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.
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