The Basin, ME

We awoke gratefully to clear skies on Monday, August 26. As is often our habit while we are on anchor, Jonny took Archie in for a walk while I did some chores. He discovered an old cemetery that we missed the previous day. The graveyard included the headstones of Andrew Wyeth and his wife Betsy and many of the Olson family (Christina from the famous painting). Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his phone.

By 9 a.m. we left this very serene Maple Juice Cove anchorage bound for The Basin. Though the forecast called for intermittent rain, we only had the briefest of sprinkles until later in the day.  We cruised through Muscongus Bay passing Bristol and Booth Bay Harbor.

We also went by three lighthouses.  The first was Pemaquid Point Light.  Interestingly, the keeper’s house was converted to a Fisherman’s Museum.  A second floor apartment there is available to rent by the week. That could be a fun thing to do. I was too far away to get a good photo so I’m including one from my lighthouse reference book.

We also passed by Ram’s Island Light and Cuckolds Light. There are 75 lighthouses in Maine, more than any other state in the U.S.

We ate lunch on board and arrived at The Basin on the New Meadows River at 2:30.  This is a supremely protected anchorage in a very large basin of water encircled by some homes on one side and a large reserve on the other.  Literally scores of boats could anchor here but we were one of only four or five. Many lobster pots surrounded us as the lobster season is still in full force here in Maine.

Always wanting to explore, we dinghied along the rocky shore and found a place to tie up.

There was a dirt logging-type road that we hiked on avoiding the mosquito-filled woods on either side. Of course, Archie didn’t care and ran with abandon through the deciduous forest. 

When we returned to Zendo, I did some of my Spanish homework and Jonny did a little more trip planning. He also made a delicious dinner of lamb chops, zucchini and carrots all done on the grill which we enjoyed amidst this stunning sunset.

We watched a Greta Gerwig/Noah Baumbach  movie called Mistress America which eventually grew on us.  By the end of the movie, fog had crept in and we were completely surrounded with no visibility at all!