Acadia Today

The rain stopped overnight and today was a gorgeous day on the Down East coast. It started cool and overcast, but the sun worked at coming out all morning and finally chased out the clouds by early afternoon. We explored Acadia National Park, and the beautiful weather lent itself to some great photo ops. This is Seal Cove, on Mt. Desert Island.




We all had a good time looking for sea glass and exploring the tidal pools. Thunder Hole was amazing, and thanks to the recent passage of Tropical Storm Danny, the waves were impressive.


































These are some shots at the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern seaboard....












































We were going to make Molly eat this for dinner:














But lucky for her we got a hot tip on a great spot called Geddy's in Bar Harbor. GREAT fun! Our friends were even able to watch us from home via the Geddy's Webcam! Very cool.






































Tomorrow it's over the sea to Yarmouth on the CAT, a high-speed catamaran ferry.

In Which We Explore Down East in the Teeth of a Gale

Whilst various dignitaries were escorting the body of Ted Kennedy south from Boston to his burial in DC, Hurricane Danny shooed us northward, up the rocky coastline from Beantown. No photos to share of Day 1 due to the driving rain and high winds. It was misery, on the rocks, please, with a twist.

Ray, Molly and I braved the elements and hiked out on the rocks in Boothbay Harbor. Wild weather didn't deter the cormorants and gulls. The waves were really amazing to watch, but no photos of the action because it was too awful to risk the camera.

There were bright spots, if not weather-wise, in the form of retail therapy, knitting progress and food. The L.L. Bean Outlet shop was busy, but we scored some sweet deals on Kingfield sweaters, a soft-sided suitcase and raincoats, which had their tags unceremoniously ripped off and were pressed into service immediately.

I got a lot of knitting done on Samus. The Saxon cable braid is half finished, and I'm really pleased with how it's turning out.

For dinner, we stopped at Moody's Diner in Waldoboro, Maine. The Saturday Night Special was homemade baked beans, homemade coleslaw, homemeade brown bread and a hot dog. With homemade blueberry pie (wild Maine blueberries, of course!) it doesn't get any better than that!

Hurricane Danny is supposed to skulk away overnight, and sunny skies are predicted for tomorrow. We plan to explore Acadia National Park and visit one of Molly's favorite places in the USA, Thunder Hole.

In Which My Vacation Preparations are Thwarted By Overachieving Tree Roots

I think the universal characteristic of all vacations, no matter how small or lavish, is LAUNDRY. Laundry before you leave so that you can have your entire wardrobe, save what you have on your body, to choose from as you try to imagine just the perfect outfit for trekking across the Galapagos Islands. Laundry that greets your exhausted body after you come home and your suitcase explodes with dirty, sandy, sweaty and dripped-on clothes that experienced every minute --the good, the bad and the filthy-- of your vacation.

Today was the pre-vacation laundry phase. In an effort to be sure we all have twice the amount of clean underwear we'll need for the ten-day trip, I dutifully tossed in a load this morning. A few minutes later I wondered why I heard the sump pump running. Then it dawns on me. The tree roots have again grown into the sewer line, and the water from the washing machine is pouring out of the pipe and on to the basement floor. Our sump pump, the dear heart, is furiously trying to send the water back through the sewer pipe. The sewer pipe which is blocked by tree roots trying to be the first of their peers to reach a water source.

This happens every six months or so, and a phone call to the sewer guy clears it up in a few minutes. He sends his snake through the line, chewing off all the invading roots and again enabling the household to flush and brush and wash to our heart's content. Every time he comes to work his magic, he admonishes us about the old, ceramic sewer line that connects this 120 year old house to the main line on the street. We should put in a plastic pipe, he says. Dig 'er up and just be done wid' it. Course you'll prolly lose the tree, he admits.

I smiled and thanked him, threw another load of laundry into the washer and then went to sit on our front porch in the shade of the gorgeous silver maple tree whose eager roots just recieved a bit of a trim. It's a great old tree, part of the family, really. So we'll keep paying the sewer guy, thankyouverymuch.

In Which I Take the Plunge

Why yes, I am the last person in North America to set up a blog! Thanks for noticing!

With our trip to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick just under a week away, I thought I'd set this up to serve as a sort of travelogue of sorts, in which we record our journey from our home in Connecticut through the maritime provinces and back again. We're hoping to hit several Local Yarn Store gems while on the road, all in the name of adding to our ever-expanding STASH. At least my mom and I are hoping. Ray and Molly are exceedingly patient, and always kindly humor Mom and I as we feed our fiber habit. It's more of an addiction, really. For us, Local Yarn Stores are like crack dens. ;-)

Normally when we travel we have the dogs with us and are headed either to or from a dog show. Overnight trips mean schlepping crates, etc. into hotels and back out again, eating from drive-through windows so as to avoid leaving the dogs in the car, and taking turns at local attractions so that someone is always outside, holding leashes or in the car with the A/C running. This time it's different!

We are actually taking a VACATION that WILL NOT include running in circles while wearing a paper number on your arm! It will not include juggling collars and leads! It will not include ring schedules, midnight potty walks, or lint rollers! Our dear friend, who also happens to be the local Canine Control Officer, my training partner and Molly's 4-H Leader is going to house-sit for us so the dogs can stay in their own home and we won't have to leave the house empty. We leave in five days, so let the furious preparations begin!