A view off the deck of the Cottage.
My travelogue starts to get spotty from here on through the rest of the vacation. Maybe it’s a sign of relaxation or lack of discipline or both. When taking one of our walking tours, I would use the time between returning from the walk and dinner (usually at a bar with a glass of wine at hand) to collect my thoughts of the day. Despite our semi-religious observation of cocktail hour, I seldom brought my iPad over to the deck of the cottage, and I never wrote in the travelogue.
This Sunday, Jonathan and I had a couple of appointments - first with the Schwartzes (Elliott and Dede) for brunch in Freeport, and later that afternoon with Chuck and Betsy Grobe in Brunswick.
As we were heading to Freeport, I decided to dropping into LL Bean was an efficient use of our time. We wanted to get another end table for the living room in the Little House to put the cable modem and WiFi boxes. In addition, Cindy had wanted to get an ottoman from the set to go with the wicker chair, but it had been out of stock. So with a picture of the current side tables, Jonathan headed north early - LL Bean is open 24/7.
We got the the store and the parking lots were already teeming with customers. We went into the home store and identified the line of furniture that the end tables were from, but none were on display. There was a nice side table with two drawers that looked like a nice solution, so we went ahead and purchased that. In the meantime, we found what looked like the ottoman for the wicker set, but I wasn’t sure. So taking a snap with my iPhone I texted both Cindy and Mason (as likely to have his phone on and with him) a picture of the floor model. We went to pick up the side table at the warehouse down the street, and returned to the LL Bean parking lot. We wandered on over to Starbucks for a coffee, and as we were waiting in line, both Cindy and Mason replied with the directive to get the ottoman. Lacking the time to buy and pick up the piece before brunch, we decided to return after brunch.
The Schwartzes had suggested brunch at the Maine Dining Room of the Harraseeket Inn, which is located on Main Street just north of the shopping district. Parking in back, we waited in the crowded lobby for them to arrive. Jonathan and Elliott Schwartz were classmates at Columbia College (’57), and Elliott is professor emeritus of music, retired from teaching at Bowdoin College although still actively composing. His wife, Dede, is an artist focusing on printmaking with her own studio. We had a convivial meal, and wondered how we had never heard of this brunch, which was generous without being overly extravagant.
After brunch, we circled back to LL Bean, procuring the ottoman in record time, and headed north to Brunswick. We spent a couple hours with Chuck and Betsy Grobe, who are two of Jonathan’s colleagues from the Bowdoin Math Department, now retired. Jonathan broached the idea of giving some math seminars at Bowdoin in the fall in honor of the 50th anniversary of his arrival there in 1962. Betsy showed us her daylily collection in the back yard - we had harvested some of the seed pods from our day lilies earlier this year.
We returned to Pine Point in the late afternoon, where Cindy had organized a lobster and steak dinner on Robert’s and Adrienne’s last day - they were heading to Boston at oh-dark-thirty in the morning to try to catch their stand-by flights back to Springfield MO.
Cindy and Mike picked up four kayaks. When they first arrived with them, I thought that they were rentals. They took them out for a test paddle with Maddy and Devlin testing units 3 and 4. Mason took Harris out in the dinghy.
A view off the deck of the Cottage.
One of my few pictures of Walter - sitting with Maddy at Salty Bay waiting for their number to be called.
Cindy heads to the Little House in the afternoon.
Devlin brings her kayak in for a landing on the opposite side of the Kerr Cottage from the King Cottage.
Jonathan taking pictures of the kayakers, with Kate in the foreground.
Another good shot of Maddy with the tidal marsh in the background.
Maddy demonstrating her kayaking skills. She didn't get them from me, the master capsizer.
Mason took Harris out in the dinghy while the other folks kayaked.
After the kayaking was done, Maddy went back into the water off the breakwater with her life vest.
Throughout the day, Adrienne texted updates as to her and Robert's progress - flying from Boston to Miami, then to Chicago, and finally home to Springfield MO.
M'lyn and Diane volunteered to make dinner Monday and Tuesday night. This night they prepared lasagna much to Dad’s approval and enjoyment. I made a peach and basil shortcake - well, Jonathan being the expert biscuit maker prepared the shortbread.