This is the second Maine posting. I discarded the first one, it was terrible. For some reason I was not into it at all. I can come up with a bunch of reasons why: I am still bummed about Sam, It has been a long time since I last posted, it has been a long time since I last traveled, COVID-19. Whatever. Then I met “Wine Guy”, changed my outlook. More about him later.
The world is full of really interesting people. I have met and remet so many so far on this trip. I had, I believe, lost sight of this and taken them for granted. I didn’t take photos of these great people so some of the memory is lost.
Our first evening on the road we spent with Tina’s brother, wife and son. Also attending were his in-laws, in their 90’s. They are from the Pittsburgh area. We spent much of the evening recalling landmark eating places and food. The Original, a hot dog place where, if you order a large fries, it comes on a serving tray piled high (no longer in business). Vincent’s Pizza, nothing more needs to be said, those that have been there know. Prantl’s bakery in Squirrel Hill, great Jewish bakery. The Pleasure Bar in East Liberty, don’t let the name give you any evil ideas, it is a great Italian restaurant. That is where I had the best polenta and sausage I have ever had. The Tin Angel and La Mont (the best creme brulee in the world). We also reminisced about unique Pittsburgh dishes: fried jumbo (jumbo is bologna) and fish sandwiches that have so much fish that it looks like a piece of house siding in a bun.
Yesterday we made a pilgrimage to L L Bean in Freeport. Nothing exciting there but stopped in, what was supposed to be foody, Portland. Had an expensive but disappointing snack at an interesting place near the harbor. My inner “Rufus” came out. At places you need to leave a name for food delivery, I leave Rufus. Rufus gets better service than Bill and his order is never mixed up. This was the case here. Here you had to retrieve your drink order at one station and food at another when your name is called. Well, Rufus had his drinks delivered to the table, not like all the others at the place. There was almost a mixup on the food order, but quickly corrected for Rufus. I also make it a point to have a resolute dimeanor when responding, no one ever comments on the unique name.
“Wine Guy”. On the way back to the car we stopped at what appeared to be a high end wine store. Starting a conversation with the proprietor revealed that, due to COVID-19, he was able to get great deals on great wine and passed along the deals to his customers. He had quite a history of running convert operations Central America and had worked for Colin Powell. Also an Air Force vet, so we had a lot of stories to share. We bought a nice wine and some great snacks at the deli across the street. Back at the Inn we heald court on the veranda having a great light meal and wonderful pinot while talking with people entering the lobby. Had a great conversation with a couple that were Naturopaths from Montpelier, VT. Needless to say, we will be visiting “Wine Guy” to get a case on our way home.
Backpacking Bill 