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Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, United States

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Maine Coast

Follow the photos at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116843928190236062311/20130615Maine

The genesis of our drive up the Maine Coast was Hurricane Irene in 2011,
which blew our cruise ship out to sea, preventing a call to Bar Harbor.
We decided to begin the drive in Portland, staying with Deloris, a great
friend of Barbara, who had moved there from the Cape.  Then we would
go on to Camden, Bar Harbor, and Waterville where granddaughter Emily
is a coach of track and field at Colby College.

You see, first, scenes of the waterfront in Portland, which is about all that
we were able to do, as a downtown celebration would take over the next
day.  The buildings along the waterfront once functioned as chandlers,
coopers, victualers, and rope walks for the many sailing ships of earlier
centuries.  Good dinner there, too, at the Farmer's Table.

After church on Sunday at St. Mary's in Falmouth, Maine, to Freeport for
the obligatory pilgrimage to the L.L. Bean campus.  In addition, Beane
had a weekend exhibition of water sports, to try out and perhaps buy
kayaks and paddle boards.  B and Deloris had to be outfitted with PFDs,
although they had no intention of getting their feet wet.  I scoped out the
kayaks, which would be good for launching from our place on the Cape.

On to Camden, a picture perfect coastal village, just in time to miss the
hordes who descend upon it in the summer.  Stayed at the Whitehall Inn,
old and historical.  Up Mt. Battie, a hill in a state park, overlooking the
harbor and coastline.  Splendid views.  On the next day, the deluge started
that lasted for almost three days.  Undaunted, we drove south to Rockland
to tour the Farnsworth Museum, then turned around for a difficult trek on
old Route 1 to Bar Harbor.

We had planned and reserved a carriage ride in Acadia National Park,
that we should have done from the cruise ship.  Alas, the rain forced us
to cancel, but we were able to do a long tour around the park in a bus in
the afternoon.  That morning, I drove all around the southern tip of the
park, in heavy rain, to see an establishment in Northeast Harbor called
The Kimball House.

That was a welcome surprise.  Sitting opposite Kimball Lane, and down
from Kimball Road, it is a large, well-staffed emporium containing all
manner of "home" items, designed to appeal to a discriminating clientele.
The propietor, Nancy Kimball, was not present, so I was unable to question
the local history of a Kimball family.  Our branch left Topsham, Maine,
in the 1850s, for better lumbering prospects in Wisconsin.

My camera went kaput, so the photos of the Kimball House, and succeeding
shots are from Barbara's collection.  I missed filming the Great Maine
Breakfast on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor.  Over one hundred stops by
cruise ships are made in Bar Harbor each year, so the downtown area
is awash in souvenir stores.  Even found gelato at an ice cream parlor.

On to Waterville, where Emily gave us a comprehensive tour of the
athletic facilities from her professional viewpoint.  She said she doesn't
do pickup sports anymore, thank heavens, after tearing her Achlles tendon.
My dining room table and chairs sit in tight quarters that she and Derek
occupy.  They are both into outdoor sports, hiking and canoeing.  Took
them to a very fine dinner at 18 Below in Waterville.

Back home, after three trips in three months.  No immediate plans, although
a short stay in NYC might materialize in the Fall.  We have looked into
a Collette tour of London and Paris, including riding the train through the
Chunnel.  Then my 65th reunion at West Point in May, 2014, God willing.