Okay, some reading. We took the Amtrak to Chicago ( I will spare you the pics of me in a Panera Bread). From there, we got a sleeper car to Washington D.C. I actually love looking out the window of a moving vehicle, even though I look bored in the picture.
We had some time to spend in DC, but the camera batteries were dead, so just imagine 2 sweaty folks trudging across the Mall. Many monuments, thousands of Asian tourists (how much would it cost them to vacation here?!) and many homeless folks. The Vietnam Memorial was really hard to walk past, what with the photos and boots and crying people. If you know me, you know I can't see soldiers without getting a little weepy.
It was cool just to ride around in the cab. We ate Haagen-Daz ice cream in honor of Ian Mackaye and Henry Rollins' early career. In the train station, there was a woman crying for no apparent reason, even when her husband and kids came up. They just stood there watching her cry, then all went to dinner.
Our train left DC at 10 pm, and sat in Penn Station for like 2 hours. I look like a gay Klan member. I did wake up in time to see the sun rise over the marches of CT or RI. Very pretty and quiet and peaceful.
Kate and Vin took us to Topsham Beach, where I spent a great deal of time digging a hole and building an army of heads. The water was super cold, so I just dipped my feet and kept digging my hole.
Kate drove us to Boston, where I visited with my old boss at Salem Street True Value and feasted on paninos. We also visited the reasons for my credit card debt: Urban Outfitters and Downtown Crossing. We parked in front of our old scummy apartment on Comm. Ave. It's still a depressing graffiti-filled shithole, but it felt oddly normal to be strolling down the street with Kate at my side. Allston is the shithole, not Boston. We also had dinner with my old flame Tom at The Common Ground, the source of my imminent liver failure. Anthony was kind enough to water us and entertain us with party videos from my wilder days, much to Matt's surprise. There are no videos on here, though...yet!
In Boston, we also went through the Old Granary Burial Ground, where we saw Sam Adams' grave. Good job, Mr. Adams! I like your beer!
We had lobster and mussels for dinner and fresh green beans and they were delicious.
Lewiston, ME has some cool stuff, but I liked Portland better, namely because Matt (innocently sitting on the sidewalk) was told to "Get a job" by some woman as she walked past. Plus we saw "The Simpsons" and it wasn't half bad!
It was easily the best vacation yet, including our honeymoon (alternator blew out in Petrified Forest). Sleeping cars on Amtrak are awesome, Maine is wonderful, Boston is the same, and I had great hair the entire week. We ate the best food ever, got sand in all our crevices, and I heard an owl or a loon. Shaun's little nieces let us make s'mores with their marshmallows and I drank blueberry beer. We went to an organic farm and fed goats and chickens. There was sea glass collected and WW2 forts explored.
Then we sat on the plane back for an hour BEFORE leaving the tarmac. It was so freakin' hot when we got home, even at 1 AM. We had 20 straight days of 90+ heat. Today was a break, but it's so humid you wouldn't believe it.
Kate, I'm moving to Maine! Let's do that fabric design/art school/fabric and yarn shop thing! What color is your parachute?!
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