Orono, Island, ME

The fog can be so unusual here. When we looked out in one direction from our Galley Cove anchorage on Tuesday morning, August 20, it was very clear, but looking in the opposite direction it was totally foggy!

I was supposed to have a Spanish lesson but the internet connection was so spotty that we had to cancel and reschedule. In the meantime, Jonny had taken Archie in for a walk.  By 10:20 we left our beautiful anchorage in Galley Cove (one of the best we’ve been to) and headed out. The weather was foggy and drizzly but we planned to have a short cruise.  We had scoped out several anchorages near Orno, Buckle and Mackerel Islands which Dan had also endorsed.  The weather deteriorated to full-on rain. I thought we might drive from below in the salon but the radar split screen and our visibility is not as good down there as it is on the flybridge. So Archie and I stayed warm and cozy down below while Jonny stayed above on the flybridge. I encouraged him to turn back and wait until the next day but he felt confident to proceed.

We kept going until we got close to the three anchorages we were considering,  We cruised by Opeche Island which was a fourth possibility but it didn’t appeal to us because it was too open. Then we checked out Orno Island which we liked a lot though it wasn’t quite as special as Gulley Cove. There was a mooring ball that we could grab for free so that’s what we did.  It turned out to be a lovely anchorage.  We were surrounded by three islands - Orono, Asa and Swan. 

By this time it had stopped raining so we dinghied over to nearby Buckle Island which was supposed to have great trails. The trails were covered in green moss and it felt like we were walking on the softest carpeting. 

As we hiked we discovered a number of little fairy houses nestled on the side of the trail in various states of disrepair. We had read about them in the Maine guidebook. They were whimsical little shin-high creations  made out of sticks, shells, rocks and leaves.  They were delightful!

At one point early in our hike the trail was blocked by a full sized green door, just like one you might see in a home. We tried to open it to no avail.  We couldn’t go under it, we couldn’t go over it, and we couldn’t go through it so we just went around it.  What fun!  As you can imagine, it was a fun hike!

That afternoon I caught up on blog posts and made a delicious Pasta e Ceci (chickpea) dinner.  We settled in to watch the second night of the Democratic Convention.  Who knew a political convention should be so entertaining? Michelle and Barack Obama capped it off, each with fantastic speeches!