Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Well we left Wednesday after school and drove as far as Fredericton, then left at 9 am this morning for North Conway. It took 8 hours to get to North Conway - that included 2 short pit stops, a half hour lunch and a half hour stuck in traffic in construction. Along the way we learned 3 things.

1. Carolyn and I will never be able to drive more than 6 hours at one shot. We were bored, our butts were sore and the urge to shop was so strong it made us very cranky at slow drivers. (Automobiles)

2. In the time it took us to get to North Conway we could have flown to England. (Planes)

3. Part of the trip was to include a 5 hour train ride tomorrow into the mounains, we cut it down to the 1.5 hour trip - as 5 hours would not leave us enough time to shop (Trains).

Shopping: We did a few of the outlets tonight - a few good deals. Lindt chocolate shop was giving out samples... geez. We didn't feel like trying on clothes tonight - we will tackle that tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

Eating: For lunch we ate the Frair's Bakehouse in Bangor. This place is rated No. 1 in Tripadvisor and with good reason. It was FABULOUS!!!! It is run by Francisan brothers, they are only open for lunch and you only get 3 choices of sandwich and 2 choices of soup. They have a sign that says "No credit cards, no cellphones and no attitude." But one of the brothers has an attitude - he is too funny - he told one of the regulars he was cursing softly under his breath. There are only 3 long tables and there is a line up of locals, they probably served 20-25 people while we were there - we sat at one end of a table and 2 guys sat at the other end. The place is very Catholic - book and statues everywhere but noone preaches :) - Carolyn had a grilled cheese and ham sandwich and I had grilled cheese and tomato and we both agreed it was the best grilled sandwiches we ever ate. The guys at our table had minestrone soup and I could hear them state how good it was. The other soup choice was french onion. You have to try this place if you are ever in Bangor for lunch.

For supper, we went to Applebee's - we had to wait for a table, the place was packed. Now I am not a big fan of chain restaurants but when you travel with a fussy teenager you have to go to a place that has a great deal of variety in their menu. Well I was pleasantly surprised. In their menu they indicate which items are under 550 calories and they give the Weight Watcher points for some items as well. I had the Asian Crunch Salad and Carolyn had a small sirloin steak both were fabulous - with drinks and tips it came to $21.00 (oh did I mention there is no tax in New Hamphire - you saw it right - NO TAX!!! - on anything!!!

Ok time for a shower and bed - We have heavy duty shopping to do tomorrow. Good night.