Monday
September 5, 2016
The first sound we heard when we woke up this morning was big loud waves crashing on Cobblestone Beach at the shoreline in front of the house. The forecast called for 6 to 9 foot waves and while they didn’t look that big (yet), they were still the biggest waves we’ve seen this summer. It was cool, around 58 degrees, and a steady 10mph wind was blowing from the north.
Patty made herself fruit and yogurt for breakfast and I had reheated pizza from last night with a couple of fried eggs on top. My stomach was still feeling a little funky and the pizza with crushed red pepper was easier on it than fruit (makes perfect sense, right?).
After breakfast, we went down the hill to get some water and check out conditions in the cove. After filling our four gallon containers, we left them by the info kiosk and walked out the Cove Trail where we can look back into the cove and also across the water towards the north and east. It’s possible to walk along the rocks all the way from the end of the Cove Trail to the Cobblestone Beach but we hadn’t gotten around to doing that yet this summer and decided now, with big waves crashing against the rocks, was the perfect time. Along the way, we took lots of pictures of the waves, little ponds of water caught on the rocks, and up the hill towards the lighthouse when it was visible. It would have been a shame (on us) to have missed this hike during our summer on Seguin.
We walked the Cobblestone Trail back to the kiosk to get our water and then up the hill to the house. Back up on the porch, we were surprised to see a sailboat coming towards the cove from the northeast. With the big waves and wind blowing into the cove, it would not be a good place to moor and ride out the cove. We lost sight of the mast and couldn’t tell if it actually came into the cove or just checked it out before moving on. A few minutes later, we saw the sailboat on the west side of the island and knew they didn’t try to tie up here. Smart choice.
We had the rest of last night’s pizza for lunch along with stuffed longhots and jalapenos (also good for an unsettled stomach) and triple berry pie for desert. While were eating, we noticed the wind increasing in speed and then later, while we were in the living room reading, we heard the screen blow out of the bathroom window, ending up on porch roof. Yeah, the wind was definitely picking up. And the waves were now very noticeably bigger – easily reaching the forecast 6’-9’ heights.
Patty went out to hike the North Trail and to pick berries while I stayed inside and read and relaxed. We had planned to cut the grass one final time today but with the strong wind, that just wasn’t going to happen. Plus, my back is feeling better but not 100% yet. Tomorrow.
After Patty got back, we headed down the hill again to watch the waves in the Cove and at Cobblestone Beach. The waves were huge by this time and we took lots of pictures and some videos that try, but fail, to truly capture the sound and power of what we saw. The coolest part was the sound of cobblestones moved by the water as it rushes in and out.
Back up at the house, Patty slow cooked ribs we had in the freezer that Terri & John’s left us after their recent visit. When they were finished, she also made grits with cheese and a side of sautéed chard from the garden. We have lots of ribs still left to eat for the next few days.
By around six, the waves seemed even bigger than this afternoon and the wind was strong too, averaging 20mph or more from the Northeast. When we went to bed, it was to the same sound of waves crashing on the shoreline accompanied by wind whistling past the house.
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Today’s blog post will be the last daily post Patty and I write on the Seguin Island website. For all of you that have read one, some, or all of the posts, thank you. Unfortunately, we don’t have access to the site statistics so we don’t have any idea how many folks have been reading the blog except for the few comments we get on Facebook. Even if only a few people have read the blog, we’re glad to have kept it throughout the summer so that we can always look back and remember fondly our time here on Seguin.
A zero day was not what we expected for Labor Day after a busy summer filled with generally great weather. By our count, we’ve had over 2,500 visitors this summer 
including several groups of campers and Guest Quarter’s guests. We’ve met so many wonderful and interesting from all over the world. It has been a privilege for us to have spent the summer as caretakers and keepers of this very special place.
Finally, we would like to thank Cyndy, our “boss”, therapist, and friend from Friends of Seguin Island Light Station who helped keep things smooth this summer and always kept a smile on her face and offered an infectious laugh to whatever what going on. And a huge thank you to
Ethan for safely getting us and our friends & family to and from Seguin. It’s been great getting to know you and appreciate all you’ve done for us. To all that came as part of the Wednesday Warriors, thank you for all that you do too. You are the heart and soul of F.O.S.I.L.S. and make sure Seguin is a showplace for all the visitors that come to learn the history and appreciate the beauty of this exceptional corner of the world. And thank you to all of you that helped us move out to Seguin in May and to everyone that is a member of F.O.S.I.L.S.
Mitchell & Patty
PS – If you’d like to keep in touch with us, we plan to periodically post to our personal blog about our adventures
once we leave Seguin on Saturday. Our last entry is from several years ago when we were leaving a caretaking position in Mexico but you can sign-up to get notification of future posts if you are interested.
[email protected] / https://www.facebook.com/mitchell.thorp.7
[email protected] / https://www.facebook.com/patty.sullivan.161
https://happyramblers.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/hppy.campers/
Visitors – 0
Favorite Moment(s) – watching the waves crashing on Cobblestone Beach
Sunrise – 5:58am
Sunset – 6:58pm
#Seguinisland #seguinislandlight #seguinislandlighthouse #maine #LifeOnTheRock
