Memorial Day

In memory of the sacrifices made by our
Military Personnel who gave their lives
to preserve the liberties granted us as
citizens of the United States of America.

Memorial Day weekend RV camping in Camden, Maine

Memorial Day weekend has finally arrived and we've headed for Camden Hills RV Resort in Camden, Maine. It's our first visit to this campground, quiet not many campers here. They have nice sites (63), wooded like a public park might be, enough trees to provide shade most everywhere. Our site is a full hook-up with cable TV and Wi-Fi internet connection. Lois and Jim have a site right next to us. Also joining us for her first solo camping excursion was E'owyn. The whole set-up here this weekend suits me just fine. There's a pool and a spa, not a lot for kids, just a swing set. I think the appeal here is mostly for adults but maybe with summer time visitors it changes in that regard. The weather began with a mixture of sun and scattered showers which also played out through the night. Saturday morning Carol and I headed for Camden Hills State Park for a day hike. This is a terrific park with camping, hiking, a summit road to one of the parks peaks, picnic areas and beach access. The trail system is quite extensive considering the overall size of the park and if you're interested in spending 2 or 3 days of 3 - 6 hours of hiking this may be a perfect spot. We chose a hike that would take us along the base of the ridge line and then up to the ridge line to get us to the top of Mount Megunticook (1385'). There were no clear sight lines from the peak but further along was a major outlook area where we stopped for lunch and could look out over the town of Camden. While we we gallivanting around the hills and woods Lois and Jim took in some of the sights around Rockland.

Sunday after a hearty breakfast we all hopped in my truck and we headed to Lincolnville to visit the Cellardoor Vineyard. There we indulged in a late morning wine tasting with one of their hostesses. We must have sampled about 8 wines, I think Carol and Lois bought about 4 bottles each. After that we headed to Rockland where we wandered around their downtown section and ended up at the waterfront park where we took a break and the view before heading back to the campground to kick back for the remainder of our stay.

Here were are, ready to finally get out to go camping.

First stop, register at the office.

Our camper is to the left, Lois and Jim are in the middle.

Here's the take off point for our hike.

Carol and E'owyn get started up a rocky slope.

This is the trail that leads us parallel to the
ridge line, about 1.5 miles before we start
up that ridge line.

E'owyn is quite the trail dog, never tired
and wanted to lead the entire way.

The bridge didn't look too promising at
first but the high side was very solid.

This is the water on the downstream side of the foot bridge.

Here we are looking west from the ridge line as
we viewed a series of small mountains across the way.

Yeah, I'll make it up. I tend to linger behind now and then.

There were several variations of trail surfaces, all enjoyable to walk along. Here flat stones had been placed along the way. Other places were packed soils, cut timber, exposed smooth ledge, even some grassy areas. A few of the steep areas were almost like steps. All in all we could make good time and enjoy the woods and views. And E'oywn made sure to leave her mark along the way as dogs do.

The trail people do great work here. As high as our state taxes are the portion that goes to the state parks is worth it. If you can walk you need to get out to some of these places. There is every level of terrain, from strolling to climbing. We're paying for it, might as well use it and enjoy.

I think E'owyn is saying "hey old man, what's keeping you?"

Not exactly nose bleed elevation, high enough for today though.

This is the high point of Megunticook Mountain.

Quite the expedition.

Which way do we go? Ocean Lookout for the
best view of the hike... and our lunch break.

Another timber cut walk way.

The lunch spot on Ocean Lookout.

And here's the view over Camden, the payoff.

Alas, once you get the payoff for the hike you still have to finish the trip by trudging yourself back to the beginning.

Well here is a little bonus. I'll have to look up what kind of flower this is, the blossom is barely 3/4 of an inch, top to bottom. I don't recall ever seeing one before and it was the only one around. I used that little flower symbol on the camera to take this shot. That worked out well.

Made it back to the trail we started from.

One last bridge to cross.

There's the parking lot.

Happy hikers.

This is a bit of the harbor view in Rockland.

Jim and Lois taking in the view.

Varmint Tale

When you see something like the above scattered about your garage floor and the attic you know you've been visited by the local wildlife. This was what greeted me on a recent morning as I entered my garage a couple of Saturdays ago. Besides the droppings, the steps, shown below, had been gnawed indicating that the visitor was a porcupine. It must have entered though the cat door from the breezeway between the garage and the house. I cleaned up the droppings I could find, some in pretty odd places. Two or three here, several others elsewhere. So that night and the next I stood up a concrete block in front of the cat door as I closed things up before bedtime.

