If you want the shepherd hooks, please consider that the shipping is 3x the cost of the hooks (for everyone I have priced it for).

We are in the Boston area.  At this point, I would much prefer pick-up.

What we have left:

Painted buckets
Candles
Votive Holders – Star Shape
Ribbon
Shepherd hooks
Cake stands

Painted buckets:

I got these buckets at Ikea – I have seven of each. When I bought them, they were blue and white.  I left the blue buckets blue, but we painted the white buckets green (those were our wedding colors).  The buckets we painted have gotten a little scratched.  If you want them green, I can also give you the paint we used to paint them. If you want to repaint them another color, it might take 2 coats. $5 for all the blue, $5 for all the green.

Here’s how they looked at the wedding.  We used green organza ribbon (see below) to hang the blue buckets and blue to hang the green buckets.

Candles:

I have one package of green votive candles, 3 shades, from Ikea. These are apple scented.

There are 36 (the package has 2 layers). $2 for the package.

Votive holders:

I have 10 matte finish star shaped votive holders. These are from Crate & Barrel.  Two of them are chipped. One chip is really hard to see; you just couldn’t see it it the photos I took (but you can feel it). I have put in a picture of the chip I could get a good picture of. $1/votive.

Ribbon

3/4 inch apple green flower pattern ribbon.  25 yards.  I loved this ribbon, but never found a way to use it. $2/roll.

6 inch wide sheer organza (not sure what it is made of…) “ribbon,” navy and apple green. I used this to hang the flower buckets (see above) in the church.  I have about 3 yards (9 feet) of the navy left.  I didn’t measure the green but it seems about double thickness on the roll, so I would estimate 18 feet or so.  I got them from BBCrafts.com if you would want to purchase more. $.50/roll.

See pictures of hanging buckets above.

1 1/2 inch nylon organdy ribbon, navy and lime green.  10 yard rolls. I never opened the green. I did experiment with the navy (maybe used 12 inches) but it is mostly there. $2.50/roll.  Blue is SOLD.

7/8 inch apple green polyester grosgrain (7 yards – never opened) and 5/8 inch apple green polyester grosgrain (7 yards, 24 inches – I measured what was left).  They are 2 different brands, but the color is pretty close. $2/roll.

6 inch nylon tulle spools, apple green. 25 yards. Never opened (decided to use the organza).  This is also from BBCrafts.com if you wanted more. $1/roll.  Blue is SOLD.

Shepherd hooks:

I have 14 4-foot shepherd hooks with one hook. These are very sturdy, and the body of the hook is “twisted.”  I got them at JoAnn’s.  $3/hook.

I have 12 double hook 3-foot shepherd hooks. These are also made of a thinner metal, no twist. Also from JoAnn’s.  They are next to one of the 4-feet hooks as a comparison. $1/hook.  I also have 2 single hook 3-foot shepherd hooks. They look the same as the doubles (thinner, no twist). $1 for both.

We used these to hang glass jar lanterns we made.

Cake stands:

I have 15 clear glass (well, one is crystal) cake stands.  We had an individual cake on each table as our centerpiece. It took me about a year to collect all of these, and they were mostly purchased individually on ebay, except for the 4 Anchor ones, which are from Target, and are still available there for $10 (I recommend them if you need more).  I took a picture of each one with a ruler, so you can see the diameter. The shortest is 3 inches tall, and the tallest is 6 inches tall, but average is between 4 and 5 inches tall.  I will consider all offers (for one, or for a few, or for all).

I also have 20 unused clear plastic cake servers, that did not arrive in time for the wedding. Let me know if you are interested.

#1.

#2,3,4,5.  There are four of these  (these are made by Anchor and are still available at Target for $10).  One of them had 2 chips when we unpacked it – I have taken photos of the chips (they are directly across from each other).  These are nice in that they have a cover, and the cover can be flipped and put in the base to make a punch bowl.

#6.  This one is crystal.  I have the box wich says “Footed Cake Plate – Royalty Collection – 24 % Lead Crystal” and “Godinger Silver Art Style No. 3593.”  That’s all I know about it.

#7.

#8.

#9.

#10.

#11.

#12.

