Yesterday, Dad and I headed down to Portland, Maine, where he was getting a flight down to Florida; he drove the way down (about a 5 1/4 hr drive). He and Mom have driven that before and so we didn’t need the GPS unit for that. After he left, my plan was to head up to Camden, where I was planning to go for supper at a restaurant called Paolina’s Way, owned by the sister-in-law of Guiding Light‘s Orlagh Cassidy (Doris).

Now, to get there is the fun part – especially as the GPS wasn’t working properly. I had done a software update as the device required. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t complete the updates properly. So, device was acting FUBARish (kept resetting itself, wouldn’t give me directions, delayed time locating GPS signal sometimes). So, I ended up using the Maps application on my Blackberry Curve. Which meant using data outside of Canada. I’m crossing my fingers that the data charges won’t be thru the roof.

And since it’s now May, it’s also the early part of construction season on the highways, so detours in some spots as ramps in some areas were being worked on. Hangs head in frustration.I got lost. So what should have taken 1h 50 min, took almost 3 and a bit hours, including twice to ask for actual directions – since I didn’t want to leave my phone running up data as it searched for locations. Though the scenery going up Atlantic Hwy 1 was pretty, it was much longer than I’d planned. The weather, though was quite nice and sunny – 62-64F. For most of the trip up, I had the window open and the tunes from the car’s CD player rollin’.

However long the trip to get to Camden seemed, it was well worth the effort. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Coming into the small seaside town, the narrow streets and maritime atmosphere was so relaxing. As someone who grew up near the ocean, the salt-sea air is soothing. In the harbour were a bunch of tall ships – schooners, mostly. There was the Grace Bailey, Merchantile, and the smaller Mistress – each part of the Maine Windjammer cruise tall ships. There were also some other schooners docked in the port. I took a walk around the docks, taking some shots of ships, the bay and the surrounding area.

Camden Harbor, Camden, ME. 12th May 2011. © J. Lynn Stapleton

Tall ship schooners Merchantile (left) and Grace Bailey (right), Camden, ME. © J. Lynn Stapleton

Tall ship schooners, Camden, ME. © J. Lynn Stapleton

As I walked along the parking lot facing the harbour, I could hear the rumblings of a waterfall and I went to investigate, as I love waterfalls. From a riverbed that pooled at the top, allowed for a gorgeous waterfall on two sides. Both were really beautiful. The first is the side falls view, then the front falls view.

Waterfall I, Camden, ME., 12th May 2011. © J. Lynn Stapleton

Waterfall II, Camden, ME., 12th May 2011. © J. Lynn Stapleton

I was getting hungry, so I headed over to the aforementioned restuarant, Paolina’s Way for a bite to eat. And by a bite, I mean had good sized servings of amazing food. Started with slices of an Italian bread with an olive oil and spiced dip, a lovely bowl of soup, and a shrimp flatbread pizza (one of several types of their Italian flatbread pizzas), with a glass of white Pinto Grigio. The pizza was fantastic – I’ve had nothing like it before, but it was huge (it only comes in 13″ variety, so if you’re ordering – share it!). I ended up taking leftovers of that.

Paolina’s Way, Camden, ME. 12th May 2011. © J. Lynn Stapleton

Supper at Paolina’s Way, Camden, ME. 12th May 2011. © J. Lynn Stapleton

After the very filling food, I went out and took some more pictures around the falls, and out over the harbour. Then I happened to notice some ducks, so I wandered over the little pedway between Mechanic Street and Tannery Lane; there were probably eight or nine ducks of different colours there. I had some crumbs with me, so I dropped some down to them, watching as they rushed after each piece. It was a great relaxing, peaceful moment. I wandered around the small downtown area before heading back to the car as it was starting to get darker and I had a drive ahead of me.

Camden Harbor, Camden, ME. 12th May 2011. © J. Lynn Stapleton

The adventures in non-GPS driving continued, as I worked to make my way back on Route 1, driving for quite some time before stopping at a Circle K convenience store to get the best way to get back to the I-95. Found way along, from 1 to 1A which took me all the way to Bangor. Actually, it took me over to Brewer, since I seemed to have missed the right exit. I’d been yawning most of the way back, and I knew there was no way I’d safely make another three hours of driving to home. Went into the McDonald’s in Brewer, got directions back to Bangor, and found myself a bed at the EconoLodge. Exhaustedly, I briefly checked email and twitter, before hitting the sack.

This morning, after getting ready and a bit of rerouting, I got onto the I-95 North and headed home. Breathe and relax.