Tuesday, August 6, 2013

It's a Maine Thing

I spent the last week of July in one of the most special places in the US.  A dear friend has a summer cottage on a small island off the coast of Maine and I flew out to Portland to see her and recharge some badly depleted personal batteries. Upon landing, Carole and Frank picked me up and we made our way directly to the Casco Bay Ferry Landing.  Since we had a bit of time before the next boat, we had lunch at RiRa, an Irish pub.  Ah, refreshing food and icy drinks sure did help.
   
Then it was onto the ferry and a short 15 minute ride to Little Diamond Island.  Turns out, on Wednesdays, the local sailing club holds a regatta on the bay....here we are skirting the regatta on our way to the island. 
Below is the little house where I spent a most enjoyable 6 days.  It was low tide when we arrived, as you can see.  At high tide, the water comes almost up to the front lawn. 
Frank took this picture of Carole and me.  Both of them are amazing photographers and Carole told me to cup your hands under your chins and that way no one can count how many chins you have.  Pretty neat trick, huh? 
There are 3 lighthouses visible from the front porch.  One of them is Portland Head Lighthouse...can you see the light flash?  I had a tough time catching it just right.   
Sunset on Casco Bay.  The sun began setting below the clouds and just disappeared on the horizon.   
 Several of the days were so cloudy, misty, and foggy, that the sun never even poked through.  We sat on the porch and watched the fog creep toward the house.  Then the wind started, followed by rain. Once the rain stopped, the fog was gone.  Then it started all over again.  I was mesmerized by the changes.  
Carole and I left the island on my last day there and hit a couple of quilt shops, LL Bean, and the Christmas Tree Shop (one of my favorite New England shops!).  Then it was back to the island so I could pack my suitcase, ready to fly home the next day.  

Carole is an amazing quilt artist and photographer.  I spent a lot of time in her company and gained some great ideas for quilts of my own.  While I was only gone a week, I came home so recharged. Maine will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep coming back. I've got some quilting to do but soon I'll post them.