Thursday - On a Sunny Day Heading South...

Waking up to a glorious morning with wispy clouds and a gentle breeze. I took a photo from my window but believe me, it doesn't do the view any justice - you just have to BE here to see how the sun lights up the water. The sky is the bluest of blue and the clouds are like great big puffs of cotton. After a light breakfast – today I am determined to stick to a healthy low calorie diet - I pack up the car and begin my trek down to Kennebunkport where I will spend the night.

Only 10 minutes down the road I turn into Camden Hills State Park, which advertises all kinds of nature trails and hikes. Everyone has been telling me I have to drive the 1 mile road up to the top of Mt. Battie (600 feet remember) as the view is spectacular. I'll admit to being a bit of a Kilimanjaro snob, but up I go. The top is an OMG moment like I've never seen! Spread in front of you as far as the eye can see is the Penobscot Bay to the right, and a series of long slips of islands to the left. I took some photos but really a wide angle lens is needed to "take it all in". There was a local up there pointing out Islesboro, a little slip of an island where John Travolta has a summer home. I overhead him say "He is a really nice guy, very unassuming and polite...unlike Kirsty Alley who also has a house there and is an arrogant-----" Just repeating what I heard. I think as the years pass on, when I think back on this trip, the view from the summit of Mt Battie will be what sticks with me.



Onward down the "mountain" I turn onto Route 1 and drive into Rockland, where you remember is the town with The Farnsworth Art Museum. Since I was there too late last night to peruse the little shops and restaurants, I made a stop to look around.



First stop was a roadside lobster shack where I had the most delicious lobster roll (on whole wheat pluzzz...) with a side of warm butter, cole slaw & pickles, and a bottle of root beer.



This former ship building hub is now mostly supported by the service trade, and many people come here to take sightseeing trips on the ferries. I googled to see if there was any other interesting info on Rockland I could share with you and discovered this is where the poet Edna Vicent Millay lived


but more importantly it was the home of Dolly Stewart, who in 1937 was named the very first Miss Maine! My mother's name was Dolly Stewart!!! Could she have had a secret life I never knew of?...she would have been 18 then!!!!







Contemplating this rather startling bit of information, I continued my drive merrily along until spotting a huge sign on the left which caused me to screech to a halt. MAINE STATE PRISON GIFT STORE! Again - Colleen, you think Newbury Street has shopping, you should have been here.









Surrounded by wooden bird houses, ducks, tables & desks, very intricate model ships, wooden toys...I couldn't decide WHAT to buy but buy I must! A "salesman" in a blue uniform with many tattoos up & down his arms walked by and naturally I couldn't help myself and struck up a conversation.







He said the 435 prisoners (some lifers!) from the maximum security prison are very eager to get into this work program and the waiting list is very long - they earn $1.35 - $3.00/hour and are paid bi-weekly. They can use their money for sodas or snack items, but most send the money home to their families for child support, or to pay off restitution. Maine is one of the very few states that sells prison goods directly to the consumer. Federal law prohibits these products to be transported across state lines, so anything they sell is on a "cash and carry" basis. You can tell I find this all so interesting!!!

Back to the "salesman" - he asked where I was from and when I said LA, he said "Oh I used to live in Huntington Beach, then Texas, then Oklahoma..." as he drifted off. I said "Oh what brought you to Rockland Maine????" and he looks at me a little taken aback it seemed, and said "Well that's a long story." Oh yeah - he's in prison!!! When I paid for my purchases (which include the surprise vacation treats I always bring home to my lady friends!) the guard at the register spotted my camera and said "Lady, don't take any photos of the workers. It's against the law. We don't want anyone to know where the fellas are..."

Onward, I made a quick stop at the Alpaca Farm but since by now it was raining, I really couldn't spend much time there. Suffice it to say the owner said they keep the male (brown) and female (white) in separate pens. They are really cute, but our Llamas in Maui with their crocked teeth are cuter! Down the road was a fabric store where I stopped and bought a few remnants for the Haitian Dollie Project, then next stop was the showcase store for Edgecomb Potters, a mainstay in Maine. So many displays of beautiful glazed mups, plates, bowls, vases...it was overwhelming. I asked a salesclerk how much further it was to get to Boothbay Harbor, and it was only 15 minutes down the road, so despite the now ever present rain I took a drive down there...more shops and restaurants and more of a honky-tonk feel. Maybe it was due to the weather but I didn't find it as charming as other villages I'd seen.



By this time it was 4:30pm and I needed nourishment so where else but a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee and (I'll admit it) a pink glazed donut. I pulled up to The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens with 20 minutes left until closing time.




Willie's dorm counselor at Riverview had told me this was a "must see" so since I'd be seeing HER in 2 days I thought I'd better go and then report back to her how wonderful it was, and then she'd be extra nice to Willie when he decides he wants to sleep late in the morning while everyone else was up and ready to go and the van is waiting........





God wanted me to visit these gardens also, as miraculously the rain stopped the moment I drove into the parking lot, the sun came out and the lady at the front desk says "No problem - go in for free since you've only got a little while..." I hope my photos reflect how lovely it was, the sun shining on the flowers dotted with raindrops...

From this point on it was full speed ahead to Kennebunkport where I would reside for the evening. Last year you remember I stayed in a charming bed & breakfast type hotel. This year I decided to go BIG, and booked a room at The Colony, a 125 room 5 building stately white clapboard hotel with a salt water swimming pool and ocean view.




Built in 1947, the lobby has walls filled with black & white photos of dignitaries...this is where President Bush had Russia's Vladimir Putin's entourage stay when he visited years back...(The Bush compound is right down the road - see attached photo).

As I drifted off to sleep I heard my blackberry buzzing. I reached over and read the message from Teresa "458 Toyopa is going on the market! He decided it was too far away from the kid's school". ARE YOU KIDDING ME? More on this later, but you Huntington folks know what I'm talking about... Was that a nightmare, maybe a ghost of Putin sent it?, or could that possibly be the truth? Honestly, you can't make this up...