Maine in January

A five day, 900 mile long weekend road trip to visit friends in Maine.

Chris Koch and Tim Spaulding are long time friends, both originally from Gouverneur.  Chris was Kathy's best friend in High School while Tim and I were classmates.  It was time to catch up with them.  I last saw them this past August when they rented a camp, along with Chris' sisters, at nearby Sylvia Lake.

Chris and Tim are both still working, so the visit was scheduled around a weekend.  Chris is a teacher and has Saturday and Sunday off, while Tim is an occupational therapist and has Sunday and Monday off.  The original plan was for the three of us to downhill ski at Sunday River Ski Resort on Sunday and then Tim and I would go back and ski again on Monday.

However, Mother Nature had other plans.  The weather forecast for Sunday River on Sunday was clear, but wind chills of 25 below zero.  Yikes!!  So we ended up going hiking with the dogs at the Bowdin College Coastal Studies Center.

   It was sunny, cold, and the wind was raw off the bay, but we, and especially the dogs, had a great time.  Zoey and Dooley, much to our chagrin, even went for a dip.  The cold icy water didn't seem to phase them a bit.

After leaving the the Coastal Studies Sanctuary, we decided to further explore the peninsula.  During the drive, we happened upon a really unique bridge, the Bailey Island Bridge.  Come to find out, it is reportedly the only granite cribstone bridge in the world.

The weather warmed, so Tim and I went skiing on Monday.  It turned out to be a great day of skiing.  Sunday River is huge, at least by my standards, and the the crowds were small.  The runs were long and challenging.  It was a GREAT day!!

One of the wonderful things about the South Portland area when Chris and Tim live is the large number of recreation and park areas where dogs can run and play off leash.  One of these areas is the Bug Light Lighthouse, only a five minute drive from their house.  We went there several times.  One morning we caught the sunrise over the harbor, which is not just a tourist attraction, but an actual working harbor.

Chris and Tim both went to work on Tuesday, so I decided to spend the day with old friend Mark Woodward and his wife Joanne.  We went for a walk at Cresent Beach State Park.  The park is technically closed for the winter, but many people still hike the beach during the winter.

It was great fun catching up with Mark.  We shared old travel adventures and discussed the trials and tribulations of retirement.  Mark and Joanne are heading to Florida to play golf and beat the winter blues.  I, on the other hand, have been beating the winter blahs by skiing, traveling and catching up on old friends with trips to Wisconsin and Maine.

I drove back to Gouverneur on Wednesday, and arrived home with a temperature reading of 60.  Wow!  But it didn't last long.  By the next day the temperatures were back to the traditional teens.  Mother Nature does control the rules.