Quiet Sunday

     The Maine Maritime Academy, which is just across the bay in Castine, has an interesting annual tradition.  This year it occurred on the Sunday morning of Labor Day Weekend.  The freshman class participates in an "Abandon Ship" drill where everyone jumps off the deck of the "State of Maine", the freighter that has become a training ship for MMA.  I estimate that it is a 25 foot jump, but the water is cold.  We left the campground at about 0930 and got there at 1015.  We walked up to an appropriate vantage point and heard a cheer as the LAST jumper hit the water.  I guess next year we will have to leave earlier.  Below are a couple of pictures of wet jumpers and the venue they used.

     So, I did not get any pictures of jumpers in the air.  It was a bit early for lunch, Dick Roth drove us around the pretty, picturesque, and historic town of Castine.  What would a coastal Maine town do without a lighthouse?

     Note that gnarly hunk of driftwood in the lower right corner.  There is no end to the list of elegant homes in Castine.  Here is one taken through the car window.

     After we had killed a bit of time enjoying the old homes, we went to lunch at Dennet's Wharf, a classic seaside, seafood place.  I appreciate the fact that their bar is made from the lumber of an old bowling alley.  It is a handsome thing with interesting jars of bar snacks such cod jerky and smoked herring displayed along it.  We chose to eat outside.  

     I took a couple of shots of activity is the harbor.

     Before we left I took a picture of the "State of Maine"

     For those of you following the state of Baxter's health, he is much better.  He is interested in food...he actually played with his pet snake...he is no longer wearing the Elizabethan collar (although he may wear it for one more night) and he seems to be getting up and down the stairs with less difficulty.