Land Yacht Safari Blog

Soaking it in....

May 31, 2009.....Sunday.....yesterday we went by one of our favorite places in the Camden, Maine area, Shirt Tail Point....at Lake Megunticook....even in the rain it is beautiful.... ......and is nice at reflecting with over cast sky...... ......today a place that speaks to my soul very deeply and familiarly......Port Clyde.....so much hard work is done here with the fishing and lobstering....but to me....on the outside....it looks like a fairytale..... ......soon we will take Hannah and take a boat trip to Monhegan Island....last time we were here, we took the puffin watching cruise...this time we have found out Hannah can go with her own ticket for $5 and we will disembark at Monhegan Island.....we hear there are fairy houses out there....that is the kind of fairy tale I am talking about, I guess.....you depart from Port Clyde for Monhegan Island..... .........moorings for many..... .....the lobster traps are waiting to go back out.......... .......I am in awe at the natural beauty of this hard working community....in many ways it has the flavor of our beloved Key West...... ......and in this place of such natural beauty.....what should appear......the most recognizable design in the world.....an Airstream waiting for its summer people.....we are soaking it in.....

Belfast, Waterfall Arts and Maine State Museum......

May 29, 2009.....Friday......the other night we went to Belfast, about 20 minutes north of Camden for a Song Circle....we were invited by Jim, a British guy,  that Ray met at the library Song Swap the other day....I went to this one in Belfast......and we took Bob and Susan, the other camp hosts...... they were the audience..... .....this get together is organized by Kip and it is held in the basement of a building that houses a gallery and space where music lessons are given, etc.......a nice space...... ....this is Jim....he is playing his new Taylor 12 string that he bought with royalty money from someone using a song of his in Great Britain in an ad..... .....and this is Kip...he plays complicated blues riffs with a slide...... .....Sam and his wife....I did not get her name....sorry....he plays obscure Dylan and old Americana...... ....Lou is a lyricist with long complex lyrics...mostly with patriotic themes.....a very interesting group...and we did not hit a moose on the way home....that is a good thing.....yesterday, we went to Augusta, the capitol of Maine, to try to get my cell phone fixed......and we took a picnic lunch and then went through the State Museum....this is an exceptional museum.....very nice exhibits....very nice....we enjoyed it...... ....the State House for Maine.... .....they have part of an actual ship from the 1800's, St. Mary, it is incredible....back when shipping was a big industry...it is impressive...every exhibit is impressive....textiles, granite, logging.....it cost $3 total for us to go in and we spent two hours in there....it was full of grade school children and their teachers....the teachers were doing a good job of making the day profitable to the children....from what we could hear....and we got my phone fixed....today it has been about 40 to 50 all day and full of fog and rain and brilliant new spring green on everything.....wonderful....no glare....no sunglasses required.....

Ray, Freelance Photographer, and Moe......

May 26, 2009.....Tuesday.....ahhhhhhh....the campground to ourselves again....lovely.....but they will be back......Sunday, we went to an event we had seen in a local event paper.....Megunticook Riverwalk Celebration.....it was raining but we wanted to see what this was.....we are so very glad we did....almost as soon as we walked up, Nancy, the event organizer saw Ray had a camera and asked if he would record the event because their photographer had not shown up.....of course, he did..... .....it was a celebration for the woman in the purple jacket, Jean, who was instrumental in this effort to have some land on the Megunticook River set aside for public access and enjoyment forever....they will plant trees and flowers and put in benches for people to sit and watch the river and a walkway for people to walk by the lovely river.....Scott, the guy on the left is the director of Costal Mountain Land Trust....they have given grant money to this project....Nancy is in the blue skirt and her husband, Douglas is to the right of Jean....Nancy and Douglas have a local business, TreeKeepers.... ....the guy in the bicycle helmet brought fliers for a Mid-Coast Green Jobs event on May 28.....we plan to attend..... .......this is a shot of a little piece of the Megunticook River.....yesterday, we took the prints over to Nancy and got to see her gardens....she intends to credit Ray for the photography when the event is published in the paper.... .....this afternoon we met Moe who is a Mainer....and he arrived here today with his 2004 Bambi....he enjoyed Hannah....he had a Golden, at one time.....we intend to try to photograph each Airstream that shares the Park with us this Season..... ......there is nothing more interesting than Airstreams and their owners..... ......we walked Hannah around all the loops of the Park this afternoon and Ray caught this image of our home here in the Camden Hills woods.....

What is this?......

