Exploring coastal Maine I

We plan to explore a lot of coastal Maine while we're in the area, so this is just the first of many expeditions, we hope!

Bucksport, Fort Knox & Fort Point State Park ~ April 20, 2013

The Saturday before last, Jonathan and I decided we wanted to see a little bit more of the area where we now live. And I was getting a hankering to see the ocean again. So Jonathan looked up how to get to the nearest ocean, and after our Sabbath lunch, we loaded up the car with water bottles, camera gear, snacks (for the drive home) and towels*, and set off for unknown destinations. The scenic drive to the ocean took us about an hour, through country neighbourhoods with picturesque glimpses of the Penobscot River popping into view every so often. Then we drove into Bucksport and I was instantly charmed! The small town boasted a Main Street right on the river filled with quaint houses and restaurants. I tried to take pictures as we drove down the street, but luckily we saw an eagle's nest as we headed out of town, and decided to pull over and walk back to take some pictures of the eagles. That turned into a walk back across a small bridge to get a better view of the fort across the river, and eventually - after seeing a sign announcing the best spot to take pictures of the fort and the large new bridge that was being built - we walked back to the car and drove to the designated spot to get a few more pictures.

Bucksport welcome sign

Informative sign at the other end of town (we went back to view the bridge from a good vantage point)

Photographer Jonathan

An island across the river from Bucksport

Bucksport riverfront walkway

The 125-year-old Bucksport library

Fort Knox across the river

The new bridge linking Verona Island to another part of the mainland

Good resting place

Baby bald eagle snug in his nest
(One of the parents was in the nest until just before Jonathan raised his camera to take a picture - it chose right then to fly away)

Once back in the car, we crossed over the impressive new bridge and took a short detour from our intended destination to check out Fort Knox. The fort was interesting, but we didn't stay long since it wasn't open for the season yet. We want to go back when it's open to better experience the historic site and explore inside the fort.

The new bridge

Bucksport from Fort Knox - so picturesque!

I love capturing pictures of Jonathan capturing pictures :)

Covered ambulance near the information center

After that short stop, we continued driving on a cliff-top road overlooking the river that led out to an ocean bay. We parked at the entrance to Fort Point State Park, which also wasn't open yet for the season. A sign on the gate told us it would be a mile walk in to the park, so we grabbed our backpack and headed off. We had a pleasant walk to the state park and enjoyed looking around at the area. We examined the foundation of an old hotel that had burned down years ago, saw the site of the old fort, and admired the still-working lighthouse, the only structure still standing in the park. Then we wandered down to a pebbly beach, and clambered over a lot of large algae-covered rocks to a pier, before starting the walk back to our car. We finished the trip off with a meandering drive around the area, looking at the interesting old houses near the ocean, before we headed back to the bridge and Bucksport for our return drive home.

Rocky beach at Fort Point State Park (you can see the bridge far off in the distance, a bit right of center)

Fort Point Lighthouse

One more picture of the impressive bridge from the other direction

A little history

Beautiful house in Bucksport - I'm in love! (I asked Jonathan to turn around and go back so I could take this picture)

*The towels were to sop up the water that was sitting in the sunroof of my little old Honda Accord after the rain from the night before. We had both gotten a surprising little shower of water falling in our laps that morning when we started off for church - we quickly decided to use Jonathan's van to get to church instead of sitting against wet seats for the half-hour drive...

Hike up Chick Hill

One of the Sabbaths in March while I was at home waiting for my passport, Jonathan went on a hike with some of the members of the Bangor church. Later he told me that it was a nice hike and he'd take me there sometime when I returned, so Saturday April 27 was the day. After lunch we headed out for 20-30 minutes east to Chick Hill.

Now, if any of you know me well, I'm not really much of a hiker. I enjoy a good nature walk, but when things start to get vertical, I start to chicken out. Then last year we lived in South Korea, a country that is about 70 percent mountainous. I put aside my dislike for climbing for the eight months we lived there in order to for us to fully experience the country. In a country with that many mountains, to experience it, you need to climb it. So, panting and sweating, I followed Jonathan up mountains, as we were both left in the dust by elderly Koreans who hike up mountains the size of the CN Tower several times a week (OK, maybe not that high, but probably close...those people are serious hikers!).

Now that we live in Maine, Jonathan seems to think that a day hike up Tumbledown Mountain (its very name does not inspire much confidence), Mt. Katadin, or Mt. Washington would be perfectly normal. And here I am, still recovering from some of our climbs last spring... But Chick Hill, surprisingly, was a perfect length of hike for me. I fully enjoyed the hike, once I knew we weren't starting out on a repeat of our hike up to a cave on the side of a cliff in Seoraksan National Park last April. Here's some pictures I snapped throughout our hike. Most of them are from the top of the hill, where we basked in the warm sunshine before heading back down.

Dandelion-esque flowers along the trail

Not sure what kind of flower they are, but they are bright and cheery

There was a large bird soaring overhead when we reached the top, but this is the only shot I could capture of him

Looking out toward the ocean. Apparently the mountains in the distance are in Acadia National Park.

My man :)

Tiny fungi on the rocks

Looking south

A small stream beside the trail (it looked prettier than this, but that didn't translate to my camera)

Chick Hill from below

One more last-ditch effort to snap a picture of the large bird (on the right near the tree). It didn't work...

