Bob and I had spent the better part of the last two day in the state of Maine (with a brief interlude on Canada’s Campobello Island), and for good reason. Since I had never been in this relatively large state, there was much to see. On Monday, July 16, 2012, we spent the first half our day finishing it up. We had stayed in Augusta the night before for a very specific reason: to be near the state capitol. Frankly, I was a bit glad that the first tour wasn’t until 9am as I would have a chance to sleep in even if only for a little bit. Bob and I got up and had a pretty hearty breakfast at the motel consisting of scrambled and hard-boiled eggs, sausage, blueberry yogurt, and toast, and then hit the road, arriving at the Maine State House a little before 9am.
Our tour was one of the more professional ones that I had been on. There was an added treat to the tour also; Representative Joan M. Nass has arranged for her father, an exceptionally cute older gentleman, to be on the tour with us. He took grade pride in sitting in his daughters seat in the House Chambers. We didn’t get to go into the Governor’s office, but we had pretty exclusive access to these chambers and the Senate Chambers. It was an attractive State House that had been built in 1832. The tour was promptly one hour long, and I got all of the pictures, seen below, that I needed.
Addressing the masses at the Maine State House
Portrait of Maine’s first Governor William King
Portrait of Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who was the first woman placed in nomination for the presidency at a major party’s convention
As close as we got to the Governor’s office. I’m assuming that’s not him in there.
Representative Joan Nass’ father proudly sits in her seat in the House chambers
Gavel goings-on in he House chambers
The capitol’s dome
In the Senate chambers
Making myself as comfortable as a Senator
The Maine state seal on the Senate chamber floor
With the portrait of Lincoln’s Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
Portrait of Lincoln, painted by Albion Harris Bicknell three years after Lincoln’s death
With our tour guide Dan
Washington has nothing to do with Maine, but he was here in spirit anyway
The Maine State House in Augusta. This was my 6th state capitol of the year, 27th overall.
From Augusta, we started to make our descent to some of the southern cities in the state. It took a little over an hour to get to Portland. There wasn’t a lot to see here, but Bob wanted to check out the boyhood home of American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I was perfectly content to just see the outside of it. Bob considered doing the tour, but since it was an hour long and not starting for 15 minutes after our arrival, he decided to skip it. I was happy just to browse the Moxie book that I found in the gift shop. They told us that Longfellow’s birth location was nearby, but the house was no longer there so we didn’t pursue it.
This kid’s got Moxie
Childhood home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I was a bit excited to see the statue dedicated to director John Ford that was in town. Ford had been born elsewhere in Maine, but had attended high school in Portland. The memorial was very impressive, with blocks surrounding the statue, highlighting Ford’s Oscar winning films. Unfortunately, The Searchers was not among them, so I settled for a picture with Best Picture Oscar winner How Green Was My Valley.
The John Ford statue in Portland, Maine. I’m on the right.
One of the ‘movie blocks’ surrounding Ford’s statue
We departed Portland a little before noon and in less than an hour, we were in Kennebunkport. Those around in the 1990’s will recognize this town as the vacation home of President George H.W. Bush and his family. It seemed that it was constantly being mentioned in the news that they were there. I was interested in it for its Presidential connection, but the town was extremely charming nonetheless. It took us a bit to find the location where you could get the best view of the compound, but eventually we did. Maybe one day it will be open for tourists and historical buffs like us, but for now you can see a bit more of my visit at my George Bush posting.
Bob and me spying on the Bush compound in Kennebunkport, Maine
It was getting to be close to 1pm and the morning’s breakfast was wearing off. Thankfully just five miles away in the town of Wells was an eatery that had been featured on a little show called Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the episode Old Time Attitude. Even though I’m fairly certain that this was the most expensive meal I’ve ever had at a DD&D (barring Napa Rose at Disneyland, which was neither a D, D, or D), it also ranks as one of the tastiest. The wait for the restaurant was out the door, but it seemed to go pretty fast.
I ordered the ultra-convenient Triple D special that consisted of a cup of Seafood Chowder, a codfish cake, and a lobster pie. The lobster pie was the highlight and consisted of (in their words): tender chunks of fresh lobster meat, mixed together with delicious stuffing, baked in a casserole dish. It was spectacular and I’ve missed it every day since. After eating we stopped at the shop next door called “Remember the Maine” where Bob bought me a wax apple. Maine should be happy that this meal (the lobster, not the apple) was my last memory of Maine.
