This truck was a study in nostalgia itself.  Seen on a trip the equator, I couldn’t resist stopping to take the picture.

There wasn’t anything else around the truck. It was just pulled to the side of the road. In my mind, that’s why it made for a great travel photo. There’s nothing else in the way to demonstrate just what decade this photograph was taken. While it was technically taken in 2009, it could have been taken any time since the production of that vehicle. And we didn’t even have to go to an antique car show to get the shot!

Photo Credit: Trek Hound

This annual event is the major fundraiser for the Scribner’s Mill Preservation group.  They pull out all the stops and it is a great historical event.  The Back to the Past celebration is always the first weekend in August.  The efforts of dozens of volunteers and exhibitors help make this a great experience for the whole family.

There are people demonstrating and selling hand crafted items — e.g., spinners and knitters, a tatter, weavers, and a beader. There is a pig roast. There is music. There are diversions for children. There are antique vehicles like a fire truck that periodically shows how water was taken from the nearby stream to put out a fire. There is the mill itself, an amazing feat of restoration. There is a working blacksmith’s shop. There is the house, which is itself being put back to how it looked in it’s hey day.

It is a marvelous way to spend a day. It helps with the mill restoration and is a great step into Maine history.

Photo credit: Sharife

It’s July in Maine and time for the annual Yarmouth Clam Festival, an event which involves about 3000 volunteers united to earn funds for Yarmouth’s non-profit organizations, school groups, and churches.  This event begins at 6 p.m. on Friday with a parade which is as much fun for spectators as it is for parade participants. Following is three days of wonderful entertainment for the whole family.

Stuff you’ll find at the festival are a broad listing of competitions and events, an impressive craft and art show, and of course, lots and lots of good food, featuring clams — steamed clams, fried clams, clam cakes — lots and lots of clams. If you happen to be in Maine this weekend, check out the Clam Festival website for a listing of events and other information, including directions and parking suggestions.

As a side note, from personal experience, I can tell you to keep an eye out for any of the many yard sales in Yarmouth that are sure to be under way this weekend.  As these are generally found on the way to or from the Festival doings, they help make the whole experience interesting.

Photo credit: KitAy

Maine has a lot of outdoors for vacationers to enjoy.  Parks abound.  There is one National Park (Acadia), a piece of the White Mountain National Forest, and 31 or so parks managed by the Maine Bureau of Parks that charge fees. The Appalachian trail passes through or near several of these.

Day passes are completely reasonable to visit one of these parks.  Fees for adults range from $4 for residents to $6 for non-residents, depending on the park.  For children 11 and under, admission is $1.  Senior Maine residents go free; non-residents no more than $4.  If you’ll be in Maine for an extended period, like a summer, or live in Maine, consider an annual pass. $70 vehicle pass gets access to all 31 of the fee-charging parks for a year.

Maine’s natural entertainment is it’s biggest tourist asset. If you go to Maine, don’t limit your visit to the beaches. Look into one or more of Maine’s state parks.

Photo Credit: Chris Dag

What I love is when a recommended restaurant lives up to the recommendation. I’ve been hearing about P.F. Chang’s China Bistro for a while now…in t.v. shows, from friends, from family.  The nearest location to home is well over two hours away.  So, on a recent trip to Phoenix, I was happy to finally have a meal at P.F. Chang’s.  We visited the mothership location in Scottsdale, and there was nothing disappointing about the experience.

Our meal started with the very popular Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  Then, we sampled two meals served family style with white or brown rice.  The two entrees were Chang’s Spicy Chicken (P.F. Chang’s take on General Tso’s Chicken) and Orange Peel Chicken. Both were spiced to both our tastes and there was adequate not only  for dinner but for lunch the following day!  Delicious meal. Two thumbs up for both entrees AND the lettuce wraps!

Of note is the large number of gluten free items on the menu, including a recently added gluten free beer. Service is spectacular. Ambience is warm.

Visit P.F. Chang’s website to find locations, see the menu, make reservations, order take-out, see the new line of P.F Chang entrees in your grocery’s freezer section.

Photo credit: wolfgrins

L.L. Bean offers a pair of pants that I feel is perfect for traveling.  They are called ‘Perfect Fit Pants’, and there is a style to fit most women’s shapes as they are available in misses’ and women’s sizes.   They come in traditional pants, cropped, straight leg, boot cut, and slim.  What makes them perfect pants is that they wash and dry well, retain their shape thanks to the touch of Lycra in the jersey knit fabric, and come in four nice colors that traditionally go with everything – black, brown, grey and blue.

I own a black pair of the standard Perfect Fit Pants.  They’ve held up over time, a modest weight gain and subsequent loss, and a handful of trips out of state.  Give these pants a go.  You won’t regret it.