Pretty lake on the drive home

First snow

It's amazing how fast nature can change her clothes. On October 12 dots of soft white clouds peppered the aqua-blue sky, and the westward-edging sun sent a golden glow over the turning leaves outside my window. As soon as Jonathan got home from work I begged him to take the screen off the window so I could get a picture of the glorious fall scene.

Golden afternoon glow on the colourful leaves ~ Friday, October 12, 2012

When I got back from my southern-USA trip, the leaves had deserted the trees, and the woods behind the house looked more open, less dense. Then November 7 came along. The day was dull and Jonathan mentioned before he left for work that he thought it would snow in the evening. I didn't think much about his prediction until that night when Jonathan raced into the room crowing, "I just walked by the window and it's snowing!" I didn't bother trying to pull up the Venetian blinds on the window above my head, but dashed out of the room, Jonathan following close behind me, and tugged on the back door. It opened to a wintry world of flake-dust drifting down to cover the porch and the ground with its white blanket. Winter already?! I couldn't believe it. Winter comes early in Alberta and northern Ontario. Even in southern BC where I grew up, winter can arrive in early-to-mid November. But winter this early in Maine? It's so much farther south... I was definitely surprised that Jonathan's prediction came true, but at the same time, completely delighted.

Snowy morning ~ Thursday, November 8, 2012 (Photo by Jonathan G.)

The snow stayed all of Thursday, although driving rain off and on all day tried to melt it away. By today it was all gone. But that first snow-sighting, it was magical. For two seasons of winter I've been overseas. The only snow I saw two years ago in Tanzania rested on the far-off dome of Mt. Kilimanjaro and, on occasion, the jagged peak of Mt. Meru towering over the ADRA campus. Last winter in Korea we had changed our calendar over to December before the first snow arrived, but by then the weather was already bitterly chilly and the cover of snow on the ground was a relief. We experienced several good snowfalls that year, but I felt that all of them were tainted with the noise, hurry, and grime of the big city. So this year's first snow was special. The pure white covering of nature right outside my window thrilled my soul. Although the snow is gone now, I'm anxiously awaiting more, the kind of snowfall that sticks and stays. The kind that means winter is really here for good. The kind I haven't experienced for the past three years. I'm ready for a real winter this year. And Maine looks quite willing to deliver!

Canadian Thanksgiving...

...Maine style!

That's right. This past Monday another Canadian Thanksgiving arrived, the sixth in a row since I last celebrated it at home. In fact, the sixth in a row that I have been living in a foreign country for. And the seventh in a row since I have had Thanksgiving at home with all of my grandparents, parents, and younger siblings together. You'd think, after six or seven years, I would get used to the loneliness and intense homesickness that overcomes me during the entire Thanksgiving weekend. But I'm not, and I don't think I'll ever be. I used to write on this blog, "Next year I'll make sure I'm home for Thanksgiving, for Remembrance Day." I've long since given up saying that. I honestly have no idea when I'll next be able to be home for Thanksgiving. (I am going to give it a concerted effort for next year, since at this point we're planning to be in Maine for Christmas 2013.)

But this year, like last year, I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving in Maine. Last year Jonathan and I went on a paddle-wheel boat tour and reveled in the fall colours painting the shore. Later in the day we went back to his parents' camp, and Jonathan took me on an impromptu catamaran ride, my first ever! I had to give up making a real Thanksgiving meal to go out on the cat, but I did so with no hesitation. Sailing in October beats out a pretend (not at home) Thanksgiving meal hands down! So last year we had a great day together, despite it not being quite the same as celebrating at home.

The Songo River Queen on Long Lake in Naples, Maine

Us in a cracked mirror on the paddle-wheeler

Shore from the boat

Tiny lighthouse (for you, Mum)

Autumn island

And this year, while I was again in Maine instead of BC, was equally as wonderful! It started with a drive to the camp, then a boat ride to take the boat out of the lake. The day was glorious. Blue skies, large white clouds, warm sun, no strong breeze, stunning colours nestled in between the evergreen trees. Perfect for an autumn boating expedition! Later we walked around downtown Portland, ate a meal at Flatbread Company every bit as filling as a Thanksgiving dinner - cheese and herb flatbread, lemonade (cold for him and hot, of course, for always-freezing me), and brownie sundaes for dessert. Amazing! Then it was off to do a bit of shopping together, but mostly window-shopping. We bought an unfinished wood chair and a can of stain to complete our table-and-chairs set, then a canister of herb tea after trying on some clothes we didn't buy. There was nothing traditional-Thanksgiving about our day. But it was special, set-apart, and that's what made it Thanksgiving to me. Jonathan took off work, we spent the day together, and we had fun doing it! It was perfect.

October sailboat on Panther Pond

Perfectly adorable '59 wooden boat that came up to the boat launch while we were there - I fell in love!

Beautiful building in Portland

Cold lemonade, hot lemonade & two brownie sundaes - dessert was gone too fast to get a before picture... :)

Next year, maybe I'll have the homemade Thanksgiving meal with all my family that I've been longing for since 2007. Maybe I won't. But either way, I'll find a way to make it special!