WICKED GOOD.....

"Like a bird who strays from the nest is a man or woman who strays from home." Proverbs 27:8

I am so glad to be back home from the Island. (Maine) I can't remember another year when it was so hot there in September. My parents being in their late 80's and well able to tolerate high temperatures were also a bit uncomfortable and did open a window or turn on a fan but to me there was no relief from the relentless humidity day and night. The refreshing afternoon breezes flowing in off the ocean were few and far between. There were some who took advantage of the last vestiges of summer  like weather to sun themselves...

 Most of my time was devoted to helping my parents by cooking, cleaning and running errands and enjoying spending time with them . I am so happy and grateful that they are still with us. More feeble and frail but still mentally alert and determined to remain living on their own. Next month they will be married 69 years! 
I love Maine in September and the heat did not keep me from driving around the Island snapping photos.  I didn't have to go far from my doorstep to get a few of the fisherman hauling their traps off from our shores. 

Only being there for a week this trip I didn't do much socializing with family and friends. I stayed overnight on the way up and back with my brother, Thomas and his wife, Kathy.  I met 2 dear friends for lunch in Ellsworth, a small but growing town  about 30 miles from the Island and from there, about 20 miles from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I will blog soon about a trip to the Park and the seaside town of Bar Harbor. So tourist packed in Summer but beautiful and less congested in Fall. My final trip to the Island will be in October. I plan on taking a day trip to Bar Harbor and hopefully the weather will be nice for snapping pics. But, next week Judi, my daughter, and I will be spending a few days in Cape May, New Jersey. I DO love the ocean! It's been many years since I have made the 3 hour trip from our home here in Bethlehem and we are looking forward to our time away!

Meanwhile, back to Maine.... The Ocean is such a beautiful color in September. The day that I took these photos was partly sunny but we did have a thunderstorm in the afternoon. You can see it brewing!
Don't you just love the deep, deep blue of the ocean in this picture??

Not far from where I live while on the Island is Pumpkin Island Light. It is privately owned now and not a working light. When I was growing up I didn't appreciate the lighthouses of the area. Now I think they are incredibly picturesque!

Village Life

I headed down the Island to the very tip  one morning to see what was going on and to eat some lunch in the village of Stonington.  It has a lovely fishing village situated in and around  inlets on the ocean and most of the homes and businesses  in the village are on cliffs, little hills or right along the edge of the ocean. So incredibly pretty in the Summer. Tourists abound!  

Yours truly taking a picture of a picture in a gallery window. 

The Island Advantages Newspaper offices.

The Opera House has been standing for many, many years. When I was a kid we went there to see movies that were slightly out of date.  Now, I have read in the Island Advantages, the local newspaper, that not only can you see  movies there but it's also  home to a  thriving performing arts community.

Reflected in the window of this gift shop is one of my favorite eating places in Stonington; Harbor Cafe...

The sun reflecting off the water and the roof of the shop on the pier was blinding!

Signs atop the combination store and restaurant in the village.

A lot of the inns  on Main Street offers outside dining. 

A miniature village.

Great Scenery in and around Stonington

A working light house off Stonington.

To some fisherman lobstering is a serious business.

All of these photos were taken on the same day but there are huge differences in lighting and the colors of the ocean depending on where the sun was when I clicked the shutter!

Going home to Pennsylvania...a stop on the way.

I have lost count of the number of pictures I have taken on my trips to and from Maine of Nubble Light at Nubble Point in Cape Neddick, Maine ( in Southern Maine).  Most trips I stop but seldom in the heart of the tourist season.  However, I braved the crowds and long traffic lines to get near enough to snap a few more for my collection. 

Late afternoon.

Fox's Restaurant next door. Both eat in and take-out. I sat out and took these pictures. 

Taken just before I left the Point, after I had eaten. 

Hope you have enjoyed my Maine photo album! 

Until next time...