I don't know what all you people are talking about.  We didn't see a bit of fog the whole time we were in Maine.  We had nothing but blue skies, 80 degree days, and a great time.  We did see a lot of lobster pots, but after the lobster chowder I ate at J's last night, it's worth dodging a few pots here and there!

We arrived at Portland Yacht Services at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  Joe's "nephew" had arranged a mooring for us.  It was such a treat to hear Aidan, now 16, talking back to us on the radio, and coming out to circle our mooring ball to make sure we got the right one.  What a great summer job!  Aidan's parents, Peter and Jenny MacDonald, moved to Portland with their two sons, Duncan (13) and Aidan about 4 years ago, from Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Peter is Joe's brother, Mike's wife's brother.  Joe and Peter worked together at Computerland in Santa Fe for a number of years.  We were trying to remember the last time we saw each other.  The best we could come up with was when Cassie was a baby.  Regardless of the time and distance between us in the recent past, we all hit it off immediately.  Aidan brought his parents and brother out on the work boat, which he handled like a professional.  He brought it right up alongside the transom steps, maneuvering the throttle and wheel with expert precision.  Unfortunately, he had to go back to work so we visited with the rest of the family and caught up on each other's lives.  Joe and I were beat after being on the water all day so we declined the invitation to dinner and made plans to go over the their house for dinner tomorrow.  I offered to bring the dinner for the former New Mexicans.  I'm sure you can guess what I made!

We started out the day with a kayak ride around the harbor.  We have two kayaks, one a nice ocean kayak, and another one we brought along because we figured it would be nice to have two.  We have decided that we need another ocean kayak, though, because this one doesn't drain and if you flip it it is likely to sink.  Plus, we can carry the kids on the ocean kayaks so the four of us could go out for a paddle all together if we had another one.  (I'm getting an idea for Joe's birthday present!)  Joe had seen a seal pop its head up shortly after we got in yesterday, so we were hopeful that we would spot some more.  Plus, there were some other boats on the moorings that we wanted to check out.  The Chris White design Atlantic 55 Spirit, as well as another big catamaran which, much to my surprise, Joe can't name (where are you Bruce when we need you?)!  In addition, Bruce Schwab's around the world alone boat, OceanPlanet, was there.

We saw some folks milling around on Spirit so we headed over to say hello, as cruisers do, especially fellow catamaran owners.  We met John and Jane, who have been living on board for five years.  This boat is relatively new for them, and it is an amazing performance cruiser.  We won't be challenging them to a race any time soon!  Turns out John and Jane will be in the Virgin Islands this winter, which is where we are planning to be.  I think we were talking about cruising with kids (their kids are all grown up) and John started telling us about a family they had met in the Caribbean who had bought a new Catana in France.  "The boys were nine."  "That sounds like Snowcat," I said. John immediately said, "Yeah, that's it, Snowcat."  Dean and Karen and Jack and Ben had just sold their boat and moved back to Colorado.  We met them through Bruce and Alison, and came quite close to buying their boat.  They even kept it at our house in Annapolis for some time last summer.  I love those small world stories!  We made plans to have appetizers and drinks together on Saturday night.

Joe's new favorite way to see an unfamiliar city is to sign up for a guided trolley tour.  This one was well worth the $15 a head, as we saw spectacular views over the sea, the Portland Headlight, as well as the marvelous downtown and shopping sections of this quaint and beautiful city. 

Of course, we hadn't planned on doing any touring when we left the boat for showers and grocery shopping, so I didn't have my camera with me.  I need to just start bringing it everywhere by default.

On Saturday, we planned to sail around Casco Bay with Peter and Jenny.  A myriad of islands of all shapes and sizes litter the waters of this area.  They vary in composition from Greater Chebeague Island with a ton of sandy beaches, to the much more rugged Cliff Island.  The scenery was truly spectacular.  We made it back to our mooring around 4:30 and Jenny convinced me that I had to swim in the Maine water while I was here.  She was right, so we took the plunge.  I wouldn't want to stay in for long, but it was quite invigorating, especially when followed by a hot shower! 

Joe had set an early departure time for the next morning, but he agreed to a dinner out with Peter and Jenny so we set out on foot for the short walk from the marina to Commercial Street.  Saturday night was hopping down there and we struck out on our first choice for dinner.  Peter suggested J's and who were we to argue?  He turned us down a little alley and there it was; a real local's joint.  The food was simple but delicious, my $9.50 lobster stew must have had 3/4 of a pound of lobster meat in it.  It was amazing. 

Our course is set for Gloucester, Massachusetts.  We need to get better at the planning part of cruising.  The wind is on our nose AGAIN and we will be motoring for most of the day.  ARGH.  But I'm not complaining.  This is very much a work in progress and we are learning a lot as we go.  Our next challenge will be school, which starts after the girls get back on Wednesday.  We broke out the books and have had a quick look at them in preparation.  Calvert provides a detailed manual for the teacher so it doesn't look like we can mess it up too badly!  We can't wait to see the girls.  We miss them terribly.

Christy and Joe

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