Where are the Kids?

Yesterday we anchored in this lovely little cove with good protection except from the south. The cove is surrounded by rugged rocks with houses built above into the lavish green woods. There were tons of lobster boats anchored close by. One lobster-er surrounded us with traps just after we anchored. Luckily there was no fog this morning. Funny thing being on the water—sound travels greater distances. We could hear children playing somewhere on the Eastern Shore. I heard a young girl yell “dad” and I instinctively turned to look for one of my daughters and being disappointed not to see them. Then strong memories came back of them playing in the yard or in the family room and yelling for me when they needed an arbitrator or an answer to some very complicated childhood question. I miss them!

Vicki saw Tide Hiker’s first marine animal yesterday. A grey seal about 4 ft in length popped its head up just off the bow while we were underway. It looked very curiously at the boat as if deciding whether it would make a good playmate. So sweet. Vicki initially mistook it for a lobster pot until realizing it had whiskers! Since then, Vicki has seen several seals, all connected by a line to the lobster trap on the bottom.

This morning’s cruise was cut short because the forecasted 2-3 ft waves turned out to be more and very uncomfortable. Our efforts at battening down payed off and nothing was flying around this time. We ducked into a place called "The Basin" on the New Meadows River on the east end of Casco Bay. Its a beautiful rugged gunkhole also known to be one of the best harbors of refuge on the East Coast. Weather is supposed to get worse over the next couple of days, so this might be just the right spot to be in.

We decided to take the dinghy down and explore the basin. Robin was already paddeling in her kayak. Jim was chasing wires for their onboard TV system. The shoreline is pretty rugged and is under water by 9+ feet every 6 hours. Since the tide was flooding and the currents would be increasing, we scurried out.....after lunch, of course. We found what looked like a nice place to go ashore, but it turned out to be too shallow and too muddy. So, on we went to another place that was perfect. We tied up the dinghy to a tree with a long line and went on a hike. We discovered that the land was a nature conversancy. The hiking was good; it seemed like the place that Sasquatch would live. But it was the mosquitoes and poision ivy that sent us running back to the dinghy--muddy shoes and all.

There's a light haze setteling over the basin as I write this. Visibility is reduced and a good old fashion pea soup fog just might be in this nights future. Oooooooooo!!! Reminds me of an old Vincent Price movie.