Life Through the Lens

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sea Kayaking, Anyone?

We love to do different, adventurous things when we travel. Hiking Mt. Vesuvius in Italy. Sea kayaking in Bar Harbor. Hmmm... doesn't seem quite as adventurous, but it really was. It was also tons & tons of fun!

Being out in a tandem kayak, with just our guide, a few other boats & nature could not be beat. We saw lots of wildlife - osprey, bald eagles, harbor seals, loons & lots of other birds. The water was crystal clear & a crisp 60 degrees. Trees & glacial debris hundreds of years old surrounded us as we paddled through the Atlantic Ocean, with the wind to our backs helping us along. It was an awesome experience! A huge shout out to National Park Sea Kayak & our great guide Elana. Thanks to you, we're hooked!

Brad, ready to go

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

eagle's nest

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

the view from the front seat was just awesome

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

we started at the black dot & paddled all the way to where her pointer is!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

list 23 - things that kicked butt on our vacation

(a teaser of more blog posts to come!)

1. sea kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean (such an obvious response for #1)
2. being totally unreachable by the outside world for nine days
3. fresh Maine lobster
4. the zoo of towel animals we had going in our stateroom by the end of the cruise (that would be a monkey, elephant, stingray & ram/dog)
5. ordering a sugar-free & regular dessert every night, enjoying a bite of each & comparing the two
6. 65° in August
7. seeing the matching, perfectly lined up graves of the Titanic victims
8. climbing on the rocks in Peggy's Cove
9. awesome cannoli's at Mike's Pastry in Boston
10. holding a live lobster
11. Maine wild berry ice cream in Kennebunkport (I do realize that more than several of these have to do with food...)
12. Captain Espen Been
13. hearing about our waiter's wife & children back in India
14. gorgeous sunsets over the north Atlantic
15. my husband in a tux
16. the beautiful Boston Public Gardens
17. awesome salmon at McKelvies in Halifax
18. how surprisingly nice Halifax was
19. jeans & sweatshirts in August (really, the weather couldn't be beat)
20. quaint architecture in St. John, New Brunswick
21. being called "young person" a lot... made me feel better about getting carded at a restaurant the other day
22. calm seas
23. finishing an entire book
24. taking 1100 pictures
25. some good, quality time with Brad, sans BlackBerry

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Gilbert's Chowder House. Portland, Maine

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1. Amazing outdoor patio

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

2. Really good prices

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

3. Cannot be described in words lobster roll

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

3a. No seriously, I actually dream about this thing...

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

4.Your chowder awesomeness

Friday, September 3, 2010

Portland, Maine

When we pulled into Portland, Maine on a sunny Saturday morning, we weren't too sure what to expect. All we knew was that 1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had a home there & 2. there was excellent lobster to be had.

What we found was a quiet, pleasant (surprisingly hilly) place to walk around & explore for a few hours. After walking up to explore a church whose steeple we could see sticking up over the town, we wandered the narrow streets in the port area, just as stores were opening up for the day. We did find Mr. Longfellow's house (that would be it below), as well as some excellent lobster rolls (they deserve their own post). It was a great morning of exploring!

You all know I am a sucker for an awesome public library... Portland's did not disappoint!

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

City Hall

While in Portland, we discovered the Maine Red Claws, a minor league NBA team. The best part about the Red Claws? Their motto: "Join the crustacean nation." LOVE. IT.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Kennebunkport: By Land

Kennebunkport: By Water

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

Walker's Point

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

Captain John

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Christina Saull-All Rights Reserved

and finally, one very Jackie-O looking picture of me on the boat... ;)

Kennebunkport, Maine

I forgot to blog yesterday. Oops. How about a double dose today to make up for it?

Kennebunkport, Maine is one of the most charming places on earth. You can just feel the cute, the wealth, the "New England-ness," the love of the sea & the spray of the ocean air.

During our trip last month, we spent on afternoon in Kennebunkport. On the way there, we drove through Kennebunk & Kennebunk Beach (both equally charming).

Once we got there, we hopped on a lobster boat for a sail down the Kennebunkport River & out into the ocean where we got an up close view of Walker's Point, where President George H.W. Bush & the Mrs. reside during the summer months. We also got to see a lobster trap up hauled up & got to hold a live lobster. If that's not living it up on vacation, I'm not sure what is!

Following our little sail, we walked around the Dock Square, popping in & out of quaint shops filled with Christmas ornaments, candles, tee-shirts & kitsch. We stopped by "Maine's smallest ice cream shop" (it was quite tiny, just a small window) & had some fantastic Maine wildberry ice cream, before eventually making our way to the most touristy shop of all, where Brad picked up a "Kennebunkport 41 43" hat (that would be President George H.W. Bush (#41) & President George W. Bush (#43) for you non-politicos).

As we headed out of town back to Portland, we took one last swing by Walker's Point (trivia note: Grandpa Walker purchased the land many years ago for a whopping $20k) & the extravagant country club next door which was hosting a wedding. It's a place we both said we would love to vacation in, but honestly know that we would never be able to afford to do it right. Besides, the thought of Brad walking around with a popped collar on his polo shirt all summer is enough to make me lose my lunch.

Pictures coming in the new few posts....

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Lighthouse love

Monday, August 30, 2010

Hot Summer in the City

Some scenes from a New York City summer day

Friday, August 27, 2010

Five for Friday

1. Wohoo! We're back! Okay, actually that is not really something to celebrate, since it means we're no longer on vacation. But I guess you gotta work sometime, huh?

2. Our vacation to Maine & Canada was amazing! Really, amazing doesn't even cover it. The weather was crisp & cool the entire time (except for you Boston, what's with that heat?). The nature & scenery were gorgeous. We ate & laughed our way through New England & Canada, & threw in a sea kayaking trip of epic proportions along the way. I can't wait to share pictures with all of you - editing down the 1200 we took has been a bit of a bear!

3. As a gift from the vacation-gods, the weather in D.C. has been nothing short of fall-like this week. It is the only thing that made coming back from vacation a little easier. We'll return to summer on Sunday though, when it's supposed to be 90 degrees - ouch!

4. Honestly, who isn't excited about the football season being, literally, right around the corner? Our evenings have been filled with NFL pre-season games & college games start next week. There is nothing I love more than a Saturday tailgate!

5. One of the hardest things about being back from vacation is getting my sleep schedule back on track. For 10 days we went to bed when we wanted & (mostly) got up when we wanted. I have not been able to shake the grogginess this week. Hopefully a restful weekend will cure all ills.

Happy weekend people!

P.S. I know you've missed my 52 lists project - they'll be back next week!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Strolling the Brooklyn Bridge

Photo © Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

For all the times I have been to New York, & all the touristy stuff I have done, there was one thing I hadn't done: walked the Brooklyn Bridge.

So I picked the hottest day of the year to do so! Armed with my camera, a tank top & a $2 bottle of water, I headed from Manhattan across the river to Brooklyn.