Well the trip is official as we have had the first medical emergency. Sam hit his head on the jam cleat on Thursday while playing on a fender and had to get two stitches. We trekked him off to the emergency room and waited SEVEN hours. Initially, I was not too bothered by the wait as they had a tv but when someone turned the channel to Sponge Bob Squarepants, probably for the benefit of my kids, I started to get impatient. Sam has made a full recovery and was a brave little boy. The Dr. said that had it happened while we were at sea I should hold the cut shut and superglue it. It's funny because had Otis come up with that idea I probably would have accused him of being insensitive. Who knew..... Around hour number six of being at the hospital O and I were seriously starting to wonder where the closest hardware store was!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, Sam is doing just fine.
Back to Portland arrival:
We arrived on the dock a round 9:00am and immediately wanted a greasy fry up. So we walked about two miles to a place called Becky's which hit the spot. I even went so far as to have the cheesy hashbrowns which are hashbrowns covered with a slice of melted American cheese.....they were great.
We came back and started laundry, which was a bear, and giving the old girl a good cleaning.
Around 5:00 we saw a smiling face coming down the dock and it was O's Aunt Sue. It was so wonderful to see her and have her energy onboard. She was closely followed by her sons; O's cousins Todd and Nancy and their adorable five year old Uther and Todds brother Brant. The little guys hit it off immediately playing superheroes and running around bouncing on the trampoline. While we kicked back and chatted it up. I had only met Todd and Nancy once before but it was so familiar seeing them again. The tiredness I had been feeling before was gone and replaced with excitement. I hope we see them again soon as it really was such good fun.
Tuesday morning we had plans with our friends Steve and Debbie. They are our closest friends and just had a new BEAUTFUL baby boy named Drew Allen which we were excited to meet. Steve picked me up Tuesday morning around 7:30 and I drove him to work and then borrowed his car for the morning. First stop...STARBUCKS, hey, I make no apologies. I love my BUCKIES.....skim chai, I was tempted to get two but held myself at one. Anyway, afterwards I picked up the kids and we went to Target and loaded up. Then we hit a huge Hannafords which I could have spent all day in. I returned to the boat around one. Steve, Deb, Lydia and Drew were all there with bells on. Having them on the boat made it all complete. We unloaded provisions and left the dock, we anchored for the afternoon in a cute little spot off of Jewell Island. We had lunch, the kids played and we all caught up. Around five we headed in, tied up and had dinner. It was great to see them.
Thursday, sadly, we left the dock, anchored and then spent the rest of the day in the emergency room.
Friday morning, bright and early our dear friend JoJo(Joanne, but I call her JoJo, she was our neighbor and partner in crime in NY) came for the weekend. Jo is a spectacular woman with an infectious laugh and a zest for life. It was fun having her onboard while we explored the area. Friday we cruised around the islands of Casco bay eventually anchoring in Potts Harbor. There was a little restaurant called the Blue Dolphin which was ok. I found it a little strange that it was enclosed considering it's view is it's defining point. Anyway, the wind picked up that night and we started coming really close to a dinghy that was moored. Otis jumped onto the dingy, cut their line and we tied it alongside of us for the night so the boats wouldn't tangle in the shifting winds and damage each other. The next morning a local saw that we had tied up the boat next to ours and motored over and told O and Jo how the owner was going to be 'ripped' at us. It was our fault for anchoring too close to it but no harm done, Otis tied it back on its mooring when we were ready to pull anchor. Live and learn. We had been hanging around waiting for the fog to lift but it showed no signs of lifting and the anchorage was getting a little spooky so we pulled anchor and left albeit, very slowly.
We made our way through the fog and after entering the wrong harbor looking for fuel found our way to Cook's Chowder house fuel dock on Bailey Island. Cook's Chowder house is a tourist destination which translates into overpriced, crap food with a server that seemed to have another job, in another state he was having to go back and forth from. The good news being that the fog had lifted. The fuel guy recommended Ragged Island as a beautiful spot to anchor for the night and have a fire on the beach, so after lunch we headed there. Ragged Island is beautiful but not a great anchorage unless you like picking pieces of your boat off of the rocks. We all checked out the chart and found the BEST ANCHORAGE we had ever had! If you are a cruiser and are looking for a great anchorage Small Point Island is your spot. This place had it all. Deserted beaches with loads of sea glass, craggy coastline, pine trees galore and a picturesque fishing village. It was the Maine of postcards. Upon arrival O took the kids beach combing while Jo and I made dinner for the kids, app's for us and chatted. That night there was no wind so we sat out on the foredeck, drank wine, looked at the stars and laughed the night away. The next morning we all went exploring on the beach, came back bbq'd some burgers and headed back to Portland. We were all sad to see JoJo go. It was a treat having her with us.
Due to a heavy roll we pulled anchor after dropping Jo off and headed for Jewell island but upon getting there it was full. At that point we were battling darkness. O and I have not graduated to cruising Maine at night, unless way offshore, too many unchartered rocks and lobster buoys. We anchored in Great Cheabeague Island where I am writing from now.
O took the kids exploring this morning and they came back with a caterpillar and a bouquet of sweet smelling wildflowers. The day is overcast but we have internet and a calm smooth anchorage so all is well.
I think we will head back to Small Point island and anchor for a few days. It has a beach perfect for a lobster bake.
I do not have internet there but will continue posting with more regularity than the last couple of weeks.

FYI: The picture is of JoJo and Ben