MAINE VACATION 2005

Anne and I drove from our Columbia, Maryland home to Camden, Maine where we rented two cottages for a family vacation. We are vacationing in Maine because our son Kevin takes his son Sean to Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine on Lake Sebago. Camp Sunshine is a camp for kids with life threatening diseases. Sean is afflicted with Fanconi Anemia (FA) a rare (about 500 known cases worldwide) life threatening genetic disease. We are vacationing in Camden because our daughter Kara has a friend whose father owns three houses in Camden. He graciously offered to rent two of them to us for this specific week. We spent the week with Kevin and Kara's families of two kids each and daughter-in-law Lorraine's brother Bob's family of three kids plus their father the senior Robert.

We stayed in the cottage on Lake Megunticook enjoying the cool night air, the quiet darkness occasionally softly interrupted by the lilting call of a loon. The three families stayed in the large modern 4 bedroom 4½ bath guesthouse on Camden Harbor. We kept busy swimming, boating and fishing at the lake and biking on Islesboro, hiking and picking wild blueberries in the area, Camden Hills State Park and Acadia National Park. We enjoyed the food of Maine especially the lobster and blueberry dishes.

August 5, 2005   Friday   Drive Columbia, MD to Portland, ME

Anne and I drove from our house in Columbia, Maryland at 6:45 on our way to Camden, Maine. We followed US-29 north to I-70 east to I-695 to I-83 north to Harrisburg, PA. We picked up I-81 north to I-84 east to I-90 east to I-290 to I-495 to I95 north through New Hampshire into Portland, Maine. We stopped for lunch at a Subway for $11.19 in New York.

We checked into Portland, Maine Day's Inn room 160 for $121.34. We walked across the street to the South of the Border for a beer and combination platter with our bill coming to $39.43 including tip.

August 6, 2005   Saturday   Check in to Camden, Maine Cottages

We got up about 7:00 for buffet breakfast in the motel. We were in no hurry this morning as we left the motel about 9:00 with Anne stopping at a nearby Christmas shop as I gased the car. We drove out of Portland on I-295 to I-95 to Brunswick where we picked up US-1 north along the coast. We stopped in Freeport to visit LL Beans outlet and main stores. We continued north to ME-90 cutting across a peninsula into Rockport. We stopped for lunch for $19 in a small restaurant. We met and talked to a young Scot from Glasgow biking fully loaded from Ellsworth back to Boston where he now lives. We drove into the adjoining town of Camden completing our 102 mile trip from Portland.

We checked in the big house in Camden and no one had arrived as yet. We drove the 7.5 miles to the Megunticook Lake cottage and unloaded the car. We returned to the house in Camden about 3:00 shortly before Kara and Jason arrived with grandkids Logan and Margaret. We went to the grocery store stocking up on necessities. We walked around town with the kids before having supper at Camden Pizza for $25. Anne and I returned to the lake cottage in Lincolnville for the night. It is cool, quiet, dark and peaceful as we could hear the loons calling out on the lake as we drifted off to sleeep.

August 7, 2005   Sunday   Rockland Lobster Festival

Got up at 6:00 and went for my 5 mile run. I had a blueberry bagel with cream cheese, orange juice and milk for breakfast.

We drive into town. We load into the Rolfe's mini van and drive to Rockland about 10 miles south down the coast from Camden. It is the last day of the Rockland lobster festival and we are among the very early arrivals paying $7 for each adult but the kids get in free. It is a great affair with lots of kids rides. We go into a saltwater display where Logan can pick up a lobster and all kinds of sea creatures. Logan also took several rides and other kids activities. As it was about noon I started grazing at different booths eating a lobster roll $10, a bowl of clam chowder $6 and assundry other items, all very good.

We return to the Camden house and receive a call from Bob and Rosemary Muir that they will arrive soon. Rosemary is a friend of Anne who teaches with her at Howard Community College. We drove out to the lake cottage to relax on the back deck beside the water enjoying cheese, crackers and wine as we talked. Bob drove us about 5 miles to Lincolnville Beach in his Acura with the impressive talking navigation system and stick shift. We ate dinner at the Lobster Pond sitting next to the window on the water with the view. We returned to the Camden House to play Balderdash with Bob and Brook Redpath, Kevin and Lorraine McQueen, Kara and Jason Rolfe, the Muirs and us. We returned to the lake cottage for the night.

August 8, 2005   Monday   Megunticook Lake Beach

Got up at 6:00 and ran 5 miles. It is calm and the lake is like a mirror. We had breakfast on the deck by the water with the Muirs. The Muirs left on their way to Nova Scotia.

We met everyone at the beach on the east end of the lake on the way into Camden. The kids were having a great time playing in the water. We had a picnic lunch and spent the afternoon at the beach. Bob Redpath arrived in a rental car and settled into the lake cottage with Anne and I. We spent the late afternoon and early evening swimming off the pier, fishing and paddling the kayaks around the lake with the kids. Kevin went to the lobster pond for lobsters which we ate at the lake cottage with cobb corn and other delicacies for supper.