Photo credit: malias

When the camel realized his owner wasn’t holding the reins he went from  docile to hellion, looking over his shoulder baring his teeth at me menacingly. It was at that moment my companion said, “Be careful, Camels spit.”  Are you serious?” I thought stepping back gingerly. So photo with the camel and I is hilarious with me backing away looking startled at his sudden change of demeanor.

An Antique Rug

On another day I decided to purchase a Turkish rug. There are so many beautiful rugs that making a selection is challenging. We spent quite a lot of time looking at the rugs, and eventually I chose a red patterned rug about 3ft by 5ft. The store owner quoted a price in euros which was in the millions in Turkish Lira. My companion offered to pay for the rug but we were a new couple and I didn’t want to expect that so I said I’d get cash at the ATM. I got the cash and paid for the rug in Turkish Lira, converting the price in my head from Euros to Lira. The next day while we were driving it dawned on me that I’d paid double for the rug, by converting the Euros into dollars to make it easier to figure out the conversion to millions of Lira. Of course the shop owner hadn’t said a word when I paid nearly double for my handmade  Turkish rug. Lesson learned, if a man you’re dating offers to give you money for a purchase in a foreign country, take it gratefully. My beautiful, expensive, Turkish rug remains a laughing reminder that we all make stupid mistakes in our travels.

Photo Credit Grillo Rugs

Whenever a group of more than two people is traveling together, the potential for missteps increase exponentially. You all should know the ‘rules’ of where you’re going and follow them.  I went to Italy in 2000 in a group of 6 to see family we’d never met.  The sons of the family worked for Roman public transportation, so really, there was no excuse for what happened one day.

We were staying in the village of San Cesario, which makes Rome easily accessible via bus. We purchased a Multi-Pass at a local tobacconist (tickets are purchased for bus travel, unlike the coin-in-the-box American approach) as we had every other day that first week, and waited for the bus to arrive.  Two of our party were over 60, so when the bus doors opened, four of us zipped in the back door and found seats for the oldest of us.  The remaining two of us (myself included) entered the bus from the front door and, as we were firmly instructed by our Italian family, had our multi-passes stamped with that day’s date and time.

The four who entered through the back door just figured they’d do it on the way out of the bus.

Nope. Caribinieri boarded the bus and checked everyone’s passes.  With our combined Italian language skills, we explained about getting the oldest into seats and would stamp on the way out.  Nope. No quarter for ignorance.  The four who had not stamped their tickets received $50 fines for not being stamped. Although, they were not alone.  There were at least four other unstamped people on the bus…they were local.

When we retold to story to our Italian family, we were roundly scolded for not listening to direction. A mistake we did not duplicate on this trip.  The moral of the story?  Follow the rules!

Related Reading: 11 Things to Do in Beautiful Bolzano, Italy

Photo credit: tanvach

I grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, next to a town park right on Lake Erie.  On a recent visit home, my sister and I took several walks through this park, as one of its entrances is only a couple hundred feet from our mother’s front door.

With the help of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lakeshore Park has grown into a very nice something-for-everyone park. Some of the features include beach, boat launch, Frisbee golf course and bocci courts, picnic tables and hibachis, duck pond with ducks, geese, and swans; pavilions, lots of open space, ball field, playground, bathrooms and a concession stand.  The one notable drawback (in my opinion) is that dogs are not allowed in the park.

Oh, and for those of you who need you some WiFi, Lakeshore Park is equipped!

There is no fee to get into the park, but reservations may be necessary for pavilion space for family reunions, or weddings, say. If you find yourself on American’s ‘North Coast’, specifically, Ashtabula, Ohio, take a visit to this lovely and historic park.

Just up the road from the Kennedy Space Center and included with the day pass you likely purchased there, is the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Often overlooked, this attraction has much to offer a family with children of varying ages. Super cool simulation rides the kids don’t have to wait in huge lines for, tons of hands-on exhibits similar to what you would see at a children’s museum, and loads of memorabilia for the adult space buff.

If the kids still want to see a few things after a full day at the Kennedy Space Center, but you know that long lines and more sugar will send things south in a hurry, the Astronaut Hall of Fame provides a nice middle ground. Later in the afternoon the crowds are minimal, and the background noise much less intrusive than the sights you’ve spent the day seeing. Since they have so many hands-on things for the kids to do, the pressure is low and the relaxation factor high.

So if you are in the neighborhood and using the full two-day access granted by your Kennedy Space Center entry ticket, include the Astronaut Hall of Fame. You and your children will be glad you did.

Related Reading:

Visiting the Kennedy Space Center on a Budget

 One Day Itinerary for Visiting the Kennedy Space Center

Photo Credit: Trek Hound