PART ONE:
SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

We motor-sailed up Some's Sound from our anchorage in Southwest Harbor two days ago. That day started out a little foggy, but it turned out beautiful! I actually sunbathed on the deck as we went.


The vistas were stunning as we made our way up the fjord-like waterway. This is the closest thing that the East Coast has to a fjord. We came here the last time we were in Maine, and it is still one of our favorite places!



We picked up a private mooring since it's after season...the worst that could happen is the boat to which it belongs could come and ask us to move. Actually, we were planning on anchoring until we had a VHF correspondence from the STEPHEN TABER, a 110 foot historic schooner, that was making its way up the sound at the same time we were.



They were slowly sailing as we were motor-sailing.



Eventually, we passed them. As we did, I waved to the passengers and called for them to wave for the camera, which they did, but I didn't catch it. A while later, we got the VHF call from the captain asking us what our intentions were since it looked like we were going to the same place. He told us he'd tack and give us time to get settled before he entered the mooring field/anchorage. They had to anchor due to their large size, and he indicated that we could probably pick up a mooring. We felt like that was what he wanted us to do so that he'd have plenty of room. That's what we did, anyway! It was fun watching them make a big circle in the sound as they waited on us



and then sail into anchor. I was able to look them up on the Internet, and get the scoop on the STEPHEN TABER. Mark thought they were probably just there for an afternoon, but the more I watched them (yes, I have binoculars and I'm not afraid to use them) the less I was convinced. Some of them were taking turns helping each other pour buckets of seawater over their hair and washing it hanging their head over the side of the boat while a couple others were swimming (brrrr).



A few others were being sailed around the sound in a small sailing dinghy by the captain. It turns out they were on a cruise out of Rockland--a photography cruise (what a coincidence that I had photographed them ☺!) from September 1 to September 7 according to their website. I also found out that STEPHEN TABER has no inboard motors so the wind dictates where they go, interesting. I wanted to dinghy over and talk to them, but Mark was hungry for dinner, and they left before we got around to it the next morning.

We've really enjoyed ourselves here. It's peaceful and beautiful.



The peace is only disturbed once each evening with an ongoing confrontation Mark has with a couple of cormorants. Since the first day we were here, they try to roost on our mast each evening,



but Mark slaps the spinnaker halyard against the mast to scare them off. Our neighbors pointed the birds out to us the first time, and they gave Mark applause when he succeeded in shooing them away. Each evening, as the sun starts to sink, Mark announces that he's got to get ready for a little bird hunting ☺. Late last night I was treated to the most spectacular view of the stars I've ever seen. There was no moon, but the stars lit up the sky. It reminded me of a big bowl of shiny blackberries sprinkled with a big helping of sugar or maybe like frost on the ground sparkling in the moonlight on a cold winter night--I don't know--it was beautiful! The Milky Way was clearly visible giving the sweeping view the look of a vast watercolor painting--the only artist capable of such a wondrous painting being God Himself! I was mesmerized! If that weren't enough, I looked toward the horizon and caught the sight of the big (and I mean BIG) dipper reflected on the smooth-as-glass water. I actually saw the reflection before I looked up higher and saw the actual stars. It was like a colossal mirror image shimmering there--indescribable!



Today, we stayed on board all day just soaking up the scenery and sun. There are campsites on one side of the anchorage. During the day we can see their tents if we look hard through the trees (yes, I use the binoculars) and see and smell their campfires at night.



On the other side of the Sound, is the pretty little town of Somesville--the first town settled on Mount Desert in 1761.



We went to the library there yesterday so Mark could download an audiobook to his iphone.



I looked around,



sat and watched the waterfall that sends the freshwater from inland ponds pouring into the sound,



and picked some flowers for my vase that I bought in Camden while Olivia was here....Oh yeah, that's what this entry is supposed to be about--our time with guests. I better get to that.

