Baxter

Well, we are now a two dog family. This the third eight year old golden that we have adopted from the Yankee Golden Retreiver Rescue league, but it's the first time we have had two at the same time. The first picture shows the YGRR headquarters (note the logo). The second picture is washed out because Durelle's head was in shadow and everything else in bright sun. There is a shot of Baxter by himself and one of the two of them. Baxter is only 68 pounds, about ten less than Belle. They're getting acquainted OK, but Baxter is still interested in mounting Belle. She's gradually being more assertive, so I'm sure everything is going to be fine. They don't fight over food or toys. It will require some accommodation by all parties.

Cotuit Harbor and environs

A day on old Cape Cod. Since Cotuit, MA is only about 75 miles from Foxboro, it seemed to make sense to drop down so that Durelle could visit her college roommate and maid of honor. Cotuit is on the south shore of Cape Cod only a few miles from the Cape Cod canal. Peter and Marcia Dudley showed us a wonderful time. Friday night we had Peter's salmon chowder, and today they took us on a harbor/island tour on their pontoon boat. The weather was crystal clear, but a windbreaker was needed on the water. After all, it is fall in New England. The cruise took an hour and a half. We circumnavigated Oyster Harbor which Marcia tells us is the nation's first gated community. We saw the homes of folks like Dupont, Mellon, and many other kindred souls. The pictures include: Durelle and Marcia, an artfully named (in case you can't read it, it is the "Trysting Place, Too") yacht from the Cayman Islands, and an example of one of the more elegant homes. The last two pictures reflect some of the seafood from Cotuit. One shows the Cotuit oyster factory. The floating bags contain the immature oysters prior to being seeded in the oyster farms further out in the harbor. The last picture shows a shipment of conch which I thought was only a Caribbean product. Tomorrow we leave for NH. Many thousands of people leave the Cape on Sundays over one of the two old narrow bridges. Plus there will be the early tailgate traffic at the Foxboro exit on I-495. We hope the traffic this late in the season will be tolerable.

Allegro Club Boston Tour

Since Monday we have been participating with the Tiffin Motorhome, Allegro Club Rally at Normandy Farms campground in Foxboro, MA. Today was the big tour day. Four large tour busses picked us up at 0830. As we got into Boston, we picked up a very competent tour guide. She had the bus driver of the 45 foot Prevost maneuvering through places that none of us bus drivers would have attempted. We even maneuvered by the Milk Street spot in the financial district where, 53 years ago, I got a parking ticket with my 1941 Packard while succeeding in being on time for my appointment with JFK's West Point selection committee. We disembarked for a tour of the old North Church of Longfellow fame (that's the first picture). The weather all day was pleasant...not too sunny, about 70 degrees and no showers. After the bus tour, we boarded the Spirit of Boston for a harbor cruise and another substantial lunch. We look forward to getting our eating habits under control. The pictures show two shots of the USS Constitution and a huge bulk carrier that had a large police and Coast Guard escort. The second Constitution picture shows the Bunker Hill monument in the background. We, and every other boat in the harbor, had to stand by well out of the way while the big cargo ship made its way to its berth. After the harbor cruise, we were dropped off at the Quincy market for an hour or so. There is a shot of Durelle visiting with Red Auerbach. As you can imagine, she also bought a cross-stitch kit. We got back about 1700 and relaxed outside for a while. There was no supper tonight. We have neither cable nor satellite! Thank goodness for WEEI so Durelle can listen to the Red Sox with a local broadcaster.

Last Night in Maine

Well, it has finally happened. The summer in Maine is over. The Dunns, the Roths, and the Cloutiers all leave tomorrow. There may be some congestion at the dump station. The weather gods turned benevolent today. It was calm, sunny and 70 degrees. Would you believe that in this land of lobstahs, chowdah and beah, we had pizza delivered for our last evening together? We did. The pizza was almost as good as the view and the company. Larry Pegg did a dutch oven peach cobbler for dessert. As you can see from the pictures, it was a very pleasant afternoon.
Tomorrow the Roths head to Houston; the Dunns return to Cummaquid on the Cape; and we head to a Tiffin Rally in Foxboro, MA, followed by a couple of days on the Cape, a couple of weeks in NH, a tailgate-football weekend at West Point, a few days in Gettysburg with Cindy and then home. We are looking forward to the remaining days. We pick up Baxter a week from tomorrow. And we look forward to returning next summer.

The (almost) last hurrah

Today, Saturday, had the flavor of the end of the season. We (the Roths, Dunns and the Cloutiers) all leave Monday, but today had the flavor of good-bye. It was an interesting day. We drove down to Lincolnville Beach (thanks again, Dick) to visit the Whale Tooth Pub and an artisans shop. We have driven through Lincolnville Beach dozens of times, but this is the first time we have stopped to eat there. There are several reputable restaurants, but we chose the pub. It was a good choice. Six out of six folks proclaimed it a success. What was particularly interesting was the choices. There were more pub options than seafood options. We had four shephard's pies, a steak and ale pie and a haddock sandwich. The grilled tomato soup was outstanding. On the way back we did a little bit of "mudlarking" whereby we drove down into some of the private neighborhoods along the shoreline. When we got back, it was almost time for happy hour. As an indication of the season I went back to the bus and put on a flannel shirt. There were no snacks, just a quiet appreciation of the Maine shore. Because there was no food at our happy hour, Belle got to attend. Bernie took her for a walk. He needs a dog.

