I must say that there seemed to be a lot less drama about the first day of school this year as compared to some previous years.
Not that there have been a lot of previous years.
The process started weeks ago with the procurement of appropriate lunch boxes, backpacks, and footwear.
Last night the girls had their last meal at the "ribs restaurant" and then headed home to pick out their outfits for tomorrow (Marni changed her mind a couple of times).
This morning we got back into the usual routine of Daddy the Drill Sargent keeping the girls on track for an on time departure.
Luckily, the monsoons that we had been experiencing for the past two days cleared up just before departure time and the sun actually poked out from behind the clouds.
We left plenty of time for photo ops and then headed for school.
I was glad to see that the school wasn't scared off by the rain and opted for outside drop-off. This gave us a chance to reunite with long-lost parents and kids while waiting to go in.
I hung out with Stella, who was thrilled to see who her teacher was (Ms. Calhoun). Lisa went to the Kindergarten line with Marni.
At 8:20, the 2nd grade headed into the building. All Stella needed was a high five, and she was off.
I then joined Lisa and Marni in Kindergarten and hung out for a while as Marni drew and we reconnected with parents from Pre-K.
I left about 15 minutes later with no protest from Marni. A little while later Lisa texted me that she had left with no tears from Marni.
I bet you thought I was talking about Marni and Stella, right?
Well, in this case, I'm talking about the little wild creatures that played a big part in this year's Maine vacation.
Number One: Sara the Ladybug...
Stella has always loved ladybugs. She finds them. Befriends them. Let's them crawl all over her. This year she found a ladybug and named her Sara.
Stella brought her home from the beach and made Sara a little house in the basement. She would go down and visit her and bring her upstairs into the cottage to "play" with everyone else. She had me look up on the Internet what ladybugs eat so that she could feed Sara (they eat aphids). She even took Sara on car rides.
A couple of days later Stella came up from the basement with sad news. She took Lisa aside and told her "Sara has passed". Then Stella burst into tears. She didn't want anyone to mention Sara's name or even talk about ladybugs after that. The next day we said prayers and buried Sara.
Number Two: Hermit Crabs...
I've been going to Old Orchard Beach for 54 years and I never knew we had hermit crabs in the surf. But our neighbor, Patrick, knew. He and his kids caught a few, which greatly amused my kids.
It took me a few days to see the hermit crabs in the surf myself. But the first person to catch one was Stella. She picked up the shell, saw it was occupied, and promptly shrieked and threw it back in the surf. When she regained her composure she located it again and placed it in a bucket. Shortly after that, I caught one. We placed my crab into the bucket. They didn't like each other and began to fight. But it was fascinating to watch.
Luckily for the crabs, we enforced a catch-and-release policy so that the crabs didn't end up dead in our basement like Sara the ladybug.
Number Three: Sharks...
While taking Stella, Marni and cousin Tyler on a trip to Camp Ellis, Lisa stumbled upon the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament. Fishermen were bringing in the shark catches and displaying them on the town dock. It was fascinating and a bit gruesome, but the kids (mostly) enjoyed it. When the knives came out for "cutting up" time, Lisa quickly moved the curious kids along to the next activity.
Number Four: Crabs...
Crabby Marni
Not hermit crabs. Real crabs.
For the past few years we've watched other families catching little (4-5 inch) green crabs at the Camp Ellis town dock. Looked like a lot of fun.
This year we did it ourselves.
Over the weeks, we gathered little nets and ropes. The kids were very excited. On "crabbing day" we grabbed a bucket and our other supplies and headed for the dock. The nice lady at the bait shop gave the girls free chopped up frozen fish ("Disgusting" according to Marni). I put the fish into two nets (along with a rock for weight) and attached the nets to the girls' jump ropes.
Don't ask me. That's what they wanted to use.
The crabs were plentiful and after about an hour of fun we had caught about 20. When we were done we let them go.
And according to Stella and Marni... crabbing was the funnest part of the vacation.
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The final weekend in Maine did not go as expected.
Hurricane Irene knocked out power at Nana and Papa Shepard's house in Natick for 5 days. This caused the cancellation of Stella and Marni's annual end-of-summer trip to Natick. Disappointing for some. But I was thrilled, because it allowed me one more weekend with my girls.
After being picked up at the airport, we did a little grocery shopping and then I took the girls to lunch at a new place on the beach... Pirate's Patio. The rest of Friday was spent playing on the beach. Glorious!
Stella: When being crabby is ok.
Stella and Marni finally got to do some crabbing on Saturday. We headed down to the town dock at Camp Ellis with our home made crabbing equipment. The nice lady at the bait shop gave the girls some free chopped up fish. And away we went!
Our first few "casts" we not successful, but within a few minutes we had our first bite. No one was more surprised than Daddy!
