Monday, October 3, 2016
NIkki's wedding!!!
My daughter Nikki married her best friend and love, Tom, on Oct 1! It was a sweet and lovely ceremony. Of course, #1 dog Sniff was part of it all. I am so happy for them!!!
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
HOME!
Ah, home sweet home. It was a long 3 day trip from Maine to home, but we'll be in good shape for our trip to Maine next spring.
Not sure Luke was so goad to get here, though...a large tree fell into the yard while we were gone.
But we ARE glad to be here! Looking forward to seeing Heather's new house and to Nikki's wedding!
Not sure Luke was so goad to get here, though...a large tree fell into the yard while we were gone.
But we ARE glad to be here! Looking forward to seeing Heather's new house and to Nikki's wedding!
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Out of the water!
But first - a follow up to my gifted bowl - I got a reply from the artist, Lesley, who said that this is the first Art Abandonment gift that she had done and was pleased that someone had found it. Sweet!
We've made a lot of progress. Well, maybe not in the bowels of the boat, but getting her ready to close for the winter. The interior is a mess.
Smokey doesn't mind at all. She is just pleased to be on a still boat that apparently is never going anywhere ever again.
We really have gotten a lot done. The boat is winterized (that means no running water and the zillions of pink antifreeze jugs are gone), the dinghy outboard has been men-handled off of the boat to storage (that means it took two of them to wrestle it off of the boat and carry it to storage), the dinghy is ready to be lowered for storage, the boat was pressure washed in the rain, and she has been pulled and put on the hard.
Here is the travel lift, hauling Latitudes out of the water.
And here she is, sitting in her new home for the winter. It has been - and is forecast to be - gray, cool, and misty. I like the gray and cool, but sure could do without the wet of the misty.
Because we are "up north", she will be shrink wrapped in a couple of weeks. I won't be here to get a picture of that, but will have it when we return next spring.
SO, all seems to be moving along. Car on Friday, leave on Saturday, home on Monday!
We've made a lot of progress. Well, maybe not in the bowels of the boat, but getting her ready to close for the winter. The interior is a mess.
Smokey doesn't mind at all. She is just pleased to be on a still boat that apparently is never going anywhere ever again.
We really have gotten a lot done. The boat is winterized (that means no running water and the zillions of pink antifreeze jugs are gone), the dinghy outboard has been men-handled off of the boat to storage (that means it took two of them to wrestle it off of the boat and carry it to storage), the dinghy is ready to be lowered for storage, the boat was pressure washed in the rain, and she has been pulled and put on the hard.
Here is the travel lift, hauling Latitudes out of the water.
And here she is, sitting in her new home for the winter. It has been - and is forecast to be - gray, cool, and misty. I like the gray and cool, but sure could do without the wet of the misty.
Because we are "up north", she will be shrink wrapped in a couple of weeks. I won't be here to get a picture of that, but will have it when we return next spring.
SO, all seems to be moving along. Car on Friday, leave on Saturday, home on Monday!
Monday, September 5, 2016
Art Abandonment
I got a new ceramic bowl today and I love it!
But I didn't buy it. And it wasn't exactly a gift...
We are at the marina where Latitudes will be pulled tomorrow. I had taken a load of trash to the dumpster and walked back past the little "fuel shed" and noticed something sitting on the bench outside.
It was this beautiful little bowl with the following piece of paper taped to the inside.
So I kept it! But I did a good deed in return - I told Luke's artist daughter Erin about Art Abandonment and she has joined! Here is their facebook site https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtAbandonment/
So, thank you Art Abandonment! You made my day!
But I didn't buy it. And it wasn't exactly a gift...
We are at the marina where Latitudes will be pulled tomorrow. I had taken a load of trash to the dumpster and walked back past the little "fuel shed" and noticed something sitting on the bench outside.
It was this beautiful little bowl with the following piece of paper taped to the inside.