Supper at Eggemoggin Lodge

Activities have settled down significantly since Labor Day. Today, however, six of us got our act together and went over to the Eggemoggin Lodge for supper. Supper starts serving at 1730, but we got there around 1630 to have cocktails on the deck. The pictures (in inverse chronological order) show a couple of early morning shots from the campground. I thought that the quiet, pastel views were attractive. The other three pictures were taken from the deck of the lodge. One of them is a classic old wooden sailboat with three folks enjoying a leisurely sail, the group picture includes the Roths, the Dunns and Durelle. It takes just over an hour (47 miles) to get there, but we have decided that it is worth it. Fortunately we have Dick Roth to play chauffeur. We are all leaving in a week and are trying to get in a last few treats before we leave. Entrees include a leg of lamb, a couple of roast ducks, a sirloin and a couple of lobster alfredos. Does it get any better than that?

Lucky Dogs

This is a story about two lucky rescued dogs. We saw a very handsome St. Bernard camping just a few sites away and quickly made her acquaintance. Bailey is a seven year old female. Belle is nearly twice her age, but they have a lot in common. Both were turned in to their respective rescue leagues five years ago...one in Illinois and one in Massachusetts. Ironically, at the time of turn in, Belle weighed more than Bailey by twenty pounds! Bailey was a badly malnourished stray who weighed less than 90 pounds. Belle was an obese (108 pound) golden with heart worms. Now Belle is 75 pounds and Bailey is twice that. They are both healthy, well-behaved dogs enjoying life on the coast of Maine.

Addition

In yesterday's post I explained that there was a good group picture that I wanted to include but that it had lost most of its clarity. I found the problem with properly extracting a zipped file and will try again. The campground is a vastly different place in the post Labor Day environment. The silence is deafening and even we folks with non-waterfront sites have unobstructed views of the water.

Another Milestone

This weekend was Labor Day. It is a significant milestone in Maine as most of the tourists head home in a great evacuation. Our friends: Andrews, Tatums, Drivers, Feylers, and the Branns also bailed out. A few will be back briefly before the season is over. On Sunday we and the Andrews made a trip down to New Harbor to see the sights and perhaps visit George Gardner at the "Landry Cottage". It was the clearest day we have had. We drove around Long Cove Point, checked out the cottage and had lunch at Shaws. There is a shot of the Andrews and Durelle at Shaws, and there is a picture of the harbor. Note the absence of pleasure craft. It is a working harbor. The other two pictures show Belle immediately after she came home from being professionally groomed on Tuesday and a shot of our local lobster supplier, Walt, just out in front of the campground checking his traps. I wanted to include a great picture that Ann Dunn took of our group at the Frogmore Stew feed. For some reason it did not come through to the blog clearly. I'll try again later. Frogmore Stew is a low-country, cajun fish "boil" that includes sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob and shrimp. I cooked up a batch for 22 people. I haven't yet sized the recipe properly for the number of people. We had a bunch of leftovers. Everyone enjoyed it. There was just too much food.

Tall Ships

First of all I will describe the pictures, then I will talk about our day today. The moon has been full, so I have been trying to capture the reflection of the moon on Penobscot Bay. The first picture is my latest attempt. Then I took a flash picture of the group enjoying the view. Today was windjammer day in Camden, so we went down to watch. We were told that there was a park away from the center of town where we could set up our chairs, eat our lunch, set up our cameras/binoculars and watch the sails. We found the park, and were the first ones there. When we arrived, we were confronted with an ugly sign that said "No dogs in the park". It mentioned a $250 fine. Since we had Belle, we turned around and headed back. We tried a couple of vantage points north of the harbor. There is one picture of a four-master coming into the harbor. On the way home we traveled to the top of a resort area in Northport and took a few pictures from their lookout. One picture shows the setup for a wedding tomorrow. Don't you like the setting? The last picture is a ten mile picture on maximum telephoto. You can see, through the haze, a windjammer heading in to Camden. We got back and attended the usual campground-wide Friday happy hour. It is pot luck hors d'ouevres and the campground provides the beer and wine. As a result, we don't have supper on Fridays. We later adjourned to our usual group for a quiet extension of the evening, and we watched the full moon come up.

Finally summer

Well, the weather has finally become civil. Saturday was a cold, mid 50's ,windy, rainy day; but since then the weather has been clear and dry. Sunday we (Andrews and Cloutiers) went down to the Belfast Common for a band concert. The 195th Army Band from the Maine National Guard in Bangor provided a five piece rock band whose idea of an oldie was Fleetwood Mac. Nonetheless, the music was good and the setting could not have been better. We have a moon that is approaching full and reflects beautifully on Penobscot Bay. I hope to capture a good picture or two. The picture of the sign was taken on Route 1 between the campground and Belfast. The harbor picture was taken in the morning under a light overcast which burned off early.