Mosh Glass

Today is the last Saturday for Bill, Marika and Michael to vacation in Maine. Emily is staying on to help the folks with their home that is now on the market. There is a lot to do and they have a lot of stuff (antiques and other). Emily will also clean the outside of both camps and get them ready for the next Airbnb guests. THis has been a busy Airbnb summer for the camps.
Michael is still in Sanford, ME with his friend Brian and his new friend Kyle. Of course, he is enjoying Tyson. Not sure what they are doing, but he did share photos of Kyle’s great garden. HE sell his veggies at the local Farmer’s Market.
Emily went over to Cam’s Nail Salon and had a manicure and pedicure. Cam does a nice Gel polish on the nails. The toes look much nicer painted.
Bill is on-line trying to order the special food for Jaxon. He does eat a prescribed diet that needs a prescription. Wow, it ships and will be delivered by Tuesday! Taffy is still being gentle with her hind quarters. Latte is the healthiest of all…who would ever guess?!
Marika just appeared for the day. She took an allergy pill last night and is still a bit groggy!
So, to let you all know, it looks like today might be a bit slow. Kinda like Maine! HAPPY SATURDAY!
So we ventured out to get Jaxons food at PetsMart. We decided to stop on the way. We went to Tree Spirit Distillery in Oakland. Really fun place and we met some people from NewHampshire. Bill and Marika were brave and tried the absinthe.
I am going to flatten the bottle and make it into a clock! Stacey, our host at Tree Spirit was great! She wants a clock, as well! I love sharing my craft!
We went onward to Augusta and found out that Maine law won’t allow vet clinics in their pet stores! We lost! So now we are on a search for Jaxons food! We then drive in to Hallowell. This town is darling! Great shops and lots of antiques! I found the perfect coffee table, but we could not find anyone to sell it to me! I might venture in again! Hallowell sits on the River…they have Adirondack chairs along the river, quite cute! Great day with Bill and Marika!

I’m just adding a little to Bill’s great post! Even though I was under the weather yesterday, I did accomplish great things! I finished Summer Reading book 4 and began book 5. I also got all of the photos from Lakewood and took them out of their frames. I am preserving the photos. I will have duplicates made and put them on the walls at Twinnie’s Camp. The photos are of actors and actresses who performed at Lakewood in the 1930’s-1950’s. THe collection is quite impressive! This was a 6 hour long job. The dogs were tired of my photo game. I finished and we ventured off to bed. Yep, I read for a good hour. Feeling better.

Today is Monday. As you can see, gray and dreary. Supposed to rain a little bit all day long. Doesn’t that just say Monday all over? I know from my posts you think it always but once in awhile into every life a little rain must fall. So when rain falls you make lemonade, right? Or some such thing. So we are going to Acadia National Park and hauling the trailer for an overnight. Emily doesn’t feel well and is staying camp (versus staying home. Lol). Anyhow, it’s a couple hours away and we are packing right now.

Taking the teardrop. A little more comfort than the tent thing. Like 6 inches of memory foam mattress more. With a solid roof and a door and ventilation. OK I can just say it, it’s better than a tent.

Acadia was a 2 hour drive. We found our campsite, right on the ocean. Dropped trailer and went for food. Found a 4.5 star BBQ restaurant only 2 miles from our campsite. Once we finish it’s off to Acadia Natl Park.

We went to Mainely Meat BBQ which is in the non tourist part of Bar Harbor. The restaurant really packsnin a ton of people, serves up the BBQ really fast and the food is worth its 4.5 stars. I am glad I went.

Drive to he park from there. First stop was the visitor center for a pass. They actually check here so it’s a good idea to have one. I have been to Zions twice for long periods and you do not need to bother with a pass. I guess all parks are different. After getting the pass we drove to the top of Mt Cadillac. Marika was quite pleased she did not have to walk. You get a huge panoramic view of park and ocean from the top. While up atbhe summit the weather started to turn cold and windy. And a little wet too. The weather had said it should have rained yesterday. It didn’t. And all morning. It didn’t now it says rain all afternoon till one am. Not great. Here is what it looks like.

