Saturday, July 23, 2011

Revisiting America

Well, I almost got through without a disappearing act, but it just happened as I was describing Mary Lou Teel's impression of Kuralt.  It was very evident that she and her husband had a wonderful working and personal relationship with Kuralt. It was a pleasure meeting and visiting with her.  And, she also said, "write the book."  And I will talk more about our visit in the book.
Well, I am now a "solo" act.  Janie was able to get a flight home Tuesday and leave with Shirley and Marge as they went to Portland to get their plane home.  We spent all day Monday packing all of her things to ship and was able to do it Parcel Post, very reasonably.  Janie wasn't getting any better, could hardly walk around without being in such pain, couldn't enjoy things we had planned, and really needed to get a diagnosis, proper treatment and pain management, for her own good.  We had talked about it several times already, and she made the decision.  I know it was hard for her to go, but she really had no choice.  I've talked to her since she got home and she already has appointments lined up for next week to begin the process.  Hopefully no harm has been done as much as she has walked and tried to be okay.  She already had been told to have knee surgery.  I'll miss her!  I already do.
Kay and Ellene will be in around 11:30 tonight to stay until Wednesday, so I'm excited, not having seen them for three months, and that's one reason I wanted to blog the Maine(main) thing. 
I probably will leave on the 29th rather than the 30th because it will be at least a three day trip to Ely, Minnesota.  I don't have a place secured yet, but several possibles.
I will try to blog again before I leave.  And I especially ask for your prayers now that I will be traveling alone.  Wrong!  We're never alone.

Revisiting America

It was hard to cook and fix for Shirley and Marge because Shirley wanted to go out and eat seafood, which we did.  We did miss a few places but I'll mention Lobsterman's Wharf, Lobster Dock, Ocean Point Inn, Barnacle's on Monhegan Island. the Carousel Dinner Theater, as well as Schell's Kitchen which featured a "ham and egg" pie made especially for us sisters because our mother was the only person I've ever known to make one.  And, it was our Daddy's favorite.  They all agreed that it was very, very good,( I added an extra "very") and I value Marge's opinion because she is an excellent cook.  We absolutely couldn't make any more restaurants, there are so many, and our time was so limited.
Our day trip, on Saturday, to Monhegan Island was another one of those perfect weather, outing, boat trips.  The Balmy Days 11 left Pier 8 at 9:30  a.m., and weren't home until around 4:00 in the afternoon.
The trip takes one and a half hours, the island is twelve miles from Boothbay, and there are no vehicles allowed on the island or ferry.  Monhegan isn't an amusement park.  All property belongs to the local Monhegan Associates Land Trust and people do live and work on the island.  Several pick-up trips are used to cart luggage to and from the ferry landing and these trucks do have the right-of-way, so you are the one that has to move over and let them pass. There is no camping, you're responsible for your own trash, finding lodging can be very difficult in the busy summer months, reservations are necessary to stay over night, dogs must be on a leash at all times, better be back to the wharf at the appointed time or you will be left to take another ferry and probably left at a different place than where you started.  Only two toliet facilities, and two public telephones are on the island.  A light jacket is recommended because the Island is out in open Atlantic.
The Lighthouse and Museum is a popular place for visitors, and I was the only one able to walk up the steep gravel road and see it.  (That really says something about my daily walking.  Shirley's knees give her problems and Janie and Marge each use a cane, so I was the designated walker).  The view from the top took my breath away.  One young man we talked to lives on the island year-round, his family being a sixth generation family to live there.  Only about 32 people live there during the winter months, but about 200 summer residents own their own homes and thousands are day-trippers.  There are inns, a hotel and cottages that can be rented.  Some inns serve meals, and others have kitchen facilities.  Most are open from mid-May through early October but one or two have rooms available for those who want to experience the island during the off-season. Seventeen miles of hiking trails encircle the island, there's a well established artist's colony with studios, the lighthouse and museum, about 120 buildings in the village, a post office, a couple of stores, a school and a library. 
But the only way there is ferry. 
The Island is slightly more than a mile and half long and about seven tenths of a mile wide.  About seventy percent of the island is protected wild land. 
   Monhegan is a very special and unique, but its care is entrusted to those who are visitors.
Another interesting part of the sail was going all the way around the island to see the cliffs on the other side of our wharf.  The highest cliff was around 175 feet with the water 400 feet deep at that point.  We did see some seals as we went around.  It was a good day but we were all a little weary, not used to spending the entire day outside.

