Multi-Generational Travel

Planning a family vacation? Will there be multiple generations who may or may not live together all the time? No matter the reason you're all traveling together, there are ways to make the trip enjoyable for everyone!

Things to consider before even considering a multi-generational family vacation:

1. What's the budget? Keep vacation plans within everyone's budget. If it's a stretch for some members, consider those who are better able to pay helping out others with everyone pitching in a base or set amount of money. If you're not willing to help foot the bill, don't insist on a luxury vacation when other family members have lost their jobs or have 3 kids in college at once or are on a fixed income!
   
2. When can everyone travel? If school, work or other obligations are in the mix, pick the time (season) that impacts the least number of your group. That may mean someone has to take vacation time from work even if everyone does not. Try to not pick a time when some of the family are under a lot of stress due to deadlines.
   
3. Are there 'issues' with family members who do not get along? How will these be resolved? Some ideas: rent more than one car; rent more than one house if you are going to get family-style housing; plan 'days apart' where individuals can go off on their own.

Once you've got your budget decided you can think about where to go. Some options for how to decide:

1. Pick a place everyone already loves.
2. Pick a place no one has ever been.
3. Pick multiple places with a variety of options for 'things to do'.

If you can easily come to a decision, good for you! If there is dissension and the different ideas are all similarly-priced, put the top 3 in a hat and vow to go with the idea that gets selected.



Once you've decided where to go, you have to decide how to get there! Some family members may be nearby, others may need to travel to get to the destination. Do you all go together or arrive separately and meet up at the destination? Keeping in mind a comfortable amount of space for everyone and room for the luggage, you might need 2 or more cars or a large van. If renting a large van is in the plans, be sure it will 'fit' wherever you are going. Will you be able to drive it on narrow roads, off road, etc?



At this point, you really need a 'secretary', someone who is in charge of making the reservations and ensuring they are all up to date. One person can make the hotel reservations, plane reservations, car reservations, activity reservations, etc. Individuals should make plans on their own for someone to watch their home, get their mail, mow & water the lawn or shovel the driveway and walk the dog or feed the fish. (BTW, the secretary should be amply rewarded for an outstanding job! Don't take this person for granted or you'll be sleeping in the car!)

Making plans:



You'll need everyone's help in making lists of things to do while you're on vacation. But remember to plan down time as well. You don't need to do everything together everyday. It can be better to go off separately and then meet up for dinner and share stories.

Are there multiple levels of ability in your group? Infants or toddlers who will need regular naps? Grandparents who may (or may not!) need accommodations suited to lowered mobility? Teens who need a little semblance of privacy? Parents who might need a break from the kids?

Take these into consideration when reserving your accommodations. Will everyone's (or nearly everyone's) needs be met? Is there a good compromise if not all the needs can be met?

Ideas for accommodations for multi-generational vacations include:

• a suite of rooms at a hotel with pool in an area where teens can go out on their own and everyone can feel safe walking to nearby dining, shopping, activities and more;
• a rental house on a lake or the ocean or in the woods;
• a townhouse in a city;
• a B&B where you can rent the entire property but still have all the amenities of breakfast being served, housekeeping and someone who knows where the 'good stuff' can be found;
• a couple of RV's can provide you with transportation, dining and sleeping arrangements;
• a campground where you can have a group location.
  

Be sure to plan time for grandparents and grandchildren to go off on their own. It's the perfect time for the grands to tell the younger ones, 'Your parents were just like that!' And to share stories that need to be kept for future generations.

Make sure you take a lot of photos and videos.

Decide in advance how to pay for group activities. Will everyone pay for themselves, will you have a group kitty for group activities? Will one person be responsible for paying at restaurants out of a group kitty?



The most important thing you can do in planning a multi-generational vacation is to keep the lines of communication open. Talk regularly about your plans so everyone is together on the planning. Never make assumptions about who is going to do what. Be sure that money doesn't become an issue by being clear about who is paying for what.

With clear communication, advance planning and a positive outlook a multi-generational vacation can be the stuff of years of happy memories and, 'Remember whens...'

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

They could charge a toll for this road!

Want a little adrenaline rush without having to find a roller coaster or an amusement park? This is the road for you. I wish I could have taken pix as we were headed straight down the 'S' curves to Lake Elsinore, but I was holding on for dear life. And, yes, I was in the car, not on a motorcycle!

There are 7 switchbacks on this road and, in some cases, you could almost meet up with yourself if you were going too fast (you could also meet up with your untimely demise if going too fast!)

This was one turnout of many that were along the road. Just pull over, let the fast drivers zip by and then you can enjoy the ride!

Oh, and don't miss the side of the road grocery store that sells turkey jerky. (Along with the usual beef and some very odd others- ostrich jerky, anyone?) Of course I should have written it down because now I can't find the name of the place. It's the only one on that road, tho.


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Excavating the past

In the ongoing 'new flooring project' we're beginning to be amazed at what we're finding in a 'relatively' new house. ('Our' side of the building was built in 1988, your side of the building, dear guest, was built in 1888.)

