Christmas Cove

     Yesterday was a road trip to meet Estelle Anderson and her daughter, Karen at the Coveside Restaurant and Marina in Christmas Cove in South Bristol, ME. Estelle, as some may remember, is Durelle's "second mother". She's 93 and in better shape than I am. The cove was named by Capt. John Smith when he visited it on Christmas Day of 1614.

      A large part of the Maine coast is a series of southward extending peninsulas. South Bristol is on the tip of the one just west of Pemaquid/New Harbor. It is home to one of those quaint, but generally upscale, clusters of vacation homes that can be found scattered along coastal Maine.

     If one were a really good photographer with the mobility to get properly positioned, this world is full of photo ops. Occasionally even I can stumble into an "out the window" shot that measures up.

     After a pleasant lunch we decided to pay a visit to New Harbor, a place of so many pleasant summer memories. An interesting coastal feature here is a ring of rocks that is completely exposed at low tide so that it traps the water that came in during high tide thus forming a pool. These are called salt ponds.

     Here it is shown at nearly high tide with the seaweed covered rocks barely visible. The pool is only  three feet deep, and it warms up in the summer sun and makes a great kiddie pool that is much warmer than the normal Maine water temperature. It's a wonderful place for kids and adults to examine the tidal flora and fauna.

     On the way back, Durelle was pressed into service to snap some more pictures out her window. This cove is Long Cove with Long Cove Point in the background.

     We left Route 1 to take some back roads back to Belfast. Along the way Durelle took another shot of the blog stalker's favorite red barn.

     When we finally arrived back in Belfast after a 150 mile day, Happy Hour was almost over...oh well.