Maine State Passport Stamps #5 and #6 and Old Fort Western

When I woke up, I already knew the latter half of this day would be busy with Jubal's Semi-Final soccer game in Windham (which they won) and a Family Movie Night at church. After an early morning text from Meghan G. with a last minute invitation to join her homeschool group for a presentation at Old Fort Western, I knew I would be welcoming my bed when this time of the night arrived.......and indeed, I was correct. So in the name of brevity and sleep, most of this post will be in photo form.

We spent about an hour and a half at Augusta's Old Fort Western, the oldest wooden fort in the U.S. There was some great hands-on learning. The kids enjoyed making a shingle and checking out an old general store but with the late autumn wind nipping at us, we were glad to come into an 18th century kitchen, complete with a cozy fire.













Once the fire was built up, the kids ground their own cinnamon and sugar for some tasty homemade toast as well as stirring some delicious spiced hot apple cider while listening to our guide share about life in 1754.

After leaving the kitchen, we entered the weaving room and all the kids had a chance to add one row of thread to the ongoing bolt of fabric that will be made into some towels for their kitchen.










With the work done, our final immersion into colonial life consisted of some children's recreation: pick-up-sticks, bean bag tossing and a ball &cup. Even over 250 years later, some games are still fun.

Finished with the fort, we picked up lunch on the run and headed an hour south toward Sebago to stamp our next two passport destinations: Sebago Lake and the Songo Lock. It was very strange not to see any other person at Sebago, which is packed in the summer.






Sebago stamped, we drove a few hundred feet down the road to Songo Locks, which was also deserted. Yesterday, while reading Paddle-To-The-Sea, I had been explaining how the Great Lake's Soo Lock worked, so this was a great small scale visual for Atira and Tell.












The Songo Lock also holds a very special memory for me because, in the 80's, my paternal grandparents lived in a log cabin just down the road from the Songo Locks. In 1983 my brother and I stayed with them for a week and in addition to wading into Crooked River, dusting BauBau's nicknack collection, watching the TV-edited Fatso, and (seriously) taking a macrame class, we walked down to the Locks with BauBau to watch the small boats pass through. With one leg shorter than the other, even in her younger years, it was painful for her to get around a lot. She isn't a complainer, though and we never realized her effort until we were older. I'm thankful for the memories of time spent with grandparents on both sides of my family. It's a blessing.