My summer vacation to Maine.

[glatt]

Here's my class report on my summer vacation to Maine.

Here are some pictures from our 2 week vacation to Maine. We drove up from D.C. and stopped at Liberty State Park in N.J. at around lunch time. We had a picninc basket with us in the trunk. Looked at the Manhatten skyline for a while, and let the kids play in the playground. It was the first time I'd seen the skyline in person since it changed 9/11. Turns out our stop was just long enough to let the traffic really build up at the toll to cross the GW bridge. Rookiee mistake.:


After arriving in Maine, 11 of us (my parents, siblings, their spouses, neice, nephew, my wife and kids and I) took a boat over to Monhegan Island. Monhegan Island is twelve miles off the coast, about a mile or two long, and half a mile wide. It has had a fishing village on it for centuries. The rest of the island is wilderness with trails on it. It is saved as a nature preserve due to the generosity of Thomas Edison's rich grandson. He bought up all the undeveloped property on the island and donated it to a preservation foundation he set up. Basically, the only thing to do there is to hike around and enjoy the scenery.


Back in 1948 the D.T. Sheridan tugboat lost power in a fierce winter storm. The crew was rescued, but the boat was thrown up on the rocks. Now kids can climb all over it:


More D.T. Sheridan wreck. Stern.


Whole view of wreck:

[glatt]

My kids on one of the trails along rocky coastline.:


Here's Monhegan village, as seen from the lighthouse hill. There are something like 25-30 people who live here year round. Each summer, the population swells to 200-300 or so. During the day, in the summer, the population jumps to about 500 as the boats bring tourists over for day trips. Then it drops back down to 200 or so at night. There are no cars on the Island, but there are two golfcarts, and a handful of pick-up trucks. When I was a kid, none of the trucks were registered. Now they all have plates with registration stickers that expired in the late 90's. A cop must have come out here on vacation and enforced the law one year.:


Of course, the island is a mountaintop sticking out of the water. It is surrounded on three sides by steep rocky cliffs. The harbor is the only point where the land slopes gently down to the water. Its a lot of fun climbing on the rocks. Here's most of my family:

[glatt]

The lighthouse is automated now, and the keeper's house and shed have been converted to very interesting museums, tracing the history if the island back to the 1600's and archeological finds from before then.


Keeper's house and museum:


Lobstermen stack their traps in their yards during August because it's the slow season. Not sure if it's the slow season because the fishing is bad or because of regulations. Some people still put traps out. There are half a dozen lobstermen on the island. They are easy to spot with the heaps of traps in their yards.

[glatt]

Guests at our inn would gather on the porch just before dinner time and share the tales of their adventures that day. Since we were a party of 11, we kind of kept to ourselves, and none of the other guests really approached us.


There are lots of painters on Monhegan Island. It has a reputaion for artists. There were a dozen or so, painting this sunset.:


Here's the fire station for the island. It's an all-volunteer fire dept, and just about every resident is a member. The old truck is always being worked on. It runs well, but I saw water leaking out of the water holding tank like crazy one afternoon when they were working on it. They are trying to raise the money to replace the tank.

[glatt]

Obligatory lobster boat picture, taken from the ferry back to the mainland.


Fresnel lens of the decommisioned Pemaquid point light. They made it into a museum and let you climb the tower. Pretty neat.


Reconstruction of Fort William Henry. It was originally built in 1692, and was destroyed by the French and Indians in 1696. Maybe this should be in the "Why do we hate the French" thread. It's a fun place for kids to run around.

[Elspode]

Must...take...legitimate...vacation...

[Hobbs]

I took a vaction to Oceanside with my family in July and all I got was surf, sand, sun, plenty of deep sea fishing....oh wait...that's cool too. Nice place Maine. Just like I pictured looking like.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by glatt

After arriving in Maine, 11 of us (my parents, siblings, their spouses, neice, nephew, my wife and kids and I)

Isn't that twelve?

Good pictures.

[glatt]

Umm.. I was just checking to see how closely people read my post. Yeah, that's it.

Actually, only one brother has a spouse, and it's really only his fiance, they get married in October. The other brother has the two kids, but no longer has a wife. Divorced.

I also have a sister, but she was in Peru, mountain climbing, and chose that over Monhegan Island. Can't say I blame her.

[Trilby]

excellent pics, Glatt! Thanks for sharing! I spent summers in Maine for twenty years-little place called Tripp Lake in Poland, Maine. It was sheer bliss. Man, what a place!

[plthijinx]

looks awesome glatt! spectacular sunset and scenery!

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Brianna

excellent pics, Glatt! Thanks for sharing! I spent summers in Maine for twenty years-little place called Tripp Lake in Poland, Maine. It was sheer bliss. Man, what a place!

I know Tripp Lake well. Very nice place. I grew up about 15 minutes from there. My family went there for afternoon swims all the time growing up, until the YWCA sold their cottage and beach.

Did you rent a cottage, or go to one of the camps?

[glatt]

Originally Posted by plthijinx

looks awesome glatt! spectacular sunset and scenery!

Thanks!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Thanks Glatt!
The picture labeled "Whole view of wreck" shows how large the sand pebbles are on a typical Maine beach.

[lookout123]

thanks for sharing Glatt.