After our sailing adventure on the Schooner Ladona, Andrew and I had a few days before we needed to head to Philadelphia to participate in a business-related conference, so we decided to spend a few additional days in Maine just relaxing, catching up on some work, and – as it turned out – visiting with some wonderful friends. Home Exchange has been a terrific find for us – in the case of the house in Scarborough (a suburb of Portland), we simply gave the owner “Guest Points” that they can use when they travel elsewhere. A real bonus was that the house was in a quiet neighborhood a literal stone’s throw from the beach!
Our first visitors were Fernando and Olga who came over from Boston with their dog, Mickey. Fernando was my scuba instructor and not long after I got certified (with the gift of Fernando’s patience) they moved to the Boston area. They have not lived in the east very long so this was a nice first foray into New England as the weather was not yet chilly and the leaves were just starting to change. We took advantage of the beach for a long walk with Mickey, discovered a cool teepee someone left as a summer relic, and discovered that Portland has become a foodie haven when we had a nice dinner in the city. Truly, of late many well-known chefs have migrated to Portland (guess the cold winters don’t scare them off) and the center of the city is chock full of excellent and very full places to try all sorts of cuisines.
We also got the chance to visit Cape Elizabeth with Fernando and Olga – a lovely seaside area with really unusual rock “steps” that allowed you to walk down right to the breaking waves.
Our other stop was at Fort Williams Park – an incredible area with its own lighthouse and cliffside botanical garden.
We were thrilled that on the spur of the moment we had another visit from dear friends Susan and James Wisowaty. Susan and I go back to my Microsoft days and she now works with us at Patient Power. They live in Burlington, Vermont, and used the opportunity for a quick getaway to explore some of the quaint Maine seaside villages on their way to us – and we were so glad to get some quality time with them. We did some beach walking, cooked up a yummy meal at the house together, and exchanged some future “visioning” of life after working!
The last day or two of this leg of our Maine trip we did some work and then explored a few of the other villages that dot the coast. We really enjoyed a wonderful meal in Ogunquit – funny name for a bustling tourist-friendly spot. I snapped a shot of ocean spectators that really reminded me of old movies I’d seen…the senior set chillaxin’ and chatting – watching the waves roll in.
Bye for now,
Esther
Living La Vida Loca 