The Magical Mystery of Monhegan Island

This blog will mostly be pictures because I think my words would be inadequate to describe Monhegan Island. We ate no lobster and there were no bicycles, largely because there were no paved roads anywhere. What was there? Plenty of artists standing around painting gorgeous pictures of the scenery. When our boat unloaded it’s 120 passengers, the population of this idyllic place tripled. 

We started our adventure with lunch at the Monhegan Inn...

Monhegan Island is only 12 miles away from the mainland, but feels like it’s 100 years back in time. 90% of the Island is untouched, except for the ribbons of trails, all on private property, which are maintained by a local association. We spent most of our time there meandering down those trails, led my Ranger Jon, who kept us, literally, on the straight and very narrow. In total, we meandered for nearly four miles on a delightful 70 degree day. Each trail ended up rewarding us with these types of views...

But, you didn’t need to go hiking to see beautiful things. The village itself was a beguiling mix of charm and fascination. Charm, for obvious reasons. Fascination for what it must be like to live in so wild, untamed and secluded a place...

Then, something truly magical happened. We were walking on a trail called  Cathedral Forest, when we began to notice these little home made miniature...houses(?) built every fifty feet or so along the path. First Kaitlin suggested that it was probably an assignment that the teacher of the one room school house had assigned her 8 students as some sort of object lesson. But as we made our way along the path, these structures became ever more elaborate and imaginative, to the point where it actually started to freak me out. Maybe there was some weirdo psychopath afoot and soon we would discover a severed doll’s head or something. But then we came upon a married couple and a couple of kids who were building there own little houses. It was then that we discovered this quaint island tradition where people... on this trail only...are encouraged to build houses for the fairies. The only rule is that nothing foreign can be brought into the woods. They must be constructed with natural materials found in the woods...

There must have been a hundred of these little creations, and their existence just added to the magical feel of the place. Although we were exhausted by the time our boat ride back to the mainland pulled away from the dock, we all felt like we had visited a truly enchanting place from a bygone era. 

Worth every penny.

Day Tripper

It’s time for an adventure. Today we will make the 45 minute drive to Port Clyde, then take the $168(!) ferry ride on the mail boat over to Monhegen Island...population 68. This is something Pam and I say we’re going to do every year, but never manage to actually do. There are several of these wonderful islands off the mainland in Penobscot Bay...Little Dear Isle, Vinalhaven, and North Haven are others. In years past they served as either fishing harbors or plantations. Today they are home to a few hardy local families, picturesque villages, and spectacular vacation homes built by obscenely rich people from away. We will take the 10:30 ferry, and spend the day touring around, taking pictures and eating lobster. Bicycles might be involved. Today’s high temperature here at the house is expected to reach 83, while on Monhegen it should top out at 70, so the big decision will be between short sleeves and long sleeves.

Of course, to make this trip, we will have to leave this...

Easier said than done.

Vacation News

So far, in a mere eight days, we have seen several different species of wildlife. A bear, an eagle, several families of ducks, many loons, squirrels, a family of wild turkeys, and today...a mink made an appearance, dashing underneath Kaitlin as she was reading in a hammock. 

My wife has been Wonder Woman this week. Yesterday, she went for a 3.9 mile kayak trip, and upon her return, dashed back out for another hour on her paddle board. Then today, she started showing off. After towing Kaitlin and me out into the middle of the lake from her paddle board..(we were lounging around on our floats, bemoaning the difficulty we were having getting far away enough from the dock)..she decides to do a series of yoga poses on her paddle board!!

   



Kaitlin, demonstrating remarkable self awareness, declared herself the least valuable vacationer this afternoon after it occurred to her that she has done basically nothing this entire trip. Nothing, that is, except make demands of her father:

Kaitlin: Dad, could you head up to the house and get me a Chilly Willy? I like the pina colada flavored ones. Oh, and while you’re up there, could you bring me my beach towel...the fluffy thick one. This Adirondack chair hurts my butt.

Me: Of course, dear.

Kaitlin: Oh, and Dad?

Me: Yes?

Kaitlin: I’m still waiting for that Kaitlin blog!

Actually, my daughter has contributed a lot to the enjoyment of this vacation. Largely with comments like this one today at lunch...

I’m not sure I like adding bananas to my fluffernutter, making it a fluffernannernutter. They are too distracting.

Yes, it’s this sort of outside the box thinking that has made her a master teacher and molder of young minds. And yet, I had to remind myself this afternoon that she has a Master’s Degree in English literature, when I saw her pick up Jon’s binoculars to view the loons, and lift them to her eyes...backwards.

I played a round of golf this morning at my favorite local course, Rockland Golf Club. In keeping with my schizophrenic golf game, I hit every single fairway on the front nine and shot a 49, missed every fairway on the back nine and shot 38. The turkeys were not impressed...