Well, on August 5(wow, a month ago), the day Olivia arrived, we woke up early and met the guy with our rental car, which ended up being a HUGE Ford F250 truck (I had to drive that thing having to climb to seat myself at the wheel and jump to get out of it), in the Rite-Aide parking lot close to the town docks. It was weird to see the town docks without the Lobster Festival going on. Then we were off to the Pen Bay Medical Center for a follow up visit and another x-ray to see if Mark needed surgery. The answer was no, YAY! After lunch we went to WalMart for grocery shopping in preparation for Olivia's visit. This was our first grocery-shopping trip with Mark's broken arm, but it wasn't too bad. I needed some help with getting the heavy cart, which was piled high with all the bags, down the steep ramp to the dinghy dock from a man who just happened to be standing there. I can't remember if I've mentioned the 12foot tides here in Maine. It makes for some really steep ramps down to floating docks at low tide! Anyway, we barely had time to get all the groceries stowed and Olivia's bed made before it was time to drive to Bangor to pick her up from the airport. What a pretty drive through the quaint seaside villages and along the shoreline.



We were glad to see Olivia, especially Claire! We wished she could see the scenery on the way back after our meal at Wendy's, but it was dark by then. It turned out that she got to take pretty much the same ride later on during her visit, though.

Our 10 days with Olivia were fun and exciting.



We covered a lot of ground sailing and visited many places where we'd never been before. Also, we were excited to introduce Olivia to a few of our favorite familiar spots!



She was with us through some unexpected trials and special treats. She also got to experience the varying types of weather conditions that make cruising in Maine enjoyable and challenging, as well.

Some of the trials that Olivia weathered along with us included dealing with a broken solenoid (a safety feature to keep propane gas from coming in the boat if a stove-burner is accidentally on without being lit) for the propane tank, which fuels our stove and oven. I started thinking that I smelled a small gas leak right where the lines came into the stove so we spent a morning investigating that.



Since propane sinks, we opened up the bilge and sucked air out with the shop vac (we've managed to find many creative uses for this appliance along the way!) to see if we could smell gas. We couldn't, so that was good news, but we started going up on deck and turning the gas off at the tanks every night just in case--not a big deal except in the rain.



Another trial happened at one of the most beautiful anchorages that we've dropped the hook in, Seal Bay at Vinalhaven Island



(named after the seals you often see sunning themselves on the rocks).



We were cozied up in the cabin on a rainy day. I stuck my head out the companionway to take a look around. I noticed a dinghy against the shore at the mouth of a little creek-like waterway about 50 yards away. I wondered what adventurous people would be out exploring on such a rainy day so I got out my trusty binoculars to get a better look. I thought... "Hey, those people put a blue fender on the front of their dinghy just like we did..." wait. I scrambled back to the stern and looked over to where our dinghy was supposed to be floating in the water. Yep, it wasn't there. We had no other choice but to ask for help. We tried calling other boats in the anchorage on the VHF, but no one had theirs on so we blew our horn--a sure way to get a boat captain's attention. That worked, and a nice Danish couple got in their dinghy and retrieved ours for us. The metal ring on the bow of the dinghy that our dinghy line ran through had worn through. Well, after we got the dinghy back, we spent a while hoisting it out of the water and onto its davits. This is something else we hadn't done since Mark's wrist was broken, but I was able to do it using our electric wench. Later that rainy day, the propane tank ran out so it was back on deck for me to change to the spare one... in the rain. I think I've said it before, thank goodness for foul weather gear! The biggest trial that Olivia shared with us came the next day.



It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and we were sailing to Buckle Island.



We were about 5 miles from our destination when we snagged a lobster pot on our rudder! First, I tried to cut us free with a sharp hook-knife that can be attached to the end of our boat hook (telescoping pole with a detachable hook on the end). With that, I was able to cut a line that we saw trailing behind the boat, but nothing happened. Mark told us someone had to go in the water. He would have, but he couldn't with his cast, not to mention only the use of his left hand. Well, Claire and I BOTH spent time in the 50 degree water trying to cut us free.



