Ahh, Maine!

I drove over to Portland, Maine on Friday to visit my beautiful friend Felice Boucher, Photographic Artiste Extraordinaire.  AND she's famous.  No kidding, we were stopped at the Farmer's Market by fans who wanted to take her picture.  This is one of my all time fave photos of Felice and her Wheaten Terrier Finnegan taken on a visit to see Felice in Houston, TX.

We hadn't had a girls' weekend in too long due to busy schedules, etc.  It was just lovely to see her.

I know you think I only travel for the food and you're partly right, of course.  Our first stop on Saturday morning was The Holy Donut, owned by Felice's friend Cynthia's daughter and a partner who also sell to Whole Foods.  The donuts are made with Maine potato flour, all natural ingredients and are the best treats I have had in a while.  There was a long line out the door which Felice says is normal and continues until they sell out for the day.

Since I was in Portland, I had to visit twice (!) and tried three flavors:  Sweet Potato Ginger, Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Fresh Lemon Glazed.  That's Cynthia on the left taking a break from donut production.

Next stop, the bustling Portland Farmer's Market.  We wandered along gazing at beautiful veggies, flowers and crafts in Deering Oaks Park, two blocks from Felice's home.  It was cool and shady, full of families, artisans, growers, performers.  Perfect.  We were intrigued by the 'Hay Ball' (above lower left) which we saw around the downtown Saturday and Sunday - you can 'Like' it here.

There are Felice's fans, members of the Portland Camera Club.

We also stopped to visit the hula hoop lady Tracy from Hardcore Hoops, handcrafted in Maine for maximum hoopability.  Felice bought two for her grandchildren and so did I.  She swears it's real exercise, so I am going to try it out.  Honestly, I DID hula hoop when I was a kid!

Yes, I had to photograph the radishes.

We were invited to dinner in Brunswick by Felice's friends Julie and Larry.  They are Finnegan's second family where he goes to catch up with his Wheaten Terrier pals when Felice is traveling.

 

We had such a nice visit, sipping wine on the deck, chatting and munching smoked oysters (if my sister Barbara is reading this, yes, I had some for you) and then...lobster fresh off the boat for dinner.  It was the best!  Thanks you, Julie and Larry for great food, company and conversation.

Portland is home to many notable lighthouses and we visited a few, despite the drizzle on Sunday.

I love Vermont and don't want to move, but a person does need an ocean fix every one in a while.  Nothing compares with cold ocean waters, if you ask me.

Tropical beaches are lovely, of course, but the bracing air, rocky shore, pounding waves and overall sense of power and menace are what draw me to the seaside.

So we walked and talked, traded photography tips and stories, laughed A LOT and ate, of course.  After Felice's frozen banana-peach-mango-cashew dessert I asked to be adopted.

Felice is plunging into high wedding season and may not come up for air for a while, but I want to say what a wonderful time I had with her and hope we can get together again soon.  XOXOXO