So I kept it! But I did a good deed in return - I told Luke's artist daughter Erin about Art Abandonment and she has joined! Here is their facebook site https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtAbandonment/
So, thank you Art Abandonment! You made my day!
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Our last few stops in Maine this year
Our trip began to wind down. We took time to visit Islesboro, at Warren Island. Warren Island is a State Park, only a dozen campsites, but very nice. It ranges from beautiful trails through the forest
to equally beautiful views of the rocky shore, covered in seaweed at low tide.
On our way to Warren Island, we saw a schooner, sails full, in the busy Maine sky.
Next, to North Haven. Lots of quaint boat houses.
Now, this is a REAL boat house! I expect it was a restaurant at some point.
One thing that hasn't changed is the "Laundromat". Well, that is not quite true. The dangling bare light bulb has been replaced with a better light.
As in many towns, there is the stone fountain. Pretty in itself, but with a sad message. The memorial is to the townsmen who served in The World War. Believing that there would never be another...
From North Haven to our final destination of this trip, Rockland. We met up with new friends from earlier in our trip, Barb and Jim. They have a CAR! (we will next year!!!) We were treated with a visit to their marina in Boothbay, a great homemade lunch aboard their trawler, and a tour of some wonderful Maine spots that we've never seen.
I really liked the view from this narrow bridge.
This tiny church is made completely of stone.
The interior is also stone and brick.
We also visited the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.
This is a view of the rocky shore from halfway up the lighthouse stairs. The building is where the fog horn is located.
Today we took Latitudes to the dock at the marina where she will be this winter. We knew the marina is beside the Maine ferry dock, but didn't realize that the Rockland schooner fleet was docked just next to the ferry dock! A flotilla of schooners!
After showers at the marina, we took a cab to the almost local WalMart to buy antifreeze to winterize Latitudes. The gallon jugs line the sides of Lats.
We will be pulled and put on the hard on Tuesday and rain is forecast for Monday evening and Tuesday morning, so we wanted to get the outside things ready to be pulled. The dodger and bimini are now down and the antifreeze stored in the cockpit. The dinghy is up and ready to be taken to her building for the winter. Luke winterized the outboard motor today so it is ready to be taken to it's storage spot.
We have begun going through the inside, cleaning, tossing, and packing things to go home with is. It is a wreck down here, with the bimini, the plastics of the enclosure, etc, etc. But that is ok. Smokey is happily dozing beside me as I type and we'll be out of here by the end of the week. It has been a very good sailing summer but we do look forward to getting home. Besides the usual friends and relatives to see, my younger daughter is getting married in less than 1 month and my older daughter is moving into her new house within a couple of weeks!
to equally beautiful views of the rocky shore, covered in seaweed at low tide.
On our way to Warren Island, we saw a schooner, sails full, in the busy Maine sky.
Next, to North Haven. Lots of quaint boat houses.
Now, this is a REAL boat house! I expect it was a restaurant at some point.
One thing that hasn't changed is the "Laundromat". Well, that is not quite true. The dangling bare light bulb has been replaced with a better light.
As in many towns, there is the stone fountain. Pretty in itself, but with a sad message. The memorial is to the townsmen who served in The World War. Believing that there would never be another...
From North Haven to our final destination of this trip, Rockland. We met up with new friends from earlier in our trip, Barb and Jim. They have a CAR! (we will next year!!!) We were treated with a visit to their marina in Boothbay, a great homemade lunch aboard their trawler, and a tour of some wonderful Maine spots that we've never seen.
I really liked the view from this narrow bridge.
This tiny church is made completely of stone.
The interior is also stone and brick.
We also visited the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.
This is a view of the rocky shore from halfway up the lighthouse stairs. The building is where the fog horn is located.
Today we took Latitudes to the dock at the marina where she will be this winter. We knew the marina is beside the Maine ferry dock, but didn't realize that the Rockland schooner fleet was docked just next to the ferry dock! A flotilla of schooners!
