15 August 2010

Time with the Nieces

My sister's girls (aged 6 and 8) are up visiting their Gram & Pa for a few weeks, so as I was planning to head to my grandmother's on Schoodic Peninsula for a too-short visit while my aunts are up from FL and NC, I swung by my parents' and picked the girls up to get a taste of what my childhood summers were like. We made the trip downeast on Thursday, which was also the peak activity night for the Perseids.

Since the skies were clear and perfect for some spectacular viewing, we fished out a couple of old Army surplus quilts to lay on the ground in the back yard and covered up with a quilt I had in the car. Alison (aka Ash), the younger, decided to stay up with me and we saw some amazing ones before Mary, who is not a night owl, was roused from her nap to come watch for a while.

The next day we headed across the road and down to the shore, where my uncle Brad lives. He was going to take the girls for a little ride in his inflatable raft but decided once they headed out that the water was too choppy for it to be enjoyable and took them for a somewhat longer ride in his big boat, which is moored out in the natural harbor.

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The view of Mount Desert Island and the Porcupine Islands was particularly nice.

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And the girls really enjoyed the boat ride.

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Then we threw together a picnic lunch and headed to Schoodic Point.

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And then on to visit cousin Miriam Colwell, who lives in the colonial farmhouse where she was raised by her grandparents and who, at 93, is remarkably spry. While I enjoyed visiting with Miriam and looking at the paintings and sculptures done by her late partner, the artist Chenoweth (Chennie) Hall, the girls were more interested in being kids.

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Then we headed on to Corea village, so we could take some photos of the ever-picturesque harbor.

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On the way back to the house, we stopped for one last photo op in Prospect Harbor village.

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Mary declared it "the most awesomest day ever since we've been in Maine!"

15 comments:

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Lovely photos of the Maine land; thank you. Cute girls, too. Raising daughters is fun; our daughter is nearly 25--incredible!

Anonymous said...

Your nieces are lucky to have you as an uncle -- you certainly showed them a good time!

Mo said...

I totally agree with your beautiful nieces that Uncle Mel treated them an awesome day (& a half) of incredibly fun summer activities and great photos too!

Lisa/knitnzu said...

What a good uncle! That first photo is so BLUE, it's amazing... and the others too.

Anonymous said...

I think you win "Uncle of the Year" awards.

Chris said...

Lovely nieces and lovely area!

Brenda said...

Great photos of Down East. I just read Contentment Cove for my bookgroup and loved reading about Maine in the 1950's.

Mel said...

Brenda: You'll be interested to know, then, that Beulah, the cat in Contentment Cove, was named for my great-grandmother. The story itself is heavily modeled on local life, so it reads as very familiar to me.

Mini said...

Uncle Mel to the rescue! :) Sounds like a great little memory was made:)

sue said...

What wonderful memories they will have. The photos are beautiful.

Jim said...

Great shots Mel. Looks like everyone had a blast! Great looking country there.

Clara said...

What a gift for your nieces - nothing beats the memories of a childhood summer in Maine. I'm sorry I missed you!

Christine said...

Oh what fun memories you've given those girls. I love the shot of them climbing in the tree. Uncle Mel ROCKS!

tornwordo said...

Such great photos and what a fun uncle you are.

Robin said...

Why is it that every photo taken in Maine looks like a postcard!?? Beautiful scenery and the nieces are cute, too! Sounds like you all had a blast!