Coastal Maine and Acadia National Park.

This conversation happened in Portland, Maine.

Mainer:  Welcome to Maine.  We're open for business.

Me:         Thanks.

Mainer:    What do you think of The Pot City?

Me:          ya mon...i like the GREEN.

Mainer:     No Pot Land, the Pot City.

Me:           What?

Mainer:       Ya know?, the pot...where the boats go.

Me:           Oh oh oh...Portland?

Mainer:      Wheh ya headed?

Me:            Up North to Acadia.

Mainer:       Naaaath?   You mean Down East?

Me:             NO, we're heading North to Acadia.

Mainer:        Yeah Down East.

Me:              I guess so?  I thought it was North.

Mainer:        Yeah Naaath.  Whatevah?

Me:             Where else should we stop?

Mainer:        Free Pot.

Me:             Free Pot?  ( I pursed my lips and made a toking motion with my fingers).

Mainer:       No Free Pot, Free Pot you dolt.

Me:             Yeah man, I'm hip to Mary Jane.

Mainer:        No No Free Pot you idiot...where L.L. Bean comes from.

Me:              Oh, any good eats up there?

Mainer:        Yeah, try the Lobstah it's wicked good.

Me:              What else?

Mainer:        Watch our for the street con.

Me:            Street Con?  like crime?  3 card monty?

Mainer:      No No the street con. you imbicile. like con on the cob?

Me:          Oh you mean sweet corn?

Mainer:      Whatevah.

The Portland Headlight

Looking back at Sand beach, Acadia.Jordan Pond and The Bubbles.The marina at Bar Harbor.Atop Cadillac Mountain. 1530 ft straight up from the sea.Wagner making friends around the campfire.

Wagner befriended Steve...future councilman of Bucksport., Me.The Schwahtz's of Portland, Me.The lobby's were wicked good. 

Queen of The Hotel Monaco

Checking in: Carmelo at The Hotel Monaco, SLCRoadtripping with your dog can be a fun and rewarding experience.

Carmelo and I have have camped out more than 400 nights together...in motels & hotels.  We're pretty well versed in road-warriorism.  Rolling without a definite agenda has its ups and downs. There are both rewards and frustrations when you're #roadtrippin with an 80 lb, furry best friend.  Finding well located and clean, dog-friendly accommodations can sometimes be a challenge.  That's why we have Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants on speed dial.

Kimpton has more than 50 hotels in 24 cities throughout the U.S...and they're all dog friendly.  So once we establish our route ...we always check Kimpton first.  This time we base-camped at The Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake City.  This was our first time visiting Hotel Monaco SLC.  It's a sweeeeeeeeet place in the heart of Downtown Salt Lake. Hotel Monaco,SLC is located at 2nd South and Main, one block from the posh City Creek Center ...a new mixed use development from our friends at The Taubman Company.  City Creek has a siiiiiiiiiiick retractable roof for the POW days in SLC.

Carmelo and I have stayed in some pretty rank, roadside dumps in our day but Hotel Monaco,SLC is not one of them.  Across the entire chain Kimpton offers well priced, well located, boutique hotels that feature consistently excellent customer service and unique restaurants.

First class treatment never gets old. Fabulous customer service is never a bad thing.  At The Hotel Monaco, SLC,  we were greeted warmly upon our arrival. Carmelo was a HUGE hit with the staff.  My dog knows a fancy hotel when she sees it...so she was fired up like a puppy.  The complimentary "Wine Hour" at 5-6pm, is a great touch and a Kimpton institution. Carmelo was wildly sniffing every inch of the lobby looking for crumbs. She acted like the Queen of the Hotel Monaco.  Our room was decked out and included a package of doggie ammenities. Also, very cool... Kimpton's new Haute Yoga promotion includes a yoga mat in every room & and there are complimentary bike rentals in SLC.

Our friends at the Sky Hotel in Aspen (a Kimpton property) suggested that we try Bambara, the restaurant at the Hotel Monaco, SLC.  The place was buzzing with a pre-theatre crowd. The historic Capital Theatre is just across the street and had a one-night, one-man show, Hal Holbrook starring in A Night With Mark Twain.  In SLC, that's like... I dunno??...a Beatles reunion tour (just kidding SLC...u stay weird now). Anyway... Bambara was packed, but the food and the service couldn't have been better. The home-made blue cheese potato chips & and the rich and wonderful corn chowder have been a staple on Bambara's menu for 13 years.  Wow!!...is all I can say about the app's.  The big, fat juicy Filet Mignon was just what the Doctor ordered me to ummm,.... ummmm... stay away from. I couldn't resist nom nom nom, nom nom nom.  A home-made ice cream sandwich topped off a fantastic meal.  The New American cuisine devised by Executive Chef Nathan Powers offers one of the best menu's in SLC.

It was a great way to kick off a serious roadtrip.  See you in Seattle.

*AspenSpin received promotional considerations for this article*

Warm and friendly staff...at the dog friendly Hotel Monaco SLC by Kimpton.The service at Bambara Restaurant was off the charts.

Asst. GM Steve Quesenberry & Executive Chef Nathan Powers put on a show at Bambara in Salt Lake City.