So Much to Say

by Rob

We're at "our" cottage on Hendrickson Point in Owls Head again. I say "ours" because we come here for the same two weeks every August. It feels like, at least for these 14 days, like we own this place. It's a great arrangement really; for far less than the mortgage and taxes would be on ocean front property anywhere, we are guaranteed our two weeks here, just as long as we pay our rental fees on time. The owners adopted this "same time next year" policy about five years ago, and it has worked out incredibly well for us.

This cottage is about 100 years old. It sits on the smallest of "roads," at what I consider to be the best spot on Hendrickson Point. I think that it's such a great spot since it is possible to see the ocean from so many places within and around the cottage. One of my favorite elements is the porch. Kim and I love to go out there in the morning and drink our coffee, read, and listen. I can not think of any other location that holds quite the same special place in our lives as this porch. Extreme language, I know, but I mean it sincerely.

I have not been blogging much since we returned from our first trip of the summer. I want to write about, at least for record-keeping-sake, some of the things that have been taking place since we got home from our big trip.

Bedroom Makeovers: Kids' Edition

This is the summer that we promised our kids that we'd redecorate their rooms. In light of how much traveling we have done, it probably wasn't the wisest thing to promise, but nonetheless we did, and so over the last couple of weeks we have been emptying and painting their rooms. As it turns out, our timing wasn't terrible for this process, since each of them went away to camp for one of the weeks.

Abbie was at Camp Fowler first, and so we emptied her room just before she left. We made the choice of not throwing anything out or giving anything away when we packed up her room; this is a choice we may regret later. Our logic was that the process would take more time than we had available at that point, and we were hoping that once she starts to move back into the room, she'll decide that she doesn't want all of that stuff anyway. We all knew that she had a lot of stuff in her room, but when she filled 36 boxes we were a little surprised. My personal hope is that she'll only put about a third of it back into the room. Look for an update on that later.

I pushed Abbie to get rid of her carpet as part of this makeover. I felt strongly that this was the only time to do it, since once the furniture goes back, I don't plan to take it out again. She wasn't sure about the idea at all, but once I had pulled back a section of the carpet in her closet, she agreed that it might be alright to take it out. I seized the moment at that point and did enough damage to the carpet to be sure that there would be no turning back. The hardwood beneath is in need of refinishing, which is not a surprise, but it's in good shape overall. Now we are in the process of trying to schedule the work. The contractor of choice is the man who did our entire first floor last summer. Unfortunately, he's book for months in advance. If he's able to squeeze us in before November, we will owe him an added share of gratitude.

Abbie selected "Aqua Spray" as her new color. It's a blue that Kim and I think is most like Robin's Egg blue. We all agree that the new color looks great. Abbie is also thinking about the overall color scheme for the room, and she hopes to add accent items in blue, purple and green. The project has a way to go, but the plan is good, so we think that it's going to be a great looking room.

Another aspect of seizing the moment has to do with the windows. Until last summer, all of our windows were original. When we renovated the kitchen, of course, we replaced those three windows and the one in the bathroom. Now, with work underway on the bedrooms, it seemed like the best time to replace the remaining 11 windows upstairs. Although we have signed a contract for that work, we don't have a date scheduled yet.

When Abbie was done with her week of camp, Nate was just about to begin his. We went to Fowler on the Saturday morning that Abbie's week ended, and stayed overnight as a family so that we could register Nate for his week of out camp the following day. Once we had handed him off, we headed back home to start work on his room.

He selected two colors for his walls: "Green Crush" and "Tropical Holiday." Before his departure, he gave me clear instructions about how to alternate these colors between the six surfaces of his room. Without meaning to imply that I don't like his choices, since I think that the room will look very nice (or exciting) once it's complete and put back in order, but I have decided that the best way to describe his color choices is this: imagine a room where the walls alternate between Kermit the Frog Green and Cookie Monster blue.

I haven't had a chance to start painting the trim in his room, because I ran out of time before we came to Maine. On Saturday morning we packed the CRV and headed to camp and then came here. Nate hasn't seen the room yet, and he was a little annoyed that I didn't take a picture so that I could show him how it's progressing. He'll just have to wait for his "reveal day" until we get home.

Summer Camp

Our kids love Camp Fowler. Kim and I do, as well. Kids can start attending camp once they have completed third grade, and our kids have never missed a year. "In camp" programming takes place on several acres on the shore of Sacandaga Lake, just outside Speculator. each week of camp is prepared for a specific age group and on any given week there are about 100 to 120 kids there. The campers and counselors sleep in cabins. During the week there are games, arts, singing, worship, hiking, swimming, and all of that camp stuff. The food is great, which is something that most camps can not say (honestly). We also think that the staff is very good -- many of the staff members have returned year after year, a fact that speaks to the quality of the programming that takes place there.

