Thankful Sunday, October 28, 2018

I am thankful for later sunrises.

This was at official sunrise time, 7:32 am, this morning. However, the first light was peaking from the clouds about 45 minutes before that.

It seems no matter what I do, most nights I fall asleep at approximately the same time.  But I wake up according to the sun. As soon as the first light creeps from the sky into our bedroom, I'm awake. That means in the summer when sunrise is 5:30 am or so, I'm sleep deprived. But this time of year when sunrise is an hour or two later, I get more sleep. That makes for a happier me and a better day for all of those around me. So for a later sunrise, I am thankful.

One Last Day

Maine Trip, Day 7, Monday

We had one last day in Maine before we were heading home. We decided we would visit another must see for a Maine visit--a light house. Our destination was the Pemiquid Light House. We had been there before and wanted to go back because of the interesting rocky shore. Our goal was to go in the morning before it was supposed to start raining in the afternoon. We made it and left as the clouds and a tour bus rolled in.

The Pemaquid Lighthouse was built in 1835 and became automated in 1934. You might recognize it because it is featured on the Maine state quarter.

The shore is rocky and an interesting place to climb around or sit and watch the waves.

The rocks are also interesting to study. The metamorphic gneiss rock has been intruded by igneous rocks to make some interesting formations.

The actual lighthouse was closed for the day, but the museum in the keeper's house was open. I asked for a tour and this man delighted in showing us items and telling stories about them. 

We saw several monarchs here. We also saw a few at Salisbury Beach earlier in the week. Not sure if these are stragglers or they haven't started their migration yet.

After the lighthouse visit, we headed toward Damariscotta for lunch and at stop at Reny's, a Maine discount store. That was where we had the unexpected pleasure of seeing the decorated pumpkins. By the time we left, it was raining steadily, but Ward wanted to go a little out of the way to try to find Lie-Nielson that we had passed on our way to Bar Harbor. Lie-Nielson makes high end woodworking tools that Ward had read about but never seen.

Lie-Nielson is known for its high quality hand woodworking tools. They are sold all around the world, but this is where they are all made.

Ward enjoyed examining and trying out the tools in the showroom.

I asked the woman in the showroom if they gave tours and she said that there was enough time to take us on one right then. It pays to ask because that was the second time that day we got an unscheduled tour. Here our tour guide is telling us about some plane caps that are in progress.

These men were polishing plane irons. Ward was fascinated with the processes and was in seventh heaven during the whole visit. I appreciated the tour even though I didn't understand everything they were working on.

We were getting tired, so it was time to go back to my sister's house and pack our things for tomorrow's departure. However, on the way, we stopped at another Maine tradition, Moody's Diner.

Moody's has been around since 1927 and is a good, old fashioned, family-owned diner. They are famous for the many different kinds of pies they make. So what did we have? Pie, of course. Blueberry for Ward and apple for me. :)

The next day it was back to reality when we arrived home after a bumpy, but uneventful flight. I can definitely say that a good time was had by all on our trip to Maine. :)

Unexpected Fun

Maine Trip, Day 7, Monday

Monday was another sightseeing day. More about that in the next post. Today's post is about our lunch stop. We ate lunch in Damariscotta at a sandwich place recommended by my brother-in-law. The sandwiches were good and served in an interesting country store.

However, the real, unexpected treat was the Pumpkin Festival that Damariscotta was celebrating. The main street was lined with large decorated pumpkins as part of it. We saw a wide variety of decorations done by some very clever people. We didn't get pictures of all of them because of the rain, but here are many of them.

Do you have a favorite? How about a top three?

Who Did We Go to See?

Maine Trip, Day 5 and 6, Saturday and Sunday

Our loosely based itinerary for this trip included leaving the weekend days free so we could spend time with my sister, Mary Ellen, and her husband, Paul, when they weren't working. Because that was really the reason for the trip--to visit family. After playing tourist the rest of the week, we enjoyed our time just hanging out with Mary Ellen and Paul. Here is how we spent our weekend.

Saturday: It was raining all day, so that meant mostly indoor, rainy day activities.

While Ward and Paul were off at a spin class, Mary Ellen and I sat around in our warm robes drinking coffee and chatting as only sisters can do.

We had a good lunch out and then headed back home to get out of the rain.

