Back To Work

Back to work.

As is my custom, after unpacking the car yesterday afternoon, I headed into the office to sort through three weeks of mail and messages and reintroduce myself to my profession. Things were pretty much how I left them, thanks to my Uber-Assistant who makes these sabbaticals possible. The transition back into reality should be smooth this morning. 

The 815 mile drive home was uneventful, making it the only such uneventful trip in recent memory. No torrential downpours, no traffic backups, no accidents, and no car trouble. Lots of country music, Cheese-Its and mentos. No news..also in keeping with my vacation custom.

Going three weeks without listening to or even reading any news is a unique experience. The only journalism I consumed since July 22nd was the Lincoln County News’s August 2nd edition. Since it was a local weekly, there were no recognizable bylines and no word of Trump. However, I did learn perhaps a bit more than I needed to know about the new K-5 program director at the Lincoln County YMCA, and the amazing leniency of  Lincoln County’s finest, who gave out four warnings for every actual ticket issued for speeding and other moving violations. However, this prosecutorial discretion seems to have had the desired effect on the locals since they all drive 5 mph slower than the posted speed limit. At first this is a source of great frustration, but after a week or so, it’s like...what’s the rush?

The weather for this vacation was a 7 on a scale of 10. The first week was cloudy and rainy, unfortunate for Patrick and Sarah. But after that, largely dry and sunny. It was warmer than normal, with a couple of days actually topping out at 90 degrees. There was humidity, an unwelcomed imposition, but not Richmond style humidity. Our last two days were more in keeping with our past Maine experiences...high temperature of 72, and not a cloud in the bright blue sky.

We ate too much. I haven’t stepped on a scale yet, but I expect the news won’t be good. Frankly, I don’t care. Whatever weight I have gained over the last three weeks represents the tribute that vice pays to virtue, everyone wants to eat right and lose weight, but when restraints are cast aside on vacation, we all return to our natural state. What we all really want is delicious food and lots of it! So, I will shed the extra pounds over the next 30 Days, and then reaquire them happily when next I go to Maine...from September 14 - October 6. If two three weeks vacations in Maine seem excessive to the reader I should admit that you are right...it is excessive. I’ve never done it before. The money spent on this indulgence more appropriately could have been enlisted into building up my retirement accounts, or financing Pam’s new kitchen, or any number of other more worthy and cost effective projects.

But...I am 60 years old. As of this moment, neither of my children have presented me with a grandchild to spoil rotten. I don’t want or need a bigger house. I’m not a car guy. The house will be paid off soon, leaving me officially debt free. So, I can either shovel money into savings for that rainy day I have been warned about since I was 5...or I can spend six weeks on a lake in Maine with people I love,  putting on temporary weight in exchange for permanent memories.

Easy decision.

The Last Day of Vacation

The last day of vacation is always a bummer. No matter what you tell yourself, instead of relaxing and being fully in the moment, in the back of your mind you’re already packing. For the first time in three weeks you find yourself concerned about what time it is. The day takes on a manic check list feel...like you’re trying to cram in too many things into too short a period of time. The key to a successful LDOV( last day of vacation ) is to prioritize. For example, here is a list of the things I would like to do today:

Catch a 5 pound bass.

Kayak.

Go for a 3 mile run before breakfast.

Have blueberry pancakes at the Camden Deli.

Have breakfast at Crissy’s.

Have ice cream at River Ducks.

Play a third round of golf at Rockland Golf Club.

Take a nap while bobbing up and down on the lake in a float.

Go swimming.

Have toasted tuna rolls for lunch served on the dock.

Have a fried clam lunch at Marriner’s in Camden.

Figure out a way to get that guy across the lake to take me for a ride in his pontoon ultra light plane.

Even better, talk him in to teaching me how to fly it!

Read the local newspaper while sitting in the window seat of the Camden Library.

Have a picnic lunch of lobster rolls on the lawn at the Camden Hills State Park.

Go shopping for the perfect hat and coffee mug one last time at The Smiling Cow.

Have a beer at Cuzzy’s.

Sit on a bench beside the harbor master’s house in Camden and watch the schooners come and go for an hour.

Have a cup of coffee and a whoppie pie in a booth at Moody’s while reading the latest edition of the Lincoln County News.

Listen to the loons.

Catch a glimpse of the Pemaquid bald eagle one more time.

Grill a steak for dinner.

Grill some shrimp for dinner.

Have a large bowl of seafood chowder at the Newcastle Public House for dinner.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a lot to do today and I better get to it...

Too Crunchy?

Last September Pam and I stayed at an incredible place called Loon Landing, on Quantabacook Lake in Searsmont, Maine. We loved it so much we’re going back there in six weeks. Anyway, in order to make the twenty minute drive from Searsmont to Camden you had to drive through a little village called Lincolnville Center. Last year, there was a beautiful new general store being built. Every time we drove passed it we would slow down and comment about how awesome the place was going to be when they finally finished it. Well, a couple of days ago we decided to pay it a visit to see how it turned out...