DD&D #43: Maine Diner in Wells, Maine
I won’t soon forget this Lobster Pie
Bob and I decide that this restaurant was worth the wait
After our incredible lunch, it was back to the grind…and the graves, albeit some very important ones. Wells had been about 30 minutes from the border of New Hampshire, so we crossed the state line around 2:30 and made our way to the city of Portsmouth and the North Cemetery. There were two very significant graves located here: William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and John Langdon, signer of the United States Constitution.
Historic sign at the North Cemetery indicating the two people who we were there to see
Declaration of Independence signer William Whipple (1730-1785)
U.S. Constitution signer John Langdon (1741-1819)
Then it was on to city of Exeter and the Exeter Cemetery. Here lied the mortal remains of Nicholas Gilman, another signer of the United States Constitution, the second and final signer from New Hampshire. This one promised to be a challenge, as first we thought that the gates were locked, finding an open one before we gave up. Then we faced the challenge of finding a flat grave in a very large cemetery. We started out driving, and miraculously found it the grave almost immediately. Bob and I often luck into such things…and my feeling is that we deserve it.
U.S. Constitution signer Nicholas Gilman (1755-1814)
Next up was the Plains Cemetery in Kingston, New Hampshire, which was just over 20 minutes away. Here was the final resting place of Josiah Bartlett, New Hampshire signer of the Declaration of Independence. Although Bartlett was very real, he had a fictional direct descendant who became U.S. President Josiah Bartlet (with the slightly different spelling) played by Martin Sheen in the TV series The West Wing.
Declaration of Independence signer Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795)
It had been a brief stop in New Hampshire (remember that we had already been in the northern part of the state earlier in our journey), and then we moved on back into Massachusetts, the state where we had begun our trip. We went a bit out of the way to get to the grave of poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier, located in the Union Cemetery in Amesbury. Thankfully we crossed off the Whittier home and birthplace from our list without visiting.
Grave of John Greenleaf Whittier
Up next was a bit of a biggie for me: the grave of Thelma Todd. Although her name is quickly becoming lost to time, she was a big star in her day, being half of two comedy duos at the Hal Roach Studios, one with Zasu Pitts and one with Patsy Kelly. She also starred in several Laurel and Hardy films, most prominently in Another Fine Mess and Unaccustomed as We Are. Her final resting place is in Lawrence, Massachusetts in Bellevue Cemetery. Bob and I didn’t have a lot to go on to find her in this massive cemetery, but using our skills of detective work from the photo that we had of the grave, we eventually found it.
Bob and me at the grave of Thelma Todd
The other side of the grave, which indicated Thelma and her all-too-short life
The final grave of the day was just five miles away in the city of Andover. This one belonged to Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She is buried in the historic cemetery at the Phillips Academy boarding school. We had been to six cemeteries within a 55 mile drive. It took us just three hours and twenty minutes to accomplish this.
The impressive grave of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Our final jaunt of the evening was from Andover to Salem about 45 minutes away for dinner at another restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This one was called The Lobster Shanty had been on the episode Wings, Dogs, and Claws. I hadn’t seen the episode so relied on the waitress to tell me that the pulled pork was the featured item. I later found out that the lobster martini was also featured. I went with the Pulled Pork Sammich, plus a side of chowder. Unfortunately, the martini would have probably been a better choice as the sandwich was lame and way too expensive. In addition the restaurant didn’t seem to have functioning air conditioning and it was hotter than blazes. Bob and I were seated near an empty lobster tank. The only cool thing was the Honeymooners artwork above our table. This one ranks very low on my DD&D totem pole.
DD&D #44: Lobster Shanty in Salem, Massachusetts
Looking happy, but actually hot and miserable…and the food sadly didn’t cheer me up
We found a motel nearby called the Clipper Ship Inn. It wasn’t as exotic as it sounds but it did just fine. Bob and I would have one more day on our road trip, which would culminate back in Boston where we first started.
Bob and his counterpart settle in at the Clipper Ship
The 2012 New England road trip will wrap up in the next posting…
That’s a great picture of Ralph and Ed!
Had I known that Thelma Todd was buried in Mass., I would have tried to visit her final resting place myself. She was an extremely attractive and funny lady.
Dave Chasteen
November 29th, 2013