As I’ve written, our first stop was Boston and on Saturday we left midday for the drive up through New Hampshire and into Maine. Our first adventure stop in Maine was one of my favorites, the Seashore Trolley Museum! When I was a kid, I frequently asked to go, and I now often make a stop there on my trips to Maine, so I was really happy to bring the boys. We got there a bit late in the day, but we were able to enjoy a trolley ride, and I absolutely love that journey through the forest and the boys did too.

And then do some exploring through the barns before dropping by their very fun gift shop. The weather was beautiful and we all had a good visit, even if I wished we had gotten there earlier to see a bit more.

When we got to Scarborough, we checked into our hotel and did a quick stop at the storage unit to get an idea of how much stuff we had. It was then dinner at Sebago Brewing Company, where I enjoyed a lobster quesadilla, a spectacular slice of blueberry pie, and learned that breweries in Maine can put THC in their beers. Wow, Maine!

On Sunday my sister Annette and my nephew Xavier made the drive down from their place and met us at the storage unit. We swiftly identified trash and donation items, and got through a lot more than I expected. Annette helped me load up her car with donation goods (mostly old kitchen supplies and such) and we got a lot more done than I expected. Xavier was kind enough to help MJ finish the work on wiring the trailer hitch, which I was grateful for since it allowed Annette and I to focus on storage.

Then it was off to have some fun! We had picnic area tickets to a Portland Sea Dogs game! We love baseball, but amusingly the only games I’ve been to this year were a couple games in Boston, and now their AA affiliate, the Sea Dogs. I swear I’m still a Phillies and Giants fan!

But baseball is baseball, and we had an amazing time with gorgeous weather. It was great to have a game to watch while I caught up with my sister, and our tickets included some food. And the Sea Dogs won! Plus, with the team going away for games elsewhere for a couple weeks, they held a Kids Run the Bases event so MJ and Adam got to run some bases while the rest of us cheered them on.

That evening we enjoyed dinner at The Great Lost Bear where we continued our trend of bringing our kids to drinking establishments (hah!) but truly it is a family-friendly place and I remembered it from when I was a kid. I now realize why it made an impression, the whole place from floor to ceiling is packed with pictures and lights and THINGS. It’s 100% my maximalist aesthetic, and I find a sense of peace in such chaos. The beers and food were top notch too, and I really enjoyed their buffalo fried cauliflower.

We got back to the hotel late, but I had promised Adam he could stop by a pond near our hotel before heading to bed. With Aaron asleep in the car, MJ ended up dropping off Xavier, Adam and I at the pond, and the boys proceeded to find some frogs. Xavier caught one and Adam was entranced! Those 20 minutes we spent at the pond doing some cousin bonding time was one of the most memorable moments of our trip for me.

But the trip wasn’t over yet! A whole day of adventures and the road trip back to Philadelphia were still ahead of us.

What’s for dinner? A lobster roll, of course! I ended up at The Barking Crab where I enjoyed a blueberry wheat beer, some steamers (clams), and my glorious lobster roll with fries and coleslaw. I was seated in a 2-person table right by the water, which with the lovely spring weather, made the whole experience basically perfect.

That evening I also stopped by L.L. Bean because the perfect weather was threatening not to last, and I had a baseball game to go to the next day. I picked up some quick-drying hiking pants that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting wet, and a rain coat that I needed anyway and had been wanting to buy for a while. I also walked over to some more touristy areas to pick up some gifts for the boys.

Saturday morning was the most chill time I’ve spent in a long time. I slept in, enjoyed the hotel pool, spent some time reading and playing video games. That allowed me to leisurely get ready for my journey to Fenway Park for a baseball game. I took the MBTA regional rail to a station that was about a 20 minute walk from Fenway, and the lovely walk took me through a park. The stadium took me by surprise, I was just walking down the street and suddenly it was in front of me!

I walked around to get a feel for the area, and then went in side to enjoy the pre-game Taco and Tequila Fest that I had tickets to. If I were to do it again, I’m not sure I would have done that part because it was a bit boring to do by myself, and there was a fair amount of milling around as we waited for the rest of the stadium to open so we could get to our seats.

I had good seats, and there was an empty one next to me which was nice. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect for an evening game, with the threatened rain not making an appearance. It was just warm and lovely. And it was a great game, with the Red Sox trailing for most of the game but pulling off a win against the Braves in the end! Plus, I got to see a home run sail over the green monster and out of the park, and the Braves have former Athletics players Matt Olson and Sean Murphy so it was nice to see them play again, even if I was rooting against them.

The journey back to the hotel was noteworthy for me because it was my first time riding the subway in Boston and it was completely overflowing with baseball fans leaving the park. They were running a lot of trains, but it was still a squished ride back. I took two subways and then a bus which put me quite close to my hotel, and it was all pretty easy to navigate. Thanks, Boston!

Sunday morning I took a walk down to the Boston Tea Party Museum for a 10:45AM tour. I was lucky to be on the tour with a small group and so we all got our hands on the “tea boxes” to throw off the boat and could ask questions. Throwing things off a boat because we’re mad at the government over import taxes felt very appropriate right now. I really enjoyed the downstairs walk through of the tea party story as well, they made really fun use of projectors and other tech to make the whole experience quite immersive. We’ll have to take the boys some time.

From there it was over to enjoy lobster roll number 2, this time at James Hook & Co where you ordered from a truck and then sat down in their outside patio. Continued nice weather made this a lovely lunch, though I did prefer the food the day before. My walk back to the hotel included a stop for ice cream, and then I swung by the conference center to pick up my badge before things got busy on Monday. I had a relaxing evening, and then popped downstairs when I got a message from a colleague about a few folks who had gathered in the lobby to say hello for an hour or so.

My week was spent at the Red Hat Summit and on Thursday I had a late check-out which allowed me to take it easy and then have a late lunch (and lobster roll number 3) nearby. But a spring nor’easter was coming through, and the rain was coming down in buckets. I’m grateful I decided to take my tourist days before the event rather than at the end, because it would have been very disappointing otherwise! Even as it was, I got to the airport rather early because I had nowhere to be late on Saturday afternoon and my flight was ultimately delayed due to the weather. A rainy end to my trip, but rain is lovely once I’m out of it.

Thankfully, once my delayed flight took off the journey home was uneventful, and I was able to rest at home on Friday.