We were blown away. The place is stunning, the kind of general store that would make even the most urbane city slicker long for small town life.

Then we went inside...

Ok, I’ll just let Pam do the talking at this point...

As we entered the door there was a huge wine selection, followed by a huge display of essential oils and an assortment of crystals. Nothing in the store except organic. I saw a red pepper for seven dollars/lb.  They have a huge brick oven in the back for pizza, so that’s something. This store is way too crunchy for me!

In other news... the last two nights we have gone out to dinner. During a wild and crazy lightening storm, we had a hankering for pizza, so we went into Damariscotta to a sports bar type of place called The Penalty Box. 

The inside of the place is made to look like Fenway Park. A series of murals turn every wall into the view from a section of seating at the iconic old ballpark. Really cool. And the pizza was amazing!

Then, last night I marked something off my bucket list. For over ten years now, I have seen an advertisement in Down East Magazine for a place called King Eider’s Pub in Damariscotta. The picture in the ad made it look like the kind of place I would love. When we were seated I mentioned all of this to the manager of the place, telling him that I was a little nervous and hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed. There was no need to worry. Although it was quite pricey, Pam’s seafood pot pie and my surf and turf were out of this world delicious. We were seated upstairs right next to what was once a working fireplace, which was now home to a cast iron pot of oyster shells...

But, the best part was the charm of the place...

From our table at the far right hand window upstairs, we could see the Damariscotta harbor in the distance. Enchanting.

Last but not least, it’s been a great reading vacation. Here are the five that I’ve finished so far. Actually, I still have a hundred pages or so to go on Chicago, since I just bought it in Camden two days ago. Eclectic selections, don't ya think?

Three more days here. Today is cloudy with storms expected so I have no idea what we will end up doing. But, we plan on making the most of the next 72 hours.

My Favorite Pictures

What follows are some of my favorite pictures from this vacation with a brief explanation of each one...

My view every morning around 6 o’clock. One day everything was bathed in a soft pink which even lit up the inside of the house. A wonderful show to wake up to.

Fishing hasn’t been as good this year, but occasionally even a blind squirrel digs up an acorn.

Pam and I got the bay window seat for breakfast at Crissy’s in Damariscotta.

Sunset in Damariscotta. 

 It seems like every village on the coast has one dominant Church with a clock tower steeple. This is the one in Damariscotta.

Here we all are gathered around Smokey. He’s the giant carved bear who stands at the entrance to Checkerberry Road, the winding dirt road directly off of Route 1 which leads to our cabin. If it weren’t for him we would have driven past our turn every time! By the way...look at all those relaxed, happy faces!

The newlyweds spent the first week of their honeymoon in California where they took a picture of their feet in the sand of a beach outside of San Francisco. So, they decided to take a second foot picture in the sand of Camden Harbor. 

Me and my boy.

Me and my girl.

There are many others. Maybe I’ll do a part two at some point. We have had a wonderful time, and the 500 plus pictures we have in our Chillin at Pemaquid Pond folder, while probably excessive, speaks to the wonder which is all around us here. The good and glorious news is that in less than six weeks...we’ll be back!!

Just The Two of Us

Our time together with our kids begins in many ways. But, this is how it always ends...

...my wife in a tearful embrace with them at an airport or in our driveway.

We had the privilege of spending the first week here with all of them. Then the second week we got to spend some time with just Kaitlin and Jon. Now, as of 6:45 this morning, it’s just the two of us for the last week. 

We love every second we get to spend with our kids. First of all, it’s rare. Since they both have moved away, we only get to see them for  around three weeks a year. But, this past two weeks has felt a little like what it must be like to run a Bed and Breakfast. We now appreciate what Pam’s parents went through all those summers at Dummer’s Beach. Now that they’re all gone...it’s awfully quiet in this big old house!

These next seven days we plan on doing whatever the heck we feel like doing, whenever the heck we feel like doing it. We will try to eat up as much of the food that’s in the fridge as we can before we leave. We will see a few more sights, eat out at a few more restaurants, and play some Rummikub. I will read a few more books, catch a few more fish, and take a few more afternoon naps. When it’s finally time to leave, I will be torn between wanting to stay, on the one hand, and wanting to hurry home...because I really miss Lucy. 

Kaitlin’s Response

For the first time in the eight year history of The Tempest, I have invited a guest blogger to this space. My daughter wanted an opportunity to respond to my allegations that she has not exactly been holding up her end of the bargain on this vacation. Below, please find her response. Make of it what you will.

I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming this evening to rebut my father’s claim that I am the Least Valuable Vacationer (LVV). 

Over these last two weeks, rather than lift myself out of hammocks by my own bootstraps, I have chosen to embrace my favorite new program: Affirmative Inaction. And in doing so, I believe I am benefiting everyone around me. For instance, when I ask my husband to fetch me a freezie pop from the kitchen so I can continue reclining on the sofa uninterrupted, I am offering him a chance to serve “the least of these”...a Christian’s highest calling. What a blessing! When I sweetly request, batting my eyelashes, that my father heat up my coffee in the microwave, am I not inviting him to practice biblical hospitality? I take my family’s sanctification very seriously.

