Bob and Eric had promised us that the birds would wake us at dawn. They did, but their chatter was no match for my need to sleep. I nodded off again and by the time I woke, my fellow travelers had gathered to wait for another fantastic meal from Bob and Eric.
Our first activity that morning was archery, and it may have been my favorite activity of the weekend. We had two great instructors, one a former Marine and avid bow hunter, the other a young primary teacher who had grown up using a bow and arrow and a yard target to relieve stress for most of her childhood. Both were great, and I had a lot of fun trying to master form and hit my targets. I had a little experience with archery in high school gym class, but what I remember most about it was that we had to be careful that none of the Sisters who lived on the campus were walking behind the targets saying their rosaries while we shot at them. Our instructors were very careful about stopping and starting our shooting practice and counting participants.
From that point, we headed out for about a five hour kayak trip. Because we were an odd number, I paired up with Eric because I knew he would be a strong partner. The group kayaked out to an island first and stopped to eat the packed lunch. Some of our number dove into the water and had a swim, the rest of us chatted for a while before heading back into our kayaks for more paddling. I did my best to work my torso instead of my arms so that I would not tire, and got a little sunburned. We had great weather and calm water, and soon enough, we were back at the campsite.
This was the end of the weekend activities, so I headed off to the shower, said my farewells, and headed into Freeport to visit the LL Bean Industrial Complex. I found great parking, but my appetite for shopping was curbed by my very sore feet. At this point, they were blistered, sunburned, scabbed over, and blistered again. I was very sore, and I did my best to take in the variety of products, but I ultimately used my discount coupon on a Monopoly game of the National Parks for my nephew rather than a bow and arrow set or anything bigger. I had dinner at the Linda Bean restaurant and was soon on my way Down East to another independently owned motel with great reviews that I found online. The scenic route would have taken me along the coast, but it was getting late and I was trying to best the darkness and my own fatigue, so I headed out on the interstate toward Acadia National Park.