We got up early, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and got back on the interstate heading south. We exited at York, a town I’d visited before and really wanted Matt to see. It screams “Maine”.

Our first stop was the Nubble Light at Cape Neddick (above). We sat around looking at the coast for a while, and the really entertaining seagulls.

Most of the houses there are rentals. I would not be sad to have that experience.

From there we drove over to see the beach.

When in Maine, it’s important to drink like the locals do.

The water was cold, but the day was warm. There were a decent number of people out on the beach on a Friday morning.

I could look at this view forever. In fact, I intend to someday – just in a more Caribbean locale.

Back in York, we stopped at Stonewall Kitchen for some shopping and lunch on their patio. This was Matt’s second lobster roll, and by far his favorite.

Bally made a friend there.

After lunch, we took highway 1 across the bridge from Kittery into New Hampshire, because I knew Matt would love Portsmouth, too. It’s such an adorable little town. Since we were on a whirlwind driving tour, we didn’t really get much in the way of photos.

From there we got back on the interstate and headed toward Vermont. There were a few tolls along the way, but it was worth it to be able to drive 120kph (70mph) for once.

You’d think it would be a pretty quick trip through NH to VT, but it’s not. At least it’s scenic. The whole drive looks basically like this (there was also a ton of stuff we’d have loved to stop and see along the way, but unfortunately time is always the enemy):

We drove straight across New Hampshire and stopped right at the border at the exit for Dartsmouth to pick up snacks and drinks. I was sleepy, so I was glad Matt was taking over driving. The people at the store were all so talkative and gregarious, it made us nervous.

Burlington wasn’t much farther, which made us happy. We got off and drove into South Burlington, encountering the really crappy traffic Google had warned us about. We drove a few blocks north before going to the hotel, because we had to find this: it’s the world’s tallest filing cabinet.

(Since it’s Burlington, we passed at least three breweries on the way there.)

Our hotel was conveniently only a half-mile away, and the front desk lady was great. Even more conveniently, Magic Hat‘s brewery was across the street. We stopped in for some samples and the DIY tour, where Bally ran the video controls.

Then we drove into town and headed down to the port. It was hopping down there, with a few lakeside restaurants and the ferry terminal. We found the statue of Champ, the Lake Champlain monster, sitting there in the shipyard.

He also has a memorial closer to the waterfront:

Burlington’s harbor is really nice, and there were people with kayaks and paddleboards in the lake. It’s definitely our kind of town.

You can see New York from there!

The sunset wasn’t bad, either:

From there we drove into downtown and parked at the municipal ramp. There was an awesome little pedestrian area in the middle of town that reminded us of Santa Monica, and of course Ben & Jerry’s was right there. We’d picked out Farmhouse for dinner a while back, and weren’t too bothered by the half-hour wait, because they had a really nice beer garden out back. The place was super-crowded, which is always a good sign.

Once we were seated, we ordered the cheese board, which came with really excellent local cheeses and apple butter. Matt ordered a Heady Topper, one of the most raved-about beer nerd beers. It’s only available in very limited local release, so people go far out of their way for it.

(Matt told me later that the guy eating dinner by himself at the next table ordered two Heady Toppers, and stuffed one of the empty cans into his jeans pocket when he was done. Good souvenir.)

I had the restaurant’s famous corn cakes with mushrooms and kale. Matt had bourbon-braised chicken with barley. Everything was excellent, and their beer and cocktail list was the kind of thing that could lead to a lost evening. We restrained ourselves, though, since we had an early flight the next morning.

We did decide to stop into Captain Tom’s Tiki Bar for a nightcap, though, because it was a hilariously tacky bar in the alley behind Ken’s Pizza, and it was really nice outside. We had a drink there, and then it was time to head to bed, thankful that we’d already packed our bags earlier in the day. We agreed that we both really liked Burlington, and would love to see more of the area.

Monday morning, we got a cab to Just Natural. We’d eaten there on our previous trip and had wanted to go back, because it’s incredible.

It’s set back a couple of ‘blocks’ (such as they are in Negril) from the cliffs, so it’s warmer up there. They have a big piece of land with the restaurant at the front and a jungle behind. There are paths all over to little dining areas, a bar, and a playground for the kids. They have fruit trees growing everywhere.

One of my favorite parts of the whole experience is the bathrooms. They’re outdoor and almost entirely handmade, including the urinal.

This would not fly in America. I love it.

Szof and I played checkers while waiting for our food.

Look at this Jamaican breakfast. Seriously, AMAZING.

After eating and buying a bunch of hot sauce to take a long, we decided to walk back. It’s a long way from there to the hotel and it was hot, but we had nothing but time.

There were yard goats along the way. I love them.

We stopped into a bakery to buy stuff to take along, and got bottles of water for the walk. It’s a lot quieter along the cliffs when you’re that far from the roundabout. There’s far less traffic and fewer taxis honking at you. There are pretty excellent views, too.

Also, there’s the Negril lighthouse!

It wasn’t open that day, but we were still able to climb part of the way up for pictures.

Bally found a cannon to hang out in, too. Everyone loves CannonBally.

Then we headed back out on the road again. We stopped after a bit at a little bar to pick up some beers, and admired their spectacular view.

Then we stopped into Ricks just to see it again. I wanted to show them the pool that has tables sitting in it, so you can have dinner with your feet in the water.

Then we headed out again. Our walk along the cliffs had become something of a death march at that point, because it was hot and we were tired. I think we finished the last mile in total silence.

Back at the hotel, my poolside bed called. I love this thing!

We hung out in the little pool drinking beer and talking, and then Matt and I went to go snorkel off the cliffs. The waves were a little rough so I was nervous about getting in the water, but it was fine. There’s a really good spot near the far end of Samsara where I found all manner of fish hanging out.

Then we went to sit and watch the kids jumping off the cliffs. A friend of Kris and Orsi’s had made him and Atti matching trunks in sort of a green Zubaz pattern. They were… something.

Szof has no fear. She jumped about a million times while we were there.

Kris’ jump was majestic.

We went to go shower and change, then came back out to get a table and watch the sunset. It was too hazy for a good sunset, but you can’t really complain about this:

A big group of people had shown up for what’s apparently become an important tradition: the naked cliff jump. As far as we could tell, they were primarily Canadian and mostly really extremely drunk. We saw a lot of man ass and Canadian flags while this was happening.

After sunset, we walked up to No Limit, and saw that all the Canadian cliff-jumpers were hanging out up there. Kris and Orsi headed back early, and Matt and I stuck around a little bit longer before walking back. We went to their room and saw that it was dark, so we hung out talking to their new next-door neighbors for a bit.

On the way back to our room we heard the kids yelling, and saw that they were all over on the cliff edge, lighting lanterns and sending them off over the ocean, so we stuck around watching that (which was awesome) before calling it an early night and heading to bed, where Matt stayed up watching the Westminster Dog Show on TV while I dozed off.