Once in a Blue Moon

     A blue moon has nothing to do with color.  There are some atmospheric conditions, such as volcanic ash, that can cause a bluish tint, but the phrase "blue moon" refers to those rare occasions when there are two full moons in the same month.  The blue moon is the second one.  Tonight was just such an event.  Of course, it was also a Friday so there was the usual campground-wide happy hour where the campers bring an hors d'oeuvre and the campground provides beer and wine.  When the campground happy HOUR ended, a number of us adjourned to the Roths with some leftover snacks and a bottle of wine to continue the "discussion".  After a little silliness, someone spotted the moonrise.

     The folks occupying the waterfront sites suddenly got a lot of company.  I'm not sure why the moon and its reflection are different colors.  They were actually the same.  You've got to admit that this is a nice place to watch a full moon rise.

Trip to Lewiston

     There is something about a site on the ocean that makes doing nothing a wonderful achievement.  If this blog seems to settle into the doldrums, it may be because doldrums are what we are trying to accomplish.  There's a new swing down by the shore.  Thanks, Ron.  Durelle and Baxter seem to enjoy using it.

     Today we drove down to Lewiston for an eight-person lunch at the Gridiron, a nice sports bar with great sandwiches.  Included, other than Durelle and I, were Durelle's brother, Mart, and his wife, Ann; Durelle's cousins, Eleanor and Phyllis; Phyllis' husband Fred, and Cindy, Eleanor's daughter.  
     We had a couple of small, but intense, rain showers on the way back, but everything was clear at the campground for our usual happy hour.  Because of our big lunch, supper consisted of a couple of peaches.

Quiet Moments

     Today was one of those quiet days that reconfirms our wisdom in choosing this wonderful spot on the Maine coast.  There has been a little turmoil as the ownership transfers to new people, but it hasn't really affected us.  Today we went up to Searsport to have lunch with Paul and Judy Poythress at a place called The Anglers.  The evening was most pleasant.
  

     This is a pleasant picture of cloud formations taken through the windshield.  It's easy to understand why this place is so special.

     Same sky a few minutes later.

     You can see that we look just over the tops of the rigs in front of us.  I think we will be having another lobster feed soon.  Stay tuned.

Great granddaughter, Brielle, and family

     We spent delightful 24 hours with our great granddaughter, Brielle, her parents and Carolyn's mother, Christine.  They had a van that would sleep two, so Dave and Brielle slept here.  Their van sure looked small compared to the adjacent rigs.

     We went up to Papa J's for supper.  It was their last night of being open to the public for meals.  I had four wonderful lamb chops.  When we got back, we had a campfire, and Dave and Brielle made the obligatory S'mores.  This morning Durelle and Brielle played "Spite and Malice" for a couple of hours.

     Durelle won by one card!  It was a good deal of fun to have their company for a day.
     

Back to Back Days of Eating Out

     Yesterday we took an hour and a half drive south to meet Estelle Anderson and her daughter, Karen, who had a similar drive north from Wells, Maine.  Estelle, as long time readers will recall, was the teen age, next door neighbor who carried Durelle into the house when she first came home from the hospital.
     A favorite restaurant in Wiscasset is called Le Garage.  Here's the three ladies gathered in front.

     After a very nice lunch we decided to take another half hour drive to visit Pemaquid Point.  It has an iconic lighthouse, museum, gift shop, etc.

     It also has a large spit of granite that makes a nice perch from which ponder the surf.  Just as she had done many decades ago, Estelle wandered out on the rocks and found a seat.  With my cane I went with her.  I guess we helped each other.  While she was sitting there, I sneakily captured her contemplative pose.

     Today eight of us rowdy folks from the Moorings went to supper at the Brick House in Searsport.  We had an eclectic assortment of entrees.  Although a bit out of character for me, I ordered fried clams because they were highly recommended.  They were fine.  Dessert was a single order of strawberry shortcake with eight spoons...everyone had plenty!

Shameless Exploitation of Wendy's Pictures

     As you know from recent posts, this past holiday weekend at The Moorings was highlighted by visits from the Bouchers, the Perelkas and the Carlbergs.  As a sidelight to their great barbecuing over the weekend, we also did a Frogmore Stew on Thursday.  All of these events were documented in the blog.  Wendy, of course, is an accomplished photographer.  Many of her shots went straight to Facebook, so between my blog and her Facebook, much of what follows will be "old hat" to many.
     Since I'm one of those curmudgeons that doesn't do Facebook, Wendy sent me a bunch (132) of her pictures for my enjoyment.  I decided that they were so good that I should make an additional blog of the weekend's activities using nothing but her pictures.  There are several categories, so instead of a chronological display, I'll do it by topic.
     The first category is scenery.  With the exception of the Belfast Harbor shots, they were all taken from the campground.

     Some scenery sits still; others move.

     Here's a few of Wendy's shots of the Frogmore Stew:

     The big show, of course, was the roasted whole pig for the fourth.

     Of course you could not show Boucher pictures without a shot of Coal and Scout.

      And, speaking of shots, there were jello shots a-plenty.

     As the weekend wrapped up, the USA women's soccer team beat Japan in the finals of the World Cup 5-2!

     Every one of these pictures were taken by Wendy Boucher;  I just stole them.  I hope you enjoyed the show.

Geneology

     At 0630 on the morning after the holiday weekend I headed out to Alstead, NH to attend a reunion of a branch of the family.  It wasn't a part of the boisterous Cloutier clan.  It was on my mother's side.  A few years after the Civil War there were four Willis siblings who were farmed out to four different families in Alstead because the could not be taken care of by their parents.  They were officially listed in town documents as "paupers".  They all overcame their difficulties, and one, Frank Willis, became my great grandfather.  Cheryl Bisbee gets the credit for making the entire reunion event happen.

     I came away with a great, old, four-generation picture.

     In case you haven't guessed, I'm the one in short pants.  Behind me is my mother, Anna Gertrude (Smith) Cloutier. To her left is her mother, Lena (Willis) (Smith) Hutchinson.  To my right is my great grandfather and namesake, Frank Willis.

     After the festivities, I followed my sister to her home to spend the night so I could drive back to Maine the next day.  When I got up this morning, I made a cup of coffee and sat out on their deck.  They have a couple of dozen of bird feeders suspended well above the point the bears can reach.  Look who showed up to scavenge the seeds that the birds dropped.

     I quietly stood up (so I could see over the railing) and took the following pictures of our visitor:

     Rarely a day goes by without a visit from these critters.  My sister has a wonderful home.