After Cadillac we went to Thunder Hole. Which is a spot at the shore where the waves come into a very narrow inlet and make a roaring sound. The best way to describe this is probably a video. And I managed to remember to show one. IMG_2817 Thunder Hole is neat but kinda a one trick pony. Once you’ve seen it, you are done. No need to spend much time or see it again. Though I like to get out in the rain, did I mention it was raining?, and walk around. Anyhow..

Off to Sand Beach. This is one of Acadia’s most popular attractions. Let me show you

That’s it, a large sandy beach. Not to exciting. It is, according to the ranger I spoke to, one of he most popular attractions here. I don’t get it. Nice walk in the rain, though. And this is a fun trip.

Between all these attractions we stop and see in Acadia, there are great views of the ocean, this is an island, and lots of landscape and the occasional wildlife to see.

Immediately before we left Acadia for the day we stopped at Jordan Pond. It’s really just a very nice lake. It is beautiful. And we walked all around it. In the rain. Boy am I glad I brought a windbreaker. First time in 20 years. Kudos to Emily for buying it. I would not have. She gets things right. Sometimes. Don’t want you to get a big head. Lol. Anyhow, nice walk in he rain.

Back to the campsite. We are staying at a KOA in Bar Harbor. Our site is on the ocean and somewhat secluded. We like it. We went up to the TV room. There is a microwave and we heated our dinner. I like camping but did I mention, it’s raining. So we got to eat inside. Nice.
We played cards for a couple hours, mostly played deuces. I lost every hand. Michael is a good deuces player. I don’t play.

We drove back to the campsite and decided to play Hearts in the teardrop. It’s warmer in there and there is a light.
That’s them, the two campers. Beating me at hearts. I can’t squeeze into the picture in a 4 x 9′ trailer.

Tomorrow we are going on a hike above Jordan Pond. Parts of it are actually vertical. Sounds like fun. May compare to Angels Landing in Zion which is a personal favorite. You will get pictures. They have decided to play another round so no bedtime yet. Soon.

Next round. I win. Just for the record. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Good night.

We are sitting at Lakewood right now, Sunday am for brunch. It’s so close and it’s so sunny and warm the day begs you to walk to breakfast just for the extra enjoyment. The view out the window, now is of a smooth blue lake under azure skies (think Carnival Cruise advert)at about 78 degrees with a light cool breeze. Yes, again, be jealous of us. I was good in a previous life. This one, not so sure.
Nice, isn’t it? Even better in person. The gal serving us the same one that made our drinks a couple nights ago. Please review previous post. Anyhow, she is extra familiar which makes the meal a little more fun. No food yet, and still waiting on my second cup of coffee. They are busy today. I ordered a breakfast sandwich which I hope to see soon.
We ran into the Jervey’s this am. They are having brunch with their daughter and grandkids. They live across the lake from us.

Got our breakfast, I had the Best breakfast sandwich (their emphasis) which was the best thing ordered by us. Hurray for me. Croissant with a fried egg, sausage, cheese. Tasty. No picture because I was hungry. And I’m not a take a picture of your food person. And it was 30$ plus rx including tip. Nice. Gotta love Maine prices. Took Hess shots outside after we left breakfast.

We are having dinner tonight with Ed and Helena Kadunc. Also with Hank and Beth. Helena is making flan for dessert, both regular and coconut. Which is not why we invited her but would be a damn good reason to invite her for dinner. Anyhow, Michael made Carnitas too. Beth brought beans. Ed and Helena brought me a present, a bottle of Pisco. So I made Pisco sours for all. it’s in the glass on the table. Pisco is the national drink of Peru and Chile. Helena is from Columbia which is close enough.

