Another Great Meal and Fun Time in the Old Port

 I hope that people in Maine know what a treasure we have in Portland. Its a small city, but it has GREAT restaurants. We love to try new ones, and there are so many that we will never get to them all. Today we went to a French creperte. The Merry Table is a basement spot hidden on one of the cobble-stoned side streets:

 It was absolutely amazing. Linda and Mark joined us for some brunch crepes. This is mine which is smothered in smoked salmon:

 We all had wonderful main course crepes.

 Those of you who have have read my food posts over the years know that I am not a "dessert guy." But - I must say that these may be the best desserts I have ever had. We ordered two and split them up. This one had pears.....and lots of other stuff:

 And this is the classic crepe Suzette:

 It was sooooooooo good. Linda left nothing behind:

 This is a pic of Mark and I fighting over the check. I let him "win."

 After we ate we went shopping. M-S and I were looking for gifts for Maeve's 1st birthday. This store did the job:

 We had a blast playing with all the toys. M-S seemed to like the dog marionette:

 We also had time to just chill on a bench and enjoy the sunshine.

Its fun to do anything with Linda and Mark - but enjoying a meal and shopping in Maine's only city is just about perfect.
~MET

A Great Hike That Almost Didn't Happen

 I left early this morning to get to the White Mountains and tackle Mt. Hayes. This trail was, in fact, very white. It was snowing hard when I got there and the wind was brutal. I sat in the car for about 15 minutes debating with myself. I didn't know if I was prepared for the elements. I decided to go. It snowed the whole way up:

 I only had shorts...I did have 3 layers for my upper body...I luckily had some gloves in the car, but no winter hat...so I created one to keep the cold wind off my ears:

 It was cold and windy.

 This was a 7 mile hike today, and the Centennial trail (which is the AT) is really interesting. Many of the steep sections included steps like these:

 This is me at the wooded summit:

 There were only a few views. It all depended on if clouds blew through long enough to take a picture.

I'm really glad I decided to go, especially since I'll be in DC next weekend. The walk back down was much better - most of the snow had melted, and it was warm enough to take my jacket off. I love the wilderness.
~MET

Springtime in a Farm Town

 I've been pretty busy with meetings lately, but today I was blessed with just one short one after school so I was able to get home and take Baxter for a walk. Springtime in Whitefield means that the animals are more active and curious. We pass by farms of all sorts and the inhabitants seem to like to come out and see us. Baxter loves to see them also. The llama down the road really likes to see us. She follows us up and down the fence line.

 The big star right now is this little fellow:

The mother is pretty protective, and the lamb is adorable. I've seen him/her running around and playing, but today the little booger was just chillin' with mama. It was a great walk with a nice breeze and I look forward to meeting up with our animal friends again soon.
~MET

End of Spring Break Digressions

As I sit and listen to the rain I'm trying to organize my plans and thoughts as we enter the lengthy "home stretch" of the school year. The picture is of Katahdin's Knife Edge - looking at mountains always helps to clear my head. Here are some of the thoughts flying around in my head right now:

• I'm actually thinking about next school year a great deal. Getting my department's schedule set, and trying to find some common ground with the social studies department at Waterville for a shared position.
• The school board votes on the contract tomorrow night, including a side letter regarding some changes at the high school.
• There are LOTS of meetings coming up for the MEA/NEA.
• Some of those meetings will take me to Portland and to DC in May, June, and July.
• I have some conference calls for the NEA.
• I'm starting a class online during the 2nd week of May: Legal Research and Writing I.
• The month of April is coming to an end soon and the Nats are in FIRST PLACE.
• I've started to hike again, and I'm loving it - even though I'm in ghastly shape. First hike in NH will be next weekend: Mt. Hayes.
• I'm going to try some ultralight backpacking this summer, maybe 3 or 4 trips.
• M-S and I need to plan some time together, especially as things get busier. We are really looking forward to seeing James Taylor in June.

Please don't mistake these ramblings as complaining - I like thinking about all of this stuff
~MET

Moosewood Produces the Best Cookbooks

 Tonight's supper was very fun to make, and really hit the spot. Pictured above is poached huevos rancheros, corn on the cob, and salad with avocado and goddess dressing. The main course came from this cookbook from Moosewood:

 I love their cookbooks because they are healthy and feature veggie dishes, or those with fish or eggs.  Poached huevos rancheros are eggs, salsa, and cheese served on a fried tortilla. You actually poach the eggs in the salsa:

 It was very good and very filling. Its been an awesome weather week and the pets are enjoying having the windows open more often:

Good times.
~MET

Beautiful Day on Ragged Mountain

 This might be the best April break in history. Chris and I went out again this morning to do one of our favorites: Ragged Mountain in Rockport. Its a long walk (7 miles round trip), but the trail is filled with stuff to look at.

 There is a massive boulder field that this picture can't really capture:

 There are also always lots of big birds soaring above:

 There are usually between 8-10, and they are hard to capture on film. I think they might be turkey vultures - this is the best shot I got:

 They are great to watch. The views today were tremendous:



It was a fun morning, but these walks are catching up a little...I'm kinda sore.
~MET

Bald~Oquossoc with Chris

 Chris and I went to the great western Maine mountains this morning, driving past Rangeley to do Bald Mountain in Oquossoc. Its a very nice trail that gets pretty rugged at times. There were lots of patches of ice:

 Winter is stubborn in the northwest. Bald rises between Rangeley Lake and Mooselookmeguntic. The views are always spectacular from the tower, and it seems like you can see hundreds of mountains.

Chris found us the Nats throwback caps - hiking with my boy is always a good time.
~MET

A New Hike With M-S

 M-S and I went for an awesome walk through the woods in Rockport today. Beech Hill is an easy climb that would be great for those of you who have kids.

 The best part is that at the top you find Beech Nut:

 Its a stone cottage built for entertaining by a rich family many years ago. I love the roof, which is alive with plants.

 I really liked this port hole on the back of the house:

 There were great views today.

 Without question my favorite picture of the day:

Its a lovely walk that we will do again I'm sure.
~MET