The second night after the first incursion, at 2:45 am Patches took off down the stairs growling and barking with E'oywn in hot pursuit, disturbing my delicate beauty rest. They sounded so determined that I headed downstairs after them. I hit the light for the breezeway, opened the door leaving the storm door closed and we looked left and right along the decking - nothing there. Patch must have been spooked by something the cat did. Stepping back to close the door I looked up and at the top of the door to the garage the freakin' porcupine was at the top of the door frame working his way down. Good thing I hadn't let the dogs out or it would have been a double dose of quill face to deal with.


Well our friend ambled off into the dark and I went back to bed only to hear Patches "woof" about a half hour later. As I had been trying to get back to sleep I had a feeling I should have left the lights on. I went back to the door and sure enough the waddling pin cushion was back up on the door. This time when he had climbed down I gave him a hearty poke with a long handled spade to encourage him to skedaddle along dropping a few quills in his wake. I then left the outside lights on in the breezeway and back yard. No return visits the next couple of nights but in the morning after the third night there were droppings on the front patio so I began leaving the outside light there on through the night. I'll give it another week or two then try a night without the lights to see if he's found another activity to keep him busy.

Home from New Zealand

Ian returned home yesterday from his study abroad in New Zealand. Carol, Taylor and I were joined at the airport by Lois and Margaret. Taylor herself has only been home a few days from her study abroad in Austria. We were quite the welcoming committee as Ian disembarked except I was outside trying to get a photo of his plane coming in when Carol called to tell me he was coming through the gate. Darn plane snuck in while my back was turned.

The welcoming committee is ready.

Ian fresh off the plane.

Aunt Lois gets a big hug.

Yeah, I finally show up, the lad looks great.

Ian and Taylor, they'd been quite a few miles apart for over three months.

Spazfest when these two saw who was home.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to my Mom, Roberta - beware, I'll be calling tonight. I'm sure I'll be trying to squeeze a call in at the same time as my brothers.

Also

Happy Mothers Day to my my mother-in-law, Margaret, my wife, Carol, my sisters, sister-in-laws and visitors to my blog.

Have a GREAT Day!

May Greetings & April Wrap Up

Another busy April, not only the usual monthly newsletter daze but it's also the time to put together the town's annual report. My third. Also clogging things up has been the email traffic regarding the end of the town's newsletter. In an effort to cut expenses the selectmen removed the cost of publishing it from the next fiscal year's budget. The upcoming issue will be the last published, after which everything will go on the website. Should still keep me busy and will probably spread the work out over time.

On a more important note, my mother-in-law, Margaret, had a heart attack which led to bypass surgery. That went very well and she is taking physical therapy at the hospital then will convalesce at Lois' until she fully recovers and can return to her home.

Ian's time in New Zealand is winding down. Things there seem pretty low key now as he and the other students have final reports and presentations to finish up. He'll be returning home next Saturday. I think Taylor will be returning from Austria Monday or Tuesday.

Last Sunday Elaine, Lois, Jim, Carol and myself attended the USA vs Sweden National Hockey Teams exhibition game in Portland. Even better, IMHO, before the game we went out to dinner at Ri Ra's, an Irish pub and restaurant on Portland's waterfront. I had the Beef ‘N Guinness Pie and washed it down with... Surprise! A Guinness Stout. Beautifully poured with a perfect creamy foam head. Life is good.

The day before Carol and I attended our first double Eagle Court of Honor. A couple of Scouts from our Troop who are good friends had their event. As the Troop's advancements chairperson Carol presented them with their Eagle certificates. Nice ceremony.

Recent Netflix movies (rated 1 - 5): Meet the Robinsons-4; No Country for Old Men-4; Ronin-4; Beowulf-2; Wasabi-4; War-3.

Finished reading Iain Banks' Look to Windward. Quite interesting in the types of beings and the settings of the story. Good build up to the conclusion and some interesting scenarios though a rather passive ending and some parts left me confused wondering why they were even included in the storyline. Overall I'm glad I read it. I finished the Dec 2007 issue of Asimov's, another arrived in the mail and discovered I'd skipped the Sept 2007 issue, now I'm 7 issues behind and will not renew my subscription until I'm caught up. I'm going to start reading Neal Asher's The Skinner next while grabbing an occasional story out of that skipped issue of Asimov's.

In the midst of it all I did manage to squeeze in picking up the camper from storage.

So that's my quick wrap up of things to make up for not blogging for about 3 weeks. A few of the items deserved more attention but that's how it goes, better than not mentioning any of them at all.

Photos top to bottom: view of table where we sat which provided a view along a wharf area where some harbor fire department boats were docked; Elaine, Jim and Lois sitting across the table from Carol and myself; Carol, Lois and Elaine caught up in the excitement of the hockey game; my Guinness; Carol in front of the recently returned Coleman Caravan -- all pictures were taken with my cellphone camera.