August 9, 2005   Tuesday   Hiking Acadia National Park

Got up at 6:05 and ran 5 miles. I had a bagel with cream cheese, orange juice, milk, and a banana.

Bob Redpath drove us to the Camden house where we caravaned with the junior Redpath family and the Rolfes to Acadia National Park. It is about a 2 hour drive north up the coast. We drive up Mt Cadillac for some great 360 degree views as it is perfectly clear. We drive back down the mountain to the Beaches for a picnic lunch. It is beautiful and we spend some time at lunch with the kids playing on the rocks. We hike from the Beaches up the Beehive around the back avoiding the steep front with the kids. We are eating wild blueberries and Kelsey even got Logan to eat one, his first. We return via the Bowl a small high lake making a circuit hike. It is getting late so we complete the circuit drive through the park and head south back down the coast to Camden.

It is late and everyone is tired so we have pizza for supper in Camden. Bob, Anne and I return to the lake cottage for the night.

August 10, 2005   Wednesday   Hike Mount Megunticook and Golf

Got up at 6:00 and ran 5 miles. Anne and I drove into Camden about 8:00.

Kevin and I hiked from town up the very steep Mt Battie then continued on up Mt Megunticook. It is a beautiful forest hike with occasional great views over the ocean or Lake Megunticook. It is quite pleasant and we decide to hike through so Kevin called Anne on his cell phone so she could meet us at the sandy beach at the east end of Lake Megunticook. It takes longer than anticipated to finish the tough 6 mile hike but we find Anne waiting for us when we arrive.

We met at 3:00 at Goose Creek golf course. Kevin and Sean McQueen, Bob Redpath and I played 9 holes. It is a pretty course and different from the courses in Maryland. We are surprised at how well 6 year old Sean plays.

Everyone gathers at the lake cottage for a cookout and of course the kids are in the water and boating around.

August 11, 2005   Thursday   Kayak Camden Harbor and Hike Camden Hills State Park

Got up about 6:00 and ran 5 miles. After a breakfast bagel and milk I loaded my kayak on my car and drove into Camden to the boat ramp at the end of Sea Street near the house. It is foggy as I unload my kayak and slip into the water of Camden Harbor. It is calm and surreal so I don't want to wonder far because the visibility is very poor and I don't want to get lost or run over by a power boat. I turn left past our rental house and follow the shore around across the mouth of the harbor and around Curtis Island with it's lighthouse on the outside point. I continue around inside the breakwater into the main harbor crowded with boats. A man, probably a crewman on a large wooden sailing ship, calls to me "nice kayak" and we chat a while. There are three large excursion sailing ships and many other nice boats in the harbor. I weave my way through the maze of boats emerging back the the boat launch where I started. I probably only covered 2-3 miles but really enjoyed it. As I loaded my kayak on my car I talked to a young woman walking her dog about kayaking and Camden.

I drove back to the lake cottage via Distant Journeys offices on Molyneaux Road. I met a young lady who guides for Distant Journeys.

Everyone drove to Mount Battie to pick blueberries. I got an upset stomach so we retreated to the lake house. Everyone congregated at the lake house for more fishing, boating and swimming until we finished off the day with a cookout.

August 12, 2005   Friday   Bike Islesboro

Got up about 6:00 and ran 5 miles. Ate breakfast of a bagel and milk. I loaded Anne and my bike in the back of the

car and drove to Lincolnville Beach to catch the ferry to Islesboro Island. Kevin had rented bikes, burleys and tag alongs for Bob Redpath Senior, Bob and Brook, Cecilia, Madeleine and Quin Redpath, Jason, Kara, Logan and Maggie Rolfe and Kevin, Lorraine, Kelsey and Sean McQueen. We all met and loaded on the ferry for the half hour ride to the island. Brook took their van over on the ferry as a sag vehicle. It was quite a fete but we all got started and biked almost 8 miles to the southern tip of the island. The terrain is gently rolling and there is little traffic as we roll along down country lanes. We stop at a park with a beach for a picnic lunch. The kids enjoy finding and touching the marine life left on the sandy and rocky beach in small pools by the receding tide.

We bike back to the ferry stopping for ice cream at the country store about half way back. There is a line for the ferry so we join it and talk to the local people.

We return by ferry and get back to the lake cottage. It is another pizza night as everyone needs to get packed up for an early start home tomorrow morning.

August 13, 2005   Saturday   Drive from Camden, Maine to Columbia

Got up about 6:00 and ran 5 miles. Ate breakfast of a bagel and milk. Loaded the car and took off at 7:28 returning by the route we came a week ago. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Fishkill, New York for gas and lunch $23.59. We stopped in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania for gas and dinner at Ruby Tuesday's for $37.07. We drove 702.6 miles arriving home at 9:44.