May 24, 2009.....Sunday.....the Camden Farmer's Market is the place to be on Saturday morning...you just need to remember what time it opens.....we were there with Bob and Susan at 8 am yesterday...only to read the sign saying they open at 9 am.... .....we checked out Laite Beach....... .......and the views of the Camden Hills from the beach........ the morning sun on the water looking out toward Curtis Island..... .........and the baker lady was at the Farmer's Market......but no raspberry bars this time.....we shared a maple nut bar...... ........one of my favorite things anywhere is to look at all the dogs.....the campground is full except for about 11 sites this weekend....there is a dog at almost every site on our loop...... ......this is Mildred the "mutt" as her Mother calls her at the Market....... ......and Caper, the yearling Newfoundland........ ........all the baked goods are feasts for the eyes...... .....we rode Bob and Susan by Aldemere Farms and found the Belted Galloways in a pose Ray will likely use for Robin's painting........ .........the Rusty Hinges were the music at the Farmer's Market....old time music....... ......before we headed back to the house, we discovered again the rocky shore at the end of Marine Ave......and Hannah met Zooey, a local 11 year old girl that she followed around for awhile..... .....this is our Park's southern view on the South Shore Walk....Ray and I walked over there yesterday evening....it is a painting...... ......What is this?.....

Silvertwinkie Heaven....

May 22, 2009.....Friday....well, it looks like a holiday weekend...the first holiday of this season and the Park is filling up by the minute......no more solitude and quiet cool nights with the stars overhead....but as one French Canadian camper said, "It is good to see people using such a nice facility as this." and that is so......tonight we went over to our fellow camp hosts' site...the one we occupied in 2007....they are Bob and Susan, from the east coast of Florida...and they have a 1963 Airstream that Bob is restoring..... ....with the original awning..... ......they are going to be here through July, 2009. .....they seem very nice and flexible...... ......earlier today, we went to meet Brad, the master of this 1961 Bambi he is redoing..... .........we toured the inside and wish we had taken some photos....but we were too busy talking....Brad and Bob are both doing a great job refurbishing their vintage Airstreams.......Brad had Chewy, his 16 year old camping dog with him......he is going to the Airstream rally in Saratoga Springs, NY in August.......Brad's girlfriend was at a meeting in town so we did not get to meet her.....they both are residing in Maine so we will likely see them again......  .........while we were doing our laundry, we walked around town between washing and drying.....this is a tiny neat Cape Cod style home on the street close to our laundry...... .....and we walked through the cemetery that is close by....the cemetery is the home of the Richards who one fellow told us  "founded this town"....the town of Camden was established in 1769..... ........in the morning, we are taking Bob and Susan to the Farmer's Market and to Laite Beach where Hannah can be  on the beach from 6 am until 8 am this time of year....they are coming by at 7 am.....it is daylight here around 4:30 am so it suits my natural rhythm of the day here in Silvertwinkie Heaven......

Olivia's Brushes and Camden Library Song Swap

May 21, 2009....Thursday.....tonight we went to a Song Swap or Songwriter's Workshop at Camden Library....Ray went....I read my book in another part of the library.....it was most unusual seeming but not uncommon for this area....Diane, one of the librarians, greeted us warmly and asked how our winter had been....she recognized us from 2007 and remembered we were camp hosts at Camden Hills State Park....only she thought she was remembering us from the 2008 season....it does seem like it was only about two weeks ago we were here last.... .......Ray enjoyed this group and shared three songs he had written....two on guitar and one on banjo.....several of his tunes are about our Maine experience....... .......I was there for the last one and the group seemed to like his songs.......he had a good time..... .......today Ray used Olivia's brushes for the first time......he had cut out this gecko from some old tin before we left Florida.......and painted it here today.... ........Olivia's brushes in the container she made for them......they paint a fine gecko.....and it was not 81 today in Camden, Maine......it was 86 degrees......

Tomorrow.....81 degrees?????

May 20, 2009....Wednesday.....we are still walking.....4.5 miles today on the Multi Use Trail to the little ski lodge and back here....and we walked into town yesterday....2 miles there and 2 back.... ......a long and winding road....... ......... a very interesting photo Ray took on the Mt. Battie walk.....this actually is a boulder with lichen and stuff growing on it....but it looks like an arial view of the mountain.... .....back home to a little fire...... .......and then our walk to town....lots of tulips everywhere...this is a gorgeous place...... ..........we took Hannah on the Multi Use Trail and she found a stream to swim in.....of course..... ....... .........and at one point we could see Penobscot Bay from the trail.... .....it has been very pleasant with 50 and 60 degree day time temperatures.....but we just checked the weather and 81 degrees is predicted for tomorrow....we may have to put up our coats and bring out the Florida shorts......

Here a Painting......There a Painting.....