After showers at the marina, we took a cab to the almost local WalMart to buy antifreeze to winterize Latitudes. The gallon jugs line the sides of Lats.
We will be pulled and put on the hard on Tuesday and rain is forecast for Monday evening and Tuesday morning, so we wanted to get the outside things ready to be pulled. The dodger and bimini are now down and the antifreeze stored in the cockpit. The dinghy is up and ready to be taken to her building for the winter. Luke winterized the outboard motor today so it is ready to be taken to it's storage spot.
We have begun going through the inside, cleaning, tossing, and packing things to go home with is. It is a wreck down here, with the bimini, the plastics of the enclosure, etc, etc. But that is ok. Smokey is happily dozing beside me as I type and we'll be out of here by the end of the week. It has been a very good sailing summer but we do look forward to getting home. Besides the usual friends and relatives to see, my younger daughter is getting married in less than 1 month and my older daughter is moving into her new house within a couple of weeks!
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Rockland, Belfast, Castine, Belfast again, and on to Warren Island
That's what I love about the Penobscot - everything is so close, you can hopscotch from place to place!
Rockland was an important stop - we wanted to visit a marina there because we're leaving Latitudes in Maine for the winter!!!!! We LOVE sailing the Maine coastline. Talked to a lot of cruisers down south who leave their boat here for the winter and decided it was a good idea. No more 4 week trek up and down the Atlantic coast from the Chesapeake to Maine. Just 3-4 months of sailing up here. So, we made the commitment, the arrangements, and will have her pulled and put on the hard for the winter in Rockland on the day after Labor Day.
Preparing to leave Rockland for Belfast, Smokey was no where to be found. She does wander....Finally we spotted her on the far side of the dinghy (which was hanging 8 feet up from the water at the time..). Oh, OK, I'll mosey over back to the boat.
WHAT? You have a problem with this?? I AM the Princess.
Befast was a nice town when we visited about 7 years ago. But, boy, it's a nicer town now! A large marina/ marine services facility has taken up residence there along the waterfront. As of this year, they are building Building #6. A harbor walk has been put in through town along the waterfront. New shops have popped up, new restaurants, etc. We heard horror stories of the 1960's when the primary waterfront enterprise was processing chickens. Tales of the shore filled with chicken bits and pieces, greasy rocks, smelly water, you can imagine!
A bit of Belfast history - the first long-wave radio broadcast from London to the US was relayed through the experimental Radio Corporation of America in Belfast in March 1925. The live broadcast was a band who played "Alabama Bound".
The old buildings still line the downtown.
Modern benches line the streets.
Old, LARGE homes still fill the neighborhood. We asked about these long, large homes. The dock master explained to us that there are several reasons. The severe winters (-20 is normal) made it smart to attach all of your buildings - the house, the outhouse, the woodshed, the garage/carriage shed, the work shed. etc. No freezing going from building to building. Also the families were large and extended family members all lived together. Grandparents, parents, 12-18 children...you get the picture. And some of them are simply Ship Captain's grand homes. Some of these homes seemed to have at least 5 or 6 "separate" buildings all attached. Many are apartments now.
Our favorite pizza shop is still there - Alexia's. Love the wall mural..
Look carefully - the Pizza God is hurling pepperoni or something down onto our hero's pizza.
From Belfast we sailed 9 miles across the Penobscot to Castine. And boy, did we sail. Winds picked up from the forecast 10-15 to 20-25! We flew, unfortunately heeled at a significant angle and with a bit of pounding. Unfortunately, too, our destination lay a bit too far to windward, so the last 2 miles we motored straight into 25 kts and 4 to 5 foot seas. Poor Smokey took it as long as she could and then had a total (and unusual) melt-down. I finally put her in her carrier on the cockpit floor and she settled down. Slept for hours after we arrived! We were all thankful to sail into the protected Holbrook Harbor and drop anchor. Even the large schooners were taking refuge there for the night.
