Five Islands, ME

We took one last walk through South Portland on Friday, August 2 passing this interesting sounding brewery.

Leaving the dock at 8:30, we passed this osprey nest.  

It was a perfect  summer day with calm seas as we made our way to our next anchorage. After a little over four hours we arrived at a beautiful area known as Five Islands in Georgetown.

The harbor was good-sized with lots of moorings.  The town provides several moorings for visitors and we chose one close to the dinghy dock.  This was the first time we had seen the unusual arrangement of a can tied to the mooring. Boaters are requested to make a donation for using the mooring.

After having lunch on board we dinghied in to shore to explore,  This location, nestled among five islands, is a popular spot with mostly day boaters.  Most of the boats were considerably smaller than ours - we were definitely one of the biggest boats in the harbor.

At dockside there was a lobster shack that sold lobster, clams, fish, etc. that you could eat there or take back to your boat.

We took Archie for a walk up the hill to a very popular and charming little gourmet store. It was well-stocked with all kinds of interesting foods including lots of local produce. We filled our knapsack with an assortment of goodies even though we had just gone grocery shopping in Portland.

From there, we walked back down the hill in search of a walking trail that we had read about. The trail provided us with a pleasant walk through a conservation area and Archie got to be off leash so he was happy. 

Our plan included coming back at dinner time to get a lobster dinner from the lobster shack and bringing it back to Zendo to eat and that’s exactly what we did. While waiting for our order we strolled around the dock. This is a very popular place this time of year!

Back onboard Zendo we feasted on those delicious 1.5 lb. lobsters and the accompanying cole slaw. We had bought corn on the cob at the market but we were too full to eat it that evening.   Sitting on the aft deck eating a lobster dinner is the quintessential way to end a day on the fabulous coast of Maine!

S. Portland, ME

We got an early start on Wednesday, July 31 leaving our Saco River mooring by 7:30 to head for Portland. It was a cloudy day and the seas were quite rolly. 

Fortunately, we only had a three hour cruise to get to our reservation at South Point Marina in South Portland which is right across from Portland. As we approached our destination we passed the Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse which was constructed in 1791.

It was a relief to arrive at the marina after only three hours. And it always feels a little luxurious to be able to plug in, to use AC if needed, and not to have to take a dinghy into shore!  We can also get a lot done - boat chores and repairs, laundry, shopping, etc. 

We were excited to get together that evening with my old friend from Fairfield, Glenn Austin (we were in home room together for four years) and his wife Dee, who live about forty minutes away. I only see Glenn every ten years at our high school reunion.  Jonny also knows Glenn because the three of us went to UConn together.  But this was the first time I got to spend any time with Dee and it was such a pleasure getting to know her. They came over to see Zendo and have a drink and then they brought us to have dinner at DiMillo’s on the Water, a famous seafood restaurant in Portland. We had a delicious dinner and caught up on each other’s lives, 

The next day we took an Uber to bring Archie for his 9 a.m. grooming appointment in a nearby town. While he was busy being groomed I indulged myself in a mani-pedi and browsed through the nearby stores - WalMart,  Marshall’s and Homegoods where I effectively refrained from buying anything of note.

Archie got quite a haircut - next time we’ll make sure they don’t cut it quite as short! See the before and after photos below. He looks so skinny when he gets a haircut, but at least he won’t need another one for a long time!

We got back to Zendo just in time to catch another Uber because Jonny and I had a lunch date at our favorite restaurant in Portland called Central Provisions.  We had been there twice before and loved its creative offerings and its intimate, comfy ambiance.  It did not disappoint!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to explore Portland more during this visit. On our return trip we’ll make it a point to spend more time in this cool city.

The rest of the day was spent trip planning, doing chores and shopping that can only be done at a marina.  Jonny was a gem having done all the grocery shopping - something he actually loves to do!  We’ll be leaving the next day to continue our journey up the coast to down east Maine. 

Saco River, ME

We left Newburyport at 7:30 on Tuesday, July 30 for a fairly long day’s journey up the coast. The skies were overcast and we had a very rolly passage due to ocean swells.  We considered making it a shorter trip but decided to push on because the following day was going to be worse.  During passages like this Jonny is at the helm the whole time (as he usually is) but he had to be much more attentive due into the rolling seas and the many lobster pots that have to be avoided.  I usually like to keep busy blogging, reading or doing needlepoint but when the conditions are like this all I can do is hold on to Archie (who is glued to me) and keep my eyes on the horizon.

We passed the New Hampshire coast and crossed into Maine and as we got closer to our destination we saw this scenic lighthouse called Wood Island Light. Sometime between 1886 and 1905 the keeper, Thomas H. Orcutt, had a dog named Sailor who became famous for ringing the station’s fog bell with  his mouth or paws. He was supposedly very intelligent and was known for understanding all that was said to him (unlike another dog that we know)!

We continued on until we came to the Sago River where there is a tiny vacation community called Camp Ellis.  The nearby beach was filled with happy vacationers. We arrived by 3 and heaved a big sigh of relief.

