July 13-25                                     Southwest Harbor, Maine

Work has begun!  Our guests have departed and Miller has returned from his home in Rhode Island.  He and David have a mutual respect for one another’s knowledge and skills and enjoy conversing about boat matters.  Extensive exterior painting is planned for the window frames and door areas.  Painting a boat like ours requires experience and knowledge that is uncommon.  We are delighted to have found someone who possesses both.  In addition, he entertains us with his singing and dancing to Caribbean music he listen to while he works.  An excellent cook, he often brings us Caribbean style ribs, pork and vegetables and insists on steaming our lobsters in sea water in a large pot he keeps on the dock near the marina office.  We will miss him!

Days seem to effortlessly meld together, as they do in most vacations, and are over before we know it.  On July 18, David returned to Texas for business but I elected to remain on the boat.  It was a great decision as the heat was intense in Fort Worth.  

I returned to Southwest Harbor from the airport in time to walk into town and see the Flamingo Festival parade, an annual event which honors the beloved pink flamingo inventor who lived in this area for many years.  One expects to see these tacky images in Florida but they are everywhere in this Maine community for this wonderful event.  A special part of the festival is the annual paperback book sale at the library.  I found five great books I “could not live without.”

Miller and I continued to work.  He supervised my varnishing of the helm area and I managed to finish the job without “runs,” which David HATES.  I also stained again the teak blinds to restore their beautiful luster and shine.  Despite Miller’s company and the friendly attention of the marina staff, I was lonely and glad to see David when he returned on July 23.

The next day, we had the great pleasure of welcoming friends from home, Judy and Jeff Schemeltekoff and their friend, Kimberly.  We had an ultra-casual lunch at Beal’s Lobster Pier, a quintessential lobster pound whose ambiance is rustic and straightforward.  We enjoyed their great lobster rolls and steamers.  Before returning to the boat, we bought a blueberry pie.  We served it with ice cream inside our cozy salon while it rained outdoors.  Jeff and Judy are wonderful conversationalists and we greatly enjoyed their company.  Kimberly was a special delight with her funny, funny photo image of her absent husband (delayed by business) on a cardboard fan stick which accompanied her everywhere.  We laughed and laughed at all the photos where he had been inserted as a part of their travel events.

Wonderful sunny cool weather on Saturday once again reminded us of why we chose to stay here this summer.  Long, lingering sunsets provide a special light that gives a magical quality to this area.  I often wish I were an artist and could capture it on canvas.  Fortunately, many others had the talent to do so.