Month: July 2011

Rockport, Rockland, Owls Head & Waterman Beach

By smd on July 31, 2011 • ( Leave a comment )

On Friday, we took a day trip and headed out to show Jeannette some of the local area. First, we visited Rockport, which is a small town right next to Camden. It has a small harbor and some interesting history. And – two of Lou’s favorite things – an old steam engine and leftover remnants from the old Lime Kilns (he even has a book about the area). He took the photos in the gallery below – it also includes photos from his hike up to Owls Head Light House. Jeannette and I chose to skip the strenuous exercise, and enjoyed the views from Owls Head State Park.

Rockport & Owl’s Head

We were out most of the day, but never went more than about 40 miles from Camden. After Rockport, we drove to Rockland and visited the Farnsworth Art Museum – home to a large collection of Andrew Wyeth paintings. Wyeth spent summers at his home in Cushing, Maine. We only saw a portion, as it would take hours to go through all the galleries showcasing work from (mostly) Maine painters and photographers. Then we headed to Owls Head to visit the Light House, and from there to Waterman Beach, where we visited a popular beachfront eatery and had lobster rolls. The Owls Head Transportation Museum was also on the agenda, but we’ll save that for another day.

Rockland & Waterman Beach

Penobscot Maritime Museum

By smd on July 30, 2011 • ( Leave a comment )

Here’s a gallery with some photos from our visit to the Penobscot Maritime Museum in Searsport. Most of these were taken inside the fully furnished Sea Captain’s home from the 19th century. The guide also told us that there were 6 children in the family, and all 6 (or maybe 5) served as sea captains. The museum had lots of other buildings, with photography collections, old boats, and related maritime stuff. This museum is definitely on the list for another tour when Captain Matt comes to visit.

Some stuff we saw …

By smd on July 27, 2011 • ( 2 Comments )

We have several days of photos we’re still sorting through, but here are some random images of things we saw on our trip to Bar Harbor – some a bit out of the ordinary things, some just typical stuff you see when you’re out driving around the State of Maine.

Click on the photos for full-sized images.

Lobster is a mainestay here, it goes without saying. But, not every place has a pink dinosaur as their mascot.

This is one of my favorite old buildings on the drive North on Hwy 1. And then there’s the Haunted House shown in the photo below … who said Maine isn’t creepy???

You see hundreds (if not thousands) of people cycling up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia Nat’l Park each day. But, it’s not often you see this – two couples in full Mennonite dress. We did a double take, but sure enough – these folks were out enjoying the nice day on bicycles built for two. We didn’t get the opportunity to visit with them, but met some gals who did. They said it was fine to take their photo, and they joked about the men making the women do all the tough pedaling uphill.

………

Speaking of cyclists, it seems they are around every corner. Now here’s a nice guy – giving his “not-so-happy-to-be-here” wife a helping hand up the incline. Somehow, I think their next vacation is going to have the word “SPA” in it.

As we headed out from the hotel to take a drive through the park, we happened upon this doe – politely using the crosswalk to get across a busy intersection. The photo is somewhat blurry – I hastily grabbed the camera when Lou yelled “Deer Crossing!!!” For once, he wasn’t kidding.

Meanwhile, back at our hotel, we had a nosy gull checking us out. He wasn’t afraid at all, even remaining on the balcony when I stepped outside to get his photo with the cruise ship in the background.

Grandma Comes to Town!

By smd on July 22, 2011 • ( 2 Comments )

Apologies if you’ve stopped by and there’s been nothing new. That usually happens when we are very busy, or life gets very dull. Happy to say, this time it’s due to our grueling social schedule. That’s right – Grandma Jeannette has come to town and she is keeping us busy seeing the sights. (She may not think she’s entertaining us, but then she has no idea how boring our daily lives usually are!

Jeannette arrived last Tuesday, and we spent a few peaceful days in Camden, just checking out some of the local sights, the restaurants, and afternoons on the boat (reading and napping). She is staying at the Camden Lodge, a nice place just a mile from us, with a good view of the ocean. We’ll post a photo of the view, once the haze goes away.

We’ve had a heatwave in Maine – several days over 90 degrees, and then a day or two of rain and overcast skies. We did take a drive up to Mt. Battie, even though it was too hazy for good photos. It was good to scope it out, since this is a great place to get photographs of the whole harbor and town of Camden, as you can see from this shot that Lou took.

He also sneaked this photo in when I wasn’t looking … but I’ll trick him by including this one:

So this should be enough family photos to please everyone 🙂 Stay tuned for more news from our exciting adventure to Bar Harbor.

Creepy Camden

By smd on July 19, 2011 • ( Leave a comment )

Camden is a beautiful city – a quaint village with lots of shops and lobster rolls. But, there’s another side to this sleepy tourist town, one I discovered on my early morning stroll. The Public Library, shown here, is an interesting building, built into the base of the hill.

Click the photos for full size versions

Out early (did I mention it was early?), wandering down the street with my camera in my pajamas, I wanted to take some photos of the park. A rear view of the library, with steps going up from the park. Creepy, right? OK, maybe not so much – but keep reading.

(Oops, my camera was NOT in my pajamas – I was wearing my pajamas, although they might be mistaken for sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt).

No visitors in the park this early, except for a homeless lady wandering around – ohh, that’s just me in my pajamas.

Notice how they like to put creepy things on top of buildings – must be a New England thing. There’s a ship on top of another building in the park.

The entrance gate to the park on the opposite side of the library. Wait – what’s that on top of the gate?

Now it really is starting to get creepy…

A closer look – what the heck?

A head on top the gate. This is really creepy. A sign for the entrance to a secret ceremony? A clue to what went on the night before? Who knows? We may never know. One thing we do know; Maine is home to a dispropor-tionate share of serial killers and psychopathic St. Bernards – as any fan of Stephen King knows.

Is life in Camden truly as innocent and idyllic as it seems? All I know is, the head disappeared and life returned to normal later in the day. And I am still in my pjs.

Camden Art Festival

By smd on July 17, 2011 • ( Leave a comment )

We made it safely back to Camden yesterday. It was a beautiful day here, and we wandered over to the Art Festival in the park in the late morning.

First – a photo of Promise Promise. You’ve seen this view before, but notice the nicely oiled teak deck. We were glad to see it was taken care of while we were in Florida.

Click for larger image ============>

Here is a gallery with more photos from the morning. As usual, just click anywhere on the photos to start the slide show.