There's a reason why most of the Northeast vacations in Maine come summertime; though not as hot as most Augusts, the warmth of the sun and the salt of the sea coat the air here in this green state more pleasingly than anywhere else north of Hilton Head, SC.
We winded along Highway 1 to Portland, the biggest city in Maine and a place we have enjoyed on previous visits. We paused here at the gigantic Whole Foods to stock up on dog meat, beer, wine and cheese, then continued along the crowded two-lane to the home of L.L. Bean, Freeport.
For anyone who's never been, Bean's the outfitter for life outdoors. Open 24-hours, the flagship store takes up a whole city block and covers the gamut from clothes to guns, kayaks to sleeping bags, shoes to housewares.
Emily's family lived in Maine for a long time, and when we return she gets very excited. We were there for Meg Knight's wedding, a childhood friend of Em's; Meg's parents went to University of Maine at Orono with Em's, and the two clans have been close ever since. Meg and her Groom, Bryan will be residing in Tucson, Arizona (a stop on our sojourn) after the nuptials, so we enjoyed their big day with them (as they had with us slightly more than a year before). The ceremony was held in one of those archetypal new England chapels, in warm rain the afternoon of the 16th. The wedding- our fifth this season- was beautiful, in line with the ease with which the happy couple seems to go about life.
The reception was held at Pineland Farms, a large event compound/experimental beef facility/former insane asylum (still not sure about that, chalk it up to Maine...) that gracefully spiderwebs through several dozen acres of thick pines and deep glens. The experimental beef were more prominent the night prior, as the rehersal dinner was held at a rental house in the back woods of the property abutting the experimental pastures. Like nearly all weddings, the romance and comraderie was contagious, the conviviality bursting the walls until midnight.
3 comments:
More great pics!
OK, so now I'm wondering...how does one experimentally cook experimental beef?!? ;)
P.S. Tell Em to check her email, please.
you guys should have a separate blog documenting all the weddings you go to. Seriously.
Nice barn btw.
Andy, you forgot to mention that in addition to being an experimental beef farm, Pineland was also once the Maine State Insane Asylum. Yup, how many people can say they were married at a looney bin.
Bryan and I are getting excited for your trip to Tucson on Monday. Call us when you get close!
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