The dining room simply has the plywood subfloor. The kitchen, on the other hand, well! First there is the blue and white vinyl you see in the background. Then a layer of lauan. Then, startlingly, ANOTHER layer of vinyl. What we fondly refer to as 'the bathroom floor' as this was the same flooring we had in our bathroom (and it was also in the laundry room).

Under that is the plywood. Except, in the middle of the kitchen, there is no 'bathroom flooring' there is only plywood. (Hmmm. Did that get torn out to access the plumbing for the sink in the island?)

We're also kind of curious what caused the round tears we've found in the yellow vinyl. (Like little crop circles.) Some checking around and here's what we know...once upon a time there WAS a bathroom where the kitchen is now. It was completely removed, the room was totally gutted and refitted as a kitchen.

The lauan was put down and the new blue & white flooring along with all of the cabinets was put in on top. And now we are taking it back down to the plywood. To put in the new bamboo floors.

We've already opened up a box of the new flooring and pulled a few planks out to get a feel for how it will look. Sweet!

More pix as we progress.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Rock rides a bicycle

Not exactly the most catchy title, is it? This is the sort of thing we get up to when it's quiet around here. Today we drove up to Owl's Head to renew our membership at the museum and to drop off some books we were donating to their library.

We wandered in to see what's new and we came across this very small exhibit of 'bicycle art' created by Cy Klausmeyer as part of the Waterfall Arts' Eco-Motion Interactive Street Sculpture program.

Here now, the interactive part:




More interaction with the exhibits:




By the way, I was reminded I have to tell you that is a fly bicycle, not a fairy bicycle. Look closely and you will see the 'eyes' on the front. Got that? Fly, not fairy. He is such a good sport.

Some other interesting exhibits:



This is a 3200 lb (yes, pound) motorcycle-car. It runs on 2 wheels like a motorcycle but it has outrigger wheels (training wheels?) for slower speeds.

If you go on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can go in the shop and get up close to the planes that are being worked on. In this case, just the engine. This one was completely disassembled, repaired and reassembled in 3 hours. It's interesting to get up close to the propellers as you can see the individual strips of wood laminated together. If you're lucky, no one will be around except the folks working on the planes and you can have a good natter with them!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

The New Door, La Puerta Nueva, La Porte Nouvelle, La Porta Nuova

No matter how you say it, we're getting a new entry door!

Sometime during the late fall we noticed the door was no longer staying shut on it's own. Doing a little scouting we realized the door needed a lot of work and we had just about used our last resource to fix it one more time.

Voila! New door.

Right now it's waiting for paint and a slightly warmer day for installation. We'll put in a new lockset as well.

Interesting feature with this new door is a built-in shade. There's a little slider on the inside that we can adjust the shade with- open, closed, half-way. It'll help on those summer days (that seem such a long way off right now!) when the sun is baking that side of the house.

More pix on installation day!

It starts off so easily with a simple screwdriver and a bright, sunny day.

Then there's the realization that the nice, new, square door does not fit into the old, bent, warped door frame and a sawzall is needed. (It's always a happy day when a sawzall is needed! Ask sometime about the photo we have of Rock, the sawzall and the Thanksgiving turkey.)

Oh, and did I mention the mess? Sawdust everywhere. Insulation everywhere. Bits and pieces everywhere. Still, it's a lovely, sunny day out there. You can almost see the snow melting as the day progresses. (This day went on for 8 hours! The snow melted back about 2 feet.)

Worth the wait! It's a beautiful new door, with a new lockset and the neat blinds between the glass so we can cut down on the blazing sun in the summer. (Yes, that IS brand new snow falling outside on this, the first day of Spring!)

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

The Liver & Onions Diaries

Maine's Diners, Drive ins and Dives or, how we found bliss in comfort food.

In the past 6 years we have sampled many of the local diners along the Rt 1 corridor. Rock is a diner aficionado. And, his favorite food is liver and onions. Liver and onions is a basic diner food, at least around here. Because I suffered thru liver & onions as a kid (sorry, Mom, you know I hated it then and I still hate it now!) it's not something we ever have at home. Thus, the great diner eat-out experiment.

My diner food is a BLT. It's basic and it covers all of my favorite food groups- namely salt and fat. Oh, sure, there's the tomato. And the lettuce. And the bread. But, face it, it's all about the bacon. Salt & fat.

On Monday we went to the Brunswick Diner, Tuesday it was the Miss Portland Diner and Wednesday was the Miss Wiscasset Diner. We've already sampled Becky's Diner, Moody's Diner, the Ship's Chow Hall and the Maine Diner.

Here, then, is our run down of the latest diners and how they handled both liver and onions and the BLT:

(I'll start with the liver & onions because it was the hardest meal to find on the menu.) For overall looks, taste and heartiness the Brunswick Diner wins hands down. Their liver & onions serving was topped with bacon, slathered with sauted onions and filled half the plate.

The best BLT? Well, I was really partial to Becky's Diner. And then we went to the Brunswick Diner. They have nice, wide strips of bacon, cooked just right. Not too crispy, not too soggy. Good bread, too. A little too much mayo. Uh oh, then we went to the Miss Portland Diner. Great bread, bacon cooked just right and a touch of mayo.

