Vacation Highlights

After staying with friends in Boston on Friday night (thanks, Danielle and Lindsay!), DT and I drove to Maine to pick up my sister from her job at a summer camp for girls. We couldn't pick her up until Sunday morning so we spent Saturday night in Freeport, Maine, a town whose only claim to fame is being the headquarters of LL Bean. Rather then spending a lot on a hotel room, DT and I camped at the Desert of Maine campground. The desert is a genuine freak-of-nature; about 100 years ago, sand began piling up on what was a fertile farm. Now the entire farm is buried under 20-30 feet of the purest, softest sand I ever touched. As registered campers, DT and I got free admission to the desert.



The LL Bean boot in Freeport, ME.



As thanks for picking her up from camp, Becca treated us to a lobster lunch in Naples, ME.





We arrived at the vacation house in the Adirondacks on Sunday night. With 15 people in the house, getting groups of hikers, kayakers, birdwatchers and painters out the door every morning was insane. But the kayaking was great and we had the best view of the meteor shower on Tuesday night.



On Wednesday, DT and I went to Montreal for the day. It was scorching hot, even in Montreal. I was glad when we finally had lunch at this cafe. I loved the salad I got--black rice (dyed with squid ink?), asparagus, tomato, mint and vinaigrette dressing--and the lemonade was tart, just the way I like it.



Because I'm a nervous passenger, I did most of the driving.



The highlight of the trip for DT was stopping at Sticky Lips BBQ in Rochester, NY. We sat on the outdoor deck until the yellow jackets became too bothersome (Becca is allergic) and we moved inside.




In Buffalo we stayed with Joyce, one of DT's professors from Temple. She took us on an architecture tour of Buffalo. We saw lots of buildings but my favorite was the one that wasn't there; Frank Lloyd Wright's Larkin Administration Building was demolished in 1950 and all that remains is this parking lot and a retaining wall. The demolition of the Larkin Building is considered to be one of the saddest moments in American architectural history.




We took a day trip to Toronto for more architectural sight-seeing. While DT looked at buildings, Becca and I walked a long, long way from center city to visit The Workroom, a shop I've been admiring for a long time. I bought some fabric to make new pillowcases. I spent more than I should have, but their selection of designer cotton fabrics is fantastic. I can't get anything like it in Limeport. You can follow their blog, make something, here. (The above picture was of some beautiful dresses in a boutique window on Queen Street West.)



We spent a lot of time in the car. Becca finished a cross-stitch project she had started 10 years ago.



After Buffalo, Becca, DT and I drove to western PA to see FL Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. Doesn't it look like DT and I are in front of a fake Fallingwater?



We spent the last day of the vacation road-trip at Knobles Amusement Park in central PA. I loved that it's a pay-per-ride park that encourages you to bring your own lunch (unlike Hersheypark that charges a $60 admission fee AND $6 for a bottled water). The Twister roller coaster was hands-down the best roller coaster I've ever been on.

Now it's back to reality--school starts on Monday and DT will be moving to NYC soon. Time to start finishing all of the projects I've abandoned this summer.