Table For Two: Vacationland

Yikes! It has been awhile since our last post. And there's lots to catch up on! Since recovering from our Florida vacation, we've enjoyed quite a few fun weekends. From hosting an impromptu indoor picnic at Hakim's apartment in Somerville, to seeing Ted Nugent along with Styx and REO Speedwagon in Bangor, working on the cottage in Lakeville, and eating lots of lobster in Maine, we've been rather busy!

Most recently we spent a few days in Franklin, ME for my family's annual lobster bake and blueberry pancake breakfast. On Friday (July 20th) we headed up to Monroe where my Dad cooked up about half a dozen soft shells (although I guess not soft enough as Hakim sustained a minor injury cracking a claw - the lobster's final revenge!) and some corn. Saturday brought us to the Maine Celtic Celebration, where we scooped ice cream with my Mom and our WWOOFer, Zach, while listening to the dulcet sound of live Celtic music.

After the festival we headed Downeast to Ellsworth where we stocked up on all the necessities for the rest of our long weekend and then we were off to my grandparents' camp. We then got our tent set up and spent a relaxing evening trying to catch fish and catching up with my Nana and my Uncle Joey and his lady, Jo-Ann. Sunday dawned bright and beautiful - a perfect day for a family lobster feast! Hakim spent the morning studying for his exam, while I set to making citrus squares and a quinoa salad. After Hakim completed his test, we headed over to my Aunt Deb's camp on the other side of town for a few lobsters and some fun times with family. We ate a lot of lobster, steamers, interesting salads, amazing German chocolate brownies, s'mores, ice cream (of course!), and more. We also played a round of Polish horse-shoes and a large game of Killer around the campfire. which is a card game involving "death-winks." Hakim was wonderful when it came to meeting the family, especially after he started handing out 8 oz cans of Bud Light!

On Sunday we woke up early and took the boat out fishing on the pond. Unfortunately, Hakim didn't catch the salmon he was hoping for, but I did manage to land a bass and about a million sunfish! Brought back some fun childhood memories and we had a great time on the water! After that, we headed over to the Pape-Calabrese camp and had a ton of fun tubing at the mercy of Uncle Freddie. We also caught some rays on the dock (okay, maybe a I caught a few too many!) and hung out until it was time to head over to 2 Loons for dinner with Uncle Jeff, Uncle Sam and his lady, Catherine, Nana, Aunt Sandra, and Aunt Paula.Then it was back to our tent for a few hours before a terrific thunder storm blew in and forced us into the camp right before the downpour began. In the morning we rose early and headed over to the 2 Loons again for the blueberry pancake breakfast organized by Aunt Paula. I took a turn flipping pancakes while the sausages cooked. Then helped myself to a plateful and dug in while watching the old family movie footage that was recently digitized - amazing to see the Leavitts (and DiBellas and the rest of the gang) as kids! Sadly, we had to leave right after breakfast to return to the real world....

But the fun continues this weekend when I head down to Massachusetts to spend some time with Hakim's mom and Nana at the cottage. Then the following weekend we'll be back in Maine for our friends' wedding (congrats Alec & Sara!), where we're particularly looking forward to surf & turf rehearsal dinner featuring Stone Fox Farm Creamery ice cream for dessert! And after that we'll be looking forward to a quick trip to Treasure Island (just outside of Tampa) for a few relaxing days on the beach!!!