Revisiting America

Leaving the church on Sunday morning the 10th, I spoke to Peter Panagore, the visiting preacher, he asked where we were from and what we were doing in Boothbay.  After mentioning Charles Kuralt's name he said, "you must meet Robert Mitchell, the photographer of the cover of the book".  I called the next day and after talking to the daughter, she said she would have her father call us.  He did call and we set up a time for him to come by.  We were so excited, and I did a little preparation, making some "homemade" goodies, and he was and is the most delightful person you'd ever meet.  He brought us a calender with all his pictures as well as note cards and postcards.  He gave us a lot of suggestions about our book, getting it published, etc:  Most of all, he said, "just write it."  Now, is that encouragement or what?
Monday afternoon we went into town to board the three-masted, 65 foot schooner, "Eastwind", built and owned  by Herb and Doris Smith who have sailed around the world twice in boats they have built and they continue to build boats, give cruises, and plan to sail around the world again.  It was a two hour sail past islands, all with a name, lighthouses, and sea life.  The weather was perfect, and at one point Herb said, "next stop, Portugal".  No one seemed to care.  We did have a chance to talk to them personally after the sail and get their thoughts about Kuralt.
Visited Ken and Joan Brown at Brown's Wharf Inn and Restaurant.  The Brown family has owned and operated this business for 67 years, and was always Kuralt's favored destination.  Kuralt stayed there because of habit, affection, and familarity, and also Kuralt said, " fear of what Ken Brown would say if he tried to stay somewhere else."  They spoke so highly of Kuralt when we got the chance to talk to them privately.  A perfect gentleman, so kind to people, one of the nicest people I've ever met.  Kuralt probably stayed in every room in the Inn, the Brown's said.  A good visit with terribly nice people.

Revisiting America

Sunday afternoon we were invited to the neighborhood cook-out-get-together.  We met everyone living around us and others too.  Everyone so interesting, likeable and easy to be around.  Many of them live here six months out of the year and have been coming here in summers most of their lives.  I won't mention all of their names now but the closest neighbors are Leslie and Lanny Whitehouse, David and Allyson Butterworth, and Elizabeth, Randi, and Dale, forgot their last name.  They all have been helpful in mentioning places to see, things to do, and especially, places to eat.  They also warned us that some locals would shoot fireworks for more than just one night to celebrate the holiday.  A fireworks show was planned in town but had to be canceled because of fog.
Shirley and Marge are planning to come and visit on the 14th so we got tickets for the play "nunsense" at the Boothbay Playhouse, and for the Carousel Dinner Theater which is a musical revue of Neil Diamond songs during dinner,then a revue of hit songs during the year 1954.  This called for lunch at the "Lobster Dock", right downtown on the water, and the place where the owner Mitch Weiss had a "crab-cake" throwdown with Bobby Flay.  We met Mitch and his wife Dawn at the neighborhood outing.  Wonderful crab-cakes, but I don't think Mitch won the throwdown.
Friday, July 8, we decided to drive to Pemaquid Point to see the lighthouse and this is the exact place Robert Mitchell took the photograph of Kuralt that is the cover of the book "America", our travel guide.
From Boothbay Harbor across the water to Pemaquid is about four miles, but driving there,  a  distance of about 45 miles,  took us well over an hour in time.   You go through Boothbay Proper, through Edgecomb and North Edgecome to Highway 1, east for a few miles and across the Demariscotta River at Newcastle, then down the Damariscotta Pennisula through Bristol, Pemaquid, and New Harbor to the Point.  It was well worth the trip.  The view was spectacular, the rock formations that form the shore the most unusual I've ever seen with beautiful colors and designs, no seaweed, waves crashing.  Wow!  And, Janie and I posed for our picture in the exact  place Kuralt did.  How ironic that I asked a stranger if he would take our picture and he was a professional photographer, newspaperman, writing a book on photography, and teaches classes on the subject.  Just another one of those serendipities!  We did stop for ice cream on the way so that could have added a few minutes to our time.  Anyway, a lovely afternoon to see a very special place. 

