Weekend Highlight

Busy weekend – the 4th of July. The Library is open on Saturday mornings; though I did not do a booming business this particular Saturday, a few people did come by. Then, at noon, there was a “picnic at the pier” to celebrate the rebuilding of some of the underlying structures that hold the pier up. Funny, I don’t think we, in this community, usually call it the pier. It’s either the dock or the wharf, I think. But I guess the alliteration of picnic at the pier was too appealing to pass up (oh, and look at all those ps I just called in to play there…).

Milo and Ray had actually managed to get invited sailing with Tom, a family friend, so, they were out on the bay – in dubious conditions, foggy and therefore not much visibility. But, not pouring or cold, so, in Tom’s view, worth getting out on the water. Alden and I headed to the wharf, once the library was closed, figuring we could check out the festivities and look for Ray and Milo. Lots of people milling around, the fire department there with hot dogs and chips and the like, various other fun food contributions, and miscellaneous games. There were rowboat races – from the dock out to a moored buoy and back. I ended up giving it a shot (I actually love rowing – always have) and doing a reasonably respectable job of it. Meanwhile, Milo and Ray had showed up, and Milo wanted to get to do the rowboat races, so, I had to do it again, with Milo in the boat. Pretty fun all around.

After eating the obligatory hot dogs, baked goods, and the like, we headed back to the library to pack up for what was going to be the real highlight of the day: a hike with Emma and Steve and Cyrus. One of the hard things about being away all summer is not seeing them. We really miss them, but, lucky for us, they were around for the weekend, visiting Steve’s family, who live not too far away.

The weather slowly seemed to be improving, and we met over on Mount Desert Island, deciding to do Parkman Mountain – a medium sized hike on the not too busy side of the island (that is to say, not right in the middle of the park, where the bulk of the tourists are likely to be). We ended up having lovely conditions, while there was some thunder rumbling in the background at times, it was pretty clear, never rained, and we saw quite a bit of blue sky and sun. The kids all did a great job, enjoying the scrambling up the rocks and the promises of treats at the next good stopping place.

We made it most of the way up, found a good snack~treat stop, and decided to stay there, rather than trying for the top (as it was getting late, and the thunder and threats of rain seemed somewhat ominous). Alden and Ray ended up making a quick run up to the top (which was really pretty close), and then when they returned, Milo demanded that he get to go to the top, so Ray took him up too. I have to say, I was really pretty impressed with Milo – I really had no idea how his focus and stamina would be. But, he was a great hiker. It was really fun to get to hang out with Emma and Steve, and Cy also was a very good hiker, doing a significant amount of the hike on his own two feet!

We got back to HP in time for the annual family 4th of July picnic, where my kids get to run around like crazy with their cousins. Alden met a new-to-him cousin, and they became fast friends and proceeded to spend much of the next day together also – playing Risk, riding bikes, and going out for a brief ride in our boat, at the end of the day. All in all, a pretty good weekend!