The meal and company were really incredible. Just a great party. We have not seen the Kadunc’s since last summer so it’s more fun. We are leaving for California this Thursday so we are on short time. Probably have dinner with them on Tuesday and then off to CA. But, back to dinner. We are finished and sitting around the table drinking wine.

Emily took a few Polaroids of the gathering. Remember those? She is gonna hang em up around the living room. It’s kind of a personal Facebook. If you want to share, come to Maine.

So we sat around doing the drink and talk thing for awhile. Then everyone split. We cleaned up, which is no small feat, and went to bed. Tomorrow Acadia.

Yesterday I mentioned how the weatherman said Friday was the last nice day for a week. He lied.
Does the weather look bad to you?

I am sitting here somewhat alone. Emily got up early to go get her nails done. I find it difficult to go back to sleep once someone has gotten and readied themselves for going out. I tried. Did not work. I am not blaming Emily, she stays very quiet. But I am sensitive to all noise and movement so I don’t go back to sleep.

I am having a large slice of banana bread for brakfast. And a cup of coffee. Which is required. Had to buy a coffee grinder since this trip we have a couple pounds of beans to deal with.
That’s the grinder on the right. Cookies and banana bread on the left. In case you are confused.

We are on our way to Oakland. In Maine. There is an absinthe distillery there. We are going to visit. Only 15 miles from our camp. Who knew?

We stopped at McDonalds on the way. I know, you are aghast. But, in Maine Mcs sells lobster rolls. Really.

They are as good as they look. The lobster roll across the street at the fish market is $14.99. Mcs is $8.99. Pretty cool. Now I can say something no other person from back home can say: I ate lobster at McDonalds.

We stopped at Tree Spirit Distillery. Wow. Fun little stop. They make Absinthe, Applejack, Pear Brandy, several unique wines. For $6 I can taste 5 items and absinthe. I tasted 12 items and absinthe. Nice folks. Want to say Stacey, who ran the place, is a fantastic host. Everyone had a great time. The whole crowd was partying fools. Very fun. I may have to go back.

On our way to Augusta. We need to pick up prescription dog food for Jaxon. He has bad kidneys and bad liver. Just getting over a bout of Leptospirosis. So we have to drive to get his food. May be something else to do while there. Don’t know yet.

It turns out the great state of Maine does not allow pet stores to sell prescription dog food. So we are unable to get any at all. I can have it shipped. Oh well. So since we are in Augusta we decided to go to the state museum. Everyone raves about it. Ok. It’s closed. Who would want to visit a museum on a Saturday?

We decided to just drive around. Ended up in Hallowell which is a neighboring town. Very pretty little town with river frontage. We are in an antique store and no I have not seen any of my baby toys.
The picture I missed has about a quarter mile long row of multicolored Adirondack chairs along the riverfront in the middle of town. Very nice picture. Well would have been. After Hallowell we drove to Beth and Hanks. Marika went back to the camp to feed the dogs, and let them out to run around. She will be back soon.

Dinner was more fabulous than usual. Lamb chops, Beth’s special baked beans, asparagus, potatoes and blueberry cream pie for dessert. Truly fantastic. Beth is a fine cook. And Hank washed all the dishes. Since he only started this a couple years ago he has 70 years of dish washing to catch up on.

After dinner we headed home. Straight to bed. Sometimes you just have to sleep.

The weather report says today is he last nice day for the next week. Too bad but so far the weather today is perfect. Incredible.

Michael left early to head down to Southern Maine to visit with Brian who was here last week. Amazing how early he can get up when he has something to do.

We are at Beth and Hanks for lunch. Marika has made some grilled Gouda and ham sandwiches and also some open face ham and Brie under the broiler. We sat around awhile then went to the grocery store for dinner food and such. We are having friends for dinner, you know, chianti and fava beans.

