July 29-August 11                                       Southwest Harbor, Maine

We were delighted to welcome Suzanne to Maine on August 3.  This was her first visit to Southwest Harbor and only her third visit to the boat.  Her overnight flight from San Francisco gave ample time for rest before she caught her connection in Philadelphia and arrived in Bangor at 10:00 AM ready for breakfast with Mom and Dad.  We went to Dysart’s Truck Stop near the airport.  It is a local favorite and serves very good food.  The owners are Mary and Ed Dysart who also own our marina in Southwest Harbor. 

On Saturday evening, we attended a play at Acadia Repertory Theater in Somesville.  Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a Tony Award winning comedy, was well performed and very entertaining.  Loosely based upon episodes and characters from works by Anton Chekhov, the play was alternately funny and poignant.  Unfortunately, our literature educations did not include Chekhov so we missed some of the “inside jokes.”  Most of the audience seemed to miss them, too.

One of our dinners on the boat was stuffed lobster with a wonderful Hollandaise sauce.  Julia Child would have loved it.  Wish I could copy it for our First Friday dinner group but lobster in Fort Worth is not the same as the soft shells we have in Maine.

One of our library dinner auction purchases had been a guided tour by a trained botanist.  We were fortunate to have a two-hour tour of a special section of Acadia National Park with an abundance of varied ferns, trees and mosses.  With the aid of volunteer help, thirteen different botanical habitats have been created to demonstrate the variety of plants and trees in the park.  Our guide was delightful and we definitely enjoyed and benefited from the experience. 

The cool weather disappeared and we had several days of heat and high humidity.  A dinghy trip into Somes Sound was our first of the year.  That beautiful area is perfect for a late afternoon-sunset cruise.  Despite knee surgery last fall, David demonstrated he was capable of safely boarding the dinghy from the aft platform of our boat. 

On Tuesday evening, we went to Northeast Harbor to attend a chamber music concert by the Borromeo String Quartet in the lovely Tudor style Neighborhood House which lacks air-conditioning.  Suzanne and I left at intermission to sit outside in the stifling heat.  Just as David emerged at the conclusion of the concert, the thunder and lightening began.  A night of rainfall finally broke our most unusual heat wave.

Suzanne’s plane to depart on Wednesday was cancelled and we were pleased to have her company for another day.  She is always a delight and it was special to have her all to ourselves.  In addition, she is the best “galley cleaner” in the family!