6-7-06 (Wednesday): We had our last day of training today. It’s been quite an experience learning something entirely new. I enjoy most of it. The cash register is kind of intimidating to me. I don’t have any problem with ringing up normal sales, but making refunds and correcting mistakes is confusing. I’m going in tomorrow (my day off) to practice. They have a spare cash register set up that we can practice on without messing up the real one. I think I’ll do much better when I’m not performing in front of all the other workampers (most of whom have worked on cash registers before).

Wiley had the day off today (I’m off on Saturday, but he has to work) because during training week we don’t have the same schedule. Starting next week, we’ll be on the same schedule for the rest of our stay. Wiley went fishing in Lincolnville. He didn’t catch any fish, but he caught 5 rock crabs and a lobster with hand lines. He was quite excited! I’m glad he finally caught something. He’s been trying just about every day, and it’s been cold and rainy up here.

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog that our workamper neighbors, Fran and Richard, mentioned that they’d bought an electric space heater because the central heat burns up your propane pretty fast. We buy our own propane, but the campground pays our electric bill. So we went up to Walmart and picked one up for less than $20. We like it a lot—it’s quieter than the central heat and seems to provide more uniform heat. What a great idea! So far, Fran and Richard are our favorite of all the workampers we’ve met. We have a lot in common. It’s a really friendly bunch. Even the other campers are fun to talk to. Everyone has a story (or two!), and all kinds of people like to camp.

We’ve begun compiling a list of what we want to do with friends and family who want to come visit. It’s getting long quite quickly! Some of the possibilities are:

• Go on a lobster boat with a real lobsterman and watch while he brings in his lobster traps. Apparently you also see seals and all kinds of birds and you travel past islands with lighthouses and interesting histories. That’s $20 for adults and $5 for kids under 14. If I agree to distribute brochures to campers, they get a discount and Wiley and I get a free trip! (The boss lady told us about this, and said it was fine for us to do this.)
• Fishing (for the guys) and shopping in Camden and Rockport’s antique and gift shops.
• Have a lobster boil and/or eat at a lobster shack.
• Drive up Mt. Battie on the old carriage road and admire the view of Camden Harbor from 1300 feet up. Then take a nature hike on Mt. Megunticook.
• Visit the Farnsworth Museum where many Wyeth paintings are hung. Wyeth painted in this area.
• Take a ferry over to one of the 15 Maine islands that have a year-round population.
• Go on a tour with one of the kayaking companies in the area.
• Walk the breakwater out to the Rockport Light and go in the lighthouse and museum at the end (7/8 mile one way).
• Go to the Maritime Museum in Rockport.
• Go to Birch Point Beach State Park and sit on the rocks and have a picnic.
• Take a scenic drive to Owl’s Head lighthouse and Port Clyde lighthouse.
• Go to Rockport Harbor and see the lime kilns and the Andre statue and see the tall ships in the harbor.

And that only covers the things we’ve already done (except for the kayak tour and shopping!). So start thinking about what you want to do when you’re here!

Since today was the last day of training, Lori and John (the owners) treated us to a lobster boil. We had to have it inside because of the rain. All the workampers (from both campgrounds) came—6 couples. Lori and John supplied the lobster, wine and beer, and each workamper couple brought a side dish. In addition to my pasta salad, there was coleslaw, Watergate salad, corn on the cob, a Mexican dip for an appetizer, and 3 kinds of dessert. We had a great time getting to know one another, trading stories about our travels and families. Since each of us only works 4 six-hour days a week, we won’t be working together, but we’ll be sharing a job. So I think it’s great that we have a chance to socialize. It’s much easier to work with people when you feel like they’re your friends.

It’s getting late—time to all it a night.