#13.

#14.

#15.  This is the shortest one.  It is different in that the base is silver (I didn’t realize this when I bought it).

Here’s one of the Anchor models with a cake on it at the wedding.

For a long time I have been meaning to write an email describing the Livestrong Challenge I did in Seattle (on June 21st).  I just kept putting it off; most of you know I also got married on August 22nd, so it’s been a busy summer for me.  Then I realized it might be easier to write a blog entry – the medium is much better for including photos and videos…so I hope you enjoy this.

It was a great day and a great experience.  Stan and I flew into Seattle (with our bikes) on June 19th.  I was super-lucky because Stan is a VERY frequent flyer with Delta, and we were flying Delta/Northwest, so he got all the privileges of being a first class passenger, which include flying your bike for free. And we got to check an extra bag (we had brought a lot of clothes because we weren’t sure what the temperature would be).  So off we went (the only bummer being Stan actually got bumped to first class so I sat by myself on the way there).  My brother Mike came and picked us up from the airport, and we immediately went to the University of Washington boathouse (he is the head coach of the men’s rowing team) and started building up our bikes in one of the boat bays. This was very handy as Mike has a bike stand and they have lots of tools.  Stan did all of this work, of course ;-> and I stood around and handed him things when he needed them.  It’s nice to have a bike mechanic for a (now) spouse.  After Stan did some fun things like giving me MUCH nicer wheels (of his) than I normally have, and giving me fenders in case it rained (we were in Seattle),  we went and had dinner and generally lazed around.

Here’s a shot of Mike driving us around:

On the 20th, Stan and Mike thought I should go for a little ride to get my legs moving (although I was nervous; having Stan and Mike together is like a recipe for a competitive bike race, which I did NOT think was a good idea for me) so we biked out to Mercer Island (which was also the beginning part of the Livestrong Challenge course).  I was really glad we did this the next day, because the bridge to go to Mercer is very windy, and has a kind of scary quality to it (although we were biking in the car lanes the day of the Challenge which was MUCH better), but I was glad I had previewed it.  Biking on Mercer Island is very fun, because it is a long series of hairpin turns and is mostly downhill on the turns.  It made the actual ride much more fun for me because I was looking forward to that section.  Then we biked home (on the scary bridge – Stan said he had never seen me ride so fast, but I just wanted to get off the bridge!).  Then we went to the Seattle Mariners game – Mike’s team had won the National Championship in rowing, and one of his rowers got to throw the first pitch for the game.  We actually got to stand on the field (right next to the visitor’s dugout) when he threw it!  That was awesome – I don’t have any pictures because I was filming on my brother’s video camera for him.

Here we are at Mike’s apartment. He’s got a rough life.

The morning of the Challenge, I was supposed to be there early – 7am start.  So we got up super early.  Here is a picture I took of the clock.  You can’t really tell at this size, but it says 5:18 am.   By the way, those are Bob’s Steel Cut Oats there in the measuring cup.  I recommend them.  With chocolate chips.

...note chocolate chips next to stove

We ate our oatmeal and put on some biking clothes and drove our bikes (so silly, I know, but it was a few miles from Mike’s house and I had already committed to 100 miles that day…) to the Seattle Center.  We got there and parked and were riding up to the start, and then we had a small disaster.  One of Mike’s spokes just popped out his wheel and the wheel frame was deformed due to that.    After spending some time trying to figure out if we could fix it (nope, the spoke was not only out, but also broken) I finally figured out I needed to get to the start and I abandoned Mike and Stan after planning to meet on Mercer Island and asking “you can take care of this, right?”

Because my fundraising team had raised the most money of any team in Seattle (we raised $144,000 for the Seattle event – more details here), we got to start first, which was fun, but I had to fight my way to the front because I was a bit late…once I got there, here was my perspective…

At the start....my perspective

Kind of boring.  I am looking at some people’s backs.

Here is Stan’s:

And here is where you all learn how horrible I am at remembering to take photos…I meant to take them at every rest stop, but we did skip at least two rest stops, and then I just forgot at the others.  Plus I refused to put my hands on anything besides the bike handlebars or my water bottle while riding.