Now I'm having to start to take notes! The Miss Wiscasset Diner was a letdown. I ordered a grilled cheese w/ bacon & tomato. Half the sandwich had no bacon. Well, what's the sense? It was grilled just right, tho. But, sorry, if half the sandwich is missing the bacon, it just doesn't cut it. No liver & onions on the menu. Maybe they have it as a special.

Overall?

Best liver & onions: the Brunswick Diner

Best BLT: a tie among the Brunswick Diner, Miss Portland Diner, Kopper Kettle and China Dine-ah

Best onion rings: the Brunswick Diner

Best sweet potato fries: Miss Portland Diner

Best looking diner: Miss Portland Diner

Best ambiance/friendliness: Ship's Chow Hall (Wiscasset)

Best looking desserts: Moody's Diner

Best value: Miss Portland (our check each day was $20 without tip, but Miss Portland included a salad and rolls with the liver & onions)

Best tater tots: Montsweag Roadhouse
Most precariously perched diner: A1 Diner in Gardiner
Diner with the best name: China Dine-ah
Best bacon: Kopper Kettle 
 

Keep reading for more travels...

On the road in 2012

Last night we went to Reunion Station in Damariscotta (just off Rt 1, on the left, headed north, so it counts!) This is a couple of converted railway cars, but it definitely fits the 'diner' category. We were probably the only non-Mainers in there. For those who think the Maine accent is gone, think again!

I didn't have the BLT and there were no liver & onions on the menu, so we just picked at random. It's good, homestyle cooking with a lot of train memorabilia all over.

If you don't want to drive that far, don't forget that the Montsweag Roadhouse is about 30 minutes north of here on Rt 1. Only place in Maine we've found tater tots on the menu!

And yet another one- Sunrise Cafe, right here in Freeport! Excellent BLT. Rock loved the meatloaf sandwich. Suggest skipping the onion rings.

Liver and onions at the A1 Diner in Gardiner. (Ignore the half-eaten pickle please, Rock dropped it as I snapped the pic!)

Happy Spring! Today we went to the A1 Diner in Gardiner. Rock got his usual liver & onions and I went with the BLT and onion rings. Rock thinks adding a couple of slices of bacon to the liver & onions would have made it perfect. I loved my BLT. Bacon in every bite! The onion rings were good and there was a mess of them! If you're headed toward I-95 on I-295 from here, it's worth the 10 minute detour!

Yes, it appears to be balanced on stilts between the building in the back and the sidewalk. Check out the 'flood yardstick' that was posted in the parking lot 'dowstairs' next to the building and you can see why!

That 29', 100-year flood mark was about even with the bottom of the diner. Stilts indeed!

On the road in 2013:

We hit a truck stop in Bangor- Dysart's. Exit 180 off I 95, follow the sign, .1 miles. Great service & food. Definitely a locals' place, the waitresses knew almost everyone. Had our usual liver & onions and BLT. Good choices all around. No room for pie, but desserts were definitely going to all the tables around us. Maybe next time!

Dysarts Truck Stop

Not a diner but a food cart in Westbrook after getting the Christmas tree...Open until 2 AM! Burgers, fries, hot dogs and clam cakes!

Don's Lunch Wagon in Westbrook

On the road again in 2014!

So far this year we've hit the Kopper Kettle in Topsham and the China Dine-ah in China.

Kopper Kettle has excellent bacon! Good and thick and the bread was toasted to perfection for my BLT. No liver & onions on the menu that day but Rock had a burger that was yum as well.

Then a day trip to China and Waterville. (More on that later!) Stopped at the China Dine-ah where we did have liver & onions and a BLT.

Excellent service all around, really friendly crowd and the interior was completely done in place specifically for that location. Great wide pine boards everywhere.

Very good onion rings! The BLT was yum and goes right up to the top of the list (see above). The liver & onions only needed bacon strips on top to make it perfect.

Great drive in the fall!

Interesting use of your standard glacial rock in the yard.

Oh, did I forget to mention the pie?

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032
www.whitecedarinn.com

A Coastal Companion- A Year in the Gulf of Maine...

Small world alert here...in the mail yesterday was this great book: A Coastal Companion: A Year in the Gulf of Maine, from Cape Cod to Canada.

Well, I was puzzled at first as I hadn't ordered anything lately. (Surprise there!) Inside was a notecard with a note from the author, Catherine Schmitt, letting me know she'd found out we're cousins! She sent along the book as an intro. Wow!

If you've been keeping track, this is the second cousin I've found out lives in Maine! Seems this is the place to which my enate family migrates.

To get a copy of the book for yourself, you can go to or contact Sherman's Bookstores in Maine. They have copies at all of the stores, or they can order them for you. You can also order books online from them.

There are beautiful illustrations throughout done by Kimberleigh Martul-March and Margaret Campbell.

Catherine has also written articles that have appeared in Working Waterfront News, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors and other science-related publications.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032