Jonny took Archie in right away for a walk and made our contribution to the town dock master since they don’t charge a formal mooring fee. 

Camp Ellis is a small community with mostly summer homes and this cute little general store.

That evening I made a dinner of sausage, pasta and salad and we had a quiet evening on board.

The next day, which was Wednesday, we needed to get to Portland because we had a 9 a.m. grooming appointment for Archie the following morning. It’s been very challenging to be able to get a grooming appointment for him because we are constantly on the move. Just like doctors, many of the groomers along the coast here are not taking new clients so I was lucky to get this appointment time which had to be made weeks in advance!

Newburyport, MA

We took a final walk through Rockport on Sunday morning, July 28.  We strolled up to a spot overlooking the harbor that a friendly woman had shown us the last time we were here.  The view from the rocky outcroppings was beautiful!  Returning to Zendo we took off for Newburyport by 10:45. It was a good day, the seas were flat and calm and we had a pleasant cruise up the Massachusetts coast.

We arrived in Newburyport by 1:15 and grabbed a mooring that had been arranged for us by a friend of Joe Apicella because this was a very busy time for Newburyport - it was the Yankee Homecoming.  This is a week long celebration with all kinds of activities for families in the area. There were lots of food stalls, face painting  and other activities for kids, art exhibitions and music in the park every night. We took the dinghy to the main dock in this historic town located up the Merrimack River from the coast. Newburyport is a very popular town for tourists with lots of attractive stores and restaurants.

We got a kick out of this sign in one of the pet shops.

We stopped at a restaurant called the Sea Level Oyster Bar to have a drink and an appetizer. It had an appealing outdoor area which made for good people watching. We had delicious Rode Island style calamari for a nibble before heading back to Zendo.

That evening after dinner Jonny brought Archie into town and stopped by the concert in the park that was featuring a Billy Joel cover band.  We could hear some of the music onboard Zendo but I skipped the outing that evening.

The next day, MTOA members Curt and Cathy Downing came by for a visit. They live over an hour away but they have a Heritage East just a couple of years older than ours and they wanted to see Zendo.  Curt and Jonny talked mechanics and repairs while Cathy and I talked about books and our families. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, but we put on our raincoats and went to a local pub called The Grog for lunch. The rain lightened up enough to walk around town since they had never been to Newburyport. The rain put somewhat of a damper on the festivities that afternoon but we had fun strolling and chatting before it was time for them to leave.

Luckily, the rain stopped altogether and after having dinner onboard we went in to hear the band that was playing on the green that evening. They were not as good as the Billy Joel band so we just walked around a bit before heading back for an early night.

Rockport, MA

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, July 27 as we left our Gloucester mooring at 8 a.m. bound for Rockport. We passed the Thacher Island Twin Lights off the east coast of Cape Ann. They were erected in 1771 and appropriately nicknamed “Ann’s Eyes.” All the attendees of the recent MTOA Rendezvous received a copy of The Lighthouse Handbook of New England and the Canadian Maritimes so now we can learn about the scores of lighthouses we are passing on our cruise.   Fun fact about these lighthouses is that they were the first ones in America to mark a dangerous spot rather than a harbor entrance. 

 We also passed Straitsmouth Island Light that guides ships into the busy harbor of Pigeon Cove in Rockport.

By 2:15 we found an anchorage in Rockport Harbor by the beach that was full of people enjoying the warm summer day.  After a couple of attempts to set the anchor in what seemed to be a very rocky bottom, we found a spot where it held.  Our anchorage was across from the town’s performing arts center featuring a huge window with a view of the harbor.

We made the short dinghy ride to the inner harbor and tied up at the dinghy dock. The tides here are quite dramatic and with no floating dinghy docks there are places that one has to climb a very tall ladder attached to the rocky walls. 

Rockport is yet another beautiful town on Cape Ann with colorful shops, old houses, and lots of tourists. 

As we strolled down the Main Street we went by the iconic Modif #1, the red boat house made famous by many Cape Ann artists.  It is considered to be  the most painted building in the world!

As we continued to the less touristy part of town we found the shops and galleries to be much more to our liking. So much so that I succumbed to buying a blouse at an attractive shop called Flax.  Jonny and Archie patiently waited in the comfortable porch chairs with another gentleman and his dogs doing the same while his wife was also inside. 

That evening our MTOA friends, Scott and Mary Coles, came by and we all went out to dinner at a restaurant in Gloucester called the Salt Water Grill and Pub.  It was hard to get a reservation on a Saturday night in July in this bustling vacation spot but we obviously were successful. We enjoyed our evening together exchanging cruising stories.  They live in nearby Ipswich but keep their boat in Stuart, FL and spend the winter on it in the Bahamas. 

Heading back to Zendo, we made the long climb down the ladder to the dinghy since the tide was very low.  We always enjoy our time in the charming, artsy town of Rockport. Our next stop is beautiful Newburyport.