While at Beth’s I fixed her printer. It was supposedly wireless but she never hooked it up. I managed to get it working even though the computer and printer took quite a few shots on their trip over on the Mayflower. Seriously, I could download drivers fro HP for a 32 bit XP system. They don’t support it. I suggested new hardware. And new software. But, it is working.

Back at camp, enchiladas are in the oven. Thank you, Emily. Marika has made banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies. We will eat well tonight.

It has been a really slow day, not doing much of anything. I did do a little work and finished a tax return. But other than that, nothing. I’ve been sitting out on the deck watching the lake traffic and sipping a cocktail for about an hour now. The day is so perfect. I do need to go make Beth a drink. Don’t know what. I guess I can surprise her.

Here are some shots. Hank is not always that glum.

Today is more vacation than many other days. I don’t think we have done a lick of work today. Grocery shopping really doesn’t count. I have sat more today than any other day this month. Ok, maybe I sat more on the trip out but you know what I mean. I am still sitting on the porch after 2 1/2 hours. Bonus. I am starting to get hungry finally

Dinner is served.

And here is Hank again. Not glum.

The enchiladas have mole sauce in them. It does make them that much better. The refrieds had a little mole in them as well. A very nice meal.

Marika made banana bread and CC cookies which with ice cream were our dessert. Capped off a fine meal.

The folks headed home, Hank with a large bag of cookies. Privilege of being Grandpa I think. I hear he freezes them and puts the frozen cookies on his ice cream in the evening. A nightcap, if you will.

The three of us, on Emily’s suggestion, walked the 1/8 mile to Lakewood Restaurant for our own nightcap. The show was on intermission from the playhouse so there was a small crowd. We ordered drinks from a rather large drink menu. Waiter did say bartender had left. But, the replacement did a fine job. She came by to see if we had any complaints. We didn’t. Nice comfortable lounge to, well, lounge in. Service was very attentive and friendly.

We went back to our camp and hit the hay.

As I was saying yesterday, I was not sure what was going on today. Well, we have a delivery between 8 and 10 am this morning. Stackable washer/dryer. They chose 8am. Which is and always will be too early. Better yet, they could not fit it around the fireplace and through the narrow hallway. So they left with them. No delivery and I will get woken too early on another day.

No one gave this a thought in advance. There had been a washer dryer in there before. But I guess the installation of the ladder to the upper “floor” has squeezed the space to under 24″. Hence the issue. I have been unable to figure out how the ladder was attached but it is very secure, 2×6 hardwood, and stout. I am going to ask Hank if he remembers where all the fasteners are. Emily called him but he was still asleep (did I say too early?). Later.

Time for breakfast. Usual yogurt and grape nuts. Coffee. PB cookie. Kid is having granola. Coffee. Emily is cleaning up next door for the next air bnb’r coming today. Marika, smart one, is still asleep.

Emily finished up cleaning just now. I had also gone next door to share in the fun. Emily is a cleaning over doer. So it can take awhile to get the place clean enough.

I have to do some office work. Emily wants to go to Caswells. That’s an only in Maine store. They sell used food. Lol. Seriously, all the items sold at Caswells are past their sell by date. Oldest I have seen is over 3 years. Yuck. They also have other items as well that have no expiration. And it’s all real cheap. I do not like shopping there.

Well all our chores are done. Emily went off to Waterville with her mom. Me and the kids went to Island Dairy Treatfor lunch. It used to be called Snows. I have never been there. So it turns out they don’t really sell food. All they had were hot dogs and chips. So that’s what we had. We did try the ice cream. I am never going back. I can get much better ice cream at Giffords and more and better food anywhere else.

At least now I know why I never went there.

After lunch the three of us and the dogs went across the lake to swim and paddle board. IMG_2699 I did not know she was so talented. Latte does love the water although she did an early exit off the board and swam to me. Amazing poodle. The other two were not interested. Especially Taffy. We swam and boarded for about two hours and headed back to our camp.

