Just A Glimpse

Today, like every other weekday around 3:45, I got into my same silver van, to merge onto the same Bath Route 1, while listening to the same Howie Carr. I looked at the same BIW crane as I crossed the same bridge over the Kennebec into the same stretch of Woolwich, traveling with the same bit of traffic......or so I thought ....but unknown to me, a rarely seen friend was only a car's length away.
Just before The Taste of Maine restaurant, I noticed a familiar silhouette in the car ahead of me. It was the one and only Bill Batty of Spruce Head! I pulled along side his official Midcoast Internet Solutions stationwagon and we exchanged beeps, waves and smiles before merging into one lane.


Once again, we each journeyed alone along Route 1. Now, however, with just the glimpse of a dear friend, the "sameness" of my day had dissipated and a smile was on my face. Isn't God good to give us friends like that?

A Day at the Aquarium

Taking advantage of only a couple weekends left before Jim's parents head back to Australia, we (minus Jubal, who was on a Presque Isle/Fort Kent road trip with friends) decided to go to the New England Aquarium on Saturday. It had been quite a while since our last visit, considering, now 13 year old Nolan was still being carried around in a back pack then. I've never enjoyed cities as a rule but I don't mind Boston. It still seems to retain a small town feel. Finding our way to the aquarium was extremely easy as most of the trip utilized the same roads that get us to Logan Airport. and the kids thought it was cool to drive under Boston Harbor through the 1 and 1/2 mile Ted Williams Tunnel. Parking was a breeze since there is a garage right next to Aquarium's wharf. Some of you may want to sit while reading this next portion: We arrived EARLY in the morning, not long after the aquarium opened, therefore avoiding any lines outside and enjoying uncrowded exhibits for the first couple of hours.








Because the main center ocean tank is undergoing a major renovation, the aquarium provided a complimentary IMAX tickets or us. We chose to see Under the Sea in 3D and it really was spectacular. Several times I saw Tell reach out his hand, trying to touch what seemed to be in front of him. When the sea snakes arrived on the screen, it felt a bit too real as they appeared to swim around me. In a much more pleasant scenario near the end, the feeling of reality was so strong that I thought I might feel the tickle of sea lion whiskers on my nose as it swam face to face with the audience.

We followed the unique IMAX experience with some homemade egg salad sandwiches on the wharf under a perfect New England autumn sky, before heading back in to finish exploring the exhibits.















All in all, it was a pretty perfect day.

Pit Stop

Yesterday we were a pit stop for the Indiana Romanos on their quick weekend trip to Belgrade for the annual Hammond Lumber Pig Roast. Not surprisingly, my nephew Nicholas left behind an item at the house, a Beanie Baby bat.


At the time of this writing, it is still missing but I fully expect the vortex to deposit at some point. The question is how long it will take. When they visited this summer, Nicholas brought with him a boy's treasure, a plastic Starbuck's cup filled with pond water and two eggs that he had found. Unfortunately, they got placed behind another item in my jelly cupboard and weren't found until a couple weeks ago. The discovery made for a fun hour of science on that school day.

"The President's Own"

We had the opportunity to experience the United States Marine Band last evening at Bowdoin College's Farley Field House, thanks to our friend Hope Lavender.


Each piece was flawlessly performed, from Irish pub songs to a Russian overture and all things in between. This included one our favorites from the night, Asphalt Cocktail, which made use of a garage can for percussion. If you closed your eyes you could just imagine yourself hurdling through NYC in a crazy cab ride. Then there was the well known Italian tune "Napoli" which made Jim, Nolan, Atira and I chuckle. All we could think of during the performance was Larry the Cucumber from Veggie Tales singing, "a great big squash just sat upon my hat; a great big squash just squashed my hat real flat.." Some of you will understand. One of the final songs was a crisp, rousing rendition of "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Hearing this elite band play it so impeccably was by far my favorite moment of the night. What a treat!

Candles, Catan, and Chilly Feet

A full house was the order of the day. Tell enjoyed the company of several friends, Wes, Ben and Zac, along with the family, for his 7th birthday party.



Then in the evening the family enjoyed the company of Alex Bourgoin, who arrived in time to share in the misery of a Pat's game lost in the last few minutes. After the game, Jim slipped on some shoes and we drove to pick up Nolan from youth group.


Upon arriving home, we learned that Mom had gone home barefoot because she couldn't find her shoes. The assumption was that I had accidentally put them on. As it turns out, it was actually Jim! "I thought they felt a bit small." was his reply.
With Aunt Suci headed home


and Tell dreaming of icecream cake and new Thomas trains, it was time to get down to the business of winning a game of Catan.








It's always nice to see Dad lose occasionally. Congratulations, Alex!