~*~ Relaxing at Gun Point ~*~

Post-hike Serenity in Harpswell, ME

Date: July 24–27, 2005

Disclaimer: Yes, I was relaxing at Gun Point. No, nobody was holding a gun to my head, silly. Gun Point is the name of the place in Maine where my family’s little summer cottage is. So, now that you don’t think I was held hostage and made to eat fresh lobster and drink beer, I can continue. (Though that doesn’t really sound so bad after all, does it?

After spending the last week chasing and being chased by teenagers through the White Mountains, I was very much looking forward to the down time that Maine always provides. I knew I would be able to find a spot on the rocks, next to the ocean, with a beer, a lobster and a good book and just sit back and let the hours slip away. This is one of the places in the world that I could just sit for hours doing absolutely nothing and never get bored for a minute.

Our cottage is located at the end of Great Island, so the drive alone is beautiful. It always makes me smile as I make that turn around the end of the dyke and not only see the ocean but get that first smell of salt water. It is a relaxing scent, like pumpkin pie or freshly fallen leaves in the autumn. It has an immediate calming effect and at once, I am reminded of just why aromatherapy is so popular. The small summer homes are scattered along the private drive, families are out and about, and the day is just beautiful.

Our neighbor, Phil, is a lobsterman. I don’t think anyone in the world eats more lobster than Phil. He told us that my grandmother is his best customer, second only to himself. Maine lobster is incredible. Fresh Maine lobster is even more incredible. But when your neighbor goes out early in the morning, returns that afternoon, leaving your lobster in a plastic bin hanging off the end of the boat dock for you to get when you’re ready…it’s simply heavenly. It does not get any fresher than plucking it out of the ocean and having it cooking within 10 minutes. I watched him putting our lobsters up and smiled knowing I would be stuffed full by the end of my time in Maine.

My cousin, Robin, my mom, my grandmother and I did go up to Boothbay Harbor for a day to walk around, shop and have lunch. Boothbay is a cute little coastal village with lots of tiny shops and yummy restaurants. On warm summer days, parking is impossible and there are loads of people milling around and enjoying the weather. We had lunch on an outside deck over looking the harbor. It was nice to sit and watch the boaters and kayakers making the most of a gorgeous day. We had some company from the local seagulls, who were determined to check out our luncheon fare. We also made our traditional trip to Land’s End on Bailey’s Island. What is a trip to Maine without going there and buying some silly tee-shirt, souvenir or their homemade fudge? Land’s End provides a nice view of the Maine Coastline, as well as a little shop with some neat things.

I spent the remainder of my time running my grandmother’s dog, Jack, ragged on walks up the road and just relaxing. We ate lobster all week long and of course, I washed it down with the local brew from Seadog Breweries. Although I’m not generally a fan of fruity flavored beers, their Raspberry Wheat is pretty amazing. I’ll have to remember that the next time I’m up there. I helped my grandmother out a bit with some trees that came down in the grove. They needed to be cut up to be hauled away. I wish the electric saw had worked because the handsaw was really pissing me off. I also happened to notice an extraordinary amount of spiders and spider webs everywhere! I don’t mind them when I can see them but it was like trying to make my way through a mine field of 8-legged creatures. Ewwwww!

Since my mom’s birthday was coming up and I wouldn’t be there for it, we had a mini-celebration in Maine. I bought an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery that was amazing! Though, my grandmother had ordered an ice cream while we were there that was black liquorish and looked decidedly like clam flats. Yuck. She said that it wasn’t bad for the first half, but that it sort of stopped tasting good after that. I’m going to take her word for it because I hate black liquorish! Anyway, the cake was delicious and chocolaty to boot! We only ate about half of it and then gave the rest to Robin for her grandchildren to enjoy.

It was nice to spend more than a day in Maine. I haven’t had a lot of time to get up there in the last few years and I have missed it immensely. I hope that in the coming summers, I am able to make time to go, kayak, and eat lobster. There’s always next summer…and Lord knows I will need some time to recuperate after the A.T.!

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