"DON'T CRY BECAUSE IT'S OVER, SMILE BECAUSE IT HAPPENED" -- Dr. Suess

It's a week from Labor Day and again the summer has flown by so fast.  But, thinking about the time we've had with our family and friends makes me SMILE.

About six weeks after we got home this spring, I decided that I really did like the freedom of not working, even if it was only to be occasionally.  And, since they still hadn't found any clients for me, I called Special Care and asked them to take me off their roster.

In the middle of July, Gwen and I spent a couple of very hot days in Cape May with Mare at the Merry Widow.  The ocean temp was nice, and I believe that it's the first time I've actually been in the ocean in several years.  We realized that of all the times we've been there, this is the first time that we went during "the season."  Good times!

The Merry Widow

At the end of the month, we drove to Maine for a week with Rod and Ellen.  We couldn't find our driving directions from our trip there two years ago, so we relied on the GPS...big mistake!  It took us on the turnpike to NJ and then north to NY and right through the Bronx.  We were just glad that we weren't towing the trailer.  

We arrived at Sebago Lake on Monday just after 6pm so we had to wait for the ferry to return at 6:30 to take us over to Frye Island.  While we waited, it began raining which made it hard to read the house numbers, but it was easy to pick out "The Bear's Den" sign.  A glass of wine and one of Ellen's tasty casseroles was just what I needed after the long drive.

We woke to the sun rising over the lake; a beautiful view from their deck.

Joe and Sue arrived after lunch.  Tony and Donna came later...in time for 'happy hour.'  We had a really good time catching up with everyone.  The food was amazing.  The gals sunbathed on the dock.  Rod took us around the lake on their motorboat.  It was a very relaxing time. 

Friday, we all left the island and Keith and I spent the weekend with Rod and Ellen at their home in Raymond.

 

The sky was a little overcast on Saturday but we decided to take our chances with the weather.  We traveled to the Mount Washington Cog Railway in the White Mountains of NH.  This was the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway, invented and built by Sylvester Marsh of Littleton, NH in 1869.  The steepest part of the railway is just past the treeline with a grade of 37.41%.  On the left is the Great Gulf ravine which has a drop of nearly 2000 ft...better not to look.  The summit elevation is 6,288 ft.  It was 45 degrees, windy, and so foggy/cloudy that we couldn't see more than 50 ft.  They say that on a clear day you can see four states, Quebec, and the Atlantic Ocean...which means, we'll have to come back another day.

Mt Washington Cog Railway

Hikers in the mist follow the cairns (rock piles) that mark the trail.

In keeping with our train theme, on Sunday, we headed to Portland's Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum.  We rode the train along the waterfront at Casco Bay.  It was a beautiful sunny day for lunch at Dimillo's on the Water and a stroll along the cobblestone streets of the old port town.

View of Casco Bay from the train

We had a much better drive home on Monday by following Ellen's directions and avoiding the Bronx this time.