Thursday is Date Day

The COG and I 'date' on Thursdays when we can.  Last Thursday ,we went into Boston for lunch and the MFA.  Yesterday, we drove up to Kittery in Maine to the outlet stores.  We did not buy anything, but we had a lovely drive through peak fall colors and a nice lunch.

Kittery is a couple of miles of highway lined on either side with outlet malls that all look pretty much like this:

In other words, faux quaint New England themed temples to Mammon.  It could be any outlet mall in the US.

We had lunch at quite a nice place that fit right in with the general appearance of the place.  But there was one huge difference.  Once we sat down in the back of the restaurant we looked out the windows and saw amazing beauty.  After we ate, we walked around to the back of the restaurant and this was the view. Kittery adjoins Portsmouth - a big harbor since colonial times.  The whole area is full of tidal inlets like this one, but you just don't see them driving down the road looking at outlet shops. 

It was so beautiful.  Highlight of the day, for sure. Make sure you click on the picture to see the whole panorama.