Dave's Travel Blog

Maine 2023 – August (Part 1)

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Dave

Allagash Brewery and Bite Into Maine

After thinking my running days were behind me, the Cape Elizabeth Beach to Beacon 10K race beaconed me. After following a structured 3-month plan, I made the 18 hour drive to Maine with lots of wine and spirits in tow. I planned to be back again in early Sepetember so I made sure that I had the necessary libations for both trips to Maine.

As usual, things could not have gone any better. For whatever reason, I went on a lobsyer binge that started in Portland at Bite into Maine at the Allagash Brewery (my favorite so far), then I needed to try Yankee Magazine’s favorite, McLoons Lobster Shack in South Thomaston. Unbeknownst to me, the Maine Lobster festival was happening in Rockland, so I went there after McLoons and had a lobster dinner. Then I stopped at Jess’s Market and got four live lobsters for my trip back to Portland. When I got back, we boiled them and made the best lobster linguine that I have ever had. And what do you do with any left over lobster? Lobster grilled cheese the next morning, of course. So, a bit of lobster…I have a tendency to go to extremes.

Fueled by lobster and a bit of linguine, the Beach to Beacon was relatively easy and pain free. The goal of under an hour was easily accomplished. Lots of other great experiences including the great Maine breweries and restaurants…Mast Landing, Belleflower, Allagash, Tipo, Evo Kitchen and Bar, and Gross Confection Bar this time around.

I will be back in Maine in three weeks and can’t wait to explore more breweries and lobster shacks…maybe a short run too. As usual, some pics…

Posted in Maine, Northeast, US | 2 Comments

Barcelona and Madrid 2023

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Dave

Sant Pau Hospital – Barcelona

Before embarking on my Germany trip in September 2022, my friend, Tony, asked me if I would be interested in visiting him in Spain in 2023. A quick Kayak search found a $600 round trip flight which I quickly booked – a bit of a crazy price I was lucky to find.

Fast forward to March 2023 and I was on my way. Considering all of the flight delay and cancellation issues that were in the news this last year, I was again lucky not to have any delays at all. The only small issue with the trip is that the weather was a bit cold the entire week I was there.

Still, we were able to see and do quite a bit–though averaging over 12 miles a day walking took its toll by the end of the trip. The highlights were the food and the museums that we visited. It was also good to be on a train for three hours (and not on my feet) as we traveled from Barcelona to Madrid. Madrid was, at first, a bit overwhelming as the city is much larger than I expected.

The trip highlights were:

The Prado Museum in Madrid (top of the list highlight) – The Flemish Art and Goya’s Black paintings in particular. Unfortunately, Prado has a no photo policy.
Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona – Hospital built in the Catalan Modernista architectural style in the early 1900’s that was converted to a museum in 2014. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Simply stunning!
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona – Fantastic Romanesque and Gothic art.
Reina Sofia in Madrid – Mostly Spanish art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The most famous work is Picasso’s “Guernica”, a work he painted in response to the Spanish Civil War.

Here are some photos–mostly of the museums:

I realize there are dozens of other museums worth visiting, but they will have to wait for the next trip.

The other highlight was the wonderful food and wine we got to experience. Lots of restaurants and wine bars on our itinerary. One of them was Ajetreo Restaurante in Madrid. We found this place completely by chance and spent five hours people watching there. I could write an entire post about that experience, but the beers and sherry consumed that night cloud my memory a bit. Still, here are some of the food photos:

I’m not sure what the next adventure will be, but I need a bit of time to recover before I start researching options.

Posted in Barcelona, Europe, Madrid, Spain | Leave a comment

Germany (and much more) 2022

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Dave

Neuschwanstein Castle

After waiting out COVID for over two years, we were finally able to resume travelling overseas. A trip that was originally in the planning stages in 2019 for a trip to Germany in 2020, finally happened in 2022.

It started out as a way to check something off my bucket list–seeing the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. The play first started in 1634 and is performed every 10 years. The play is 6 hours long with a three hour dinner intermission. Though I am not particularly religious, I am attracted to everything religious. I am not sure what that says about me.

Here is a snippet from the play’s website concerning the history of the event:

“Nearly 400 years ago the history of the Passion Play began. The plague raged in many parts of Europe and did not spare Oberammergau either. In 1633 the Oberammergau villagers promised to perform the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ every tenth year, in so far as no one was to die of the plague anymore. The villagers were answered by God and therefore in 1634 the first Passion Play took place. The promise has been kept until today. 2020 the Passion Play had to be postponed for two years due to the corona-pandemic“.

You must admit, it’s a bit ironic that the 2020 play had to be postponed because of the modern version of the plague. Equally as ironic is the fact that all of us had to deal with being sick at various points throughout our two-week trip.

