August 12, 2011
OK, I am going to try to sum up our whole visit to Maine in one blog post.
One of the horrible things about Maine is that everything somehow moves half the speed of normal life. I have no explanation for this phenomenon other than the fact that Maine is very relaxing and absolutely beautiful. This photo was taken in Marc's Grandparent's backyard (literally). It is very easy to let time slip away when you are looking at something as beautiful as this. Marc's Grandfather, Jack, told me that every single sunset on the water is beautiful and completely different, like a snowflake. From what I saw, that is absolutely true. 
Despite all the natural beauty surrounding their house, Marc, Phil (Marc's brother), and I wanted to make sure we got out of the house at least once a day. One of our more adventurous days was when we went sailing with their family friend, Ken. I had never been on a sail boat before, and when Ken heard this at Charlotte (Marc's Grandmother) and Jack's birthday party, he was appalled, and insisted we had to go out sailing with him. Ken owns a boat that he told us was about 39 feet long. The first hour or so of our outing on the boat can pretty much be summed up by this picture. The sun was out, and I was lounging on the front of the boat with a soda. Once the wind came, it was a different story. Marc and Phil were instructed by Ken to switch the sails all over the place and we finally got the large sail up. I will take this time to point out that comments on this blog containing proper nautical terms will not be accepted. Anyway, when the wind got really strong, the boat tilted so much that it looked like it was going to tip over. It didn't, of course, but I was not about to believe these three experienced sailors' reassurances when the water was an inch away from my feet on deck. I don't have any pictures of this because I was too busy scurrying to the opposite side of the boat. The day before, my mom told me to not be scared and just to have fun, which I then remembered and executed. We all ended up having a blast, and I am glad I did it. 
Yesterday (our last day in Maine) was also very memorable. In the morning, Marc, Phil, and I went to Acadia National Park, which is beautiful. Charlotte and Jack let us use a CD they own which is an audio tour of the park. It was nice to be able to park in front of a beautiful landscape while listening to a history of the area. Spoiler alert: if a landscape is pretty, it was carved by glaciers. That is my professional diagnosis. The only downside to the park this particular day was that it was very crowded, so we were not able to get into certain parts of the park. After we left, we decided to play miniature golf at a place called Pirate's Cove in Bar Harbor, Maine. For the record, the natives pronounce Bar Harbor like 'Ba'aba,' which is pretty funny. Pirate's Cove was the coolest miniature golf place I had ever been to, because everything was so carefully themed and decorated with pirate stuff. Every hole had a sign with a different fact about Blackbeard, which now makes me want to read more about him. One fun fact is that he had over 14 wives.
When we got back to the house that evening, a traditional Maine lobster dinner was waiting for us. Jack said if you buy lobster from a lobsterman in Maine, the price is only about $5 per pound. Each of us got our own 1.5 pound lobster for dinner, and then spent the meal not talking very much because we were so enraptured with the food. Afterwords, Charlotte and I made blueberry muffins with the blueberries we picked earlier in the week, which Marc says are a must-eat when he visits his grandparents. The muffins turned out perfect, and if any Wassermans are interested, I have a clean copy of the recipe.
All and all we had a wonderful time in Maine. I loved getting to visit with Marc's grandparents, spending time in their beautiful home, and seeing all the cute little towns that are somehow so far apart. We all had a great relaxing time. Maine was a great vacation from our vacation.
Safe Travels,
Amelia
Bar Harbor (oh, sorry Ba'aba) is ALWAYS crowded. The roads are too small and there are too many darn TOURISTS!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you did all the classic Maine things in just a few days (Pirates Cove, Acadia, blueberry muffins, Chicken Barn, lobster), etc. Glad you had such a good time!