We started at the Seattle Center and rode in downtown Seattle, mostly downhill, with the roads closed.  SUPER FUN.  Then we went in a tunnel which was totally cool – everyone was whooping and calling to hear the echo.  Now since I had started at the front (due to my team’s fundraising) everyone around me was riding VERY FAST.  In fact, by the time we were in the tunnel, people were forming pace lines and doing all kinds of man-ly testosterone-y kinds of things…I will say there were not a lot of girls around, and those of you who are looking to meet a nice biking man should consider signing up for this type of event.  Moving on…we crossed the I-90 (Bostonians – the SAME highway – weird, eh?) bridge into Mercer Island (the one I had ridden the day before, but much less scary as we were in car lanes and not on the narrow bike path edge).  We did all the fun loop de loops I had done the day before with my brother (and I must say, knowing what was coming was very reassuring at the beginning).  The first rest stop was on Mercer Island, at Mile 14.

I did remember to take pictures here.

"Power Stop" 1

Also first stop

Still the first stop

I include them all, not because they are interesting, but because that is it for a while.  Now remember how Mike (my brother) had wheel failure at the beginning of the ride?  So at this point I whip out my cell phone and try to message Stan. “Never saw you at power stop – can wait…Megan”  He writes back “Don’t wait. We’ll catch up.”  I get mad, because when I ran the NYC Marathon, we managed to avoid seeing each other at 5 planned stops over 4 hours. And Stan was wearing a Santa hat in NYC therefore was much easier to spot.  Have you tried to find one cyclist in a fleet of thousands?  It is difficult…everyone is on a bike and wearing a helmet…so I was kind of grumpy here.  But no matter what I wrote, he wrote “Don’t wait.”

I did meet a man at this first stop who asked me “have you done one of these before?” I said no.  He said “what length ride are you planning to do?” I said, the 100 mile, but I lost my group and I am a little worried I won’t be able to do it without them.  To which he replied “I’ve done 7  of these (or some other large number) and I’ve never seen Lance do more than 40 miles, so don’t worry about it.”  I had to laugh, because if you know Stan, he is not much of a Lance fan, and I was not really there for Lance – I was there for Fat Cyclist, aka Elden Nelson and his team.  More about that later.

So I message Stan again that I want to wait and he says to go, and I take off, grumbling all the way.  Meanwhile Stan and Mike have booked from the Seattle Center (on the bad wheel!) to Mike’s house and changed his wheels, then he and Stan “time trialed” – riding as fast as they could to Mercer Island.  They waited for me on the other side of the bridge, but didn’t realize they had already missed me.  So that was where they were as they were sending me these text messages.  Once they realized I was several miles beyond them, they hopped on their bikes again and rode MUCH FASTER than I can, and basically met me right after the the 2nd rest stop, at Mile 24.  I skipped that Power Stop, because, hey, I had just been at a rest stop.  Plus I had waited for Stan for a while, and I didn’t want to waste too much time, because there was a certain point you had to pass by a certain time, otherwise they wouldn’t let you take the loop for the 100 mile ride.  I honestly don’t remember if we skipped “Power Stop” 3…if we stopped, we just got some juice and moved on.

Then came one of the nicer parts of the ride as we rode south and east towards Issaquah.  We had one fun event where we saw…the devil…

Awesome!  And do you see those rad pink arm warmers (and the neon green gloves?).  Stan lent them to me, and I can’t tell you how many people would ride by me and say “Nice arm warmers!”  Also, all the Team Fatty people were cheering for each other was we passed or saw each other. It was really nice.

Then we rode into the forest and up a good sized mountain, but it wasn’t bad and we had a really nice downhill to rest stop 4.  Mile 48.

I think I took these photos there.

Maybe Power Stop 4?

Power Stop 4?

You know, just in case

So, off we went again.  We were about 1/2 way done, and I was feeling ok, but I was still a little nervous because we were now hitting distances beyond my longest training ride.  Yup.  I had never done more than 45 miles before this day. I had ridden a lot on the trainer, and a good number of short rides, but I just hadn’t had time for a 60 or 80 mile ride before the big day…so I was definitely apprehensive.  Stan made sure I was eating – he was feeding me power bars and bananas and other things that mysteriously emerged from his jersey.  I also had a PB&J sandwich or two at Power Stop 4.

