Well, the original plan was to go to a nice restaurant for brunch, but...well, let me get into the details.
There's a restaurant near me (as in, within fifteen minutes) named Gather. My family heard some good reviews, and my father called to make a family reservation for four. He then called back to confirm the appointment, and they told him it was all set.
We show up a few minutes late (which happens sometimes when you have a sibling with disabilities), and...no mention of our family on the reservation list. After a lengthy discussion, my family was offered a lounge area we could eat at once another family left. This was acceptable, so we sat down to wait.
A bit later, the hostess came by and notified us that, unfortunately, the owner decided to give the lounge to another family that just arrived. However, if we wanted to, we could sit at the bar and order.
My family consists of my parents, one of whom had major knee surgery not too long ago, and my sister who needs to be actively facing people to be able to understand what they're saying if they're attempting to communicate with her. Needless to say, sitting at a bar for Mother's Day was about as appealing as being told we could "sit out on the lawn and watch traffic."
So, we had to find another outlet for our hunger. I attempted to contact our regular favorite place, however either someone left the phone off the hook or they simply weren't taking calls, because the line was busy every time I tried contacting them for fifteen minutes. We attempted a few places in Freeport, but either the prices were ridiculous ($60 for a buffet? Really?) or they just didn't serve brunch and were opening for lunch.
We finally went to a small cafe and had what I'd call an "okay" breakfast, but not really one I'd actively seek out or recommend to others. It had points against it when a waitress knocked over a water glass on a table, mopped up the water from the table, but didn't clean up the water on the floor so the next family had a guy sitting with his feet spread slightly to not get his shoes wet.
However, at the cafe, I noticed a picture taken of a stone tower. Intrigued, I did some research while my family waited for our food, and learned about the remnants of the Casco Castle. We went for a drive down to see it, didn't trespass on private property to get a good look at it (we stayed on the road), and then went home.
I'll admit, I hadn't done much planning for Mother's Day. I kept meaning to work out with the rest of my family what the idea was for a group gift or whether I should cover a meal somewhere or make something myself. I dropped the ball on it, and it was a mistake I don't plan on making again.
However, that night I hopefully made up for it by cooking my family nice Mother's Day dinner. There were pork chops stuffed with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cream cheese and goat cheese. There was a penne salad, and there was oven roasted asparagus. I also made a raspberry tiramisu for dessert.
Hopefully my mother was able to enjoy Mother's Day towards the end, and I fully plan on taking charge of next year to make sure it's a great day instead of just a better evening.
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