Emily was back, unloading stuff. We sat around the house for an hour or so. It’s still quite hot here. We are going to the in laws house for dinner tonight. Shrimp Dijon I hear.

Dinner was very good. New recipe for Beth andbit was awesome. After dinner the four of us went to Giffords for a round of golf. Unfortunately Michael played well and won by two strokes. I hate that. The not winning part. No ice cream tonight. Just golf.

We played a round of Boggle when we got to the cabin. And Emily came in third. Wow. She always wins, it’s her game. Very hard to believe. I am sure she will win next time.

Today’s is Wednesday. Nothing special. Emily figured out what is wrong with Taffy. We think. Last time she had these symptoms it was due to inflamed and infected anal glands. Yuck. They need expressing and maybe antibiotics. We do hope it is that. Easy cure and full recovery in her future we hope. Everybody reading this please say a prayer and eat a bowl of kibble in her honor.

Out of bed at 11am this am. Really. Not sure why so late. I stayed up reading but no one else did. Go figure

Btw we do have an appointment with the vet for 3:20 today. Will see

Just finished a bowl of grape nuts yogurt and blueberries. Cup of coffee. Emily had hot cereal. With blueberries. Michael is making an omelette. I also had one of these which are part of a balanced breakfast. All Marika had was coffee. . Hold on, says she is going to have cereal too.

So my in laws own a small building/garage about 50 feet up the hill from us. They had a table in that garage which we went up and grabbed. The rickety piece of crap we use every day is, well, just that and we were happy to be rid of it. Now are table does not shake like a bowl of jello whenever someone or thing moves in the house. I think that’s a good thing. Took about an hour to exchange the two. All four of us went to ye Kel Mat Cafe for lunch afterward. This time Marika and I split a sandwich and they deliver ed the correct one. As you will recall the last time e went in they screwed up the order. Food was great this time as well.

After lunch Marika and Em took Taffy to the vet. Michael and I went across the lake and went swimming. We also dig up the hornet nest by he dock and sprayed it. As you may remember, a few days back michael got stung four times and the dog once. Well we fixed them by destroying their home and killing their children. Sort of. Then we swam. Em and Marika came by after the vet and the dog is way better. Latte and Jaxon went swimming as well. The day was hot and a dip in the lake is a blessing . We have two docks to Em swim off of. At Robins camp across the lake there are also a kayak and canoe for our lakeside pleasure. We swam for about an hour and then headed back across the lake. Emily and Marika had left earlier to get dinner started since th in laws, Beth and Hank were joining us for dinner. On our way out we ran into Nancy Nesbit who was out walking her dog, Blizzard. The dog is white. Get it? Anyhow, we invited Nancy to dinner since she knows everyone and she accepted. So we headed home and helped get everything ready. I had work to do as well prior to BBQn the chicken. Took awhile to get it done since the connectivity was really awful. But I managed to get it all finished.

Guests all arrived, I put the meat on and made everyone cocktails. And a second round of cocktails as well. We had a nice meal of BBQ chicken, pasta salad and Beth’s cold bean salad. Very nice.

Everyone left by about nine and we all went down to Giffords for ice cream. Always a great way to end the day. Not sure what tomorrow has in store. I have no ideas on the matter. Will blogbit when it happens.

Today we are goin on at least one distillery tour. Make that two. Then to Freeport for outlet shopping.

Got up in usual fashion. Slow. Moving by 11am toward Portland. Our first stop will be New England Distilling newenglanddistilling.com. These guys make awesome eye, rum, bourbon and whiskey based gin. Most gins are neutral grain or vodka based. Theirs is much better. Forgot to take pictures, sorry. Got the full tour and it was amazing. Ended up buying rye and rum.

Lunch at Eventide Oyster Co. near the port. Smells like the ocean here. Food really fantastic and I can really recommend the clam chowder. Had salt pork in it. Very nice. The rhubarb crumble dessert is fabulous.

