Camden, ME

It had been threatening rain all day but the cruise was only 3.5 hours from Castine, ME down the beautiful, wide, deep Penobscot Bay. We ran the engines a bit harder today to get the speed we needed to beat the rain and to test the engine repairs. Again, the engine ran perfectly. The rain came just as we attached to the mooring ball, but let up enough for us to go in to town on the free marina launch. We explored the town and then returned to the boat before the next shower and just in time for cocktails. Just as we were sipping some wine, a deluge of large wooden sail boats arrived to catch a mooring ball. It seems the wooden boat show was more than a show. It was a race and Castine to Camden was one of their legs. So, we got another chance to see more of them. Camden is one of those touristy spots with the many souvenir shops and Maine lobster restaurants. The mooring field was a bit rolly, but not as bad as Bar Harbor. The marina manager noticed we were rolling and invited us to use the fuel dock after hours if it got too bad. He said we would “settle up” later. Not sure what that meant but did not take him up on his offer. Did appreciate the option, though.

Port Captains (Hosts) Extraordinaire

We retraced our cruise back to Castine from Northeast Harbor today. It was a great cruise. The Eggemoggin Reach and Casco Passage were delightful. It was sunny and almost no wind—rare for up here. We took advantage of Jeff and Karen Siegel’s offer to use their storm mooring again in Smith Cove. We invited them for dinner at 6:30PM. Before that however, we took in the sights of a very busy harbor. Many classic wooden sail boats were in and they were beautiful. We then sat down for a glass of wine and started to plan our next few cruise days. Jeff and Karen, who were on ambulance duty, were fortunate not to be on a call and were able to join us for dinner. We had a great time. Jeff and Karen have been port hosts extraordinaire and we will long remember their generosity. Thanks guys!!

It Was Just a Ruse!!

Our trip to Ohio to see Norm’s brother was not to take a break from this retirement thing. It was to be there to participate in his surprise 70th birthday party bash. He has been reading this blog regularly and we did not want to spill the beans. So we made up this “needing a break…” ruse to give us cover for being there at all. Well, it worked. He was very surprised on Sunday when over 40 family and friends joined in the fun. Some came from as far away as Maine!!

We’re back in Maine now. This morning started making our way southwestward toward Portland where we’ll pick up Vicki’s Mom on Wednesday for a 5-day stay. The weather is supposed to be good for cruising – we’ll be enjoying some of the many ports we haven’t yet explored in Maine.

Once again, we’re traveling into parts of Maine with spotty connectivity. So, we’ll post when we can.