58 in Maine

So my nephew of another brother Josh agreed to house and dog sit, and came over Monday night -- he insisted on  being Joshber and taking Wifey and I to MIA. He's a wonderful young man -- kind, bright, and sweet -- and hilarious in that techie kind of way where he gets a kick out of all of us who are tech idiots. I'm proud he's a big part of our lives...

He dropped us at MIA, we had breakfast at Centurion, and then a flawless flight to LGA, where we sat for a bit and then had an AA Eagle flight to Portland. We arrived, the nice Somali driver took us to the hotel, and we were in Maine.

Portland was depressed when industry left, and is coming back as a nice Asheville-like tourist spot. Wifey and I wandered around the bayfront, singing "Brandy" to ourselves, and found a great old seafood place called Brooke's, which is next to a hot spot called the Porthole. We ate, and we toasted our Ds and their fine men, as we always do.

The next am we strolled around some more, in the HEAT. We had brought with us, it seemed, record temperatures -- hotter the entire trip than it was in Miami, though it cooled off a bit at night. We survived...

We found a venerable diner named Becky's, and then had some hours to kill. We took a Casco Bay cruise -- a lovely trip to the islands off Portland where there are vacation houses and small resorts.

Joelle and Kenny called -- they had finished their Portland errands early, and took us to a newer part of town with craft breweries and distilleries, and I sampled some smokey local vodka. We then had dinner at Fore Street, the best place in Portland, and it was indeed delicious -- fresh fish, some steak, and something I always order -- just for the halibut...

Then it was about an hour trip up to Oxford, with a stop at Hanneford's for supplies. We arrived at their beautiful Lake Thompson house as there was just a sliver of sunlight left, and walked to the dock. Kenny and I sat and caught up -- I saw why he loved it there -- so peaceful, and the almost Hollywood -like sound of a loon crying out.

The next am was kayaking, something I last did about 15 years ago, in Alaska. Turns out you don't forget it -- I took to it well. Wifey begged off -- she had a bad kayak experience in Alaska with D1, and ironically suffered the only injury. As we paddled around a bend, we heard a child scream out. Turned out the child was Wifey, who tangled with a hammock by the lakeshore and lost -- went into the rocks, cut her hand and arm, and sent her phone for a swim. Wifey survived. The phone did not -- that'll be her order of business first day back in town today.

The next few days flew by. We met friends and neighbors -- all of whom are VERY into their houses and preserving the lake. Most of the discussion was about contractors, and local meetings about keeping the lake pristine -- it truly is a treasure.

On Friday night, Ken's old Navy friends, a retired ortho and retired eye doc, brought over fresh lobsters, and other friends, Dave and Claire, brought Mexican street corn, and we feasted. I hadn't had a whole lobster in quite awhile, and it was delicious -- we all tore into the bugs with vigor.

Saturday was out last night, and we went to an old house with a restaurant -- Joelle and Kenny had been a few times -- and had a delicious and memorable farewell feast. Wifey drove home on the dark country roads and did very well.

Yesterday we had the obligatory lobster rolls for lunch, and then Joelle drove Kenny, Wifey, and me to the bus station. Luckily, we caught an earlier bus, as there was massive traffic leaving Maine -- I guess Sunday afternoon Summers brings that. But, we made Logan in plenty of time, hopped another fine flight home, and were met by Josh -- we dropped Kenny in South Miami, and then he looked at Wifey's phone. Alas -- it was beyond revival.

So it was a lovely way to turn 58. I got calls from the kids, and lovely emails and texts.Another year, thanks to the Big Man, to twirl on this mortal coil. And I'm a very happy and lucky guy to do it...