First, Claire was successful in cutting us free from two more buoys, but we were still hung up. By then, she was going numb so I went in the water and tried to finish the job, but couldn't. We ended up calling for help (once again) on the VHF, and a nice power boater in the vicinity came. From his dinghy, he was able to use the same sharp-knife-on-the-end-of-the-pole that we'd been using and our "lookie" bucket from to free us from a 3rd buoy without having to go in the water. Thank goodness for helpful fellow boaters. We still have some line around our rudder, but it doesn't impede us so I'm choosing not to go in the water to get it off. To make this story a little longer ☺, that wasn't the first time Claire jumped in the water that day. The first time was back at anchorage when Mark's rain jacket blew off the boat where I had laid it out to dry.



She just happened to be up on deck in her swimsuit sunning herself with Olivia when I noticed something in the water. I'm glad she was at the right place, in the right clothes, at the right time.....AND had the RIGHT attitude!! I didn't feel so bad asking her to jump in the water because I had heard her contemplating taking a dip while she was laying out, never mind that she decided not to. I DID feel bad when she was called upon to go in the water a second time that day because I knew she KNEW what she was getting into this time! Well, I think that sums up all the trials we shared with Olivia. She was the one to get a picture of Claire about to get in the water to free the boat from the lobster pot! It was a truly tense situation, but this blogger had the presence of mind to ask her to get a pic!! Too bad she didn't get one of me when I went in after donning TWO wet-suit-type skins that we have! At that point, I no longer had the mind-set of a blogger!



The special treats that Olivia was able to share with us included a beautiful sunset behind the Camden mountains viewed from Pulpit Harbor. The mountains looked purple in the distance.





We took a hike on Burnt Island where there's a little abandoned cabin you can go in.



We also hiked on Buckle Island where we'd been before and wanted to share with Olivia. It's a magical place that I'll write more about in the next blog entry entitled MAINE 2013 AFTER MARK'S INJURY WITH GUESTS--PART 2 (8/5/13 TO 8/30/13). I just decided there was going to be a PART 2--This is getting a little long!



Anyway, after Buckle Island, we ate MAINE LOBSTER at Maine-ly Delights, one of our favorite places in Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island right across the street from where we moored at Morris Yachts.



A lobster dinner was on Olivia's bucket list for her visit to Nancy Lu! The lobster dinner came at the end of the day after another VERY special treat that Mark planned just for Claire and Olivia.





We sent them on a whale watching boat that left out of Bar Harbor! They caught the Island Explorer bus early one morning for that...Mark and I stayed on Nancy Lu to meet a mechanic from Morris Yachts to do a few small jobs like getting that solenoid fixed. Another Morris employee gave us a ride on his way home out to the Bar Harbor Airport to get a rental car. Then we met Claire and Olivia at Maine-ly Delights that evening!



The next day, we dropped Claire and Olivia off in Camden, Maine to window shop and talk it up over coffee and pastries while we drove the rental car on to Rockland to the Pen Bay Medical Center for another check up for Mark where he was able to get a smaller cast. The next day, we got up early and readied the boat for a week without us on the mooring while we went back to Texas to get Claire back in school. We needed to wash the sheets to get ready for Mama and Daddy and the nieces when we got back.



We loaded ALL of Claire's and Olivia's stuff and a week's worth of our stuff in the rental car to catch the plane back to Texas! Both Claire's and Olivia's time on Nancy Lu was at an end.

We had a week at home to go school shopping for Claire, get haircuts,



host a girl's night for Claire and some of her friend's, enjoy time with some of our friends, have a visit from Ethan and go to our church on Sunday



all before we moved Claire into her apartment at Baylor where she saw her boyfriend, Jonathan, for the first time after a whole summer apart!




I should mention that we couldn't have done it without the help of our dear friend and long-time member of "Team Claire", Kenny!



We went straight from moving Claire in that same evening and caught a 5:45am flight the next morning back to Bangor to pick up a rental car and head back to Nancy Lu for a fun visit from Mama, Daddy and the Kinard nieces! I'm looking forward sharing all about that in the upcoming blog: MAINE 2013 AFTER MARK'S INJURY WITH GUESTS--PART 2 (8/5/13 TO 8/30/13)!

There are more pictures in the photo gallery at the top right of the blog. You can leave us a comment by clicking on the word "comments" just below and to the right of this sentence.