2007 Maine Coast Vacation

Pied Beauty (1877)
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

Glory be to God for dappled things —
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted & pieced — fold, fallow, & plough;
And all trades, their gear & tackle & trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled, (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

***

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." - Tagore - Bengali poet and novelist

***

My sister Deb and her husband Jim decided to vacation on Mount Desert Island instead of taking their usual summer trip to Florida. I'm guessing it was a combination of Deb's childhood memories and their son Spencer's accounts from prior trips that won them over. Jim and Deb dropped Spencer off in Philadelphia and traveled on ahead of us, while Spence and I did a walking tour of my neighborhood and prepped for leaving the next day. Packed the car, and got Hummer secured atop the car and left for the Pine Tree State. Encountered some thunderstorms here and there on the trip up (delightful), and when we got to Maine, the rain came down in nor'easter fury. Arrived at Quietside Campground in W. Tremont on MDI late at night -- Jim and Deb having arrived a short while before us -- and we all proceeded to set up camp with 3 tents on 2 adjacent campsites (#30 and #31).

Have to admit: the weather wasn't always the greatest. But all that did was help us to enjoy the subtler elements of the Maine woods on a coastal island. Aside from making her campsite kitchen as homey as could be, Deb went about snapping pictures all around the campground and the places we all visited. You can see many of them posted here.

Jim, Spencer and I cycled over to Seal Harbor and explored the dock area. The sea never fails to fascinate and captivate the imagination.

One of my key goals for the trip was to learn how to sail. We finally were given a nice sunny afternoon and went over to Echo Lake where we put Hummer into the water, rigged her, hoisted the yard 'n mainsail, then (with Jim at the helm) took her around Echo Lake a couple of times. Photos can be found here. Thank you, Jim, for showing me the ropes. Gotta say I was giddy with excitement to get out on the water and be borne along by the wind in a boat that I was able to build. Spencer went out after me and was a much quicker study than I in the art and science of sailing.

All throughout the week, uncertain weather caused us to change our plans to do a lot of sailing. We took a day trip over to Little Deer Isle with bikes and boat in tow, and Deb and I motored Hummer off the southern shore of LDI near Blastow Cove while Jim and Spencer biked down to Stonington of Deer Isle. Deb and I motored out to Scott Island (once the home of author Robert McCloskey and the setting of his book, One Morning in Maine), as well as to Sheep, Eaton and Little Eaton Islands, and got as far east as Weeds Point before going back to the landing near Blastow Cove. During our explorations we came across a large rock formation jutting out of Penobscot Bay and dubbed it, "Deb-Maine-Ayuh." The current was fast and powerful around it that it was a challenge to try to get a picture of Deb atop it. I was also a wee bit concerned about Hummer hitting some submerged rocks all around. Didn't want a shipwreck.

Dad (a k a "Faz" to our in-laws and "Pop-Pop" to the grandkids) popped by the campsite for a brief visit. He came up to visit with some long-time friends who live out in Machias on the eastern-most part of the state of Maine. Dad savored the mornin' cup'a blueberry-flavored coffee which is a fixture on the breakfast menu while camping on Mount Desert Island.

Spencer and I took Hummer out from Bass Harbor, motoring through the fog to Bass Harbor Light (where Jim and Deb were exploring). Deb got some great shots of us in the boat as we explored the coastline of MDI's southernmost tip. We went out to the bell buoy and circled back. I was struck with the wonder and mystery of coastal fog and how it heightens one's sense of hearing. We docked for a brief turn at the dock next to the Swans Island ferry and then went further into Bass Harbor to film a Matrix-like scene. Here's the set-up: from the back of the boat I passed an oar slowly over Spencer's head as he slowly leaned back over the bow to avoid it as we were doing a 360 degree full-throttle "donut spin" (the outboard motor turned hard to the portside). The concept: clever. Its execution: a hoot. The cell-phone memory card: insufficient to the task! Alas. Nevertheless, a mutual memory remains, and perhaps someday we'll get another chance to film that scene.

On yet another day we paid a visit to the Oceanarium on Route 3, a few miles NW of Bar Harbor and saw lobsters of all sizes, colors and even growth stages. The Oceanarium's primary focus is to responsibly conserve the crustaceon, sustaining its viability as part of the fishing industry. One particularly informative display was that of how a lobster trap works:

1. Lobster attracted by bait in "pocket" (A), finds opening in "head" (B) leading into "kitchen" compartment (C).

2. Lobster wanders around kitchen to find way out. Easiest to climb inner head (D) leading into "parlor" (E).

3. Lobster can get out of parlor once in a while but even then usually returns.

We saw a "berried" female (eggs attached to her underside), tiny 3/8" long lobsters swirling in a saltwater holding tank, and others in lobster "condos" (PVC pipe segments)which keep them from going at each other. From there we went to the West Street Cafe in Bar Harbor for their lobster dinner special. A walk through the town's shops for gifts and souvenirs closed out the day.

On one of the last days on the island, Jim and Deb took Hummer out from the Manset Dock into Southwest Harbor. After they returned they took their bikes onto the ferry boat that goes out to the Cranberry Islands and went to Islesford. Meanwhile, Spencer and I tokk Hummer out around Greening Island to the south shore of Sutton Island. Deb (his Mom) was able to take a great photo of us under full sail as we sailed west back to SWH. After returning to the dock, I took Hummer out for a solo run past the southern tip of Greening Island, traveling about a mile. Going out with the wind was easy, but then it died down and I had to apply "spruce breeze" to get back to the dock. Not a problem, as the PassageMaker Dinghy glides and tracks well while rowing. As I listened to the sound of the bronze oarlocks turning in the sockets and the water gently lapping against the hull beneath, I was really glad I had installed the oak oarlock risers the year before.

Jim, Deb and Spencer left a couple of days before me, and I spent my last full day on the Maine coast on Deer Isle, visiting the Haskell cabin where we stayed as a family when I was a young teen, as well as the Pilgrim's Inn, where my brother Ed and I stayed years ago as a Christmas gift from our parents. Also stopped in to see Ken and his wife Martha, whom I had met last year while looking for a public boat launch site.

Made a campfire on the last night at Quietside, and later listened to live flute and guitar music wafting from the adjoining #31 campsite.

My last morning on the Maine coast started off with the usual classic "Downeast Maine Woods M.D.I. Breakfast" of fresh-picked wild Maine blueberries scrambled eggs, grits, bacon and toast, washed down with a hot mug of blueberry-flavored coffee. Not far from where I was sitting, a red squirrel neighbor took his breakfast as well -- seated in a nearby balsam tree.

On the way through Southwest Harbor I stopped in to say goodbye to Ralph and Frances Reed, owners & proprietors of the Quietside Cafe & Ice Cream Shop (where we ate several times during the week). Drove straight through to Philly.