Seafood Festival, Hampton Beach, NH

 

Labeled as "One of the Top 100 Events in North America" the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival just had their 22nd annual event. This three day festival marks the transition of moving into fall and signals the end of the summer.

The festival started as a means of promoting Hampton’s local restaurants and allowed you the opportunity to taste some of the local seafood specialties. Entrance fees are only five dollars per person per day and parking is free.

Of the several highlights of the festival we most enjoyed the Culinary Chef Demonstrations where we got to watch some of the local chefs prepare their signature dishes.

We also got to listen to some golden oldies played by a couple of bands called the Soulmate and the B Street Bombers. Lots of folks enjoyed the music and a bit of dancing. Another fun event was to watch was the all-you-can-eat lobster roll competition which exemplifies America’s fascination with gluttony… the winner consumed 14 lobster rolls in ten minutes!

Scattered throughout the festival were Arts & Crafts vendors promoting locally made products and hawking cheap bulk goods.

The local restaurants sell all kinds of delectable treats so you can try out the various seafood products. Prices for the seafood are very reasonable with whole grilled lobsters being sold for $10 each and if that was too much lobster you can just get claws for a buck each.

It is a fun to spend some time exploring the festival at Hampton Beach and partake in the food and entertainment along with the other 25,000 plus people in attendance. The evening culminates with a spectacular fireworks display.

Windjammer Festival, Camden, ME…

The three day Windjammer Festival is a community-led celebration of Camden, Maine’s maritime heritage and living traditions. The first day of festivities had the arrival of the windjammers along with a Maritime Heritage Fair with booths and displays of maritime history, traditions and skills. The first day ended at dark with the sky full of pyrotechnics as fireworks lit up the sky.

Saturday’s festival highlights  were the Lobster Crate Race and the Schooner Open House in Camden Harbor. The Lobster Crate Race is an event where lobster traps are strapped together end to end in the sea and children get the opportunity to run across them as fast as they can without falling into the water. Lots of fun was had by all watching these kids try their best to beat their rivals. A few even made it across several times without falling in the cold North Sea waters of Camden Harbor.

The Schooner open house was held on both Saturday and Sunday as festival goers were allowed the opportunity to board the schooners and windjammers. Once on board you could tour and explore the ships to better get a feel for what it is like to journey on these vessels. There are some really nice ships here that have been restored and are now active commercial cruise liners of sorts. They take 3-6 day sailing tours of coastal Maine. Pricing varies but seemed to be about $150 per day per person and the sleeping quarters are near as luxurious as the less than $100 per day price of commercial cruises on lines such as Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity.

Other Sunday highlights were the Sea Dog Show, the Build-a-Boat race (where contestants built a boat and tried to race to the finish without sinking – not all were successful), and the Boat Parade. The Boat Parade marked the end of the three day festival and what fun it is as the boats sail by one at a time while the harbor master tells details about each one of them. Great fun at this festival – Don’t miss it!!!

Mount Megunticook Hike, Camden ME…

There are over 30 miles of trails in Camden Hills State Park and one that shouldn’t be missed is the hike to the top of Mount Megunticook

Mount Battie are the top three hikes in the immediate area of Camden.

At 1,380 feet, Mount Megunticook is the highest mountain in the park and the second highest coastal mountain along the Atlantic. The tallest coastal peak in Maine can be found in Acadia National Park. This hike is only about 2.5 miles and covers just over 1200 of elevation.

The hike up Mount Megunticook starts from the RV campground. This trail is rated by the state of Maine as a 2 on a scale of 1-3. I have hiked a lot of trails and would have to say this trial was fairly difficult. Not only is it pretty steep since you will be hiking up nearly 1200 feet of elevation in the first mile but the trial itself is mostly rocky.The rocks are mostly all rounded and not angular making placing your footing all the more critical.

 

After taking about an hour on a relentless climb winding our way up through woodlands one mile to the summit of Mount Megunticook the trail becomes a series of plateaus until you reach the Ocean View Lookout at 1300'. The Ocean View Lookout at Mount Megunticook provides a really beautiful panoramic view of Penobscot Bay including Camden's picturesque harbor filled with all the windjammers and lobster boats. It makes this ragged 2.5 mile worth the trip.

There is an alternative to hiking this trail for those with health issues as the road up to the top of Mount Battie a has similar view to the one you see at Mount Megunticook with a whole lot less effort…

Saratoga Springs, NY Horse Racing Track…

Saratoga Springs, New York (simply Saratoga as the locals call it) has a slogan that is well known around these parts “Saratoga is the August place to be.” Why you may ask? Not only is the weather picture perfect in this cool little town on the southern edge of the Adirondack Mountains, but it is also the time of the year the ponies are running…

The Saratoga Springs, NY Horse Racing Track called the Saratoga Race Course opened In 1863 and then moved the following year to where it is today. The track is not only the the oldest continuously-operating horse track in the United States is also the oldest of any sporting event of any kind in the USA. The track today is opened for six weeks in the summer and attracts the top jockeys and thoroughbreds in the land. It is host to the Travers Stakes which is said to be the most important summer thoroughbred race.

