We arrived Saturday morning, after shopping for the week (we basically didn't leave the house/beach for the whole week...it was perfect)...as soon as the food was put away, we headed out to the beach for a walk/swim...
We were very lucky as regards weather...it has been a very rainy summer in Maine, but we had great weather for all but one day, and that day (Friday) was just foggy...Popham Beach is a glorious sandy beach, miles long, and covered with treasures on the hard/flat sand that low tide brings twice each day...we went walking for miles along the beach twice each day...
We had spectacular days, hot and humid, but the water and sand and breezes were enough to keep us comfortable...
Sparkling clear water and flakes of mica made these walks beautiful...
On our first long walk down the beach, we came upon this stranded jellyfish, and had a deliciously nerdy discussion of radial versus bilateral symmetry...
There are a few points along the beach where conflicting wave-patterns meet and make fun surf for little guys to play in...
Ben had a great time splashing and swimming and playing in the water, he loves the waves and tide pushing and pulling at him...
After playing in the surf for a while, we walked back towards home, looking for cool shells and enjoying the feel of the hard, gritty, ridge-tastic sand under our feet...
We enjoyed some lunch after we got back to the house, and some HP#6 (we finished it, and moved on to #7 early in the week...family reading time was a big part of our Maine Vacation)...
Our well-appointed bar at the cottage...booze, togo-cups, "End-of-the-World" shotglass, and a watermelon...
Ben and I walked down to Fort Popham later in the day, enjoying the changes as the afternoon light got richer, and as the tide climbed up the beach...the fort is an amazing structure that dominates the mouth of the Kennebec River...we explored and climbed around the fort as the sun dipped towards the horizon, and walked back home only when it threatened to drop behind the trees...
Sailboats, like the one in the background of the above picture, were scooting down the river after the top of the tide, either going out for an evening cruise or taking advantage of the slack tide after the intense ingoing current leading up to the high tide...
We saw some seals hunting/playing at the mouth of the river in the waning light of our first day at Popham, and went home to enjoy our first feast of fried clams...
It was a super first day...
We got up early the next morning, and went for a nice walk along the beach...
It was a gorgeous day, and we were looking forward to the annual picnic...The Gibson-a-thon!
Janet, Ben's Gran (and Gail's mother) arrived first, and got in some playtime with Ben...
When all was said and done, we ended up with about 30 people for the cookout...lots of good food and fun times and sun-soaking...
Ben and Max and Luke had a good time playing in the yard while everyone was eating and talking and eating...
Later, they took the games down into the water, when most of the party moved down, en masse, to the beach for sun and such...
The next morning, there was a little fog when we headed out for our early morning walk...
At 6am, we were the only people on the beach, which was amazing, and delightful, given how crowded the beach had been during the weekend...this was to be a pattern that we saw throughout the week...most people kept to the State Park end of the beach (about 2-3 miles away) or at the parking down by the Fort...being in the middle of these 2 spots, we didn't have to deal with many people during the week...it was nice!
The island behind Ben is completely walk-around-able during low-tides...we found some of our best shells and sand-dollars at the base of the island, and walked there a couple of times every day..
We worked our way up and down the beach looking and poking...ending up bringing home tons of shells and claws and sticks and rocks and such...
It was a great way to start and end each of our wonderful days at Popham...
The sun was hot and baked us all brown by the end of the week...the rough sand buffened and toughened (I know the former was not a real word, but I like the sound) our feet...
These outward changes matched the inner ones engendered by sleeping in, quiet reading, no TV/email/computers...we all enjoyed the mellow of the beach vacation...
When we hid from the sun in the middle of the day, we could still see and hear and smell the ocean...
Ben's swimming (and confidence level) has improved, and he had a great time swimming with a snorkeling mask that we brought along...
His favorite game was to hunt and/or chase cool shells that one of us launched for him...
Gail likes being on the beach...this is her, "I'm not working on PSC business or on my Dissertation" face...
Ben and I exploring the low-tide beach...
One day when we were down at the beach, a yellow lab puppy, who was romping all over the beach, left her family and wandered over to take a nap next to Gail...
LaLa and Ben playing on the beach...
One night, LaLa and Steve brought over a lobster dinner for all of us, which was awesome!!!
They also had some early birthday presents for Ben, including this great backpack for the upcoming school year...
LaLa stayed overnight, and joined us on our beachwalk the next morning...
Gail and Jamie reacharound picture on the beach...
Ben and I went for a really early walk one morning, and got to watch the sun creep over the horizon...
It was a gorgeous and empty morning...the beach was ours and we had a fun time running on the hard-packed flat sand of the low tide...
We stayed out on the beach for a while, enjoying the morning and quiet and wind...
Later in the day, we got a call from George, a teacher that I work with at LPMHS, who has a sailboat in the Maine waters, and had cruised down our way...
He came to the beach, picked us up in his dingy, and brought us back to his boat for a sailing trip...
It's a wonderful boat, and George lives on it on and off during the warm months...
It was a spectacular afternoon for a sail...lots of sun and wind and waves...and icy Mexican beer...
Ben loved the boat, the sails, the gear, the tech...he loved everything about it...
George took us out into the deep ocean, sailing out and around a number of the almost infinite tiny islands that make up the coast of Maine...
I helped pilot the boat back in when it was time to turn around and head home a couple of hours later...rigging and de-rigging the boat is a lot of work for one-man, especially while piloting it in the shoal-rich waters near Popham...
Once we got back to the cove where George was staying for the night, he put out the anchor, and we waited for the time it takes to drink a XX, to insure that the anchor had indeed found a good spot and was solidly planted...
We all headed back to the cottage, and enjoyed a dinner with Steve's kids, and their kids...Ben and Devin are close to the same age, and became fast friends during their time together...
The next morning, we headed out for a low-tide walk...Ben and Devin had a super time running the flats and finding treasures...
It was a pretty morning, cold and clear and quiet...
The tide was just finishing going out when we got to the point, and the boys enjoyed jumping in and out and over the pools left by the tide...
They played a bit of badminton later, once Marty got up, and before the heat of the day came into play...
Later in the morning, Kathy and Janet and LaLa came back over, and we had a Gibson Women in Straw Hats Seminar on the porch...
After lunch, we moved down to the beach and the boys all enjoyed the sun and playing in the water...
LaLa and Steve's granddaughter Arnica, is a little cutie...LaLa loves that little girl...
Arnica loved being out on the beach, playing with shells, and crawling around to visit various members of our party...
At one point, Ben relaxed in his lounge chair so much, that it flipped over, trapping him...
Marty played some ball with the boys down by the water...
Arnica and Steve share the Beale gift of sleep...
The following morning was foggy again...it was really fun and confusing and a little freaky wandering the beach with the fog closing us in...
These gulls stared us down, and seemed to be waiting for the sky to clear...
Ben and Max explored the chilly morning, and they enjoyed themselves...
Gail was able to mellow out during the week, disengage a bit, read, and relax...in the above pic, she was so relaxed, that she couldn't keep reading...
I read these 3 library books, and about half of another one during the week, nice summer reading...
On our last day, I harvested some green tomatoes from the garden adjoining the cottage, and fried them up...I love FGTs!!!
At the afternoon low-tide, we went out to explore and found some incredibly tiny sand dollars, along with some cool shells...
The next morning, before packing up, we headed out for a final walk along the beach and then headed home...we had another great year at Popham, and hope that we'll be able to return again next year!
2 comments:
That water had to be cold?
Nice Jamie. Thanks for including me both here and there.
George
Post a Comment