This scarecrow reminded me of trips to our beach cottage near Annapolis. The corn fields along the way all had scarecrows. But I haven't seen one in years (except at Halloween). There are lots of crows here. They wake me up many mornings squabbling in the trees around the campsite.
We even found another fishing spot for Wiley--a very small piece of shoreline is owned by the Nature Conservancy and open to the public. Wiley's looking forward to going back when he has his fishing gear with him, and I'll take a chair and a good book.
After breakfast we went to the docks to see if we could get a free spot on the schooner Lazy Jack II. That's the deal I mentioned in an earlier blog that Wiley had worked out with the captain. They thought it would be a good idea to give us a free sail so that we could promote the schooner to our customers (and telling customers about fun things to do in the area is something the owners want me to do anyhow). There was space on the 10:30 sail, so we went.Unfortunately, it was a very calm day, but we had a good time anyhow. Lazy Jack II is a new schooner built from a 1935 design similar to a famous schooner called the Ticonderoga. It's all fiberglass with wood trim, but it looks like an old schooner. This picture is from their website which has lots of interesting information: http://www.schoonerlazyjack.com/ (click on the compass rose to view the different parts of the web page).
We had beautiful views of Camden Harbor and the Curtis Island Light as we departed. That's Mount Megunticook in the background. We had a relief captain rather than Captain Sean. I forget this captain's name, but he was quite knowledgeable about the area and the sea life we were seeing.
I especially enjoyed talking with the deckhand, Mark. He's had an amazing variety of summer jobs, ranging from construction to renting snow boards in Montana to being a deck hand on a fishing boat in Key West. He just got his degree in environmental science and hasn't decided what he wants to do with it yet. I told him it seemed to me he already had a great life!
We got to talking about workamping, and eventually the other guests on the boat got involved in the conversation. Everyone seemed to want details about the lifestyle. It seems so natural to us now, but other folks seem to think we're pretty daring!I got to raise the foresail (and yes, I'm going to throw out the baggy bottom pants!). Mark explained the complicated arrangement of 3 sails, two masts and many lines and blocks and other paraphernalia.
Isn't Wiley looking relaxed and happy these days?! He's getting in as much fishing as he can squeeze in. I asked him the other night if he missed anything about home other than his family, and he didn't! The only think I miss is my bathtub.Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, so Wiley is planning another drive. We're thinking about rounding the tip of Penobscot Bay and going down the other side. Tune in tomorrow for more in the continuing saga of Joyce and Wiley's Great Adventure!
6 comments:
Cute scarecrow. Looks like he is wearing a "good" shirt. Years and years ago (hm-m-m) my sisters and I made a scarecrow for our garden. We did it more for fun but I'm not sure it scared away any crows. We stuffed ours with straw.
Did anyone get seasick? The schooner doesn't look very large to me but I'm afraid I don't know much about schooners.
I have a question for you. Remember in one of your first blogs, Joyce, when you were watching the shop alone and a couple came in asking about a place to visit? I can't remember what it was -- some kind of farm?? Have you and Wiley looked that up yet?
Yup--it was kind of a yuppy scarecrow.
No one got seasick. It was very calm--almost no wind or waves. There are larger schooners, but this one was free for us! I'm not really into sailboats, but it's a big deal up here, and I need to be able to make recommendations to our customers. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!
The couple you remember were looking for an alpaca farm. There is one up here, but it's not open to the public. You can drive by to see if the alpacas are in the field, but so far we haven't seen any. You can visit the farm where they raise the Belted Galloway cows, though. We haven't done it yet. It's all run by volunteers.
Oh, yeah, so someone's got to do it! Sure! I've been thinking about your job -- now that you could "do it in your sleep," do you stay busy? Do you stock items in the shop, for example. Also, do you/and other campers do much cooking around campfires? I assume firewood can be found all over the place since Maine is full of trees? How long will you be on your current shift? Do you have a choice or do you get assigned? There is another campground -- do you ever have to work at that one? Just curious.
Note: You might be interested in knowing that this morning I will be out mowing/trimming our lawn in 97 degree hardly breathable heat! Yesterday, today and tomorrow we will be having typical Florida summers. Don't you miss that, Wiley?
I guess I haven't said much about the work, have I? It stays busy, but not frantic. The pattern tends to be that you take a lot of reservations over the phone in the morning. In between times, you stock the shelves, sell coffee and snacks and keep the floors swept and the shelves dusted and neat. In the afternoons you start checking in customers and you start selling lots of ice and firewood. Friday afternoons and all day Saturday are the busiest days because you're checking in lots of campers. It's actually lots of fun--never bored, but not overwhelmed, either.
People have fires almost every evening, including the workampers, but most people cook over their BBQ grills, not over the fire. We do most of our cooking inside, because I'm not a big meat eater and don't tend to enjoy steak or BBQ chicken.
We alternate shifts weekly. Right now we're on the afternoon shift, 3-9 PM. We work every Sat., Sun., Mon. and Tues. Next week we'll be on the 8 AM to 2 PM shift. The owners come in for a couple of hours mid-day to cover the break between shifts. Each campground has a separate set of workampers, and we don't usually switch off, although we could in an emergency, because the procedures are the same. We're also welcome to go to the other campground and use the facilities any time. I really want to go over and use the hot tub. I miss my bath tub! Maybe when you're here we can leave the guys to tell manly stories around a campfire and we can go shopping and then soothe our tired feet in the hot tub!
Hello everyone, we made it home, with many fond memories.I was so impressed with God's handiwork.The many green trees, clean air, beautiful blue ocean, with colorful buoys. We loved the quaint fishing villages, the Mom and Pop restaurants, thanks goodness no Mc Donalds. The kind people who helped us along the way, which made the trip easier for Papa. Cathy said her least favorite was the rented van's doors with the child safety latches.It took us a week to figure out how they work. Now that is looking for somthing to complain about.Her favorite was when we found buoys along the road for three dollors. Thanks, Wiley and Joyce.
I see you got your computer back, Mag--what was wrong with it?
I'm glad you guys enjoyed the trip! We sure enjoyed having you.
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