Castine is the home of the Maine Maritime Academy, home to 1100 students this year. The school training ship, The "State of Maine", is here at the Academy.
Unlike a lot of waterfront towns, Belfast and Castine are not flat. They have hills. This is a couple of blocks up from the docks - Post Office on the left, waterfront in front.
Castine is proud of the fact that the town was able to successfully save their majestic elm trees after a terrible bout of Dutch Elm disease years ago. These trees are beautiful. This is one example in the historic town square.
Elms in the summer, snow in the winter. Here is one of the snow sticks on a fire hydrant. No, I think we'll return to VA for the winter!
Castine has a larger role in history than it's apparent remote location would indicate. It was a relatively large and deep harbor, had a large supply of tall pines for ship spars. In the eyes of the British navy, Castine ranked with Halifax, Boston and New York as an important harbor, worth holding, taking or defending as the situation might dictate. There were a number of battles and skirmishes. This history was highlighted last year with the visit of the French Frigate (reproduction) Hermione to Castine. The original Hermione carried Marquis de Lafayette from France to America in 1780 bringing news of French support of the American Revolution. Just another part of France's endless strife with England in the late 1700s. The visit was nicely presented in the Castine Historical Museum on their historical Town square. http://www.ellsworthamerican.com/featured/french-frigate-hermionei-to-visit-castine
The years between the end of the War of 1812 and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 marked Castine's greatest prosperity. This was largely from fishing, the salt needed to preserve those fish, and building the ships to catch them. In the springtime, nearly 500 fishing vessels could be found in the small harbor. It is NOT a large harbor. Over 100 commercial sailing vessels were built here. In fact, per one source, in 1850 Castine had the second highest per capita wealth in any city or town in the States.
We had hoped to pick up a few groceries in Castine - remembered they had a small local grocery store. Unfortunately for us (and probably fortunately for the students) it is now mostly a beer/wine/snack store. A few essentials, but not quite what we needed. SO. Back across the now calm 9 miles to Belfast today.
The grocery store in Belfast is a big, modern Hannaford's. But it is 1.1 miles up those hills from the waterfront. I remembered swearing I'd never walk there again, but, hey, it probably wasn't really that bad, right? Wrong. I'll never walk up there again. The dockmaster has big collapsible carts that they lend you to take to the grocery store so you can get all of your groceries home. It was a blessing. But I'll never need them again because I'm taking a cab if I ever go there again!!! really!!!
By 3 we were back on Latitudes. Gentle winds gave us a nice 2 hour ride to our current destination, Warren Island at Isleford. Dinner, the blog, and bed shortly. We'll hike some of the island trails tomorrow.
Rockland was an important stop - we wanted to visit a marina there because we're leaving Latitudes in Maine for the winter!!!!! We LOVE sailing the Maine coastline. Talked to a lot of cruisers down south who leave their boat here for the winter and decided it was a good idea. No more 4 week trek up and down the Atlantic coast from the Chesapeake to Maine. Just 3-4 months of sailing up here. So, we made the commitment, the arrangements, and will have her pulled and put on the hard for the winter in Rockland on the day after Labor Day.
Preparing to leave Rockland for Belfast, Smokey was no where to be found. She does wander....Finally we spotted her on the far side of the dinghy (which was hanging 8 feet up from the water at the time..). Oh, OK, I'll mosey over back to the boat.
WHAT? You have a problem with this?? I AM the Princess.
Befast was a nice town when we visited about 7 years ago. But, boy, it's a nicer town now! A large marina/ marine services facility has taken up residence there along the waterfront. As of this year, they are building Building #6. A harbor walk has been put in through town along the waterfront. New shops have popped up, new restaurants, etc. We heard horror stories of the 1960's when the primary waterfront enterprise was processing chickens. Tales of the shore filled with chicken bits and pieces, greasy rocks, smelly water, you can imagine!
