We spent four great days in Camden. It is a beautiful town to walk around in with nice shops, restaurants and pretty homes. We loved being on the harbor float with Seaquill; even Troy thought it was great because now he had two boats to walk around on. He could only jump on Seaquill when Jack was not aboard, as Jack is allergic to cats. We had a great spot to watch all the activity in the harbor, boats coming and going, boats being commissioned over at the marina and the schooners taking tourists out for a sail.

Wednesday afternoon Denise and I found the farmers market in town and was pleasantly surprised at the quantity, quality and low price of the produce and stocked up. Camden also has a market in town called the French Brawn that had specialty meats and baked goods. There is also a Stonewall Kitchen store in town, which is one of my favorites. On Thursday morning Denise and I borrowed the marina courtesy car and headed to the supermarket to provision the boats for the next few weeks. When we returned we all had lunch at the Camden Yacht Club, which is very old and beautiful.

Thursday evening Dan and Daria arrived on their new boat, Gypsea, a 51-foot Halverson. Jack and George assisted them in docking at the town docks. We all went over for a visit and to welcome them to Camden. Dan told us that 29 years ago he was in Camden standing in the beautiful park at the library overlooking the harbor wishing he was on one of those boats looking up at the park, and now his wish has come true. He was very happy to be here. Denise made dinner for everyone aboard Seaquill, and all had a good time.

On Friday Jeff and Linda, fellow EYC members, drove up to Camden to spend a long weekend aboard Gypsea. Jeff made his delicious Bolognaise for everyone and we had a great meal and a great time with our friends.

Saturday we all headed out of Camden and north to Warren Island State Park. They have free moorings for boaters and the park has campsites that only cost five dollars a night for those who come to the island. The campsites all have a wooden lean to and a great view of the water. It is a well-maintained park with trails for walking around the island. We covered ourselves in bug spray and went ashore for a walk with Jeff and Linda. Some of the flies are as big as birds here.

I did go out on my paddleboard and this time I did fall in. The water was so cold it took my breath away. But I got back on and paddled all around the harbor. George put his kayak in the water and went exploring. We are staying here two nights; Gypsea is going back to Camden to drop off their guests and will meet us in Belfast on Monday. The weather has been very hot, hitting 90 on Sunday. Troy kept moving around trying to find a cool place to sleep. He loves going out on the bow after sunset and will sit there for hours. Sometimes I have to chase him around the boat to get him to come in at night. I started working on an afghan that I began working on when we had our sailboat, Pilgrim. I hope to finish it this summer.