minutes.
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| Aside from bossing me around, Lily also took my pillow & watch! |
Quebec City was really beautiful! It's a very walkable city and after 3 days here, I felt like I had seen it all.
and a few more....
I have more pictures of the city that I took on my run one morning and will post those tomorrow.
My parents, Sarah, Greg, Lily and I had rented a 3 bedroom apartment through the website VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals By Owner). It was a great place and worked out perfect for us. It was within the walled portion of the city and was a block from Rue St. Jean, one of the main streets in the city. It was great to go outside and just walk wherever you needed to go.
On Wednesday we headed back to Portland where I stayed for the next two nights because I got to babysit Lily on Thursday & Friday! My sister is an RN and was working the night shift on Wednesday and Thursday nights, so while she slept during the day on Thursday & Friday, I watched Lily. I was definitely excited for some one-on-one time with the little Lilster. She is the only child in my family so when others are around she gets so much attention from everyone. I was really looking forward to having all her attention on me! :)
We played with Play Doh, colored, played with dolls, made a puzzle she got in Canada like a million times, played in the sand box, colored with sidewalk chalk out in the driveway, played with bubbles, went to the park, went out to lunch, read books... man that little girl has lots of energy.
After the park on Friday, we went out to the Lobster Shack at Two Lights for lunch. It's a cute little restaurant overlooking the ocean. The place is always crowded, like a line out the door to order. While we were waiting I asked Lily if she wanted a hot dog, cheeseburger or hamburger for lunch. She said cheeseburger. Right before I ordered I asked her one more time. She said cheeseburger. So that's what I ordered her. As soon as she saw it she said "I don't think I like that". My sister later tells me that Lily has never even had a cheeseburger before in her life. So much for listening to a 2 year old. For lunch that day she ate french fries and pickles.
After lunch she wanted to "look at the waves in the ocean". Actually she wanted to climb down the rocky cliff to the water because she saw some other (older) kids doing it. I told her you had to be 5 to walk down the cliff and she was only 2, so she couldn't go. She stopped asking... I can't believe that worked. We then went into the little gift shop and Lily walked out with a new pen that she used to write on herself on the drive home. She dropped the card I had got for her to write on, so obviously writing on herself was the next choice. That little girl cracks me up! I was so glad to hang out with her for a couple days!
Friday night I headed back down to my parents for the night. My aunt, uncle and cousin had driven up to go out for dinner with us. We went to The Gourmet Express in Ogunquit. It is a casual little place where you sit outside and bring your own wine or beer. It was a fun evening!
Saturday morning I went back into Ogunquit to get some delicious coffee at Bread & Roses Bakery (love that place) walk around Main Street and look in the stores.
Before I left on Saturday night, my family headed down to Auburn, NH to spend the afternoon with our old neighbors, the Harris family! It was great catching up with them, I hadn't seen them in almost two years and I hadn't seen their parents since my sister's wedding back in 2005. It was great to meet little Ava! She is so cute and at only 8 months old she was so light and cuddly to carry around! You forget just how little babies are when you are not around them. They treated us to a delicious lunch of lobsters! What a good way to end my trip!
By the time I was on the plane that night, I was ready to crash... 9 days gone in a blur.
