Sunday, February 24, 2013

"Damn the torpedoes…"

Sez Tom (of Scooter by the Sea fame),

"We're going riding".

I tried to remind Tom that Farragut said that, 

1) While being lashed to a mast with no danger of falling down, and

2) while being in the deep south where snow is as rare as palm trees in Maine, and

3) I went to Farragut Junior High School and didn't enjoy it, so "Good Ole" David wasn't my favorite person to quote.

But, it didn't get through.  So, To market, to market….


Of course, Tom's right… After all, Winter is a fact of life in Maine, and if you waited for "good" weather, your bones would meld and fuse together; your scooter rust away – plastic parts and all.

Oh, well, half a league, half a league, half a league onward.

But then, winter, I'm convinced, is why we have little, wonderful "Mom & Pop" breakfast joints scattered throughout the state.  Fortuitously, they happen to be just far enough to enjoy a ride and close enough so that you don't get cold while getting there.

Neat, eh?

Sunrise Cafe.

Delightful little place, on Route One, almost in Freeport.  (Actually, it IS in Freeport, but not IN Freeport, if you catch my drift).  Here, you can stuff yourself with a big eggs-and-bacon-and-potatoes and all that kind of stuff, for less than 6-bucks… A cuppa Joe – refilled a few times, and a muffin, Thhiiisss Big, came to $2.49.  Can you live with that?

And, it's a cozy, little place…


With little "thingys" on the wall… either on shelves, or painted right on…


One of those almost-gone places where you can sit and linger without getting dagger-stares from the staff…


In short, it's Tom and my – and anyone else with the proverbial "Ounce of Brains," kind of place.


Once fortified, and ready to go, we headed back south to the Freeport Book Shoppe, a BIG house stuffed (no other word) with any and every kind of book you could ever want.  Now, here was a stop worthwhile.


Tom picked two books.  I couldn't decide between 15 different books all of which were screaming at me to "Buy Me!, Buy Me!", which resulted in my leaving the joint sans anyone of them.  Ahh…. wot kin I say?


Our last stop before heading home, was at the home of The World's Largest Globe: "Eartha", located at the fabulous Delorme Company building.  But don't walk in there without a goodly amount of cash, or a fresh credit card.



A 41 and a half feet in diameter, three-dimensional globe, that is tilted just-right and rotates…. Now, what more could you ask for, except...


 Books and maps of every conceivable city, state or country...

 Globes of every size and shape - including inflatable globes… and a never-ending assortment of travel equipment from GPS receivers to computer programs that allow you to take a trip, track it on your GPS, then download it onto a map so others can follow where you went.


Enough!

Our trusty steads were getting antsy, so we left, mounted up and zoomed away...



It was such a bee-you-tea-full day, that I couldn't resist stopping along the route home and taking some snapshots that, in some small measure, helps one understand why you never leave….







Heigh Ho Honda…. Away!


6 comments:

  1. I guess that Elite is not so bad. You kind of give it an Italian flair. If I ever get to the point of riding again...and affording a new scooter... I'm going to try out one of these first.

    Go man go! Enjoy that ride!

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    1. Thanks Martha, for the kind words and yes, it is a fun machine. While you're here, let me congratulate you on how well you have handled a very, very stressful situation, and want you to know that I, my BRW and Toffee, (the Maine Coon) as well as Kitty (the Texas shorthair who-knows-what-breed) are routing for you.
      Ciao. Mike.

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    2. Thanks, Mike and BRW and Toffee and Kitty! I'm changing course as of today. I think it's the right thing to do. More on that later...

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  2. That looks like a fun outing. Good thing the cafe was close. You can always warm your hands on a hot cup of joe.

    The Delorme building looks like all kinds of fun. But you are correct, it looks like my credit card would catch fire.

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    1. Indeed Brandy.. (it is Brandy, yes? I do hope so, it is such a "fits you" name.) I never go into that place without coming out trying to figure how to convince my BRW that it reeeeealy wasn't all that expensive and by golly, we reeeeealy do need it!
      Ciao. Mike.

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  3. Mike, great pictures and prose of your adventures and thoughts.

    “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”Mark Twain

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