Island Idyll

The kids and I got to spend an incredible day on the idyllic Great Gotts Island off Bass Harbor.  With only 25 homes, the island seems frozen in time.  There's no electricity and many of the houses don't have running water.

We went to Great Gotts with Jayce, one of the kids favorite babysitters.  Jayce is a friend of one of the families that first settled the island.  Every summer Sue & George live in one of three cottages that are located on the back end of the island.  To get to the cottage, you have to walk a mile through the woods.

Once there, the cottage embraces you like an old friend.  It's homey and filled with sea glass, sea shells and sea creatures gathered by generations of children.  The view of the harbor, Acadia's Cadillac Mountain and Bass Harbor Light is breathtaking.

The family opened their home and hearts to us.  They even took the kids lobster fishing and clamming because the kids "just couldn't leave Maine without trying each job at least once!"

 

It was an incredible day with some incredible people.

History Lives Here

Thane and best buddy Liam participated in the re-enactment of a Revolutionary War skirmish that occurred in Machias in 1775.  The event was held in conjunction with Margareta Days, a festival celebrating the first naval battle of the War for Independence.  This battle was fought on the Machias River, and several of the re-enactors are direct descendants of men who fought that day.

The skirmish started on a quiet afternoon while kids were playing in town, their parents toiling at their farms, homes and places of business.

Suddenly, a small regiment of soldiers break into the town square to arrest a local.

The unfortunate man is bound in chains as the children rush off to inform their parents.

 

The town is outraged, and quickly form a militia to rescue the man.  Fighting ensues.

The Redcoats suffer losses, and the imprisoned man is rescued.

The boys were thrilled to participate in this historic event.  Many thanks to the local re-enactors club for allowing the children to participate!

Lasts

To celebrate the end of an amazing year, the school held a beach picnic at Roque Bluffs.  What a day! The kids explored and did all of the usual "beachy" things.

 

A few days later, Annabel sang in her last concert with the Washington County Children's Chorus.  The event was really great, and the chorus sang an Irish blessing to Annabel and another chorister who was leaving.

We've had such wonderful experiences here.  We are going to miss Machias greatly!

Best Friends

After months of debate we, as a family, made the decision to leave our beloved Angus behind in Maine.  Angus HATES traveling, and we knew that our 3 month RV trip would be especially cruel to him.  Luckily, our friend (and realtor) fell in love with Angus and has taken him in.  She adores our sweet dog, and the feeling is absolutely mutual.  He was an incredibly smart, gentle, wonderful dog - the very best.  We miss him more than words can express, but are so thankful that he is in the best possible place. 

The Big Horns

Jordan and I drove all of our junk, er, earthly goods out to our new hometown in Wyoming last week.  It was a brutal 45 hour ride, with only about 90 minutes of sleep, but we made it.  Most of our time in Wyoming was spent packing our stuff into a storage unit, looking at homes and meeting with the school district.  But we did manage to get up into the Big Horns one afternoon.

The mountains are gorgeous, and there was still lots of snow near the top of the range.

We spied lots of wildlife - moose, elk, deer and cute prairie dogs.

We're back in Maine now for the rest of June, but we are really looking forward to getting settled into our new home (with it's stellar mountain views) in the fall.