Merchant Row near Stonington and now Perry Creek

As I begin write this post I am sitting in a community center on North Haven where we are spending a few days in nearby Perry Creek, one of our favorite little harbors.  Since leaving Frenchboro we have gone up to Blue Hill, back to Merchant Row and now here to North Haven.  It's been a bit frustrating not to have the ability to do a post due to weak cell coverage but I will try to make up for lost time now.

With hurricane Irene headed up the coast, we hope to secure a spot in the inner harbor in Camden by Saturday to be ready to ride out the tropical storm/hurricane conditions that are expected to hit on Sunday and carry through to Monday.  The forecast is for sustained winds to 40kts and higher gusts.  Out in the Gulf of Maine they are expecting seas to near 20' and gusts to 70. That's not a place that I'd like to be.  The conditions that we will likely see in a harbor will be exciting enough.  If we can't get into the inner harbor at Camden we will have to find somewhere else to go, perhaps Pulpit Harbor as that's very secure as well.  I am supposed to head back to Mystic at some point next week with my friend Roger but our departure will depend on the weather.  I also have to get a few days of work in prior to leaving having been on vacation this week.

When we headed all the way up to Blue Hill we were counting on the wind shifting to the NW to help us get back down the bay.  The winds didn't disappoint and shifted to allow for a nice run back to the south the following day.  Along the way we enjoyed the sights on a crystal clear day including this lovely lighthouse.  As with most others on the Maine coast, this one has been converted into a private home.  What a lovely spot.  As it's located on a private island, it must cost plenty to keep everything in shape and well painted.

We also spied this seal spying on us.  We also saw one sleeping on the surface with his head just out of the water.  They are remarkably tough to photograph as they tend to drop down below the surface when we pass.

A lobsterman plying his trade along with the ever present seagulls awaiting a cast off morsel.

All is not work as is attested by this person taking a nap in a hammock off of the stern of one of the passenger schooners that we passed in the afternoon.  

There are quite a few of these old girls plying their trade in this area and they are a sight to behold.

As we entered Merchant Row we passed one of the many small islands that dot the area. They are all granite outcroppings.  You can see how appealing these massive stones were for building materials as they are huge  and with very few imperfections.  

After much consideration we opted to go to a very nice anchorage on the north side of Mclathery Island near Stonington.  This has been a favorite spot for us for many years.   After anchoring we headed ashore for a walk on the beach and woods on the island.  Here's Brenda at a particular scenic spot.  It's incredibly green. 

Speaking of scenic, here's a classic beach shot.  Our dink in the foreground and the "mother ship" out in the harbor.  

Mclathery It's also a favorite for the passenger schooners out of Camden and Rockland who use it as a convenient anchorage.   To see one of these grand ladies tack into a harbor and anchor under sail is a sight to behold.  This evening we were treated to such a show.  After securing the boat for the evening the crew shuttled the passengers to shore for a lobster cookout on the nearby beach.   While we didn't have lobsters that evening, we did enjoy one of our "cocktail cruises" and caught this shot of Pandora near the visiting schooner.   Not bad company.   

There's always time for knitting.  Not a bad backdrop for Brenda.  Very inspiring, I am sure. 

Here's how our neighbor looked basking in the setting sun.  The end to a terrific day. 

We weren't the only ones enjoying the evening view.  I wonder what they were thinking about?  "sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits".  I am thinking the latter. 

As it's getting down to a few days till we have to be in Rockland to begin heading home to Mystic, we thought it prudent to begin heading back west to shorten the distance needed later in the week and decided on Perry Creek. That's been a place that we have enjoyed for many years, in part because of the  mussels that we pick on each visit.  In just a few minutes you can get all that you could want for a meal. The real trick is cleaning them to get ready to eat.  That takes much more time than gathering them from the shallows because they totally cover the bottom at low tide.   Brenda outdid herself this time and we had home made, no make that boat made foccaccia bread

In Perry Creek we had this lovely house boat as a neighbor.  Very cute.  They following morning we spied a couple sitting on lawn chairs enjoying a cup of coffee and the view.  This is a very reasonable way to have waterfront property.  And, when you tire of the view, you can always tow it to a more appealing location.

Speaking of veiws,  any view looks better after a good outdoor shower.   A good hot shower at that as they had an instant hot water heater on board.   Not bad, not bad at all. 

Perhaps I will close with a sunrise shot from this morning.  Not a bad view to begin the day.  

It's now Friday morning and it took me two sittings to do this post. Hope to be able to keep up a few more prior to heading back to Mystic.   The next few days should be lovely and then Irene will make her debut on Sunday.  Wish us luck.  Only time will tell when things will clear up enough to allow me to take Pandora back to Mystic. Perhaps by the end of the week.