A bit of Belfast history - the first long-wave radio broadcast from London to the US was relayed through the experimental Radio Corporation of America in Belfast in March 1925. The live broadcast was a band who played "Alabama Bound".
The old buildings still line the downtown.
Modern benches line the streets.
Old, LARGE homes still fill the neighborhood. We asked about these long, large homes. The dock master explained to us that there are several reasons. The severe winters (-20 is normal) made it smart to attach all of your buildings - the house, the outhouse, the woodshed, the garage/carriage shed, the work shed. etc. No freezing going from building to building. Also the families were large and extended family members all lived together. Grandparents, parents, 12-18 children...you get the picture. And some of them are simply Ship Captain's grand homes. Some of these homes seemed to have at least 5 or 6 "separate" buildings all attached. Many are apartments now.
Our favorite pizza shop is still there - Alexia's. Love the wall mural..
Look carefully - the Pizza God is hurling pepperoni or something down onto our hero's pizza.
From Belfast we sailed 9 miles across the Penobscot to Castine. And boy, did we sail. Winds picked up from the forecast 10-15 to 20-25! We flew, unfortunately heeled at a significant angle and with a bit of pounding. Unfortunately, too, our destination lay a bit too far to windward, so the last 2 miles we motored straight into 25 kts and 4 to 5 foot seas. Poor Smokey took it as long as she could and then had a total (and unusual) melt-down. I finally put her in her carrier on the cockpit floor and she settled down. Slept for hours after we arrived! We were all thankful to sail into the protected Holbrook Harbor and drop anchor. Even the large schooners were taking refuge there for the night.
Castine is the home of the Maine Maritime Academy, home to 1100 students this year. The school training ship, The "State of Maine", is here at the Academy.
Unlike a lot of waterfront towns, Belfast and Castine are not flat. They have hills. This is a couple of blocks up from the docks - Post Office on the left, waterfront in front.
Castine is proud of the fact that the town was able to successfully save their majestic elm trees after a terrible bout of Dutch Elm disease years ago. These trees are beautiful. This is one example in the historic town square.
Elms in the summer, snow in the winter. Here is one of the snow sticks on a fire hydrant. No, I think we'll return to VA for the winter!
Castine has a larger role in history than it's apparent remote location would indicate. It was a relatively large and deep harbor, had a large supply of tall pines for ship spars. In the eyes of the British navy, Castine ranked with Halifax, Boston and New York as an important harbor, worth holding, taking or defending as the situation might dictate. There were a number of battles and skirmishes. This history was highlighted last year with the visit of the French Frigate (reproduction) Hermione to Castine. The original Hermione carried Marquis de Lafayette from France to America in 1780 bringing news of French support of the American Revolution. Just another part of France's endless strife with England in the late 1700s. The visit was nicely presented in the Castine Historical Museum on their historical Town square. http://www.ellsworthamerican.com/featured/french-frigate-hermionei-to-visit-castine
The years between the end of the War of 1812 and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 marked Castine's greatest prosperity. This was largely from fishing, the salt needed to preserve those fish, and building the ships to catch them. In the springtime, nearly 500 fishing vessels could be found in the small harbor. It is NOT a large harbor. Over 100 commercial sailing vessels were built here. In fact, per one source, in 1850 Castine had the second highest per capita wealth in any city or town in the States.
We had hoped to pick up a few groceries in Castine - remembered they had a small local grocery store. Unfortunately for us (and probably fortunately for the students) it is now mostly a beer/wine/snack store. A few essentials, but not quite what we needed. SO. Back across the now calm 9 miles to Belfast today.
The grocery store in Belfast is a big, modern Hannaford's. But it is 1.1 miles up those hills from the waterfront. I remembered swearing I'd never walk there again, but, hey, it probably wasn't really that bad, right? Wrong. I'll never walk up there again. The dockmaster has big collapsible carts that they lend you to take to the grocery store so you can get all of your groceries home. It was a blessing. But I'll never need them again because I'm taking a cab if I ever go there again!!! really!!!