Besides the history one can enjoy the sights and sounds of the track on a racing day as the sophisticated ladies are sporting their racing garb and their large, showy hats. You can smell the bratwursts on the grill alongside the sweet smelling caramelized onions and green peppers. Cold draft Labatt's Blue on tap helps complete the day at the track. So go to the track and bet an exacta, quinella, or daily double and simply enjoy the day…

After you have had your fill of horse racing go into town and park free behind the police station and check out the post racing action by visiting one of the many pubs, taverns or restaurants in town. There are many great little spots in town so just dive in… Some of our favorites ranged from the upscale The Parting Glass - Irish Pub and Restaurant to a little dive bar called Tin 'N' Lint. Where ever you end up you will have a great time….

Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon…

Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of the Allegheny Plateau in the northern part of the state of Pennsylvania is a spectacular canyon known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Not to be confused with the Grand Canyon of Arizona but this canyon offers a level of beauty all its own.

There are two places you can go to view this geologic wonder: one is to go to Leonard Harrison State Park and the other is to visit Colton Point State Park. These two state parks are dedicated to preserving the area around the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Leonard Harrison State Park is on the eastern rim of the canyon while Colton State park is on the west rim of the canyon. Both of these parks were originally built by the CCC back in the mid-1930s and they both offer extensive hiking and biking opportunities appealing to all levels of outdoor enthusiasts.

     

From the rim you are treated to various scenic vistas that each offer a different spectacular view into the glacially-carved canyon. At its deepest point the canyon is 1450 feet deep and but is only 800-foot deep between the rims of the state parks.

Stay for a while and enjoy the lighting that ever changing as the sun peaks from behind the clouds and then retreats back for a while. Immerse yourself into the history and geology of the area and transcend yourself back into time to truly enjoy your time spent here.

Originally known as Pine Creek Gorge, it is the home to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania where it took thousands of years of erosion by active glaciers for Pine Creek to carve the wonderful Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

Heyduke says check it out!!!

Bullfrog Brewery - Williamsport Pennsylvania

Williamsport Pennsylvania, where every little league player dreams to end up playing baseball or softball in the Little League World Series. However, there is more to Williamsport Pennsylvania than little league.

Williamsport is home to many people of wealth and their abundant million plus dollar restored homes. These homes and their varied architectural styles are can be found along fourth street but something else can be found on Fourth Street – the Bullfrog Brewery – a Road Treat.

Bullfrog Brewery, on 229 West Fourth St. was founded in 1996 and was named small business of the year recently. This award winning brewpub is more of an upscale microbrewery than I generally like but it does sport some nice brews.

We sampled three of the beers. First we tried the Billtown Blonde ale. This is a lightly colored ale with a smooth clean and crisp flavor at about 5.5% alcohol. We both liked this brew and my bride decided to have a pint of it. Next we tried the the Apricot Wheat beer since we had one in Spartanburg that we both loved (it was actually peach but close enough). The beer had no real flavor of apricot (a negative) and was a bit bitter. So this one was not to be a choice for a pint. The third one we tried was my favorite. The Edgar IPA is a hoppy and lively beer with just a hint of bitterness (8% alcohol). The beers went really well with a Rueben sandwich we ordered to split which came with a side of sweet potato fries. The sandwich was great!

The place is a bit pricier than I would prefer it to be but on this day we splurged since it was International Beer Day . In case you didn’t know International Beer Day is a worldwide celebration of beer held annually on August 5th at local pubs, bars and breweries all over the world.

The Green Parrot Bar

The Green Parrot Bar located in a building that has been around since the late 1800’s can be found in downtown Key West on 601 Whitehead Street. What you see when you take off you sunglasses and first walk into this bar is a large square bar surrounded with people. Above them is a large multicolored parachute lit up with green Christmas lights. There is an additional smaller bar in the back and between these two bars is a stage where the have live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as other occasional days.

They say that the Green Parrot Bar is “a sunny place for shady people” and after spending some time there they made believers out of us. There are some real interesting characters that call the Green Parrot Bar their regular haunt. Also the large wooden parrot found just above the main bar has a caption that reads “no sniveling” – what a great place this is. It is, in our opinion, the best place to go for a high energy fun time in Key West.

As with any Key West establishment expect to pay more for anything in downtown Key West when compared to crossing the bridge north towards Stock Island or Cow Key. They do have a happy hour from 4-7 pm and during this time they have free self serve popcorn. During many of the live music events they will have a sound check early show and a later main show. Since we are not the night owls we once were this offers us a fun experience during the early evening.

The vibe and feel of this place allows for an assorted collection of regulars mixed with tourists to come together and listen to some live music which for us createed a very fun filled evening. We got to listen to a band called The Legendary JC's which was a 7 member soul band along with a fellow who could flat out play the brass. He even broke out a tuba while playing a few songs and made his way through the crowd. We decided that with the vibe, energy and fun we had there that this too was another Key West Road Treat! Heyduke says check it out…