The next stretch was a long slog that I don’t remember very well – we were on Lake Sammamish for most of it, and I remember it was pretty, and it did rain somewhere in there, because I remember having my rain jacket on as I arrived at Power Stop 5, but being excited about taking it off (it was steamier inside the jacket than outside at that point).  Power Stop 5 was in Redmond and there was a Velodrome in the park where we stopped. Stan got very excited about this and ran to go take a look.  I was starting to feel pretty sore, but could still walk and as I recall they had some nice electrolyte punch and candy (like gummi bears) that I enjoyed.  But the sun had come out, and we took off again. This was Mile 62.

Now I was definitely starting to get anxious because I knew the worst climb of the whole ride was in between us and the next Power Stop.  Basically, it was a 900 foot climb packed into a couple of miles.  Yikes!  And it was after mile 70.  Really, Lance.  As my brother said later, he got very angry during this portion and felt like the Livestrong Challenge was saying something like (to all the cancer survivors who were doing it) “hey cancer survivors – you conquered cancer, but we’ll get you with this ride!”  Of course, he made it up without stopping. Here I am just beforehand:

Well, we got to this hill…let’s call it Montreaux (that’s the name of subdivision it was in – it’s actually Cougar Mountain).  I saw it. It was big.  I took a deep breath.  I tried to go slow, and not “mash” as much as I like to (this is pedaling with a lot of resistance at a low cadence – which is NOT a good strategy for climbing hills)…and I got through a good bit of it.  We actually saw the devil guy again, I think (did we? it’s like a mirage now).  I kept going until my heart rate was like 200 and I knew I couldn’t go any further.  Stan had actually been pushing me for some of it.  We stopped. I rested until I could breathe again, and then I got back on the bike and tried again.  The second time I stopped, I decided that rolling down the hill backwards was not good for my health and well-being, and I started to walk my bike up.  A medic guy came up and asked me if I was alright…I told him yes, just tired (and didn’t mention I was a doctor!).  I just kept walking, and to be honest, I’m glad I did because that thing had 3 different false peaks, and it was just brutal, even walking.

Then we got to the top and off we went again, feeling the worst was behind me.  The next Power Stop was #6 (mile 77) and Mike had gone ahead and found a 7-11 or some other convenience store that was selling Cokes, and had gotten me that and a big bag of M&Ms.  So awesome!  It was just what I needed.   Here he is waiting for me.  He generally biked really fast between Power Stops and waited for me and Stan at each one.

Mike waits

Nice bike

So now we are in Newcastle, and we still have to finish riding around Lake Washington (through Renton) and back to the Seattle Center.   So that portion is pretty flat and not bad until it starts pouring and HAILING while we are in Renton.  But then the rain let up, and I didn’t get too cold, and we rode along Lake Washington which was very pretty, and I was feeling good – I was hanging on, but I remember telling Stan I was starting to feel pretty depleted.  I was still riding at a pretty good pace, but I felt my battery getting towards empty.  But what else did Lance have in store for me…there was a HORRENDOUS hill to get back west towards the Seattle Center.  I think it was a 28% grade at one point (although short, I admit).  I said something very mean about Lance Armstrong as I got off my bike before the crest.  After we got over there was the last Power Stop (with a band! Stan and I stopped to pee) then we were on to the finish. That was Mile 96 so I knew I would make it.  Walking the hill at Montreux was a bit of a bummer, but I had looked at the course map and I was pretty sure I was going to need to walk.  Throwing that crazy hill in at mile 96 was just plain mean.

Here is our entry into the Seattle Center.

And here is the evidence.

The Garmin

101 miles, 8 hours and 22 minutes.  I think I was at Power Stops (just standing around, or whatever) for about an hour of that.

