Home, home, where I wanted to go.

The journey home:

Don and I started our way home from the hundred mile wilderness, leaving behind the land of soap-less lake baths and granola.

Don has been looking for a new volunteer opportunity and he was applying to a couple organic farms in Maine. So we took our time, meandering around the countryside, visiting various places. We stopped at one hippie farm that Don was checking out. It was mostly a dairy farm with some vegetables. The leader hippie took us to see the grounds, which started in a barn full of cattle. The floor was covered in straw and we were walking around when all the sudden my foot sinks ankle deep into a HUGE pile of cow poopie. The bad thing was that I was wearing my sandals. The lead hippie woman said, "Oh honey, that happens all the time, we'll hose you off later." We decided to scamper down the state and make our way home.

We made our way down to Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine. But first, Don and I had to accomplish our 2 main goals of this trip: 1. go in the ocean, and 2. get some lobster, fresh out of the shell. Acadia is on a huge island, which is gorgeous. Just before we entered the island park, we stopped at a small coastal Lobster shack. I ended up ordering a 1.5 pound lobster. The woman took me over to a huge tank and said, "which one do you want." So, not knowing how to pick out the most tasty lobster, I made a deliberate gesture and said "That one..." Don ended up naming his lobster Gargoyle because the huge rocks we had to dig out of the ground were called Gargoyles. I named mine Herman. They were delicious, I must say. We would do like a shot of butter with every savory bite.

We spent the night in Acadia. Acadia is simply one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It is marked by mountains, lakes, streams and the gorgeous coast line. At low tide, beautiful pools of ocean water gather on the rocky granite shore. These pools are full of ocean life, such as star fish, which you can see until the next high tide comes to wash them back to the ocean. We did a good amount of hiking and finally were able to conquer the ocean at a beach in Acadia. We planned to swim in the ocean but after our ill-fated charge into the water, we discovered it was a balmy 55 degrees. We strategically retreated back to the beach and decided to enjoy the ocean from the shore. Nevertheless, the ocean was conquered, much like the lobster. We also climbed to the top of Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the northeastern seaboard. So, the sun rises first on our fair country here. We were going to see the sun rise here, but the weather had other plans.

We fell asleep to the quiet, consistent ringing of the harbor bells on the Maine coast. Then, the bells faded away to a calamitous thunderstorm that lasted for over 4 hours. Laura's defective, leaky tent got the best of us once again, so we headed out the next morning to head down south to the land of the pines.

We stopped in New Hampshire at our friend Jen Luoma's home. New Hampshire was probably the most gorgeous place we visited after Maine. Beautiful mountains and lakes made our trip down much easier. Jen and her parents were like saints. The treated us to a meal of pork loin, salad and PBR. Don and I, having not had a meal that wasn't peanut butter or generic fruit loops in about 2 weeks, devoured the food and were quite satisfied. Table....flat....smooth....fork....pointy. Anyways.

Jen accompanied us down to Boston where we met up with my long-time friend Dan. We walked around Fenway which was teaming with Yankees and RedSox fans. I kept saying quite loudly, "What in the Hell is a Big Papi?" The Red Sox fans looked a mix between angry and like the world was about to end. How could anyone not know who Big Papi was? The insanity! We also walked the freedom trail, saw Ben Franklin's grave, saw where Paul Revere left for his fateful ride, and ate at the Boston beer works brewery. We also tried to go to Sam Adams but there was a 4 hour wait for a brewery tour. But, to their credit, they did let us some free samples. Cheers.

After Boston, we went to DC to meet up with my good friend Andy Bender (aka Chat). The highlights of DC included the Lincoln monument, the Washington Monument, and the rest of the mall. But, my favorite part of the city was The Brickskeller tavern. This hole in the wall saloon had 1,032 choices of beer! It is classified as the largest single selection of beer it the entire world. I asked the waitress, "Do you have Miller Light?" She almost punched me in the face. But then I ordered a Coopers from Australia to remind me of days of old. It was all together delightful.

We made our way back to Kentucky and I have to admit, it did feel much like coming home. Kathleen Levil said, "Well well well, look who comes crawling back." Then she whispered in my ear, "welcome home sweetheart." But more on this later. It felt good to breathe the Bluegrass air again. I proclaim this trip a victory! Take that East Coast!

Cheers.

Quote of the day:

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

-Abraham Lincoln