Revisiting America

Sunday, July 3, my Robby's 57th birthday,(my, that makes me seem so old), we walked around the corner from our cottage to church at Wilson Memorial Chapel.  Religious services have been held in Ocean Point as early as 1899, in homes, then the Casino which is really a community center.  In 1917, the Janet M. Wilson Memorial Chapel was dedicated in memory of Lewis G. Wilson's wife, Lewis having been the minister of the chapel, as well as other ministers summering in the area.  The Chapel was owned for many years by the Unitarian association, then in 1985 bought by a committed group of Ocean Pointers who established a charitable corporation to hold ownership of the building, then raised funds to buy the building from the Unitarian association.  The interdenominational character of the Chapel has been maintained, with officiating ministers and attendees drawn from many religious fellowships.  The chapel is maintained through the work and monetary generosity of Ocean Pointers, friends and worshippers.  The services have been wonderful.  Rev. Charles Carrick, Chaplain, Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, PA, Rev. Peter Panagore, Minister, First Radio Parish Church of America, Ocean Point, ME, Rev. Wesley A. Smith, Minister, First Baptist Church, Hamilton, NY, and this Sunday we'll hear Rev. Jack Fles, Minister, Episcopal Church, Gardiner, ME.  The organist, Danny Beal, has been coming for years and playing for the services. 
The funniest thing.  The first Sunday I attended, during the song service, I kept hearing a sound like one of the organ stops was still sounding and I kept wonderding why he didn't turn it off.  Well, when he moved away from the organ and sat in a pew and the sound kept on and on, I realized it was the fog horn that blows non-stop every minute, for ever and ever. 

Revisiting America

My last comment about not blogging for a few days turned into a few weeks.  My last effort was such a disaster so I'll try to keep this in short segments to avoid the same thing from happening.
Our last entry did get us to Maine, settled in a motel for several days until we could get in our, not our house, but our "cottage."  Red, two story, old, sitting right on the water, on an embankment so when the tide is in you are actually seeing water and not lawn.  The house really could use an up-date as far as furnishings, etc:, but never enough to take away the charm of the place.  Two bedrooms and bath upstairs with a huge closet, and downstairs a bedroom and bath, kitchen, utility room, huge living and dining area with windows all over the house so you have a view everywhere you look.  On the Atlantic, with boats moored in the inlet, waves lapping and even white-capping some days, in a few minutes can be fogged in so you can't see anything, the rocky coast of Maine, beautiful beyond description.
The phrase, rocky coast of Maine, doesn't say that there are flowers everywhere in those rocks, along side the road, ( I guess God tends and waters these),  every yard full, in flower pots on every porch and window sill, as well as beautiful lawns of very green grass, hardwood trees that are perfectly shaped, rocks everywhere in yards that look like they were put there to decorate the space, some houses so large they look like hotels, and then smaller, older ones like ours.  The beauty of this is no two houses are alike.  I have to stop this and get on to other things because the scenery can change in an hour's time.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Revisiting America

post card.
I will not blog again for several days because we have to have WIFI connected once we are in the house and I know you'll be so glad to have relief from this hodge

