Bridges, Buns and UFOs

(2024 Heartland Ep 12)

After crossing Vermont and New Hampshire, we stopped near the coast to visit a longtime friend, Norm MacLean.  More than 40 years ago, we worked in the same Prudential department, ate lunch together and played racquetball with several other guys.  Norm was even an usher at our wedding in 1980.  His friendship and spiritual mentoring have profoundly affected my life.

Norm moved to Massachusetts, and then New Hampshire, in the ‘90s. We have enjoyed several visits with him over the years. 

We took a short walk from Norm’s apartment to downtown Exeter. The small village is situated on the Squamscott River, a few miles from Portsmouth. We passed Jailhouse Spring, where several locals were filling water jugs from the historied spring.     

We admired several historic churches in the center of the town and Norm pointed out the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy several blocks away.  The school is the alma mater of three Nobel Prize winners and Meta (Facebook) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Incident in Exeter

In addition to the numerous colonial-era landmarks in the area, Exeter was the location of one of the best-documented and publicized UFO sightings that occurred in 1965.  Today, the town hosts an annual UFO festival that marks the incident and raises funds for several children’s charities in the area. Unfortunately, we were too early for this year’s festival that occurred at the end of August.  

Norm was our tour guide for the day and took us to a variety of nearby attractions. 

We stopped at Jenness State Beach, where wetsuit-adorned Norm surfs from time to time, and continued along the scenic coast, passing through Portsmouth and into Maine. We stopped at Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier for lunch and watched several frisky lobsters skittering around a small tank. We decided on fish and shrimp instead, enjoying our meals at an outdoor picnic table overlooking the creek.

A while later we walked a short trail around Steedman’s Woods. We accessed it via Wiggly Bridge, a short span that crosses a swift flowing arm of Barrell’s Millpond. The bridge is said to be the smallest suspension bridge in the world. Regardless, it is definitely wiggly!

From there, we made a late afternoon stop at Nubble Lighthouse (photo at top of blog post). Sitting atop a tiny island near York, ME, the 41-foot lighthouse was built in 1879.

Our day came to an end as we passed through Kennebunk, ME bound for Blowing Cave Park.  Beyond the park’s crashing waves and misty sea spray, is Walker’s Point Estate, summer retreat of the Bush family.  It was the home of George HW (#41) and Barbara Bush. 

Several vehicles were parked in front of the house. We wondered if George W (#43) and Laura Bush were visiting.

Covered Bridges

There are LOTS of beautiful covered bridges throughout New England. They are reminders of quieter and simpler times. We wonder if there is a blog dedicated to covered bridges that includes a route to the best bridges in New England.

Today, some of the bridges have been closed to vehicle traffic. Others have been rebuilt. There are even new covered bridges that resemble the old bridges. Our journey took us by (and across) several of them. We had to detour several times because Pap was too tall!

Enjoy our covered bridge photos below.

White Horse Villa

In 1954 my dad retired from the US Navy and purchased the White Horse Villa in North Conway, NH.

The Villa was built in the 1800s. It is located near White Horse Ledge, a glacier-carved 800-foot granite cliff, and an oxbow on the swift-flowing Saco River.

My dad, mom and brothers spent the next six years renovating the old place. I was born in 1957.

The house was sold in 1960 to a ski club from the Boston area (they still own the property) and our family moved to Florida.

Best Cinnamon Buns in Exeter

Before embarking on our coastal tour, Norm took us to two delightful cafes in downtown Exeter to sample their cinnamon buns.

St. Anthony’s is a classic kind of place, with friendly staff and great coffee. We split our fresh flaky bun three ways, enjoying the nice cinnamon flavor and rich frosting.

A few blocks away, Me and Ollies has a more modern coffee shop vibe, where they serve up specialty coffees and baked goods. Their bun had soft and pillowy coils of a biscuit-like dough with icing drizzled on top.

The buns were unique and very good – 4s on a scale of 5!

Next Week

Our 2024 Heartland blog series wraps up with stops in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia.

We returned home several weeks earlier than originally planned. The timing was perfect, however.