After 5 years of "in camp," we decided to encourage Nate to try an "out camp." These programs vary from week to week, but are focused on specific activities such as sailing, canoeing, kayaking, or hiking. Based on our schedule, Nate didn't have much choice about which of these he would attempt, but hiking seemed like a good first out camp experience.

As the week approached and we had to buy him some gear and break in his boots, Kim started to get more and more nervous about his week. While he was away, Kim would mention him often and check the weather forecast online. She was worried how he was handling the "challenges" of being outdoors for an entire week, not to mention traveling the 35 or more miles that he was hiking. Abbie, sharp and dark as she is, played on Kim's anxiety during the week. More than once, while we were eating dinner, she would mention bears and mountain lions while looking straight at Kim to watch her reaction. Scary. Humorous, but scary.

I guess I wasn't all too sure about how his week would turn out either. I was particularly eager to see him on Saturday when we went to pick him up. Yes, of course, I missed him, but I think that I was more interested in seeing that he was in good spirits and that he had had a successful week. He ran to me when he spotted me, squealing, "Daddy! Daddy!" After he had wrapped himself around me, he launched into an enthusiastic report about his week and all that he had learned, concluding with information about the route that he has planned for us to hike together next summer. It was a great moment. I'm so happy that he had a great week. I'm so grateful that in response to this experience, his first order of business was to plan his next outing specifically with me in mind. I feel very lucky, and will work to see that such an outing takes place next summer.

One of the logistical details of heading directly to Maine from camp was a matter of Nathan's hiking clothes. We had him pack garbage bags for the week specifically with this in mind. We knew that we'd have to transport his dirty (and wet?) things here before we could unpack them and clean them. When we arrived last night, he dutifully took them to the porch and spread them out along the railing. When I got a chance to look at them this morning, I was happy for him all over again. He got them all fantastically dirty.

The Maine Event

I decided that the vacation mindset needed to begin when we left the house to come here -- not when we arrived. In light of this idea, I decided not to travel the fastest route to get here, but rather the most direct. In this case, it meant traveling on back roads through the Adirondacks, Vermont and New Hampshire before finally connecting with our normal path north through the state of Maine.

I'm so glad that I made this choice. It made for a very long day of traveling, but the trip was beautiful. Along the way, we had lunch at "Willows Bistro" in Warrensburg, ice cream cones at "White's Road House" in Vermont, and dinner in at the "Lobster Shack" in Perkins Cove in Maine.

We arrived in the Ogunquit area at about 6:00 PM. I asked Kim if she would mind traveling through town so that I could take a look at things. It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since my last of three summers there. The playhouse looks pretty much the same, but there are some striking differences now, the specifics of which aren't important. Mostly I was struck by how unkempt the place looked compared to my time there. When I worked there, it was a privately owned property and business, and John Lane, the owner, kept the place looking very sharp. Now it seems as though things have become overgrown, and there are eye sores of storage and vehicles where once there were green, well groomed lawns. Despite these issues, it seems as though the now "not-for-profit" theatre is doing well. The season is much longer than before. I can not imagine this is possible without many, many people buying tickets. I'm glad for that. The kids were interested in seeing the building and hearing a little about my time working there.

We headed to Perkins Cove for dinner. This area hasn't changed much in twenty years. No major alterations have been made to any of the buildings and most of the business are still the same. I was surprised that Nate was so impressed to see Barnacle Billy's. He remembered that I still have a sweatshirt from the time that I worked there, and I think that it was cool for him to make the connection. After dinner, we got back on the road at about 7:15 and made it to Rockland by 9:30. We picked up a few breakfast items at the grocery store and then came here to the cottage.

Today was a great day, but then again, we have all come to expect that a day here will be a great day. We went to church at Owls Head Baptist Church and quickly reconnected with some folks there. The pastor, Paul, and his wife, Donna, were glad to see us and said that they had just recently been talking about us, trying to figure out when to expect us. It felt like coming home.

We went Crescent Beach for a few hours right after lunch. Next it was time to head to the Hannaford in Rockland for our first infusion of groceries. After dinner, we played "Bannagrams," an outrageous time, even by our standards, which at one point included such uproarious laughter that I actually fell out of my chair and Kim spewed an entire mouthful of beer across the table. At that point Abbie could hardly handle the contrast between laughing (because of how funny it was) and crying (because she had beer in one of her eyes). If anyone else nearby could hear us, they probably wondered what the heck was going on in here.

It's good to be in Maine.

It's now 12:18 AM and I need to head to bed if I'm going to make it to the porch at 6:30 tomorrow morning. I know that it must sound ridiculous for me to set such a goal, but it's honestly one of the best times to be in one of the best locations that I know.