For Christmas this year, we decided that instead of getting each other stuff we don’t need, we’d invest the money into a couples retreat. We wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before that was no more than a couple hours from home. After consulting with some friends and taking a look at the local map, we landed on Wentworth by the Sea. We only decided on this trip a few weeks out from Christmas, so we unfortunately were unable to secure a spa appointment. Rather than spend a lot of time tracking down another place for a spa treatment, we decided to play things by ear and be spontaneous.
We learned a few days prior to our arrival that we had been upgraded to a bigger room, and when we checked in discovered it wasn’t just a room; it was a two bedroom two story condo unit right on the water! We didn’t actually need the second bedroom, so we set it up as our changing room, leaving the master suite to be just for sleeping. Soon after putting our things away, we made our way back over to the main building to check out the gym (good-sized), see if the spa had any cancellations (they didn’t), and have a pre-dinner cocktail at their in-house lounge/restaurant (Salt Kitchen & Bar). We were not impressed or pleased with the experience we had in the lounge. It took almost 20 minutes to get someone to acknowledge us, and we had to bus our own table because none of the servers who stopped by our table to say that someone would be with us “soon” brought with them anything to clean off the table. I moved the glasses and debris from our table to an adjacent one which was also dirty and asked Lou to borrow a towel from the bartender. After more time had passed we finally got our first drink. No once came after that to check on us or to see if we wanted another drink. Those drinks were not cheap, so I would think they’d be motivated to sell as many of them as possible, especially considering that their patrons were pretty much landlocked with no other bar choice within walking distance. I suggested to Lou that we cancel our dinner reservations, but he talked to the manager about what was happening and they assured us that service would be better in the restaurant. It was indeed better, because the manager himself was our waiter. The food was high quality, though slightly dry, and we were introduced to a new favorite wine. The meal was definitely not rushed, as we were there almost three hours for a two course meal. Rather than prolong our experience over dessert, we took the rest of our wine back to our condo, turned on our fireplace, and watched some football.
Breakfast both mornings was at Salt, and we worried we would receive the same shoddy service as the night before. We needn’t have worried. It was well staffed, and although the menu was limited, they did have made to order omelets and the best English muffins we’ve ever had. They tasted like they were baked that morning.
Keeping with the theme of trying new things and places, we decided to hike Mount Agamenticus in York, Maine. We took the ring trail, as it was described as moderate, and were surprised to discover that we should have brought our micro spikes. We didn’t think it had snowed enough to need them, but apparently it did. Fortunately, we were both wearing boots with good traction and had our hiking poles with us. Both came in handy through some of the icier parts. When we started out we didn’t know this had been a former ski slope. We only learned this as we came to the top of the mountain and saw evidence of lifts and runs. When I looked it up later I learned that it was in operation as a ski hill only 10-ish years, closing in 1975. Its the age old story of developers wanting to develop and locals wanting to preserve the land.
We finished with our hike in time for a cocktail at a local brewery. There were some places that looked promising in Portsmouth, but after a drive-by discovered they were too crowded for our comfort zone. We opted instead for an early dinner at Robert’s Maine Grill & Raw Bar in Kittery, Maine. It was the complete opposite of our experience the evening before, and about half the price even with a dozen oyster starter plate. Lou was hungry, so he opted for a more hearty dinner of fish and chips, while I had a couple of appetizers and a cup of haddock chowder. Everything was so good that I was even able to overlook that they served Hunts ketchup instead of Heinz.
Our last morning at Wentworth by the Sea was leisurely, as Lou arranged for a late check out. Our original plan was to drive straight home and have dinner with Sage and Shawn, but it looked like it was going to be another nice day so we elected to take another hike on our way home, instead. Instead of another mountain, we went for a beach dune hike instead. When I was doing volunteer work with the Trustees of the Reservations, I had heard about Castle Hills on the Crane Estate, but never got a chance to visit. We weren’t interested in touring the buildings or related Inn, but were looking forward to hiking on what we thought would be a tourist light day. It was $10 per car to park at the beach, and when we arrived the wind was making the 45 degree day feel more like a 30 degree day. We bundled up accordingly, grabbed our poles, and took off on the Crane Beach Loop. Its marked as a moderate 3 mile hike, but we extended it by taking another trail onto the Castle Neck River side and walking along-side it for about half a mile before tying back into the Yellow trail. Most of the hike is in sand with some steep inclines, so some people might find it challenging. The poles really do help maintain balance and provide a little boost on the hills. We each only had one, which was perfectly sufficient.
On the way home we stopped for dinner at Not Your Average Joe’s. We broke our rule about only new places on this trip because we really like their food and we don’t often find ourselves near one of their locations. Plus, I was getting a little hangry and we didn’t have any snacks in the car to take the edge off.
