Wednesday
August 3, 2016
For the second Wednesday in a row, we got up extra early to make sure we get ourselves and visitors to the Cove in time for Ethan’s arrival at 7am. The good thing about getting up a 5am though is that we get to see sunrise to the east. We went about our regular routine of getting ready while the Munro’s got their things together for the return ride to Popham – luckily, they packed very lightly and each only had a single daypack to carry. With lots of time to spare, we were down in the cove, loaded up and ready to go.
A few minutes after seven, we saw Ethan coming around Ellingwood Rock, just to the north of Seguin, and we pushed the dinghy off the beach with the first load – Kevin was on the oars, Claire and Angus in the bow, Hannah-Catherine on the stern and all of their packs on the floor of Hinckley. The Wednesday Warriors had a full crew today and Ethan’s boat looked pretty crowded when the Munro’s climbed aboard and the WW had not yet gotten into the dinghy. In just one more run, Patty and I were aboard with our stuff and then the remaining WW’s headed to shore and we headed to Popham.
It was a beautiful ride back to the mainland, a slight chill in the air (not enough to need a jacket), clear visibility, and calm water. On the way we saw a porpoise swimming around and had a discussion about what is the plural – porpoises, porpi, or something else…Back at Popham, we all carried a load up to the top of the dock and then Kevin and I walked down to the chapel to get our cars, returning to the dock to load up. Once we had our stuff stowed away, we said our goodbyes (for now) and talked about trying to get together again in October in Charlottesville, Virginia (where they live) on our way south to North Carolina. We headed towards Cyndy’s to drop off the water jugs and they were off to a family gathering a couple of hours away on Mousam Lake near Shapleigh, Maine, inland from the coast.
After dropping off the jerry cans, we stopped for breakfast at Betty’s in downtown Bath, right next door to Dot’s where we usually stop for ice cream. We’ve haven’t stopped for breakfast on our day off-island before but we have extra time today and were both a little hungry already. After breakfast sandwiches at Betty’s, we moved on to our regular routine of laundry, grocery shopping, Plant’s Seafood, and Bath Natural Store. We didn’t need anything at the hardware store (first time) but we did make our usual stop at the Mustard Seed to say hi to Susan and use their Wi-Fi.
We were thinking of checking out Boothbay with our extra time but, while at the Mustard Seed, it was suggested that we save that for September, after we’re finished on Seguin, because it’s crowded and busy this time of the summer. Instead, Orrs and Bailey Islands were recommended so we went off in that direction. If you’ve been reading the blog regularly, you’ll know that my Aunt & Uncle (Mary-Lewis & Andrew Chapman from Williamsburg, VA) sent us two books by the essayist Caskie Skinnet and Patty and I have just about finished one each. Driving down Rt. 24 was neat because so many places he references in his essays are along this drive –Cooks Corner, Cundy’s Harbor, Orrs Island, Bailey Islands, etc.
We drove all the way down to the end of the peninsula, past Orrs Island to Bailey Island. Where the road dead-ends, there’s a big giftshop that we checked out (briefly) and checked out the view from their elevated yard hoping for a glimpse of Seguin but all we could see was Small Point, between Seguin and where we were standing. No surprise really because we can’t see Baily Island from the lighthouse either but we hoped… It was still just late morning and because we had stopped for breakfast, we weren’t very hungry although we did checkout Cooks Lobster House with the idea of getting something light but the lot was packed full. In fact, it was busy and things were packed full almost everywhere we passed.
We decided to go checkout Small Point at the end of the Phippsburg peninsula because so many people visit Seguin from there and we can see it just across the water but have never been there. We drove down to the end and checked it out before going back up, past the Sebasco golf course, to Anna’s Waterside restaurant where we had haddock sandwiches for lunch. It was good and the view was really nice, perched right on the edge of a cove with lobster boats moored nearby.
After a leisurely lunch where we didn’t need to check the time once, we made our way back to Popham and stopped at Percy’s for ice cream and a couple cans of beer. After dropping our stuff, parking, and walking back to dock, we loaded our stuff onto Ethan’s boat which was tied up in a slip and sat down in the sun, enjoying the view and a cold beer. “Our” lobster guy Jackson came in with his son to unload the day’s catch and we chatted with him a bit before Ethan arrived at 3:30, our set meeting time.
Since we were already loaded into the boat, we took off right away and made our way to Seguin. It was a smooth ride over and except for me losing my hat and Ethan having to backtrack to retrieve it, we made it back quickly. We did the dinghy shuffle with me rowing back on our first run and staying ashore, then Patty rowing back the second run with the remainder of our stuff. Ethan left with the Wednesday Warrior’s as we started moving our stuff up the beach.
After tying up Hinckley, we put away our water jugs in the boathouse and then walked up the hill with our packs of provisions and clean clothes. We passed a couple coming down the hill and apologized that no one was able to give them a tour told them they could wait just a bit longer; we could
take them up. They said they needed to get underway to their next destination – unfortunately, their timing had them here between the Wednesday Warriors going down the hill to leave and us not yet back. We have dropped our things and given tours immediately upon return in the past only to find later that some of our refrigerated foods had spoiled from the delay so we try to make sure we at least take care of the fridge bag before getting sidetracked. As it was, our cold bag started to leak while we talked to them. Plants seafood always packs our seafood in ice, which was quickly melting on this hot day!
Coming onto the porch, we saw that the Wednesday Warriors had installed several new floor boards in the vestibule. Later we saw pictures of them working to repair a leak in the water line to the kitchen sink and also some continued progress on the repair of the Whistle House soffitt. I’m sure we’ll find more things as the week goes on. We also found that they left us a container of ginger cookies with raisins in them that were really good. I wouldn’t have thought of raisins and ginger together but it totally works. Thank you!
For the remainder of the day, things were quiet and we were able to get everything put away and then relaxed on the porch and later watched a beautiful sunset. We ate a lot off-island today and weren’t that hungry for supper, which is common for us on Wednesday’s, so we just snacked on some bread and cheese before heading off the bed.
Visitors – 36
Favorite Moment(s) – exploring and seeing new places on the mainland.
Sunrise – 5:20am
Sunset – 7:52pm
#Seguinisland #seguinislandlight #seguinislandlighthouse #maine #LifeOnTheRock