No, we did not spend two weeks in Oberammergau–we actually didn’t spend much time in Germany at all. We spent two rain-drenched weeks visiting Prague, Krakow, driving north to south through Slovakia (a highlight) to get to Budapest. We weren’t done yet, however, as we spent a day in Salzburg and then back to Munich where we started our journey. I think it was close to 2000 miles of driving which is par for the course for us. Thanks to DR for handling most of the driving (even though he was sick). Because of that, I finally had my first European driving experience; navigating through the streets of Salzburg was fun…not!

Other than dealing with the weather and being sick, it was another successful trip. The highlights being the Passion Play at the beginning and Oktoberfest in Munich at the very end. In between, there was quite a bit of rain, lots of walking, beer (even some good craft stuff in Prague), more meat than anyone should ever eat in two weeks and shopping for the perfect item to bring back–this year a relic cross from the 1700’s.

As always, I’ve included many photos below. Make sure you navigate through all four pages of photos. Cheers!

Posted in Budapest, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Krakow, Munich, Oberammergau, Poland, Salzburg, Slovakia | 2 Comments

New England road trip (x) two = 5000+ driving miles

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Dave

Hyannis Triathlon I – June 2021

Hyannis Triathlon II – September 2021

I realize that I haven’t posted anything in quite a long time, but that doesn’t mean I have not been an active traveler. Since COVID, we have traveled quite a bit and have tried to do it as safely as possible. However, I haven’t posted much from these trips which included visits to Oregon, Washington, Oregon, Vermont, New Hampshire and a few other destinations. Maine has been a destination I have traveled to at least three times in the last year and twice in the last three months.

The primary reason for the trips? Something I didn’t believe I would be able to do—get in good enough shape to participate in triathlons, once again. Triathlons are something I did quite often about 15 years ago before I let everything get away from me.

The triathlons in June and September in Hyannis, MA couldn’t have been more different. Driving rain throughout the entire June event and all sun and no clouds for the September race. Also, a tale of two hair styles, as I traded my June COVID hair for something more respectable in September. My times were middle of the pack but it gives me some room for improvement next year. Now the difficult part…maintaining training from now until next summer.

Of course, both trips included extended states in my “home” state of Maine. Many pics of our time in Maine and Cape Cod below…with stops in between to visit friends and family in Pittsburgh, State College, PA, Kennett Square, PA and Philadelphia, PA. The cherry on top was a chance to see the US Open Women’s tennis final in NYC on my drive back. Extra special thanks to my friend Joe’s parents in Falmouth, MA for providing accommodations on the Cape. The same for my friends in Portland, ME and my family and friends in PA. Thank you!

Posted in Maine, Massachusetts, Northeast, US | Leave a comment

(Coronavirus) New England Road Trip – Summer 2020

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Dave

On the road to New England

It has been over thirty years since my first epic road trip to New England. That was in my mid-twenties during a particularly difficult period of my life. I clearly remember experiencing the White Mountains of New Hampshire for the first time and camping near Mount Washington. The soundtrack to the trip was REM’s Monster. I think I played it on repeat the the entire trip. I can’t remember if it was cassette or CD…did CD’s exist 30 years ago?

Flash forward to the present. A hastily planned trip back to New England during much happier times. This time, I had the the experience of living in Maine for over a decade behind me. This time, I had a purpose in mind–to visit friends and family along the way. Although I had a loose itinerary in mind, it was altered significantly when I learned my brother and sister-in-law was RV’ing in northern Vermont. This resulted in a significant departure from my original plans but I needed this type of serendipitous change of plans. This time, my soundtrack was Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. Again, I must have played this over twenty times but Spotify makes this so much easier to manage.

The trip details: Louisville to Pittsburgh to visit family, Pittsburgh to Kennett Square, PA to visit cousins I have not seen in well over 10 years, Kennett Square to South Hero, Vermont to visit more family, Vermont to Portland, Maine (via the Kangamangus road in NH) to visit friends. The trip included a two day stay at Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Campground.

Highlights of the trip included:

All of the food prepared by friends and family
The 20 mile bike ride through Freeport and Brunswick, much of it on roads I road many times when I lived there
The epic storm at the campground after our bike ride and our near death experience almost getting struck by lightning
The epic golf team match in which Rick and I prevailed over Derek and Paul even though we were huge underdogs
Being around my cousin and his family after more than 10 years and catching up on a lot of time
Being in Freeport, in general, as I lived there for over three years.
The masks, of course.

This was the first time I have traveled to Maine where I didn’t go into Portland’s old port one time…strange.

Some of the better photos: