Home Again

Well, it's nice to be home again, even if all that has meant so far is a barrage of ants, yardwork, rain and a dead mouse. Vacation was good, though, and although I always approach family vacation with trepidation (I can't be well-behaved for that long!), it was fun. We ate well, despite Dad's constant commentary on how much we were eating and how little he normally eats, we slept well, we saw moose, the Maine Maritime Museum, a baby groundhog, and the Great North Woods. Personally, I'd go just about anywhere to see a baby groundhog small enough to fit in a shoe bobbling around with his little bottle-brush tail. And, on the last day, I managed to snag some white chocolate bread pudding from The Common Man in Merrimack. (Excellent restaurant, by the way - a small New Hampshire chain that is definitely worth a stop. Or two - they were our first stop and our last!) We spent our first two nights with Hilary and Derrek at the Admiral Peary House in Fryeburg up in the cozy North Pole room at the top of the house. We have to get back to Fryeburg for the fair in the fall sometime, in part because I believe it is the inspiration for the fair depicted by E.B. White in Charlotte's Web. I plan to visit for all the reasons Templeton visited....


After driving up Mt. Washington, only to be buffeted about by 60+ mph winds (pictures of the two of us staggering around like drunkards on the lookout deck at Mt. Washington in the winds will be here soon), and a moose tour in Gorham (where the moose were all confoundingly picturesque AND camera-shy), we meandered over to the coast and spent a night with Mike and De at the Five Gables Inn in East Boothbay. We visited the Breakwater lighthouse in Camden and the Owl's Head lighthouse south of Rockland, dawdled around the coast, gorged ourselves on one of Mike's breakfasts, and spent an afternoon at the Maine Maritime Museum, whose name belies their fabulous collection of marine and folk art.

Flights were uneventful and, even better, on time, and we straggled in on Sunday afternoon, grateful to be home again. Maybe that's the best reason for travel - no matter how nice the place, it doesn't compare to faded quilts, creaky floors and noisy cats. A few days away always renews my sense of appreciation for the peace and sanctity of my own home. With today's grey skies and endless damp, I plan to make a little time to curl up with a novel under a blanket on the couch and just be grateful for far-flung places and for home and for being able to find my way back again.