Sunday
August 28, 2016
The morning started off comfortably cool, sunny, but hazy on the horizon with a light breeze out of the north. The bluegrass band, I mean our overnight guests in the other side of the duplex, were up early with their little one when I went out to raise the flag. They seemed to have enjoyed themselves last night and were continuing to this morning starting with their breakfast at the picnic table.
Patty went out to clean the historical marker signs and to sweep the tower while I worked on a blog post. Afterwards,
she assembled two small balsa wood glider planes that our friend Jude sent us and tried flying them off the tower. I tried to get a picture but didn’t succeed because one of the planes headed directly towards me on the ground and inexplicably, it actually hit me in the leg. No matter how I moved to avoid it, it adjusted like a heat seeking missile locked on to its’ target. So, no picture. I didn’t stick around for the second one to fly.
John, Terri, and Patty whipped up a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs, and French toast before our first visitors started to arrive. When we were finished eating, the first visitors of the day came up the hill so Patty and I went out to greet them while John and Terri did clean up duty. I think I’d be fine if they stayed with us the rest of the summer with all the food they’ve brought and the help they’ve given us this week and when they visited before this summer.
The first couple that arrived was from New York City followed by a family of seven that are mostly local. Right on their heels was a repeat visitor named Rich with his wife and a group of guests they brought over. They were eight in total, most of whom had never been here before. The last time Rich was here he had a drone with him and took some pictures of me and Patty as well as a lot of pictures of the island.
He had taken my contact info last time but never got around to sending me the pictures but first thing when he got here, he made sure to send me a link to the pictures online. Thanks Rich! I downloaded one of me and Patty to be include in the blog and will download the rest when I have better Internet.
Ethan brought in a ferry group of a little over a dozen that arrived at about the same time as a large group of local lobstermen and their friends and family, about sixty in all. One lobsterman in particular, Capt. Jimbo who works out of the Five Islands area told us he’s been running a trip here for the past few years
trying to get local lobstermen who’ve worked this area for years and never visited Seguin to come and check it out. These folks had a big old party and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Down on the beach, they brought two gas grills and a big picnic table where they had a big spread of food. Most of the people also came up the hill to see the tower and museum or to just relax on the lawn. It was a lot of fun talking to them all, even putting some faces with the voices we hear on our VHF radios. All the while, our overnight guests were playing on the porch. Many first time visitors thought that a musical performance was part of the island adventure!
In Ethan’s group there was an older man with his son around our age that seemed absolutely thrilled to be on Seguin and to see the museum and lens. Patty and I both spent a lot of time talking with him, me in the tower and Patty outside on the lawn before he went up in the tower and then again after.
We had a brief lull after Ethan’s group left and all the others went down the hill for the beach cookout so we went down the hill also.
John and Terri were already down there for a swim and I wanted to see what was happening in the cove. Patty had gone down earlier and said all the moorings were in use, many by two or three boats. Luckily our missing mooring has been fixed and we’re back up to six plus the Coast Guard buoy. On our way down we pass two groups of repeat visitors – Dwight (from Bowdoinham) along with his partner Eric and four friends and the Dunn Family.
Both groups had picnics with them and told us to take our time coming back up the hill. When we got down to the cove, Patty changed into her suit to join Terri & John while I took some pictures from the boathouse deck. I was just in time to see the picnic table coming ashore in a little skiff from one of the lobster boats. They had it upside down, across the gunwales and just flipped it onto the beach when the skiff nosed onto the sand. It was a party down there!
Throughout the day, whenever a boat left a mooring, another was waiting outside the cove to take its’ place. Busy, busy, busy. I went back up the hill to be there for Dwight’s group and the Dunn’s but both were still picnicking and in no rush. Patty came back up a little later and when they were done eating, we talked with both groups and went up in the tower with most of their groups.
Dwight and Eric were really sweet, bringing us a cold six-pack of beer and thanking us for our work here this summer. The Dunn’s likewise thanked us for hosting them several times, including the infamous bachelor party, and other times and gave us a nice bottle of wine. Meeting folks like them, Rich, and all the others that we’ve gotten to know through the summer has undoubtedly been the best part of being here for me and Patty. The beauty and history of Seguin are fantastic but the people are what we’ll remember the most.
When it quieted down, Terri, John, Patty, and I sat down to relax and talk about dinner when we realized we’d had a big miscommunication earlier in the day. Ethan texted me while I was in the tower asking if
John and Terri could leave Tuesday instead of tomorrow when they originally planned to. Apparently there’s a small craft advisory posted for tomorrow. I text back that I wasn’t sure and gave Ethan Terri’s number. I radioed Patty to let her know and shortly after, Terri
told Patty they were going down for a swim and to talk to Ethan who was moored in the cove while his group was on the island. Patty assumed Terri had received a text from Ethan and they were going to figure out what to do. Well, Terri had not because she didn’t have her phone and Ethan didn’t know they were on the beach so they didn’t hook up.
So, at the end of the afternoon, I asked what they worked out and she didn’t know what I was talking about. She checked her phone and saw Ethan’s text from much earlier… So, a couple of texts and a phone call later, Ethan was on his way to get them now. Terri & John have tickets to see Bruce Springsteen Tuesday night (they are from New Jersey after all) and other commitments including houseguests tomorrow night and really couldn’t wait until Tuesday to leave. So, after a mad dash of packing and showers, we were down in the cove soon after waiting for Ethan. A few quick hugs goodbye on the beach and then I rowed them out to Ethan’s boat and they were gone. Another crazy departure to add to our list of memories.
Visitors – 113
Favorite Moment(s) – lobsterman’s party of the beach with Capt. Jimbo, Capt. Angus, Redneck Jim, and a whole big crew.
Sunrise – 5:49am
Sunset – 7:12pm
#Seguinisland #seguinislandlight #seguinislandlighthouse #maine #LifeOnTheRock