By 3 we were back on Latitudes. Gentle winds gave us a nice 2 hour ride to our current destination, Warren Island at Isleford. Dinner, the blog, and bed shortly. We'll hike some of the island trails tomorrow.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Monhegan, Boothbay, and Port Clyde - and almost Rockland...
Monhegan is beautiful. No wonder it has been an artists "colony" for decades. We contacted the harbor master there a few days early and requested a mooring. That was a good thing, as there are only 8 or so moorings in the small harbor, most used by lobstermen. It turned out to be a popular weekend, with shifting around of lobster boats to accommodate other visiting boaters. Our mooring was just beside the town dock, the hub of all that goes to and from the small island. Tour boats, mail boats, freight boats, passenger boats, everything.
Well, not quite everything. The garbage truck gets delivered by a special boat. The garbage boat noses up to the one sandy beach, drops the ramps, and off the garbage truck goes. The garbage truck comes back again in about an hour. Of course, this is also where the few cruisers also take their dinghies to shore... ya gotta be careful where you land!
The house to the far right, with the picnic table under the umbrella is the harbor master's house. They sell fresh fish and cooked fish dinners. There are 2 inns in town that also have restaurants.
On shore, here are the flowers and "left-overs" on the trail to the middle of "town"
This is where we went one evening - in the pouring rain, wading in the cold water at the shore to secure the dinghy, walk to the church, and back - for Jamboree. While still fun and for a good charitable cause, we were a little disappointed in the overall offerings. Here are a flutist and the "opera" singer. Apparently trained in opera, she sang a song in "mixed languages." That was actually gibberish and cute.
Our first evening was a beautiful sunset.
The next day we hiked up the hill and across the island. First stop was the old lighthouse.
This lighthouse had a wonderful antique second order Fresnel lens that the Coast Guard took down in 1995 to replace with a more modern electric light. Then they DESTROYED lens!!!! Luke has a comment, but I can't put it here... There is a nice museum in the old keepers house.
The view of the town from the lighthouse. The hill behind the large building (The Island Inn) is actually a small island on the other side of the harbor. Latitudes is moored between the two islands.
On the way up the hill, we came across a small gallery. I love her sign --- Nope, we aren't open.
But, move only 1 letter and they are OPEN! Look carefully.... very clever!
Finally at the cliffs on the other side of the island. View to the left
View to the right
View of two happy hikers
From Monhegan, we headed back to the mainland to Boothbay. This was pretty much a "work" stop. We got $19 worth of laundry done, groceries resupplied, $5 pizza lunch, and Luke visited the Friends of the Library used book/CD store for a couple of books. Once the necessities were taken care of, we took time to visit the lighthouse on Burnt Island.
Then a stop at the Maine Aquarium. This is a small, one room aquarium, but well done. The touch tank for sharks had 2 dog sharks. These rascals apparently like to be touched, and actually hold their heads out of water and "dance" in a circle to get petted.
And here is Henry, a 14 pound lobster. I played with the light on the picture so you can see him in his dark tank.
There was also a display of trash of the sea and how long it takes for trash thrown into the ocean to disintegrate - here are some of the disheartening numbers -
milk carton - 400 years
Styrofoam cup - never
cigarette - 5 years
glass bottle - 1000 to 1 million years
ziplock bags - 300 years
a simple paper towel? a month!
From Boothbay to Port Clyde. We again sailed around Eastern Egg Rock Island, looking for puffins, but saw none this time. I did take a picture of the huts where the volunteers stay to count puffins. To my surprise, we realized that we caught a bald eagle sitting on a rock to the left.
The small dock area is the "town" or Port Clyde. These few buildings are a restaurant, grocery/wine, coffee house, and ferry terminal. An ice cream store and kayak rental store can't be seen. Also, in the second floor of the grocery is a very nice art gallery with works of the Wythe family for sale.
