Roadtrip!

I love, love, love roadtrips. It's not even so much about the destination but I love long car rides. I love the opportunity to read for long stretches. I love stopping for snacks and sipping a hot tea as we drive. I love deciding where we are going to stop and eat. I love just watching the different surroundings.
Finding ourselves Madi-less for the weekend, and since we were dropping her to off her Great Aunt Maria just outside of Calais for the night, we decided to continue on down the road and do some shopping and spend the night in Portland. In retrospect it may have been easier to stay in Bangor since it was sort of a rush to get everything done that we wanted to do, but it was still a nice getaway.
After a stop for mom at Macy's in Bangor, and a delicious, filling, non-Weight-Watchers-friendly meal at the Texas Roadhouse, we continued on down the Maine Turnpike to Portland. I was actually able to finish a book - The Lucky One - just as we pulled into the Hampton Inn in South Portland. We checked in, relaxed for a few minutes and then hit my favourite store - Target! We always end up blowing a good chunk of our trip budget there, and this visit was no different - but I did get most of the things I was looking for crossed off my list.

Next we hit the mall. Drew wanted shorts and we managed to get him three pair, this adorable Auntie onesie and a par of shorts for Mya, all for under $45! We roamed the mall for a bit but didn't find much more...plus we were hungry so we headed for the Sea Dog Brewing Company to eat. I've been here a few times and loved it, but they changed their menu and I was less than impressed (only ketchup for dipping sweet potato fries in??)...though the raspberry wheat ale I had was delicious.

The next morning we got up, had the free hot breakfast at the hotel and went to The Christmas Tree Shop & Cabela's. Not necessarily my kind of place, but it was fascinating to see. It is was huge building with nothing but camo, guns, fishing gear and hunting equipment...but the fudge shop made it worth it.
Finally we headed for Freeport. After spending the majority of our time deciding where to eat (yet another place with only ketchup as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries!) we looked around a bit but didn't find too much. I could bring myself to spend $130 on a Coach purse and ditto for Drew and a pair of Oakley sunglasses. We hit the road and I finished book #2 - Fifty Shades of Grey!
After a quick stop in Bangor due to a mistake on Macy's part on the way down (which I managed to get a $25 gift card out of) we hit the Airline and were on our way home to get our girl from Cour & Randy. The drive home from Saint John was a quiet one - both girls snoozing except Mya's random bursts of crankiness.
It was a quick trip but it felt like we had been away forever. It was so nice to get home.