Here’s the Livestrong Map if you want to see it…

So, as most of you know, I did the Livestrong Challenge this year as part of Team Fatty – Riding for Susan, which was started by a guy named Elden Nelson, who blogs as “Fat Cyclist” (www.fatcyclist.com – I highly recommend it).   I started reading his blog when I started dating Stan, and I thought hmmm…I better learn something about cycling.  Somehow I stumbled on his blog, and something about it made me laugh, and then I kept reading. Soon I realized his wife, Susan, had metastatic breast cancer, and I kept reading because that story was so compelling as well.  This is the post I read in November, 2008.

Fat Cyclist’s goal was to raise a million dollars. At first, it seemed crazy, but then the more I thought about it as 1000 people raising 1000 dollars it seemed not so crazy and I wanted to be part of the 1000, so I signed up.  I ended up raising $1300 (300 was mine, so it still counts, but I feel better about getting 1000 of your dollars!).  After the Seattle event it became pretty clear that Susan was getting to the end of her illness, and likely would not survive the summer. She passed away on August 5.  However, I know both she and her husband were touched by the generosity of all kinds of people before she died because Team Fatty did raise almost a million dollars – $761,403 in total over the 4 Livestrong Challenge events (the other 3 were in San Jose, Philadelphia, and Austin).  So thank you for being part of that.  It was an amazing event; I am so happy I did it.

Thanks Stan and Mike!  I couldn’t have done it without you!  And thank you Stan, for taking the videos….

My Livestrong Team

Now let’s eat, drink and be merry!

Starting at St. Brendan’s (40 Lester B. Orcutt Ave., in case you need that information) you will now reverse course along Lester B. Orcutt Avenue, and drive back the way you came; bearing left onto Mile Stretch Road (Biddeford Pool now on your right)

, then coming to the T intersection, crossing and then continuing along Fortunes Rocks Road (the ocean now on your left).

Fortunes Rocks Road will come into Route 9,and take a left (see picture sequence below).

This portion of the drive takes about 7 minutes.

Just make sure you stay on Route 9.

You should hit Kennebunkport in about 20 minutes.

This is just a random picture in the middle of Kennebunkport.

At this intersection, continue straight through.  That is a Sunoco on your right if you need gas…

Sorry, that’s not a great picture, but it’s the Rachel Carson Reserve, again.

That is the first sign for the Wells Reserve.  This is the back way in – you can take it, but we may not have marked these roads (we will have some signs at the other entrance).

This sign says “Wells Center”  and has a left arrow. Follow the arrow.

Take this left (well marked).

Now you are on Route 9/US 1 again.

Continue along Route 9.

Hey – you’re at the Maine Diner again!

Ok  see where that minivan is?  There is also a small blue sign that says Wells Reserve.  Take a left here (this is the access road to the farm, and we will have signs, and it is pretty well marked).  If you get to the Tallwood Motel (on the left) you went too far.

This part of the drive takes around 10 minutes (from Kennebunkport).

Follow the signs to Wells Reserve/Laudholm Farm (it’s about 2 minutes to the parking lot).

The sign in the last picture says Wells Reserve and has a left arrow.  Go left.

You’re going to turn right here into the driveway.

That big yellow building is the barn.   There is a parking lot right in front of it. So park your car, and come get a cool lemonade, or beer, or wine.

Hooray – you’re there!

This is what you just drove:

By the way, to get back to the Hampton Inn, you follow the driveway, take a left, follow the road (bearing right where you took the left before) and then you will come to the intersection with Route 9.  Take a left onto Route 9 (south) to get back to the Hampton Inn. It’s about 10 minutes away.

Also, we would love it if people drove to Laudholm, dropped cars, and carpooled to St. Brendan’s since there is limited parking (on street) at the church…

So, I’m imagining it’s Saturday, about 2:30.  You had a nice morning at the beach, or a good bike ride, and now you are at the Hampton Inn (or maybe you did stuff at home and are just driving up from Boston).   Now you are getting in your car (with friends!) and you are about to drive…if you are joining us from I-95, I will write you a alternative set of directions at the end (so you may just want to skip to the end of the post).

Also, if you are planning to use google maps or mapquest, or a Garmin to help you get there, the address is 40 Lester B. Orcutt Avenue.

Follow the instructions for the post “Driving Directions from Hampton Inn to the Bonfire.”  When you get to the part in the directions where I had the picture of Clock Tower Farm and I said to take a right to Goose Rocks Beach, YOU WILL  NOT TURN and will continue on Rte. 9 toward Biddeford Pool.