Monday....May 18, 2009.....from Camden and Rockport Harbors to the Belted Galloways....every corner of this county and this coast is a worthy subject of a creative masterpiece....it all is so quaint.....and old and well preserved.....we brought our paints and brushes.....Olive, my friend ..... just passed away and her son allowed Ray to adopt some of her brushes....and the holder she made for them....I will photograph that tomorrow and post it....the holder and brushes are a painting to me.....and the brushes mean so much to us because we love Olive and she would (and maybe is) be so satisfied knowing an artist she loved (or loves) will carry on by painting with her brushes.....we are so honored to have them....Olive or Olivia as she liked to be called was (or is) a fine artist....I go back and forth between past tense and present tense because I am not certain Olivia is anywhere other than on another plane....she believed "everything and nothing"..... ........Ray will do a Belted Galloway painting for our friend, Robin....she will have it in their sailboat....when they take off again.... .....these babies are beautiful.....and Rockport Harbor....pristine.... .......today we found an RV supply store with a portable holding tank we could use....so now we are all hooked up to be able to catch the gray water from washing dishes and to tote the black water to the dump station in the Park.........Ray also bought some new walking shoes from Colburn's....the oldest shoe store in the USA (108 years old)....it is in Belfast, Maine....the owner, Brian, had just returned from a vacation on......Anna Maria Island......our neighborhood....incredible..... .......three of the four days we have been here.....we have walked the three mile round trip to the top of Mt. Battie and back down.....that is a good thing.....it may freeze tonight...so Ray has brought our vegetable plants and flowers up under the awning and we will cover them with a tarp.....there is a painting there....

Out on the Weekend......

May 17, 2009.....Sunday.....yesterday, we set out for a favorite weekend thing in Camden....Yard Sales....Farmers Markets and going to wash clothes....we were specifically looking for a portable holding tank to replace the one that bounced off the back of the Airstream in transit....and something to use as an outside garbage can to replace the one we lost...and Camden Farmers Market has just opened....Merryspring was having a plant sale.....and Washington Grange was having a Farmers Market and plant sale....Merryspring is the wonderful area that has a dog park in it......we took Hannah and Sophie there many times last trip....we missed our Sophia Sugarloaf when we were there yesterday....we think Hannah remembered the open field of green grass and wildflowers.... .......there were only two other dogs there yesterday.....we had made plans with Ranger Teresa to take our Park Manager's 7 month old Golden, Abby, and Hannah to play and get to know each other at Merryspring on Sunday morning....but it is raining and has rained all night.....so we will have to wait on that trip....Teresa is puppy sitting and house sitting while the Manager is away....Abby is really a handfull ....we met her yesterday morning......full of puppy energy.... ......Merryspring would be a good place for her.........then we went to their plant sale and bought some white violets, two tomato plants, a pepper plant, three eggplant starter plants and two planters....all for $13....a value..... .......then we went to one of the best Farmers Markets we have been to anywhere, Camden Farmers Market.....there is the goat cheese lady and another hand crafted cheese maker....sausage makers....fresh organic vegetables....flowers....fresh locally grown mushroom.....homemade jams and relishes....bread, cakes and cookies....I bought a lavendar cookie......homemade pesto and pasta....we plan to start doing more of our food shopping there from the locals and less from Hannaford's grocery chain.... ......dogs are welcome..... .....we didn't see who got out of this car with the very fancy decal job....the image is Ganesha, the Hindu god of Removing Obstacles....this was done on a new Prius.....unusual and interesting....I am certain we will see it again and try to meet the owner.... .......we went to Washington Grange to their Flea Market and Farmers Market.....and found organic dirt....compost made right in Washington and on sale for $3.00 a bag....this will nicely surround and feed our vegetable plants and flowers we bought....hoping for nice growth and production from these plants....and we are going to paint something on the white planter....we have hung two hummingbird feeders and have two dualing hummingbirds who have already found it....and the two cats are sweet when they are asleep....let sleeping cats lie.... ......and I almost forgot...earlier I mentioned we went to wash clothes.....Ray dropped me off and went home to drop Hannah off and unload the plants we bought.....as I was standing in front of the dryer with our clothes in it, a credit card jumped up in the dryer window......I stopped the dryer and found the credit card.....we took it to the police station and hopefully, they will get it back to the probably freaked out woman before Monday....we looked for her name in the phone book and could not find it......a welcomed chance to pay it forward....

Yes We Did......

May 16, 2009.....Saturday.....yesterday morning we walked up Mt. Battie for our first walk....a walk we intend and hope to make every day while we are here....it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to go up and back down using the autoroad.....we did not go on the hiking trail this time....because it is wet.... ......next time, we will carry water up for Hannah..... ......it was a little foggy but still Camden Harbor and Camden look like a post card.... ......and here we are....set up finally, at Camden Hills State Park..... .......yesterday, we followed directions from several locals to find an RV supply store to buy another portable holding tank.....we did not find the store.....we were going to order one this morning online but are not certain what size we had that we lost and the shipping fees are high....so we are going to wait until Sunday and ask Ranger Sharon or Park Manager, Bill on Monday about the closest town to find one.....today we yard sale and get my cell phone battery checked out in Rockland.....in the mean time....Yes We Did walk up Mt. Battie our first day here and hopefully, everyday while we are here......Peace....