A walk down the road towards the lighthouse shows a different view of town.
We left this morning for Rockland. We had high hopes and encroaching fog... Here is the Marshall Island lighthouse, at Port Clyde with the fog starting to roll in. BTW, this is the lighthouse used in the Forrest Gump movie when he ran all the way to the end of a lighthouse.
The house to the far right, with the picnic table under the umbrella is the harbor master's house. They sell fresh fish and cooked fish dinners. There are 2 inns in town that also have restaurants.
On shore, here are the flowers and "left-overs" on the trail to the middle of "town"
A walk through town consists of the fish house, a small grocery, a couple of shops (one that also sells coffee!), a couple of art galleries, a pizza place that sells wine and beer, a new wash/fold that I didn't see, and the church.
The next day we hiked up the hill and across the island. First stop was the old lighthouse.
This lighthouse had a wonderful antique second order Fresnel lens that the Coast Guard took down in 1995 to replace with a more modern electric light. Then they DESTROYED lens!!!! Luke has a comment, but I can't put it here... There is a nice museum in the old keepers house.
The view of the town from the lighthouse. The hill behind the large building (The Island Inn) is actually a small island on the other side of the harbor. Latitudes is moored between the two islands.
On the way up the hill, we came across a small gallery. I love her sign --- Nope, we aren't open.
But, move only 1 letter and they are OPEN! Look carefully.... very clever!
Finally at the cliffs on the other side of the island. View to the left
View to the right
View of two happy hikers
From Monhegan, we headed back to the mainland to Boothbay. This was pretty much a "work" stop. We got $19 worth of laundry done, groceries resupplied, $5 pizza lunch, and Luke visited the Friends of the Library used book/CD store for a couple of books. Once the necessities were taken care of, we took time to visit the lighthouse on Burnt Island.
Then a stop at the Maine Aquarium. This is a small, one room aquarium, but well done. The touch tank for sharks had 2 dog sharks. These rascals apparently like to be touched, and actually hold their heads out of water and "dance" in a circle to get petted.
And here is Henry, a 14 pound lobster. I played with the light on the picture so you can see him in his dark tank.
There was also a display of trash of the sea and how long it takes for trash thrown into the ocean to disintegrate - here are some of the disheartening numbers -
milk carton - 400 years
Styrofoam cup - never
cigarette - 5 years
glass bottle - 1000 to 1 million years
ziplock bags - 300 years
a simple paper towel? a month!
From Boothbay to Port Clyde. We again sailed around Eastern Egg Rock Island, looking for puffins, but saw none this time. I did take a picture of the huts where the volunteers stay to count puffins. To my surprise, we realized that we caught a bald eagle sitting on a rock to the left.
The small dock area is the "town" or Port Clyde. These few buildings are a restaurant, grocery/wine, coffee house, and ferry terminal. An ice cream store and kayak rental store can't be seen. Also, in the second floor of the grocery is a very nice art gallery with works of the Wythe family for sale.
A walk down the road towards the lighthouse shows a different view of town.
We left this morning for Rockland. We had high hopes and encroaching fog... Here is the Marshall Island lighthouse, at Port Clyde with the fog starting to roll in. BTW, this is the lighthouse used in the Forrest Gump movie when he ran all the way to the end of a lighthouse.
The fog just got worse. We ran relatively close to at least 5 oncoming boats as we proceeded up Mussel Ridge channel, a popular approach into the Penobscot bay from the west. We "saw" them on radar at a mile or more distance, and then they'd emerge from the fog surprisingly close - 500 to 1000 ft away. WE were using our fog horn, but heard only one other horn during our passage. We did make it most of the way, but with 8 miles left to Rockland, we gave up and anchored between Dix and High Islands again. The plan is to go to Rockland later when the fog lifts, but it's just getting thicker...can't even see the islands or one of the 3 boats anchored near us. I am glad we're here now!
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