Summertime, and the living is busy.

MAINE SUMMER

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There is so much going on in our area of Maine in the summer. It’s like Mainers cram in a whole year’s worth of events into 12 weeks of great weather. Well, the weather is not always great, but it’s pretty good.

The people of Maine are so welcoming and friendly. From a chance phone call to an iconic Rockport luthier, Nikos Apollonio, we were invited to his house for a delicious salmon and lamb dinner, and of course to see his amazing collection of instruments. He is a local legend and has credits for making guitars for folk performers, including maritime singer Gordon Bok, and Paul Stookey of Peter Paul and Mary. In fact, the next day Paul was meeting him for lunch.

Apollonio makes so many different instruments from bouzoukis to violins to guitars (both 6 and 12-strings) https://nikosapollonio.com. Marvin was particularly interested in his 12-string instruments. One of his styles is a bell-shaped guitar inspired by the guitar Robert Frost played.

Lisa and Nate - 50 years!

Since our last post, we have been exploring a bit by car and boat. It was a great experience to attend the 50th wedding anniversary celebration extravaganza for Lee’s cousin Nate and Lisa in Exeter, New Hampshire. We enjoyed connecting with other guests and more cousins and their families, finding we have much in common. Their party was perfect with excellent food and a live band in an historic venue. The day after, they hosted a terrific brunch in their lovely home.

Cousins Steve and Betsy

Nate and Lisa arranged a tour of a private sculpture park, Alnoba, in nearby Kensington https://alnoba.org/art-collection for a pre-party activity.

Leaving our slip at Rockland, we took the water route a short way up the Penobscot Bay to spend a couple days in Camden at the Lyman-Morse Marina. Like Journeys End Marina and the Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, they can handle about any repair or build from the keel to the wind vane.

From Lyman-Morse we wandered the touristy shops, art galleries, and restaurants, and oogled the splendid display of boats in the harbor. Next to us was a 1930 vintage 73-ft commuter yacht built in Michigan by Defoe Shipbuilding. Its varnish was mirror-like and the refit the yard had done was amazing. https://www.lymanmorse.com/refit-services/scout

Historic schooners and sloops at the town dock were busy taking customers out every few hours on two-hour sails. These magnificent old gaff-rigged boats are still working hard. They were never short of enthusiastic clients wanting to get an experience at sea.

We checked in at the gallery that will be displaying Marvin’s Maine paintings and were happy to see one of his works already framed and hanging, just in time for the monthly Thursday Art Walk in Camden. Alas, it would have been better to have not seen it and be told it was sold. https://smallwondergallery.com

While in Camden we noticed a poster advertising a vaudeville show to be held in the beautiful, historic Camden Opera House. We purchased tickets and would return in a few days to see the show. The group, Happenstance Theater, from the Washington, DC area, performed “Moxie”, a Maine-themed show reminiscent of this popular form of entertainment for 1880s-1930s, prior to motion pictures.

Upon catching the wonderful show and corny jokes and skits, we met the performers and discussed the history of vaudeville. We were very interested to get insight into the act since Marvin’s grandmother and her two sisters were performers in Maine, circa 1910.

The Happenstance Theater group https://www.happenstancetheater.com was very gracious and interested in what Marvin knew of his grandmother and great aunt’s participation. “Nanny” didn’t say much about her theatrical past, except she and her sisters would sometimes travel by train and they sang and danced in shows. The troupe in Camden exclaimed that “Sister Acts” were the most popular in the vaudeville shows. It was great to have a glimpse of the past to spark our imagination.

From Camden, we cruised a bit further up the Penobscot to Belfast to catch a Celtic Music Festival. It was hot for Maine. In fact, it was hot for 2 Floridians, but so enjoyable to hear various folk groups perform heritage music in traditional and contemporary arrangements.

Our new friend Nikos invited us to a special jam session after the day’s activities. So many musicians, so many instruments – fiddles, banjos, bouzoukis, guitars, drum, flutes, uilleann pipes, spoons and accordions (even a mouth harp!) - 30 or more players assembled into an impromptu Celtic orchestra.

Fireworks set from the pedestrian bridge over the Passagassawakeag River

We met some interesting folks on our dock at the Front Street Shipyard in Belfast. A Kentucky gentleman with a pristine wood ketch, a mega yacht owner that was acting as one of his own crew, and a Texan who summered in Maine on his boat. It’s easy to find camaraderie across economic and social strata when the common denominator is boats and the sea.

From Belfast, we raced back to Rockland, quickly tying up the boat to get to another special event, a book release party at the Sail, Steam, and Power Maritime Museum https://www.sailpowersteammuseum.org. Under a big tent, a group of boat and music enthusiasts came to support Maine authors and musicians, Julia Lane and Peter Gosbee, who had just published an anthology of sea ballads and shanties. Several talented singers and musicians played renditions of these songs to delight the crowd.

We saw there were other music opportunities and festivals that we just couldn’t fit in. We are thankful we got to see so much and meet so many folks. It is the antidote to the divisiveness and incomprehensibly disgusting political situation that is eroding our national unity, civility, and democracy. Maybe the insurrectionists should be sentenced to be immersed into the truly welcoming woke-ness and common sense of these Mainers.

Ragged Island is a small Island with just a few lobstermen and summer homes a mile or so from Matinicus Island. The old store, now community library, is the center of the settlement and focal point for the residents. With no year-round residents, the island is inhabited from March until December. Everyone is self-sufficient with solar or generators and a cistern water supply. There is no commercialization; it is authentically quaint and unspoiled.

This year we returned to Ragged Island and Criehaven while taking Pat, Judy and their associate Krystyna out to see puffins at Matinicus Rock. Puffins nest on several rocky remote islands from May to August, well offshore from the mainland. We were lucky to see dozens this year! Last year we visited too late and only saw two. Note that Matinicus Rock is a different location from Matinicus Island, but shares the name because the rock is offshore of the island.

Pat, Judy, and Krystyna

On the horizon we look forward to seeing cruising friends Pat and Frank join us for new experiences along the coast. Maybe we can get back to Criehaven to explore a bit more or Roque Island that has been on our list of places to visit.