The beginning of the "real world"

Chris at the Sea Dog's game

Before I got the chance to sleep for sixteen hours after graduation, we went to a Sea Dog's game. This was the boys' second Sea Dog's game of the vacation, but that's not that bad - there's always the section of regulars in the stand that keep scorecards and talk loudly about what happened at last week's game. After the game we dropped Rich off at the airport, then went back to the Old Port for some sushi, then dropped Dad back at the airport too. Then I slept for sixteen hours.

The following day was spent doing 'Maine' things, such as eating lobster rolls and fried clams and other seafood, and sitting on Popham beach. Popham is about half an hour north of Bowdoin, but is totally worth the drive. It's the closest thing we have to a beach like you'd find in Massachusetts or further south. Other beaches are a little muddy, or don't have a view of the open ocean. At Popham, we got our tans on. Well, Chris and I did. Mom read and Papa slept. All the while, the tide was creeping in. We were on a more remote part of the beach, but our walkway was becoming engulfed in water. So we packed up and headed out, but not before stopping at the little convenience store at the far end of the beach. There, Mom got her lobster roll that she'd been lusting after, which we ate at the picnic tables on the beach.

Popham Beach
Chris getting his man tan on

"Man Tan" - helping Chris to become a bronzed god

Pale people

Eating fried clams at Popham

Popham has cannons from when it used to be a fort (to protect from Canadians?...unclear.)

That afternoon we spent time saying hi/bye to Allen and Hunter. I'm glad the family got to meet them, even though it was brief. Allen recommended this restaurant called The Dolphin which was down the road in Harpswell. He gave us directions, but with the disclaimer that roads in Maine often turn into dirt roads without notice and stop being labeled so well (which I have discovered for myself many times). Luckily, Maine is full of signs, which we followed to the restaurant.

It was a little chilly to eat outside, but we enjoyed the view from inside anyway. Our dinner was quite tasty - Papa had local Maine shrimp, which are apparently very tiny. Everything was delightful, and a perfect ending to the Maine trip with the family.

The view from the Dolphin, a fabulous little restaurant in Harpswell, Maine

Outside of the Dolphin

Chairs on the deck outside of the Dolphin. Too bad it was a little chilly for sitting

The next day was the day my family flew out of Boston, but not until the evening. So we took our time going down the coast. We stopped in Kennebunkport, where it poured. Then in York at the Nubble (Cape Neddick) lighthouse, where Papa and Mona had visited years ago. We even ate in the restaurant where they had eaten!

Sadly, we then parted ways. Mom, Papa and Chris went towards Boston down 95 in the rental car, I took 495 down to Worcester...except I didn't quite make it, because Dan called and informed me that we were heading to the Sox game that night, so we met up in Westboro and headed back east towards Boston. The Sox lost.

The Nubble! Mona would be proud

My next noteworthy adventure came in June, when I decided on a whim to go to a concert. The 50 cent concert, to be precise, which was in Lewiston, Maine. I met up with my friends Megan and Kate, and their friend Andrew. It was quite the adventure. Lewiston, where Bates is located, is not the best of towns. Being a rap concert, the concert itself was inherently interesting. We had to be frisked for guns at the door and couldn't bring lighters inside. There were a ton of pregnant teenage girls, and people who had made this a family outing (it was Fathers' day, after all).

The biggest adventure, however, was while we were driving home. Kate got hit by a deer. No, she didn't hit the deer. The deer ran straight into her. There's actually a great Gilmore Girls episode where Rory gets hit by a deer while she's sitting at a stop sign, which is funny because the two deer-related incidents that I have ever witnessed have both been where the deer kamakazis the car. Anyway, Kate swerved but the deer kept going, straight into her car. It rolled off the hood, tried to get up, and then collapsed. You don't really understand how large deer are until they're rolling off of the hood of your friends car. My favorite part was that when the sheriff finally arrived, the first thing he asked was whether or not we wanted to keep the deer for meat. No, we did not. But someone did, because the next morning as we were driving to the swimming hole, it was gone.

Megan and Andrew, getting psyched for the 50 cent concertKate's excited too

Kate's car got hit by a deer. She tried to swerve, but it insisted on running directly into her.

It broke the headlight and everything!

The swimmin' hole in Bath, Maine

June came and went, and July rolled around. By this point I was working "full" time and having a hard time finding time/excuses to have adventures. Luckily, Dan's family invited us to go to NYC for 4th of July weekend. Dan's grandmother lives on Long Island, just outside of the city, and his aunt and uncle live right at Ground Zero. We spent the day shopping, eating pizza, and then escaping the city before the fireworks started and crowds gathered. It'd been a very long time since I'd been to New York, and it's tons of fun! But exhausting. There's so much going on that I wanted to see! Dan and I were only there for one full day, but it was a very nice little adventure.

The only two pictures I took of NYC from our 4th of July trip

My last adventure before our annual trip to Rockport was hanging out in Boston with some kids from my abroad program. Kiersten was teaching at a program outside of Boston, Bryce moved to Boston for the year, I was in Worcester, and Justin lives in New Hampshire. We all met in the city for the day, where we tooled around before heading to MIT with Kiersten's friend, Jordan. All in all, it was a beautiful day.

IES Freiburg meets up in Boston!