Too Crunchy?

Last September Pam and I stayed at an incredible place called Loon Landing, on Quantabacook Lake in Searsmont, Maine. We loved it so much we’re going back there in six weeks. Anyway, in order to make the twenty minute drive from Searsmont to Camden you had to drive through a little village called Lincolnville Center. Last year, there was a beautiful new general store being built. Every time we drove passed it we would slow down and comment about how awesome the place was going to be when they finally finished it. Well, a couple of days ago we decided to pay it a visit to see how it turned out...

We were blown away. The place is stunning, the kind of general store that would make even the most urbane city slicker long for small town life.

Then we went inside...

Ok, I’ll just let Pam do the talking at this point...

As we entered the door there was a huge wine selection, followed by a huge display of essential oils and an assortment of crystals. Nothing in the store except organic. I saw a red pepper for seven dollars/lb.  They have a huge brick oven in the back for pizza, so that’s something. This store is way too crunchy for me!

In other news... the last two nights we have gone out to dinner. During a wild and crazy lightening storm, we had a hankering for pizza, so we went into Damariscotta to a sports bar type of place called The Penalty Box. 

The inside of the place is made to look like Fenway Park. A series of murals turn every wall into the view from a section of seating at the iconic old ballpark. Really cool. And the pizza was amazing!

Then, last night I marked something off my bucket list. For over ten years now, I have seen an advertisement in Down East Magazine for a place called King Eider’s Pub in Damariscotta. The picture in the ad made it look like the kind of place I would love. When we were seated I mentioned all of this to the manager of the place, telling him that I was a little nervous and hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed. There was no need to worry. Although it was quite pricey, Pam’s seafood pot pie and my surf and turf were out of this world delicious. We were seated upstairs right next to what was once a working fireplace, which was now home to a cast iron pot of oyster shells...

But, the best part was the charm of the place...

From our table at the far right hand window upstairs, we could see the Damariscotta harbor in the distance. Enchanting.

Last but not least, it’s been a great reading vacation. Here are the five that I’ve finished so far. Actually, I still have a hundred pages or so to go on Chicago, since I just bought it in Camden two days ago. Eclectic selections, don't ya think?

Three more days here. Today is cloudy with storms expected so I have no idea what we will end up doing. But, we plan on making the most of the next 72 hours.