Paul worked in his shop while Mary Ellen and I spent several hours working on my mother's estate.

and Ward took a nap and worked a puzzle.

A relaxing day for all. :)
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Sunday: The rain cleared, so we spent the day out and about.

Ward and Paul went for a hike to Bald Mountain. The joke of our visit was that Ward was so relaxed, he could sleep anywhere.

While they were hiking, Mary Ellen and I went to visit my nephew and his wife where I met my grandnephew. He is five months old and a happy, smiley baby. I was really looking forward to this part of the trip and our visit did not disappoint.

And what would a trip to Maine be without a visit to L. L. Bean? When it was time for the baby to take a nap, Mary Ellen and I headed here. The area around the store has built up to be an outlet mecca, but we only went to this store. Did I mention that I'm not much of a shopper?

It was a good weekend and nice break before we were off playing tourist for one more day on Monday.

Friends and Beaches

Maine Vacation, Day 4, Friday

This was the day we had arranged ahead of time to meet with our long time friends who now live outside of Boston. We met at Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts which was about halfway between where we were staying and their home.

We had lunch in a restaurant built on the edge of the beach or actually in the water during high tide. We were there close to high tide,  so we got a little excited as the waves struck the windows and sometimes shook the building.

After lunch we spent some time on the beach. Ward and Ray took a walk along a jetty.

They cut their walk short after a couple of these big waves.

They joined Dee and I on a walk down the beach where we found this lobster trap. Apparently if a trap breaks away, it's fair game for anyone. We left this one for somebody else.

We spent a couple of more hours on the beach talking and taking in the sights of birds, fishing boats and seals. Then it was time to part ways. They headed south and we headed north.

On the way home, we stopped to look around in Kennebunkport, ME.  We learned there were actually two towns here: Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport. However, for all practical purposes, they are the same thing. At least if you are a tourist. (Note: I will refer to everything here as being in Kennebunk because it is easier to type.)  Kennebunk is a picturesque New England town. Below are a couple of examples of this.

This is the S. Congregational Church that was built in 1884. It has a wooden clock face which is unusual.

The Wedding Cake House in Kennebunk was built in 1825 by George Bourne. Lore has it that the house was built by Bourne, a sea captain, for his wife because he went to sea before they had their wedding cake. That's not true, but it makes a good story. My pictures didn't turn out well because of afternoon shadows. This picture is from TripAdvisor.com.

We visited the beach at Kennebunk. This beach was also cold and windy like the last one. Or as Ward would say, it was refreshing. We don't always agree on the weather.

We walked up and down the beach, but mostly we watched several dogs playing. However, we didn't get any pictures, we were having too much fun with the dog show.

As the sun was setting, we left for my sister's house where we found a fresh seafood dinner waiting. Have I mentioned that my brother-in-law is a great cook?

Oh, The Winds Were Blowing

Maine Vacation, Day 3

We woke up to the same weather we went to bed with--cold rain. That meant we had to change our plans a bit. The motel had a list of rainy day activities which included Thunder Hole and we decided to make that our first destination. Thunder Hole is a place along the shore in Acadia National Park where the rocks are in a bowl shape so that when the waves crash there, they make a loud thundering noise.

When we got to Thunder Rock, the wind was blowing the rain almost horizontally. With the wind and rain noise, I'm not sure if we heard the thundering or not. However, the waves were loud.

After Thunder Rock, we decided to drive the rest of the loop around the park. At this stop I got dry clothes out of my suitcase and changed out of my wet clothes. Despite our rain gear, parts of us were soaked from our Thunder Rock visit because of the driving rain. (Not sure why it was listed as a rainy day activity.)

After my dry clothes, I was able to enjoy the drive better. 

Of all of the beautiful trees, I think sugar maple is my favorite.

This is a carriage bridge. Acadia National Park has a series of roads and bridges constructed by John D. Rockefeller from 1913 to 1940 for hikers, bikers, and carriages to enjoy the area. 

We continued on the drive back to my sister's house. We took the long way home and explored some of the points and islands of the area. We saw a lot of big houses, but I didn't take pictures of any of them. We were out of the tourist areas and it seemed intrusive to do so. It rained the whole way home, but it was an enjoyable ride in our nice, warm, dry car.