We stayed in a beautiful harbor in Casco Bay, our first stop in Maine.  We had perfect days and crisp night air.  The scenery is not to be believed in Maine.  Their license plates boast “Vacationland” and the bumper stickers say, “Maine, the way life is supposed to be” – both true.  We had a mooring at Handy Boat Marina with a free launch boat to bring you in and back – such a luxury not to have to splash the dinghy.  The showers, laundry and bathroom facilities, all brand spanking new, were the cleanest we have seen in a year.

We restocked here in hopes that we could just live off the boat fridge for our next passage and beyond as we went up to Acadia National Park.  We walked a few miles to get to the grocery store and Walmart (which I mention because it usually conjures images of strip malls and highway) and it was one of the most beautiful treks ever taken.  Tall, tall trees on both sides, sometimes we walked over water that spread wide beneath us, kayakers galore.

Troubadour on her mooring in Casco Bay

As we sat in the harbor and watched the sunset, Graham and I counted all the different colored hulls.  In Georgia, I wrote about the ANN-KRISTIN, a red-hulled boat, notable for its name and its color.  In Falmouth, on our mooring, we saw at least 5 red boats and several that were green and bright blue.  Maine is full of beautiful, brightly colored boats.  People are very into the water here.  Matt was on shore running an errand and came across a Yoga class.  Nothing unusual except the class was on paddle boards!

Yoga class on paddle boards

Before we left for Acadia, we had lunch with Shelly, Matt’s high school gal pal from Iowa who lives an hour south of where we were anchored.  She is a kick in the pants and we all enjoyed our time at the restaurant at Handy Boat which has a 180 degree panoramic view of the harbor. She came out to the boat and loved it; of course we had fluffed our throw pillows for her arrival.

Amy, Shelly, Matt, and Graham after a relaxing lunch on the water.