As soon as we pulled up the first crab, both girls went screeching up the ramp and off the dock. They eventually returned and repeated this reaction a few more times (entertaining the other people on the dock greatly). We called it quits about an hour later and let the little critters go. Lots of fun.
After a quick lunch of pizza and ice cream in downtown OOB, we headed back to the beach until sundown. Another glorious day.
Then... it was Sunday. Packing up and moving out day.
Luckily, Cousin Janet agreed to take the girls to the beach while we packed and cleaned the cottage. The kids came back from the beach around 2 and we were pulling out of OOB by 4.
And yes, there were tears.
We did an overnight at Nana and Papa Shepard's in Natick. On Monday morning we continued a new tradition of adding this year's sea shells to a "shell garden" in Nana and Papa's pine grove.
By 4 o'clock we were back in Brooklyn. The girls quickly reacquainted themselves with their long lost toys. All of them. All at the same time.
I took the girls for a walk in the "hood" and we picked up some pizza for dinner. By 8:30 they were tucked into their beloved bunk beds and drifting off to sleep.
So ended the 2011 summer in Maine. The first summer in our wonderful new cottage.
We are truly blessed.
This post contains video that is only viewable from the website. So go there.
Mother Nature wreaked a little havoc with the beginning of week 4 in Maine. Bad weather delayed my flight out on Friday night and I didn't step foot into the cottage until 4 am. Three hours later the kids came storming into the bedroom to greet me. So much for sleep.
We celebrated my return to the cottage with one of our favorite bike rides to Camp Ellis. Nice, flat roads... pretty scenery... and yummy seafood at Huots. The girls romped up and down the stone jetty and then we went over to check out the crabbing action at the town dock. The return trip included a stop in Ocean Park for ice cream and shuffle board (not at the same time). This year the girls were introduced to Raspberry Lime Rickeys. Loved them!
On Sunday, Nana and Papa Shepard joined us for an overnight visit and we inaugurated our new charcoal grill. It's been a long time since I've used charcoal and the girls were fascinated with the process.
And then... it was time for the "Vacation from the Vacation"!
Last year I got it into my head to take the girls to Mount Washington in 2011. Not sure why. But we headed for the White Mountains early on Monday morning. The ride was pretty, via roads we had never traveled before.
We arrived around lunch time and as soon as we stepped out of the car the girls realized that we were not in Kansas anymore. It was cold, wet and windy as we ran for the restaurant.
For those who have never seen the Mount Washington Hotel, it is quite an impressive sight. There were ear-shattering shrieks as the 109 year old grand hotel came into view. It helped that the hotel kind of looks like a princess palace.
We wandered through the awesome lobby as our room was readied and then the girls got to "drive" the manually-operated elevator up to the 4th floor.
Our room happened to be located in one of the two towers of the hotel. And when you have rooms in a round-shaped tower, you end up with odd-shaped rooms. Our crescent-shaped room was wacky and amazing. The girls loved it. We even ended up with a view of the mountain.
Stella summed up the hotel as follows...
"Some old places are, you know, like rusty. But this old place is WOW!"
Off to play in every one of the three hotel pools. One inside and two outside. My little fish loved it.
Hot chocolate and olives on the back veranda and then time to dress for fancy dinner.
We all got into our fancy clothes and headed for dinner in the formal dining room. Lots of excitement and smiles from Stella and Marni. We ate, and we danced to the small band. As can be expected, Marni put on quite a show on the dance floor.
The next morning we were up early to catch the first steam train up to the top of Mount Washington on the Cog Railroad.
I had warned the ladies how cold and windy it would be up there, but they were just not prepared to experience 37 degree weather with 40 mile per hour winds.
We dragged the frozen kids up the last 25 feet to the official top of the mountain for a photo op and then we hightailed it for the cafeteria and hot chocolate.
After the train ride back down to the bottom of the mountain, we headed to the hotel for check-out and then headed over to Franconia Notch State Park... a place that I hadn't visited since childhood.
We rode the tram to the top of Cannon Mountain and did a quick hike. Then we took a 2 mile hike at The Flume Gorge. Spectacular.
On Thursday the New Jersey Hoffmans came for their visit. Lots of fun in the sun.
On Sunday Hurricane Irene paid us a visit.
By the time Irene got to Maine she was all tired out from ravaging the more southern and western states. By afternoon we were so bored with it all that we headed to the movies to catch Spy Kids 4.
On Monday the Hoffmans headed home and I enjoyed a bonus day with the kids thanks to a hurricane-delayed flight.
Meanwhile, the end of summer is slowly creeping up on us.
Raspberry Lime Rickey time
Tips on lighting a charcoal grill
Ready for fancy dinner at The Mount Washington Hotel
Unhappy popsicles at the top of Mount Washington
Cousins
Cowabunga baby!
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