East and North

Been busy the last couple of weeks. Got to go up to Maine…way Down East and then up the woods. Talked glenn into stopping at one of my favorite places, Liberty Tool, then to the coast.

We traveled Route 1 up, east of Acadia, winding around small towns and berry bogs, stopping to eat crab and lobster and collect fresh strawberries and pies. We stopped by Gouldsboro for a visit at Darthia Farm where they produce amazing food, preserves, and novels. We camped by an inlet and ate nearly an entire pie while playing cards. I think the only thing that stopped us from eating the whole pie was that we eventually donned mosquito nets.



The next day we collected food at farmer's markets to bring to visit our friends' cabin, then stopped at one of my favorite beaches in Machiasport. It is called Jasper Beach and is covered in amazing, tumbled smooth rocks. We visited the falls and then headed to Eastport.



We stopped at Rayes, the famous old mustard mill and peeped in on the 4th of July festivities downtown, where a big Navy ship was in port and kids were screaming on inflatable slides. We ate smoked salmon from a vendor and examined pictures of Old Sow, the giant whirlpool off the town (biggest in the western hemisphere), then we hopped back in the car.



We stopped briefly to see Cobscook Bay and talked about the 20 foot tides in the area. Later we stopped again in a storm as we took pictures of a double rainbow connecting Canada and the US over the St. Croix River. Then we were off to Forest City, where our friends met us in a little runabout and took us over to the island they partly own in East Grand Lake. The next morning we went back and got our kayaks so we could paddle (internationally!) around and look at the wildlife on this relatively unspoiled lake.



It was a wonderful stay with some of our favorite people in a rustic cabin with no electricity and a propane powered refrigerator. Early morning bracing swims, eating, relaxing on the porch, stomping around the island alone carefully watching and listening to the world, and playing in the lake. . .it was wonderful. At night I could hear the water, chortling loons, and the squeaking bats in the rafters. I could have moved right in, it was relaxing in all the right ways. Except for the large mosquito population this year.