good vacation times continue....

wednesday dawned simply perfect; first a meet up with denise, a maine quilty pal and soon-to-be first-time grandma!  her cheerful spirit and ability to coast over rough roads has always inspired me...she is a tornado of a busy gal!

then it was beach time....oh so perfect with plenty of waves and water temp near 70....yes, 70....so refreshing and enjoyable!

on the way home after a bittersweet departure, stopped for more lobster and some uber-fresh haddock fillet...yummmm!  ***  thursday was the trek to machias, an all day drive and time to meet more family at the original farm of my mother's grandparents....

we also drove by the burnham tavern, home of my DAR chapter and used as a hospital during the Battle of the Margaretta back in 1775...a must see if you are ever in the area...

northeast maine is blueberry country and they were present on every corner...but we picked our own at the local cemetery....the annual blueberry festival was due to start the next day, another must-do event!  and last by certainly not least, we had to stop at helen's restaurant, a local institution, for some of their renown pie.  of course they have lots of fresh, local seafood too, but we had picnicked, saving room for dessert....

there were 3 of us; i had this chocolate cream--best ever--another had their famous blueberry and another lemon meringue, all very delish.  it was a bit of a slip off the cardiac diet, but i didn't eat all that whipped cream, which is over one inch thick on top of barely sweet, must-be-homemade chocolate mousse/pudding and the flakiest pastry i ever saw. 

helen's is another can't-miss venue if you find yourself in machias....it's friday and that means only 3 more days that'll be low key, just spending time together, before the long ride home to my DD and DSIL and my cozy apartment....