Here is the next Rte. 9 sign you will see…

Continue on Rte. 9.  You will go for a few more miles and you will come to the intersection pictured below.  You are going to take right here (can you see it right in the distance in the picture?).  You are taking a right onto Fortunes Rocks Road.

Travel straight on Fortunes Rocks Road.  It will take you directly toward the Atlantic Ocean.  As you approach the ocean, Fortunes Rocks Road makes a sharp 90 degree turn to the left.  It follows the coast along Fortunes Rocks Beach, pictured below.

Fortunes Rocks Beach gets its name from the local kids who ghost ride their busted old cars into those huge boulders and “make a wish” as they jump out of the car.  If the car clears the boulders and lands on the beach, then the legend is that your wish is granted.

Here is another shot along scenic Fortunes Rocks Road.  There will be lots of beach houses on your right side between the road and the Atlantic.

Keep going along Fortunes Rocks Road.  Below is another shot along Fortunes Rocks Road.

Now you will eventually come to a T intersection.  Rte 208/Bridge Road enters from the left.  Keep going straight through the intersection.  You should probably stop if there is a stop sign.

When you continue straight through the T intersection you are traveling past Biddeford Pool (the actual Pool).  You can see it on your left.  There was a big rotting unidentified sea creature in there once.  We’ll call it the Biddeford Pool Monster.  Technically, you are now traveling on Mile Stretch Road.  Follow this for… hmm… a mile.

Below is a picture from the vantage point of Mile Stretch Road.  Just keep going straight.

At the end of Mile Stretch Road there will be a restaurant called Hattie’s on your left.  Keep going straight and the road will go up a slight rise as pictured below.

At the top of the rise, bear right on Lester B. Orcutt/Main St (pictured below).  Although it’s only Main St for about 50 feet.  Biddeford Pool is huge.

Keep bearing right on Lester B. Orcutt.  The locals simply refer to it as “Les.”

Another picture from Lester B:

When you see the white house below, you’re getting close.  Start looking for the perfect parking spot.

When you see this tree and driveway, start parking anywhere on the right side.

You can see the well worn parking spots on the shoulder of the road in the picture below:

Try to pack the cars in as tight as possible.  Again, please try to carpool with cars totally full.

And here is St. Brendan’s:

Here is another shot of St. Brendan’s.  You may also park along the right side  of the church, but please watch for a few “No Parking” signs at various points.  You can park along this street that wraps back down toward the ocean and around a corner.  Again, look for the well worn parking spots on the shoulder of the road.

Here is the map of what you just drove.  It looks much farther than it is.

People who are already on I-95 (either coming from Boston, or south from Portland) – you can do a little bit different route, but you still end up taking small roads that take a while to the church. I don’t have any photos of this route, but you can take 95N or 95 S to Biddeford (Exit 32 for Maine 111).   Then take Maine 111 N/E, until you meet Rte 208/9.  Take a right on 208 and follow for about 6 miles. There is a lot of construction in this area, so anticipate detours, traffic stops and possible bumpiness.  You will take a left to continue on 208 (there will be a sign) into Biddeford Pool, then 208/Mile Stretch Road becomes Lester B. Orcutt and you will see the church on your right.

By the way, if you are coming from Portland, google maps recommends taking 195 to Saco/Old Orchard Beach  - it’s a little shorter.

This does not save a lot of time unless you were already on 95, and I would still give yourself about 30 – 40 minutes from the Wells exit (if coming from the south) to get to the church.

Hopefully, when you arrive you will have time to go to your hotel and take a little breather, but if you are coming up on Friday night and want to meet us, the bonfire should run from 8-10pm or so…

Here’s how to get there starting from the Hampton Inn.  Those coming from I-95 – I will note when the directions apply to you.  We left off here, at the Hampton Inn…

So turn yourselves around and go out of the parking lot.  If you are lucky you will see this…

Then turn left onto US 1, heading north. This part of the road can be very traffic-y, so don’t worry, it gets better once you get out of Wells.

You should see this.  But I won’t be in the mirror.

