The One Where I Had Dinner With The President.. And a few other random thoughts

If you have been reading my blog this week, you know that I have been on vacation in Ogunquit, ME one of my favorite places in the world. While we were there we visited Portland, Freeport, Kennebunkport, York, Wells, and lots of other places in between. When we visit Kennebunkport we always make time for a leisurely drive down Ocean Ave where there are some spectacular homes with some of the most gorgeous ocean views. One of those homes located on Ocean Ave is the home of former President George Bush and his wife Barbara. Here's a picture of their lovely home.
We've joked every year about how much fun it would be to actually run into the Bushes somewhere around town, but then again, what are the chances of running into a former president? Apparently better than I thought. Wednesday night we decided on dinner in Perkins Cove, of all the places in Ogunquit, Perkins Cove is probably one of our most favorite hang outs. There are several restaurants in Perkins Cove along with some cute shops selling pottery, jewelery and of course cheesy t-shirts. Lots of lobster boats, sailboats and some of the prettiest gardens I have ever seen.

So that night we decided on Barnacle Billy's, it has some great views of the cove along with amazing food. My mom always orders the crab cakes there even though I tease her that Maine is not necessarily known for its crab, but she insists they are still outstanding. It was while we were waiting for our salads to arrive that my mom says to me "Oh look it's Barbara Bush" and she gives me a funny smile that I read as there's a Barbara Bush look alike. And then all of a sudden people are clapping and my mom's look changes and I realize quickly that the Bushes are in fact going to be joining us for dinner. Okay so you all know I didn't actually dine with the Bushes but they did sit down about 30 feet from us. I was able to snap a couple very poor pictures of President Bush as he walked by our table and then another one of their table while they ate. But of course that was it, I certainly wasn't going to make a spectacle of myself and I wasn't exactly sure what the secret service might do to me if I got too close.

















Apparently Barnacle Billy's is a favorite spot of our former president as I noticed several pictures of him throughout the years dining there.

Oddly enough on this night I almost met my demise. Ogunquit has a great public transportation system and they like to shuttle beach goers via trolley. The trolleys all have "Olly" names I don't know why but throughout town you can see Dolly, Holly, Lolly and so forth. Well on this particular night perhaps it was my excitement over seeing a former president or perhaps I was focusing too much on the picture I was about to take, I was almost run over by a Jolly the trolley.

We are home now and I must confess that while it is great to be home, I miss Ogunquit already and cannot wait to get back. And one final thought, a pet peeve actually why is that the restrooms at thruway rest stops are always at the far end from the entrance of the building? I'm stopping because I have to go! I am not interested in a happy meal from McDonalds.

When is 35 cents worth a dollar?

Today we decided to take a little road trip, to view a couple light houses, do some sightseeing and just be tourists. We wandered towards York beach which tends to be very touristy and it made us quite thankful that while we enjoyed driving through this town, we were not in fact staying there. There is a huge beach in York that must run for 5 miles. The only parking at this beach is by parking meter. So as my mom and I were stuck in traffic, a beach goer stops at my car window and asks "Can you spare some change?" So I reached into my change tray and handed him what I had only about 35 cents in dimes and nickels. To which he says "thanks for your generosity, here's a dollar." He then hands me a gold coin, a Jefferson 1 dollar coin. I had no idea these things even existed. After he walked a way I felt a little guilty that I didn't search harder for more change for him.

Beautiful Place by the Sea

I'm currently on vacation in Ogunquit, ME. This happens to be one of my most favorite places to visit. It is hard not to relax here. I tend to be pretty frugal as a rule but for this trip we splurge with an ocean front room. Today I woke up, looked out my window and watched the waves of the Atlantic ocean crashing on to the shore in front of my window. I sipped coffee, both hot and cold watching those same waves and marveled at how the beach in front of me disappeared as the tide rolled in. I started reading a new book, which I could only describe as a "beach read" which was perfect because hey I'm at the beach. I belong by the water, there is not one other place that I feel so relaxed and refreshed at the same time and this is only day one of my vacation.

The one where I check the locks

I think about Lot's wife often. I'm talking about Lot from the bible, Lot's story is told in Genesis. I don't think about Lot very often, just his unnamed wife. I'm sure she had a name, and I'm sure it was quite lovely however the bible never tells us what is was. The reason I think of her often is because as she and Lot and their family were fleeing Sodom she did what the Lord told them not to do, she looked back on the city they were told to leave and because of this she became a pillar of salt.

I am not a biblical scholar, nor do I pretend to be one, but I'm pretty sure the lesson from Lot's wife is that we need to obey God's commands, however I wonder if Mrs. Lot was not a little like me and dealing with OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I dislike this about myself and I'm really trying to work on it. I wouldn't describe myself as over the top when it comes to OCD, I'm certainly not like the character Monk played byTony Shalhou and I'm not even in the same ball park as Howie Mandel however daily as I drive away from my house I look over my shoulder multiple times to make sure the garage door did actually close. I've watched it close, told myself it was closed and then I find myself circling the neighborhood to make sure that yes it is in fact closed. I do this with locks on my doors, windows, the oven and stove.

The blinds in my bedroom have to be a certain way, and I cannot stand seeing the warning label at the bottom of the blinds reminding me of the strangling hazard that blinds can be to small children, it's hard for me to relax in bed seeing the bright yellow warning label. I've often driven back to my office hours after I've left to make sure that I did in fact turn off my space heater, of course I could contact campus security and have them check for me but that would mean 1. admitting I have a contraband heater in my office and 2. admitting that I can't remember if I turned it off or not. Thankfully, it turns out I have always turned it off and the building where I work has never been in danger of burning down, at least not at my hands.

Over the years, my chronic checking has been getting worse however I am reminding myself regularly out loud that almost 100% of the time the iron is off, and so is the stove, the doors are locked and the garage is closed. I think it's working but I may go check just one more time. Kidding.