Revisiting America

pizza, and apple crisp with ice ceram we watched the movie and not the news clip.  The movie,"The King's Speech" was great and again we were with the folks at the Center.  Got home around 9:00 and Dee had a web site for us to access the news clip.
Such a busy day and so much to be done before leaving , so worked awhile then on to bed.  Slept well.
Janie, I think, has gotten progressively worse with her spinal arthiritis, so I knew we would have difficulty getting everything packed and in the car to leave.  Up come Deanna Jones, our angel, and helps Janie especially get everything downstairs and in the car.  We did have time to visit a few minutes over left-over potato salad and meat loaf and talk about family.  Again, I will have that the people at the Thompson Center for Seniors are the most dear people.  The energy they expend making things worthwhile and nice for people is so amazing.  We became full-fledged members of that wonderful place, but we know it's the people that make the difference.  We already miss all of them.
We left Woodstock around 12:30 after saying goodbye to another wonderful friend and neighbor, Barbara West.
Our Onstar directions certainly led us through country roads to Boothbay Harbor Maine.  It was quite a trip, taking several hours longer than we had expected, but we did arrrive around 6:30 to this beautiful place.  I think it's going to take a little more time before I can describe it adequately. 
We are in a motel in town until Saturday then our house will be available.  I was up early Friday morning so walked the mile into town and walked around looking at shops, restaurants, and the lovely views of water, boats and beautiful homes perched on the hillside.  Everything is so picutresque, I call picture

Revisiting America

Wednesday, after being with Louise and her friends we were running late to be back home at a certain time so Sherrill offered to drive "Miss Louise" home to Woodstock. We surely hated saying goodbye, not having any idea when we would see one another again.  That's a sadness about this whole trip.
Another angel of ours, Pam Butler, at the Thompson Senior Center had arranged a TV interview for us at 3:30 at our house.  As we pulled in the drive-way, Susie Steimle of WCAX TV Rutland, Vermont, was taking pictures of our arrival.  It took her a few minutes to set her camera up in the liviing room and give us a chance to refresh hair and lipstick.  We sat and talked for a few minutes and then she took some shots of the house, which we hope will be great advertisement for Scott and Afshan in renting their house.  We felt like the interview went well and after saying goodbye to Susie, got ready to go to the Thompson Center for dinner and a movie.
We kept waiting for the news clip to come on the news at the Center, but people were at the Center to see the movie and not us, to after eating salad,

Friday, July 1, 2011

Revisiting America

Wednesday, the day before we were leaving was supposed to be a day at home, cleaning, packing, sorting, and just sorta relaxing.  Well, it turned out to be quite a busy day with no cleaning, packing, sorting or relaxing, but oh, so fun.
Walking out the door to go on our first errand, a strange truck was parked in the driveway, noticed someone over at the trees planted along the front yard.  He walks over and introduces himself, Joshua Jarvis, an Arborist, with Bartlett tree service.  Have you ever met an Arborist?  Me either.  He specializes in the care, treatment, planting, and nurturing of trees for individuals, businesses, and anyone needing to save trees.  He told us a great deal about his company, which was so interesting, but I will not share at this time.  Did we tell him about our trip.  Of course, we wouldn't let him leave the yard until he knew all about it.  So, another friend that will be looking for our book. 
Then into town to see Akonkha Perkins at Clover and give her a small gift because she had been such an angel to arrange meetings with people and tell us about places to visit  We will certainly treasure her friendship. 
We were expected at the home of Louise Denham, in Bridgewater at 11:00,so we just had enough time to make it on time.  So glad we got to see Harriet Worrell, Louise's daughter, and their friend, Dee Vanek, and tell them goodbye.
Mention Louise Denham and everyone knows about this great lady.  Such fun and so eager to go and be a part of things.  She arranged for us to go to Windsor, Vermont and visit with a family, dear friends of Louise and family, all the children drama students of Harriet, acting in plays, Sherrill designing and making costumes for the theatre productions, just a wonderful relationship that has continued through the years.  This entire family is involved in someway in different enterprises together. They've bought and restored a home as a "bed and breakfast".  "The Snapdragon Inn", with nine beautifully decorated bedrooms, all the reupholstering, painting, re-doing woodwork, everything done by family members.  All the rooms are so spacious, as is the dining, reception, sitting-study areas in the home.  The baths adjoining each bedroom have been newly renovated with three of the baths having the original"claw-foot" tubs in addition to the showers.  They say the grounds are a "work in progress", but that doesn't keep the home from being so grand. 
The Windsor Depot, another family enterprise has been turned into a restaurant, which has the original rooms partitioned off as they were as a depot.  The woodwork is outstanding.  Amtrak still stops there twice a day, so it serves this beautiful town in two ways. Louise treated us to a wonderful lunch there.
Must post for now, but have something very interesting for later.