From Club member and UPS Airbus First Officer Eric Grubb -
With family living in Maine, we decided to schedule the Lance for our summer vacation to Maine. We experienced mild weather, with highs in the mid 70's and lows at night of 50 degrees--not bad for the end of July!
We were staying with my in-laws, who live 35 miles north of Portland on one of the many fingers that extends out from Maine's beautiful coastline. We initially flew into Wiscasset, which is known as "the prettiest town in Maine." Later, we repositioned the airplane to Portland, which gave us an excuse to go for an airplane ride along the beautiful coastline past Boothbay Harbor, Bath, Brunswick, and Freeport.
The Lance was a great airplane for the trip. With little kids, we bulked-out the airplane long before we got close to the weight limit. Our destination was about 800 miles from Bowman, so we stopped in Wilkes Barre (Wyoming Valley Airport) for lunch a little over 1/2 way. The Wyoming Valley Airport was a good place to stop, as it had The Colonial Family Restaurant and Pancake House directly across the street from the FBO. The airport sits about 5 miles from Wilkes Barre International and is located between the Susquehanna River and some large mountain ridges.
The view from the ramp at Wyoming Valley Airport.
A great view of downtown Portland, with it's seaport and the Portland Airport. At Portland, the ocean was obscured by dense fog.
Approaching our destination, the in-laws house off the nose, with the Brunswick Naval Air Station on the left (big P-3 base).
My sister-in-law celebrated her 10th year wedding anniversary by hosting a Lobster and Clam Bake. A friend of theirs has a side business doing cookouts--we were treated to live lobster, clams, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, hard-boiled eggs (I don't get it) and hotdogs, all cooked by the bonfire and steam coming off the seaweed.
We got to leave the kids behind and spend a few days in Boothbay Harbor. A friend from Louisville recommended a bed-an-breakfast that sits on top of the hill overlooking the harbor. You could spend hours watching the sailboats, lobster boats, and charter boats heading in and out of the harbor. The mosquitoes were fierce, so you couldn't got outside without a good dose of deet.
Above is the Nibble Lighthouse, located at York Beach toward the southern end of Maine.
A view from York Beach, where we got to spend an afternoon.
Above is Red's Eats, which has been voted numerous times as having the Country's best Lobster Rolls. We went by it almost every day, so we finally indulged on our last night in town.
The Lobster Roll was AWESOME! It was a pricey $14.99, but was worth every penny. Mine had two whole tails, a claw sticking out the side, and was stuffed with smaller chunks of meat. They don't use any fillings...just gobs of lobster on a toasted bun. Red's Eats is only 4 miles from the Wiscasset Airport, so they get alot of people flying to get a lobster roll or fried seafood. The restaurant sits right on US Route 1, so it stays busy.
Staying on the coast, Lobster was almost everywhere you looked. This year, supply was down so it was a little more expensive at $5.75 a pound. In the past, it was usually $4.
Getting ready to leave Portland, it was difficult deciding which airplane to bring back. We took the Lance, as we figured the Gulfstream or Falcon wouldn't fit in the hangar back home.
On the return trip, we stopped in Bulter, PA, just north of Pittsburgh for a good lunch. Great airport restaurant for anybody heading up that way!