After lunch, we went to Freeport, and Cold River Distillery. No tour given so I could not get pictures. Their blueberry vodka is very good. Better than most, they distill the alcohol with flavor rather than use additives later or at end. Still fun and free tastes. Except for the distillers reserve, vodka from oak barrels, which is actually whiskey. Though they have to call it Vodka per state law. It’s whiskey and it’s smooth. And $70 per bottle. I tasted but no purchase.

Freeport. Home of LL Bean, open 24/7.

As you can see Freeport is a regular town. But mostly a “downtown” set up. LL Bean is huge. As you can see it has fountains. Some in the store are stocked with trout. No, fishing and swimming are not allowed. Open every day of the year, 24 hours.

So we cruised around looking into a few stores. The place is no longer really outlets. Some are just regular retail like Bean. Us old timers say it ain’t what it used to be. Cuz it ain’t. Still enjoyable. We did not make it to the distillery barroom on time, it closes by 6pm. No night life here

We left for home about 630. Uneventful and fast trip. Got home and unloaded the haul. We are having leftover chicken pot roast, calzones and fresh made sautéed broccoli. Smelling good and it is 920 so I’d like to eat already. I made daiquiris with the rum I bought this morning. Very nice.

We are about to eat. Back later.

I’m back. There is, sometimes, leftovers that are awesome. This meal was one of those. Best thing I did? Fry the leftover calzone. Made the outside hot and crispy. It was like a second life for them. Just plain fantastic. If fantastic can be called plain. We are all sitting here full and sated. Don’t know if there are any games left in anyone. Wa are all tired. Will see.

I forgot to mention. We noticed, when we returned, that one of our dogs seems to be uncomfortable. Unable to jump on the bed, walking funny, etc. of course no effect on her appetite. We have just been through a bout of Leptospirosis with Jaxon. He almost died. After spending a lot of money A LOT of money with the vet he is better than he was before. Much better. So we are on edge about sick dogs. Taffy is getting more attention than usual. Maybe that is her evil plan. Don’t know. This is Taffy

Not normal for her. She is usually running around and most often next to us. Will see. We hope for the best.

So no evening games. We did have ice cream. Yay Giffords pre pack.
Bedtime. Goodnight

I sit here hoping today is nowhere near as hot as yesterday. It was damn hot yesterday but it did cool somewhat later so we could sleep. But it was hot. It’s a warm morning which usually means hot day. Will see.

Today we plan on going to see the swinging bridge here in Skowhegan. Just what it’s called, it’s a walking bridge and it swings back and forth as you go. Been coming here over 20 years and have never laid eyes on it. It’s funny how you always forget to be a tourist in your own town. You know the sites are there but you don’t bother to go. Because I can go anytime, I don’t. Same goes for Good Will Hinckley site we are going to after. It sits on Route 201 which I drive on nearly every day yet how many times have I stopped? Wrong. I stopped at their produce stand. Once. After that it’s off to Bangor to see writer Stephen King’s house. Not sure what to expect but Marika has really wanted to go for the last couple years. I’m excited. Never been to Bangor.

So it’s 11:55 and we are still at the camp. Waiting for everyone to be done with whatever they are doing. I am finding things to do cuz I want to get going and I can’t just sit here. Our next door tenants just arrived hope that don’t take too long.

We visited the swinging bridge in Skowhegan before heading out. Just as advertised it’s a cable type bridge and it swings when you walk on it.

So we went to Stephen Kings house. very cool. It’s in Bangor which is an hour north of our camp. Turns out there are no tours as my daughter thought. We did meet a couple from Sonoma outside the house. They are here on their honeymoon. Nice folks. They live a couple miles from Marika which seems weird.

We toured the river walk after. The Penobscot river.

Not much else going on in Bangor. We drove around awhile, tried to find the city forest without luck. Then drive home. Again, not much going on here.

We had dinner when we got home and some ice cream. Then went to bed.