But, the course was immaculate and I finished in a cool 2 hours and 23 minutes...walking!

Pet Peeve

One of the great benefits of an extended vacation in a place like Maine is the opportunity it provides for uninterrupted reading. I read every day, thirty minutes here, an hour there. But up here, I can read like it’s my job. So far, two novels completed, half way through a third. If you think that’s a lot, Kaitlin is on number six! 

A quick word and one pet peeve about one of the books I’ve read...

Back in 1999 a guy named Andre Dubus III wrote a novel called House of Sand and Fog, which became a National Book Award finalist and was later made into a movie starring Ben Kingsley. I found it in the book case downstairs, read the reviews and said, why not?...Ok, Dubus can write. Really well. But, never perhaps in the history of literature, has so much exquisite prose been wasted on so vile and pointless a story. Without knowing it, he wrote a novel that, if anti-government folks actually read, they would have hailed as their manifesto. Of course, this notion would never have occurred to Mr. Dubus who, no doubt, is most likely a raging leftist. Neither did it occur to any of the reviewers of this work who spent all of their time gushing over its empathy and longing. Here’s the problem...caution: spoiler alerts follow!!!

Kathy is a troubled young woman who cleans houses while living in the one thing her father gave her upon his death, a bought and paid for house in California. Colonel Behrani, is a former official associated with the autocrat, Shah Rena Pahlavi of Iran, who has just been overthrown and murdered by the radical mullahs back home. Behrani and his family had to flee the country because to stay would have meant execution. The trouble is, the Colonel is having a hard time adjusting to his greatly diminished life in America, where he works a series of odd jobs while living beyond his means to keep up appearances and to assuage his crushed ego. Lester, is a police officer with the local county who serves an eviction notice to Kathy in the first few pages of the book, for unpaid taxes. Of course, he falls for Kathy, out of the aforementioned empathy. Kathy is thrown out on the street despite claiming not to know anything about any back taxes. Meanwhile, the good Colonel, out of desperation to restore his family name and fortunes, decides to buy a house at auction with what remains of his nest egg, fix it up and sell it for a hefty profit. Naturally, his first auction yields him Kathy’s house, which he purchases for a mere $40,000. Immediately, he moves his family into the house that Kathy has been kicked out of. Like night follows day, Kathy ends up shacked up with Lester and thus begins the tragic downward spiral which ultimately results in the following:

- the murder/ suicide of Colonel Behrani and his wife

- the death of their son from a gunshot wound administered by a county policeman

- the incarceration of Kathy and Lester for the rest of their miserable lives

Halfway through the book, we discover that all of this Greek tragedy has been set in motion by the feckless and incompetent county government of San Mateo, who had been sending delinquent tax notices to Kathy’s house because of a spelling error. In fact, Kathy owed nothing to the county. Therefore, not only was she evicted illegally, the ensuing sale of her house at auction to Colonel Behrani was itself illegal! No where in this story does the county government suffer any consequences for their bureaucratic bumbling. In fact, their coffers were enriched by $40,000, and one of their employees killed a teenage boy as a bonus! Mr. Dumus doesn’t even make an attempt to address this outrage, since he’s so fixated in examining the cultural clash involved. 

Isn’t this always the way it goes in life? Some pencil pushing functionary down at the county can’t spell, and before you know it, three people are dead and two others get life in prison! But, guess who gets off Scott free? That’s right...our public servants. Like the apologists for the Soviet Union used to say...if you’re going to make an omelette, you’ve got to break a few eggs.

End of rant. No more literary criticism. My next blog will be back to vacation news. Or maybe I’ll follow my daughter’s advice and give the people what they want..a blog about Kaitlin! 

Here Comes The Sun

On the fifth day of our vacation, we finally got to see what the lake looks like in the sunshine. Yesterday was pretty much perfect. The sky became crystal clear and bright blue around 10 o’clock in the morning. The high temperature topped out at 80. Kayaks were deployed early and often and there were a couple of paddle board sightings. By late afternoon, the floats finally made an appearance. But mostly, we all just hung out on the dock reading and talking, interrupted only by either the loons or the arrival of a dog at the public boat landing a few hundred yards down the shore from us. By the time the dock was in the shade, it was a mess. We hardly had room for the cheese tray...

Since yesterday was Patrick and Sarah’s last full day with us, the plan was to cap off this wonderful day with a campfire and s’mores around this great fire pit...

But, just about the time I was about to light the fire, we heard thunder off in the distance. After consulting the weather radar, we discovered a large and menacing storm mere minutes away. No fire. But, one thing I’ve learned over the years about women, Dunnevant women in particular, is that once the idea of chocolate enters their heads, no thunderstorm in the world will deny them. So...

