A Great Day in Boothbay

We had a great day in Boothbay Harbor! We drove from Five Islands and arrived on Monday late afternoon--just in time to check in to our hotel, unload the car, and freshen up before the evening meal. We stayed at the Fisherman's Wharf Inn right in the harbor--and we were meeting family there for dinner.

In case you didn't know, Boothbay Harbor is a special place in my family because my grandparents owned a marina there many years ago. I guess my Dad and all of his siblings worked at the marina at one point or another. My Uncle Norm and Aunt Mary still live in Boothbay and have a boating business of their own.

When I say that we arrived just in the nick of time, I am not lying! You see, the tourism at Boothbay is a seasonal business, and many inns, restaurants and touristy businesses already have closed up shop--or are in the process of doing so this week. In fact, before I made our reservations, I had checked with a few other places only to find that they'd already be closed for the season. Fisherman's Wharf Inn (where we stayed) is open through Sunday, so it worked out well for us to stay there.

I've never been to Boothbay this time of year, so I wasn't accustomed to seeing the crowds so sparse. It was very quiet--but as beautiful as ever with the fall colors. The weather was crisp and cool--even cold at night. (My Yankee family members would be laughing that I thought it was cold--LOL!) It is fascinating to me how the village was closing up and preparing for winter. The chatter and small talk was all about leaving, boarding up, packing up, etc. It reminded me of the end of a semester in college.

Also fascinating to me is the water--not the harbor water, but the running water (you know, that comes out of the sink and such). There is what is called "summer water," which will soon be turned off (if it is not already). I don't understand exactly how it all works, but basically not every place in Boothbay Harbor has water available year round. Something to do with the pipes being above the ground, and how they'll freeze in the winter--though some folks do have wells. I heard talk of draining pipes and who had summer water and who didn't. In fact, one reason my Aunt Mary and Uncle Norm bought their house is for the water.

There's a lot to this seasonal business and all that goes into preparing for the weather in the winter ... and then preparing for the tourists in the summer. It's a different way of life. So interesting.

Anyway ... here are some photos to give you an idea of our short stay in Boothbay. We had a wonderful time--I wish we could have stayed longer.


Welcome to Boothbay Harbor!


Family fun! Here we are with my Uncle Norm and Aunt Mary as well as my cousin Tim (in the blue shirt), his wife Lynda (aka "Lynder"), and their two boys, Ryan and Jason.


Kate had fun seeing all the family! In white is my cousin Matt, who has been working at a nearby property during the tourist season. We were so glad he could join us for dinner. I hadn't seen him in probably eight years or so.


Cousins Tim (left) and Matt. Tim is one of Norm and Mary's sons, and Matt is the older son of my Uncle Dave and Aunt Phyllis.


Tim's family--Lynda, Ryan, Jason, and Tim. Tim is a chef and also an award-winning ice sculptor. He works at a fancy-schmancy resort and enjoyed having a nice meal he didn't have to prepare. LOL! Oh yeah--come to find out, he can carve a mean pumpkin, too!


Jason did a great job of entertaining Kate.


Here's Ryan being silly! The boys are so well-behaved. They've grown so much. I hadn't seen them since our wedding over four years ago.


A blast from the past--remember these fun keys?


Kate loved wathcing the birds from our room window. Not the best photo, but you get an idea.


My Uncle Norman builds and sells boats. This is his latest--boy, is it gorgeous! If you are in the market for something like this, let me know. I know where you can get a fine watercraft and excellent customer service. ;o)


Kate loved exploring the cabin.


She was having a ball!


Aunt Mary is so sweet--she watched Kate for a while so Uncle Norman could take Tanna and me for a special boat ride (on a different boat). :o) More on the boat ride in another post.


Kate really wanted to take us for a spin, too.


So much trouble to get into!


Button 'er up!


After our boat ride, we drove around Ocean Point--and look who we ran into!


It's so pretty over there. My cousin Tom was married in this area about eight years ago. That was the last time I'd been there.


After lunch, we shopped just a little. This is one of my Mom's favorite stores. Guess what? Everything was 50 percent off in the whole store! That's one advantage of visiting at the end of the season--LOL! Too bad I didn't have a lot of time to shop--or maybe that's a good thing, huh?


Family pic


Lobstah, anyone?
I think Tanna was accusing me of child abuse at this point.


We left Boothbay and drove to Freeport, where we stayed last night. We met Aunt Mary and Uncle Norm for dinner again. This time, we ate at the Muddy Rudder, and Beth and Emmalynn joined us. Beth is my cousin Tom's wife, and Em is their 3.5-year-old little girl. She is so sweet! Tom couldn't make it because he is working in Trinidad right now for ESPN (he does a lot of video/producing/etc.)--but he actually called during dinner to say hello! Wasn't that nice?


Beth and Emmalynn


Look at these two cuties--they sure had fun with each other!

It was so great to visit with family--and we saw more family today! More to come ...