My intention in rising from bed no earlier than 9:00 each morning is twofold: 1) to fill everyone’s morning with sweet anticipation of my awakening, and 2) to ensure that I am mentally and emotionally energized to serve as the vacation cheerleader. Without a full nine hours of sleep, for example, I most assuredly would not have clapped and cheered for Mom’s paddleboard yoga with as much enthusiasm. Likewise, I can’t very well compliment the aroma of her cooking if I am napping as she prepares it.

Philosophically, isn’t a vacation the one time of the year when one can cease striving to earn one’s “value”? And therefore, isn’t the vacationer heralded as “least valuable” actually the one most to be praised?

Finally, as the only Mary in a house full of Marthas, I must remind you of Jesus‘s words in Matthew: “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many have been called, but few chosen.” Since I am continually the last of my family members to accomplish anything productive, I am clearly, according to Jesus, the chosen one.

Now, if you will all excuse me, I am late for my afternoon of languid lakeside lounging*. I really can’t miss that again.

Signing off, 

LVV

*Footnote: I have the tannest feet of anyone.

Cutting Edge Journalism

I literally cannot remember the last time I sat down with a physical newspaper in my hands, smelled the dried ink, and flipped through the flimsy newsprint. But yesterday, while having lunch at the 91 year old Moody’s Diner  (slogan: When I get hungry, I get Moody), I availed myself of the opportunity by picking up a copy of the Lincoln County News. The masthead informed me that it is the “only weekly newspaper locally owned, printed, and published in Lincoln County”..and has been for 143 years. While I fully understand the evolution of technology that has placed pressure on print media, and I also understand the struggles that have befallen newspapers all over the country as a result, it is my sincere belief that the Washington Post and The New York Times could learn a thing or two from the Lincoln County News. The entire front page contained not one scary headline and not a trace of hyperbole. Instead, the three front page stories that dominated the August 2, 2018 edition were:

1. Dresden Couple Transitions From Beef to Storage

Now, I don’t know about you, but this headline practically begs for an explanation. Who wouldn’t want to delve deeper to discover what on earth they could possibly be talking about? Is this some bizarre new twist on veganism? How does one eat storage? This question simply demands an answer. So I read. It turns out that Jeff and Linda Biden, of Eastern River Cattle Company have recently gotten out of the cattle business. However, the fine barn that previously housed the company’s herd will now be used to store vintage automobiles. This, despite the fact that the Eastern River Cattle Company had just won the prestigious Producer of the Year award from the Maine Beef Producers Association as recently as 2016! It seems that Jeff and Linda aren’t as young as they used to be, and the couple’s two children have shown no interest in taking over the family business. 

Now, had reporters from the New York Times been assigned to cover this story, the headline would probably have been something like...Heartless Globalist Capitalism Forces Dresden Couple Out of Business...or even better...Trump Tariffs Cause Generational Split in Local Family

2. Three Generations of Lilly Family Fight fires in Dresden

This story tells the heartwarming tail of a local man, Gotham Lilly, who at the tender age of 15, began volunteering at the local firehouse 62 years ago. The rest is history. Eventually, Lilly rose to captain, a position he held for 30 years. Along the way, nine members of his family, spanning three generations, have served at the firehouse...

Had this story been broken by a Washington Post reporter, the headline would have been...Nepotism Turnes Firestation Into Lilly Family Fifedom
3. Bristol Waitress Gets “Whole Life” Back With Return of Purse

McKinley Neuser, a 21 year old waitress at The Contented Soul in Bristol, had lost her purse containing last week’s paycheck, $600 in cash, after it disappeared from the basket of her scooter as she was on her way to work. The University of Arizona student, who has summered in Bristol her entire life, was devastated at this turn of events, since the $600 represented an entire month’s rent for her. Lucky for McKinley, local grocery store owner, Carl Reilly happened upon the purse while driving on Snowball Hill Road. He immediately pulled over, thinking it was clothing, only to discover that the purse, which doubles as Miss Neuser’s knitting bag, was stuffed full of cash. After a little detective work, Reilly figured out who the bag belonged to and headed over to The Contented Soul to reunite it with its owner. McKinley was overjoyed and grateful that she spends her summers working in such a great small town.

The New York Times take on this story?...Returned Purse of Bristol Waitress Highlights Need For Livng Wage

I spent much of yesterday afternoon reading every section of this marvelous paper. I marveled at the large headline and story about a local teacher who was appointed as Pre-K lead teacher at the YMCA, the feel good story of a church youth group who volunteered to paint the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park Fence, the irony of a 5K charity run to fight childhood obesity named the Boothbay Harbor Lobster Roll 5K!

God, how I love this place...