Yes, that’s us...toasting marshmallows over the blue flame of a gas stove...just like the pioneers used to do it! Behold the newest member of the family, unwilling to even put down her skewer while enjoying her s’more, afraid that someone will take it from her!!

So, this afternoon, I will take Patrick and Sarah to the airport, their two week honeymoon nearly over. They will fly home to Nashville to begin the rest of their lives together. Hopefully, they will always recall the time they spent here on this lake with fondness. 

This morning, we are headed in to Camden for blueberrie pancakes at Camden Deli, a morning of walking around this beautiful town and probably some ice cream at Riverducks.

We Actually Have A Plan Today

We have been in Maine now for almost three days and have enjoyed maybe six hours of sunshine. The rest of the time it has been a cloudy, fog shrouded mist-fest. On the positive side, no rain, it hasn’t gotten out of the 70’s, and no biblical plagues seem imminent. Despite the disappointing weather, yesterday was a delight. There was kayaking, the reading of books and solving of world problems down on the dock, a fantastic dinner feast featuring Paula’s wicked good campah chicken, an after dinner trip to Round Top ice cream, and a slideshow of pictures from Patrick and Sarah’s California honeymoon. Oh, and this morning...

Ok, in sharing this information, I run the risk of revealing that I have run afoul of some obscure Maine environmental regulation. If so, I’m sure my Maine buddy, Alan, will let me know all about it! Anyway, when I was out on the kayak yesterday I saw this beautiful lilly pad in the next cove over. So, I picked three of the prettiest blooms to give to the three lovely ladies in my family. Somebody put one of them in a martini glass, whereupon it almost immediately shriveled up into a green oblong shell which made it look exactly like an olive. Cute. Only, this morning, when I came down to make my coffee...

I take this as a sign. Today will be a sunnier day.

Today actually has a plan, of sorts, on the agenda. This afternoon, we will make our first run into Camden. It is 35 minutes away, the farthest we have ever stayed from this marvelous village. We will putz around in the shops, make a visit to Riverducks ice cream, and spend entirely too much time in The Smiling Cow. But, the real reason we will have come to town is to see a performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, performed outside in the beautiful amphitheater of the Camden Public Library, overlooking the harbor.

After the show, we will have dinner at one of the great restaurants that offer stunning views of Penobscot Bay and all of the stately triple masted schooners that are scattered around the harbor among the yachts, great and small. If we are lucky enough to get a table at Waterfront, we will get to see people walking their dogs down the boardwalk right in front of us. And if the moon comes out, this will be our view...

But, hey...I don’t want to give the impression that I’m living in some fantasy world where all of the stress of life has somehow vanished. Nothing could be further from the truth. Why, just yesterday the reel on my fishing pole broke. Now, I’m going to have to traipse all the way into Damariscotta and buy a new one. Oh, and there are three separate recycling bins in this house!! So confusing. Plus...the nightcrawlers I bought at the general store yesterday seem listless. Listen, people...all God’s children got problems, am I right?

A Very Cool Twenty Minutes

“We made it all the way to Maine because somebody promised us a free vacation, but nobody is here to pick us...no wait, there’s Dad!!”

Yesterday, something amazing happened. All four of my kids made it to Maine, with their luggage, with virtually no delays, cancellations, or invasive body cavity searches. We made it back to the house by 11 o’clock. It was nothing short of a travel miracle. At 7 am, all of them are sound asleep. For the next six days, we will all be here together. At this moment, we have nothing scheduled. Each day will be dealt with on its own terms. The weather will determine how we spend our time. If the forecast is to be believed, the next couple of days will involve a lot of indoor activities. But, yesterday’s forecast ended up being wrong, when the sun came out for four hours in the afternoon. So, who knows?

Yesterday morning, I experienced an amazing twenty minutes. For reasons that escape me, I woke up at 5:30. There was no point in fighting it...I was up. So, I brewed some coffee and slipped downstairs to walk down to the dock. When I emerged from the sliding glass door, I looked up and saw a magestic deer standing next to the Adirondack chairs, no more than 100 feet from me. She lifted her head, turned toward me and froze peacefully for a brief moment, her huge, dark eyes locked on me. One of her ears twitched, then she sprang off gracefully into the woods, disappearing in an instant. As I walked down the lane towards the dock, I heard the loud squawking of birds in the trees to my right, loud and frantic. The instant I stepped on to the dock, a bald eagle swooped down towards the lake in a majestic wide arc, as if he wanted to make sure I knew who he was. After passing right in front of me, he changed direction and headed around the bend. I thought...wow. Ten minutes later, a family of ducks swam by, paying me no attention whatsoever. As soon as they were out of sight, I heard my first loon call.

It was as if they were all saying, welcome back, human...welcome back to Maine.