My Trip to Maine
Traveling is always an adventure. From the people watching to the people you meet to the different landscapes, architures, and local foods. All of those things add up to new experiences and new memories.
My trip started out with a very interesting conversation on the airplane. Since I never mind chatting, I always try to be aware on planes of whether the person next to you wants to talk or not. The last thing I want is to be that person on the plane that doesn't know when to be quiet!! This time, the man sitting next to me said hello first, I responded. We did the "are you headed home? questions". Long story short, I learned more in this hour conversation than I could have imagined. He was an engineer for a major car company and had been sent to Iowa to research an unusual problem in a car with less than 1000 miles. We discussed testing, engineering, customer service. All very interesting since my full-time job with APQS has similar situations. Then the conversation turned to Iowa and his delight with the people and farming. Proud of Iowa myself, I couldn't help but be pleased. Because of his questions our conversation turned to his nationality and beliefs and I found myself intrigued with a whole nother culture. What a fun way to start the trip.
Once I landed in Maine and the sun rose the next morning, I could see I was in for a whole different kind of treat.
Main street of Bath, Maine, was charming. Lots of little shops along the hilly street with cobblestone brick beneath your feet. I became acquainted with the local coffee house as I needed a Wi-Fi connection to download e-mails. Coffee isn't on my list of favorites, so I felt compelled to try the maple nut pecan scone on one trip and the blueberry lemon bar on another. SCRUMPTIOUS!
We didn't have much time for shopping though. I was in Maine to work! Our APQS sales rep Marcia O'Donnell, below left; local quilt shop owner, Amanda Campbell, below middle; Mike O'Donnell, not pictured; and I began setting up the long-arm quilting machines in the morning. When it was time for lunch we headed to the waterfront, within walking distance for a "dog."
Loved the menu....
And, the view.
It was back to work before long, so back up the hill we hiked to the church where my quilt talk and the APQS Road Shows would be held. This is the building where we were meeting. Isn't it incredible? The local preservation group is finding funding to restore the sanctuary, but we met in the room off the sanctuary.
Our entrance was just to the right and back off the front door of the church. Amanda put quilts outside to greet our guests. Inside on Friday night I entertained about 45 people with inspiration for finishing their projects and on Saturday we educated potential customers about the features of an APQS machine. We deemed the entire weekend a success and ate Lobster Rolls on Saturday night to celebrate!
My next post will feature Amanda's quilt shop--Mariner's Compass Quilt Shop in Bath, Maine. A wonderful place for quilters!
My trip started out with a very interesting conversation on the airplane. Since I never mind chatting, I always try to be aware on planes of whether the person next to you wants to talk or not. The last thing I want is to be that person on the plane that doesn't know when to be quiet!! This time, the man sitting next to me said hello first, I responded. We did the "are you headed home? questions". Long story short, I learned more in this hour conversation than I could have imagined. He was an engineer for a major car company and had been sent to Iowa to research an unusual problem in a car with less than 1000 miles. We discussed testing, engineering, customer service. All very interesting since my full-time job with APQS has similar situations. Then the conversation turned to Iowa and his delight with the people and farming. Proud of Iowa myself, I couldn't help but be pleased. Because of his questions our conversation turned to his nationality and beliefs and I found myself intrigued with a whole nother culture. What a fun way to start the trip.
Once I landed in Maine and the sun rose the next morning, I could see I was in for a whole different kind of treat.
Main street of Bath, Maine, was charming. Lots of little shops along the hilly street with cobblestone brick beneath your feet. I became acquainted with the local coffee house as I needed a Wi-Fi connection to download e-mails. Coffee isn't on my list of favorites, so I felt compelled to try the maple nut pecan scone on one trip and the blueberry lemon bar on another. SCRUMPTIOUS!
We didn't have much time for shopping though. I was in Maine to work! Our APQS sales rep Marcia O'Donnell, below left; local quilt shop owner, Amanda Campbell, below middle; Mike O'Donnell, not pictured; and I began setting up the long-arm quilting machines in the morning. When it was time for lunch we headed to the waterfront, within walking distance for a "dog."
Loved the menu....
And, the view.
It was back to work before long, so back up the hill we hiked to the church where my quilt talk and the APQS Road Shows would be held. This is the building where we were meeting. Isn't it incredible? The local preservation group is finding funding to restore the sanctuary, but we met in the room off the sanctuary.
Our entrance was just to the right and back off the front door of the church. Amanda put quilts outside to greet our guests. Inside on Friday night I entertained about 45 people with inspiration for finishing their projects and on Saturday we educated potential customers about the features of an APQS machine. We deemed the entire weekend a success and ate Lobster Rolls on Saturday night to celebrate!
My next post will feature Amanda's quilt shop--Mariner's Compass Quilt Shop in Bath, Maine. A wonderful place for quilters!
Hi Heidi,
Maine is a place that I have always wanted to visit. My husband lived in Bangor as a child, and he loved it!! Very pretty photos.
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What a gorgeous church! Is it still an active church? You mentioned the local preservation group funding the sanctuary restoration so it made me think it's not in use. It looked so inviting with the quilts along the stairs. I laughed at the "dog" menu. Very clever!
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The church sanctuary is not being used, but the meeting hall and some rooms in the basement are.
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I enjoyed your visit to my home town and my lys. Your lecture was informative and entertaining. Hope you come back to visit us again. (and yes, Mariner's Compass is a wonderful place for quilters.)
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I'm so glad you enjoyed the evening. Amanda and I are already discussing plans for 2010!
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So sorry I missed you and this event! I was just up in Maine about the same time on vacation in northeastern Maine - we stayed in a cottage on a lake and visited family. (I will be posting photos of our vacation soon)
Maine has many great places to visit, and looks like Bath is one of them. Glad the weekend turned out well for you. Can't wait to see your feature on Mariner's Compass - a place I've always wanted to visit.
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Thanks Heidi for coming to Maine - we hope you enjoyed your visit as much as we enjoyed hosting you. I can't wait for the plans for 2010! I'm flattered that you enjoyed my shop enough to feature it!
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Hi, Heidi~
Just wanted to thank you for such an informative seminar. I enjoyed your family stories very much and I hope my quilts will be passed down from generation to generation and loved as much as yours.
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