Yes, it’s a weathervane store. Maine weathervane. Keep going.

You will see these signs. They are pointing out the route to I-95, Exit 19, which is the exit you probably used to get off the highway.  You want to stay on US 1 going North (in other words, don’t go left, but do go straight through the next intersection).  The road will also be Rte. 9 after the intersection (this is the important Route – all the good stuff is on Rte. 9).

IF YOU ARE COMING DIRECTLY FROM I-95, take Exit 19 and follow directions for Hampton Inn (my first post) until you get to the “I see the ocean” intersection.  You will take a left (onto US 1 North/Rte. 9), and then join the directions from here.

There’s the first sign that shows you are now on US 1 and Rte. 9.  You are going the right way.  Sorry this one is a bit blurry.

Big Daddy’s ice cream is your next important landmark on Rte.  9. Please feel free to turn in and get a cone.

Maine Diner is the next big thing you will see on Rte. 9.

After Maine Diner, US 1 N will split from Rte. 9.  You want to stay on Rte. 9.

The next big landmark on Rte. 9 is the Rachel Carson preserve.

You will cross this bridge over a little inlet. There will probably be some people fishing there (like this guy).

Now you are going to continue along Rte. 9 for a bit – you will pass  Snug Harbor Farm on the left and Antiques on 9 – as you approach the next major intersection. This is the sign you will see.

And for those of you who are word people, this says Kennebunkport – straight ahead.

Then you will get to this light.  Maybe it won’t be red for you.  Go straight through.  By the way, if you are staying at the King’s Port Inn, that big tan building on the right on the other side of the intersection is it.  After the light you’ll see the following things.

Ok. This is where it gets a little tricky. Rte. 9 takes a little jog here.  See that stop sign where the jeep is turning?  (And that nice sign that says Rte. 9 right arrow?) You are going to take that right turn and then….

Almost immediately take a left.  This is quick.  Other cars will likely be doing the same.  But there is another handy sign and…

a handy stone-man sculpture to mark your way. It’s in the yard of that yellow house (which is actually a shop) with the red door.  Also you may have noticed all the colorful signs at the corner of the intersections (in the second of these 3 pictures).

It’s a straight shot for a while.  The next place the road turns is in Cape Porpoise.  Here’s the sign you will see (Rte. 9 and a left arrow again)…

Then you will take this turn… Ok that’s the end of the turn.  If you pass the Cape Porpoise Kitchen and it’s not on your right, you missed the turn.

Continue on Rte. 9 until you see this…

which is the Clock Tower Farm. You want to slow down, because you are going to take a right on the road that the farm faces. There is a sign for Goose Rocks Beach (and several other places) (pictured below) at the intersection.

.Take that right (we are driving past in this picture).

Continue down that road until it forks.  Take the left fork (sorry, no picture, but there is a general store on your left at the fork).

After you take the fork, you should be seeing beach. That is Goose Rocks Beach.  Go ahead and call us, or park and find us, and we will tell you what to do with your car if you can’t find a place to park.

Wow, that was a long post.

Here’s the map of what you drove.  That drive takes about 1/2 hour.

The Wells Transportation Center.  This is just across from exit 19 off I-95, so all the following directions also apply if you take exit 19 (Wells).

To the right is the view from above.  That little gray roof on the far left is the transportation center.  The big road in the middle is I-95.  The crossing road is Rte. 9, which will be an important number to remember.

If you are coming directly from I-95, turn left.  From the Tranportation Center (across Rte. 9) you will turn right.  The picture on the left is what you will see if you are in the Transportation Center parking lot.

This is the next set of signs you will see…sorry so blurry!

Then you follow Rte. 9 for quite a while until you come to this intersection.  If you are with a Jurga yell “I see the ocean” even if you can’t.

Turn right here onto US 1 South.  Here’s the next sign.

After you are on US 1, here are some things you will see:

Eureka…thar she blows…The Hampton Inn!

Cause there’s nothing like two donkeys on a van to make you feel like your hotel loves “having you here.”

Tomorrow – how to get from the Hampton Inn to Bonfire at Goose Rocks Beach.

Here’s the map of what you just did…