July 31-August 7                Southwest Harbor, Maine

We were delighted to be invited by Phil and Linda to have dinner on Aimless and learn about their recent journey with friends to the northern coastal area of Maine and the Manan Islands.  They experienced the significant tides (more than twenty feet) in that area and the isolated culture of the fishing island of Grand Manan.  An anchor chain malfunction meant hard work in manually pulling almost 300 feet of line.  Otherwise, the trip was delightful.  We had a delicious dinner of pork roast, polenta, and fresh wild blueberries with ice cream for dessert.  With Phil and Linda, conversation generally focuses on politics, history and books.  We can talk for hours!

On Tuesday evening, we attended a special charity event benefiting the Harbor House of Southwest Harbor.  This wonderful facility provides many services for children, seniors, and the indigent.  On the spacious grounds of Hinkley Boat Services, Inc., large white tents had been erected and approximately 1,000 people assembled for drinks, socializing, and the silent auction.  It was a summer fashion show with multiple Lily Pulitzer brightly colored sheath dresses, all sorts of nautical designs, and some “I’m here to get attention” attire.   The evening was cool and we had a great view of the sun dipping below the mountains.

 Dinner consisted of lobster, corn, potatoes, slaw, mussels, bread and a yummy blueberry cake for dessert.  It was a feast.  At our table, we met John and Mary Treanor from Houston.  Avid sailors for many years, they had once owned a 50’ Hinkley sailboat which they sailed across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean. They had no crew except for occasional visiting friends.  We were awed by their daring!  They now own a home in Southwest Harbor where they spend summers.

This was the week for social occasions!  On Wednesday evening, we went with Jerry and Jill  to dine at their favorite restaurant in the Bar Harbor, Havana.  Located in a non-descript older house on Main Street, it is deceivingly simple on the outside but transforms into a lovely up-scale place as one enters the front door.  Fully booked, but tables were well-spaced and the ambiance was subdued.  Jerry and Jill are great conversationalists with considerable wit and we were delighted to spend time with them.

The new chef at Havana has reportedly lessened the Cuban influences in his cuisine but they were discernible in many dishes.  Paella is a house specialty made with great Maine seafood, multiple vegetables and saffron rice.  I enjoyed crusted sea scallops on a salad of baby tomatoes and croutons of toasted Cuban cornbread (sweeter than most). Outstanding!  We shared a dessert of a single fried banana, rolled in shredded pastry and fried golden brown.  It was garnished with hazelnut sauce, wild blueberries (it’s Maine, remember?) and whipped cream dollops.  All of us agreed our food was fabulous, the service was great, ambiance was exceptional, and pricing was reasonable for such a wonderful experience.

Kennedy, our 20-year-old granddaughter arrived on Thursday.  She will be a junior at Baylor University and is always a total delight.  We enjoy her company and having her all to ourselves for four days was special.  The weather cooperated with sunny skies and cool temperatures. We made shopping forays to Southwest Harbor, Northeast Harbor, and Bar Harbor, made a short cruise on Sunday afternoon and ate at lovely little restaurants during her visit.

 The Hardbergers joined us one evening on the boat for a dinner of cioppino made with an assortment of great local seafood.  Kennedy found them to be interesting and “very cool.”  Avid about Maine wild blueberries, Kennedy was determined to make b blueberry pie.  With little help, she succeeded beautifully and we feasted on the results.   Evenings were spent watching movies on TV and putting together puzzles as I did needlepoint and David and Pretzel napped.  Not very exciting but she insisted it was perfect way to spend time with us.