Hanging out with Mom

One of the big reasons our family goes on Maine vacations is to hang out with my mom - or as the kids call her, 'Granny Coco'. With Granny Coco we go on walks, picnics, sit on the porch, but, best of all, Granny Coco cooks us amazing meals.  Every meal at Granny Coco's house is a gourmet affair.

At every meal there was a lot of food, but I do not think there were any leftovers at a single meal.  Stuey and the boys would polish off every single scrap of food.  

Patrick

Sailing with mom

Mouse Island Picnic

 

For the last week of our Maine vacation some friends of the family from Germany joined us -  Emily, John, Constantine, and Philip. Emily's mom and her Aunt came from Germany to America and took care of me and my brothers and sisters when we were little.  And we even visited them in Berlin once way back in the day.  The family has remained friends ever since and Emily is even named after my mom!

Anyway, they brought a new vibe to the vacation when they arrived and Stuey and I had a good time showing them the ropes.  We also cooked up some good meals and they taught us a new game called 'Rummy Cup' - a sort of cross between Rummy and Dominoes.

These pictures are all from the last day of our vacation when we went on a picnic to Mouse Island.  Of late this has sort of become a Maine Vacation tradition - the Mouse Island Picnic.  This year my mom took her boat, Phoebe the dog, and John, and Stuey, the Boys and I paddled over by kayak and paddle board.  Perry's creek has warm water and we all went for a swim.  A nesting fish hawk provided the sound track.

Patrick

Philip convincing Cocoa that the water is fine

Chickory Chick

 

A highlight of every North Haven vacation is a sail my mom's Herreshoff 12 - the Chickory Chick.  This year we did not get the boat launched and rigged until halfway through the vacation, and so only went sailing twice.  I went for one brief sail with my mom up and down the Thoroughfare, and then on a very long sail out past the Sugarloaves and almost to the Monument by Crabtree Point with Stuart and John.

The Chickory Chick is the perfect sailboat - comfortable, small and easy to manage.  It makes sailing fun.  John, Stuart and I beat to windward out the Thoroughfare and past the Dumplings towards the Browns Head Lighthouse.  We took turns sailing the boat.  Stuey learned to point the boat as high as he could into the wind and still keep the boat momentum going. Point too high, the sails luffed, and we lost our 'mojo' as the boat stalled and slowed down.

On the way back we looked at all the houses along the shores of Crabtree Tree Point.  We decided that the box like modern one out there might just be the ugliest house on the whole island (although there is a serious contender at the other end of the Thoroughfare).  The other new houses out on Crabtree Point are HUGE but at least they were designed to fit in with the landscape.  Why do modern architects feel like they have to create something new?  It seems like they have huge egos and have to create something that looks completely different - something that screams look what I created!  Even if it is super ugly.  

Patrick

Still Life in Maine

Serviceberry berries (amelanchier)

What a difference some sun makes! Yesterday the sun came out and our vacation turned into a whirlwind of activity.  We rigged the Herreshoff 12 1/2', fetched the kayak, jumped and swam off of the porch, and went exploring by bike and on foot.  Stuey trains by running ahead on the trails while I follow along behind.  He runs ahead and then runs back, and then back out ahead again - just like my dogs at home.

While I am walking along I take pictures of things that I see.  Yesterday on the way up Ames Knob we found this Serviceberry tree with amazing red berries.  We also explored a trail that leads to the back side of the golf course and crosses a tidal inlet. 

Patrick

View from Ames Knob

View at Mullenshead

Tugidak Glass Balls I brought to Maine

Granny Thurby Kitchen

Stewart and Stuart

 

Stewart and Stuart 2024

Every time we go out East for vacation we meet up with my old friend Stewart.  Stuart is actually named after old friend Stewart - but back in the day Stewart suggested we use the alternate spelling for simplicity.  He told us that that is how everybody spells it anyway. 

On every visit it has become a tradition to take a photo of Stewart and Stuart next to each other.  Just now I looked through old blog posts and it is very cool to watch Stuart and Stewart getting progressively older.  Once upon a time Stewart towered over Stuart while these days Stuart may even be a little taller.  I posted some pictures from the old blog posts below, but there is also a couple of links below to blog posts that feature 'Stewart'

Click here (pre 2017) and here (post 2017) for old blogposts featuring Stewart and Stuart.

Anyway, on this trip out East our visit with Stewart mostly coincided with foggy weather.  Stewart took us on a boat ride out to Great Spruce Island (where I found an old archaeological midden), we went for a bike ride out Crabtree Point in the fog, ate lobsters on the deck, and spent a lot of time on the deck just hanging out.

Patrick

Stewart and Stuart 2017

Stuart and Stewart 2012