After the early mornings at camp, I slept in at my motel this morning. I had retrieved the keys by myself in the dark the evening before and in the light, it was clear the Isleview Motel & Cottages was another winner, charming, clean, quiet, and conveniently located near Acadia National Park. The previous four days had worn me out and torn up my feet, so I was grateful for a day dedicated to a semi-retired friend who had summered in the area for decades. Peggy was my academic adviser when I was an undergraduate at the University of Dayton, more than 30 years before. She came to the Midwest from the East Coast, and she would typically disappear to Maine for months of every summer. I felt like I should get a stamp in my passport for finally getting to visit the Maine house. It was good to put my day in her hands after being so active.
Her house in Sullivan was beautiful, built in the 1950s with a view of Schoodic Bay. It was a lodge from its time, with gorgeous woodwork throughout the living room and kitchen, and a radio built into the bookshelves. First, Peggy took me for a tour of the house and the property, which has a number of overlooks of the bay and steps down to the beach below. Peggy keeps a canoe at the beach and rows most days for exercise.
After seeing the house, Peggy and I headed out along the bay, moving south and east along the coast, stopping for pictures along the picturesque way, and catching up on our lives. She explained how the herring population has disappeared, and along with it, the sardine industry that once thrived there.
We stopped frequently to see the sites, and paused for lunch at Corea, a little fishing village where I had a lobster grilled cheese. We visited numerous beaches, some part of Arcadia National Park and others public.
We circled back to Sullivan for dinner, and stopped off at the garden store, where the clerk filled me in on her life story and her uncertainty about whether she would stay or leave once she hit her five year mark.
Peggy cooked a delicious meal of crab cakes while I sat with her husband discussing the state of the world over drinks. We dined elegantly. I had originally thought I would head to the National Park for a program on stars that evening, but decided to put off the touring until the next day. I was glad to be off my feet and not have a schedule. Peggy sent me off before dark so that I would be off the country roads, and I landed back at the motel ready for more sleep. It had been an abundant and easy day.