Wednesday
June 8, 2016
Today was our normal Wednesday off-island day and it was also the day that our first personal guests were arriving for a visit. We started early, having a quick bagel and cream cheese breakfast before heading down to meet Ethan and the Wednesday Warriors at the cove at 7am. We had a little more stuff to take with us to town today, particularly a
large bag of trash and an old push mower bag attachment for a mower that is no longer here. There’s a full trash can in the Whistle House that needs to be taken off-island and we figured the easiest thing would be to bring a little each week and we started that today. Additionally, we had the normal empty water can, gas cans, dirty laundry, etc.
We had added some air to Hinckley (the dinghy) yesterday so we didn’t need to do that this morning although she is losing air fast enough that we need to make a close examination soon to see if we can locate the leak and patch it.
Right on time, Ethan rounded the northern point of the island and Patty pushed us off with everything except the stinkiest bag of trash. We didn’t plan it that way and felt bad for leaving that for the WW to row out to us. At least with an otherwise empty Hinckley, I hope
Cyndy was able to put it as far from her as possible when she rowed
back and not have the stink in her nose the whole way. After the normal Dinghy shuffle and brief exchange of info as we passed one another, Ethan turned towards Popham and we were off.
With the rising sun and a partly cloudy sky, the effect on the water was really stunning on the ride over. As we came into the mouth of Kennebec River and passed Fort Popham, there was a bright beam of light shining directly on the fort from between the clouds that was really neat looking. Although it is a bit lopsided, we did manage to snap a picture with the phone as we passed.
In Bath and Brunswick, we did the normal run-around. Dropped empty water and gas cans at Cyndy’s, did laundry, shopped at Hannaford’s (instead of Shaw’s), Rogers Hardware, Shaw’s anyway (because we forgot some things at Hannaford’s), the Bath Natural Market, and Plant’s Seafood. We actually ran into the friends that are coming to visit us when we stopped in at the Shaw’s in Bath. Hugs all around and a brief hello and then we parted to finish our errands until our set plan to meet at 1 to go to Seguin together.
Once we finished our hurried errands, we had a nice leisurely lunch at
Live Edge Deli. I think they’re a (relatively?) new restaurant and our food was very good. We both got sandwiches, Patty got one appropriately named the “Seguin” – a huge sandwich that she only ate half of with the rest coming home in a doggie bag. After lunch, we got ice cream at Dot’s again, a weekly stop for the remainder of the summer I am sure!
At about 1, we met our friends Delores (D-Lo) and Scott who came up from our hometown of Brevard, North Carolina, to visit us and spend some time in Maine. They flew into Portland last night and stayed there. This morning, they drove up to Bath to get some provisions and then we all met up at the Maine Maritime Museum parking lot. They followed us from there to Cyndy’s house were we filled our water jugs, tried to let Grady out (he wouldn’t venture past the deck), and get our mail. From there, we caravanned down to Popham to drop off all of our collective stuff and park our truck and their car. Ethan was hoping to launch his large boat after the Seguin run so we did everything double-time so while Patty and D-Lo loaded everything from the dock to Ethan’s boat, Scott and I parked the car and Ethan came to give us a ride back to the dock in his boat.
The ride over to Seguin was nice, sunny, and calm. A perfect day for our first visitors to arrive. Patty and I made the first trip into the cove with a load of stuff and while I finished the dinghy-shuffle, Patty started moving stuff up the steps from the cove to the Donkey Engine House (we are calling it Paco’s Place, Paco’s Cantina, or just plain old Paco’s in honor of our friends donkey Paco). By the time we were all ashore, we only had three water jugs to bring up from the cove to Paco’s. We left the water there and everything else made it to the top of the hill in a single trip with all of us heavily loaded down.
We all did a quick unpack and then Scott and D-Lo got a tour of the lighthouse and from there, we pointed out
different parts for the island, trails, and other features. Afterwards, with weather that was nice and sunny, we sat on the front porch and then the picnic table (as the sun moved) to have a couple of cocktails and to catch up on what’s happening in Brevard and with each other.
Around 5, we headed back down to the cove to retrieve a half-dozen lobster that Jackson Percy dropped off for us earlier today. What a great perk! A quick call and they just appear in our keeper box, almost as if by magic! Scott and I rowed out and retrieved the lobster and then we all headed back up the hill with our catch in a 5-gallon bucket, surrounded in damp seaweed.
The wind had picked up so we set the table inside instead of eating at the picnic table which really would be the ideal location for this meal. Along with steamed lobster, we had fresh ears of corn. Each of us had one lobster and then Patty and I cleaned the remaining two for a future meal (omelet, salad, or something else). After dinner and cleanup, the four of us hung out together at the table enjoying each other’s company which was really nice.
We braved stronger and stronger winds to watch sunset which was (again) absolutely picturesque. D-Lo and Scott just couldn’t get over how beautiful the island is and how great all of the views are. We can’t wait for tomorrow to explore the trails together.
Visitors – 2
Favorite Moment(s) – getting lobsters from the keeper box with our friends.
