New England: Saturday, 25th August 2001

Written by Stephen Baines

Saturday, 25 August 2001

Today has been a very busy, but fun, day. I got up a little later than the rest of the week, and was on the road by 8:30 on the way to Ogunquit. The reasons for choosing there were several, it had been recommended as a beautiful area, it was another State, and it was one of the few places without an English name. I drove through New Hampshire, past Hampton Beach, and up to Kittery, then on Route 1 till I saw the signs for Ogunquit. I decided to park at Perkins Cove, which is about a mile down the coast, and take the walk along the cliff. I was, as seems to have been the case on many ocassion, amazed at the sheer beauty of the place. Perkins Cove was a gorgeous little harbour, with fishing boats, pleasure boats, and rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. There were tourists about, but less that you'd see in any seaside town on the East Coast of Yorkshire. I wandered along the cliffs, and saw some beautiful properties overlooking the sea. The whole place is just in perfect balance, with lots of greenery, the rugged beauty of the granite rock cliffs, and the crashing waves beneath, all with a baby blue sky above. I arrived in Ogunquit proper, and I went and had breakfast - just a cinammon roll and some blueberry pancakes - and watched the world roll by. It was only 10ish, and it wasn't especially busy. Eventually the crowds rolled onto the beach, and I did likewise. I'd been told that the beach was really in two areas, the family area nearest to the town centre, then further along the beach changed into the Family beach. Indeed it did. I sat for a while, and just took everything in, then finally I plucked up the courage to rid myself of the shorts and shirt, and try and catch a little sun. I did feel more than a little bit self concious - the only thing that glared as much was the sun in the sky - but the place was relaxed, and it was a beautifully soft white beach, with the waves rolling in the distance. A little while later, I went to the sea, and had a swim in the surprisingly warm Atlantic ocean. I swam, ducked the waves, road the waves, got soaked, and then had a go on a board. Thankfully no photos exist (to my knowledge) of the latter. I went and relaxed on the beach for a while, chatted to some of the people round about, and then decided that I was feeling a little peckish. I'd been told about the Roof Top Cafe in Ogunquit, and that it was a friendly enough place to go. I went in, sat down, and the staff were nice and friendly. Jayson took my order, and arrived with the strawberry daiquiri, made with plenty of fresh strawberrys. The caesar salad soon followed, and lived up to expectations. I paid, and went off to further explore Ogunquit. I can see why it was called so - the name means "beautiful place by the sea". I returned to the car, and drove off down the coast, eventually going through Portsmouth and so on - I'm glad I made the choice I did, these other seaside places were very very kiss-me-quick, and nowhere near as beautiful. I soon hit the I95 again, and was off down into New Hampshire, and on towards Mas again. On the way down there was a roadside state liquor store, I popped in, saw the huge queues of people waiting for the lottery tickets. I got served quickly at the ordinary customer queue, and bought a ready-printed lukcy dip for tonights jackpot. Hell, it's only a $1 - and could win $280 million. And now I'm back at the hotel, and absolutely shattered. It definitely seems that I caught the sun. My joking on the beach that the English exist in two colours, pale and interesting or red and flaking, sadly seems to be true. 23:00 EST It's been a long evening. A whole load of kids have arrived at the hotel, and are causing riots all over the place. They've already broken the lifts several times, and made the evening meal not especially pleasant with all the noise. In the end I had to go and ask the manager how long they were staying, as there is no way that I could cope with this for a week. She was able to reassure me that it was only for one night, she'd have a word with their guardians, and made it up to me for the inconvenience. Thankfully, it seems to have worked, they've shut up, and I can finally get some shut-eye.