Saturday July 25, 2015

Day 72….I think I’m going to start adding a countdown of how many days we have left on the island.  I don’t want it to hit me too quickly.  I want to know I have so many days to soak up all that Seguin has to offer me.

Woke this morning at Ken and Dots house….Bandit slept over on Larry’s bed and never moved.  Ken was down in the kitchen cooking bacon and Blueberry Pancakes.  The smell filled the air.  After a great breakfast, and goodbyes...we hurried off to get to the dock to catch a ride with Ethan back to the island.  

We met Bo and Bev, as well as Ethan at Fort Popham dock.  We loaded all of our supplies…except my camera…I guess I put in the back seat of the pickup and totally missed seeing it this morning…so now I don’t have my photo’s from last nights SummerFest to share.  So next Thursday I’ll share with ya’ll.

Preparing to leave Popham to go to Seguin...Bev, Bo and Me

Seguin...straight ahead

Well we arrived at high tide, which means that we have to get off on the rocks, which is mingled with slippery seaweed. 

Up the hill we went with both Rambo and Bandit and our baggage.  We were just a little exhausted.  There is something about going ashore that totally wears you out!

We got to the house and Bev and I talked about our momma’s and the house, we looked through the museum.  We spent the rest of the day talking about life on Seguin.  Comparing stories, talking about what works and what might need to be worked on.  So much of what Larry and I know and do is because Bev was so gracious and through the past year has made suggestions.  Some of those suggestions were: layer clothing…cause it’s cold in the morning, then as it gets warmer, your shucking clothes and then toward the evening you’re looking for that jacket again.    Other ideas were to not bring very many clothes and to bring my old ones, because you are out working daily.  Crocks, a great shoe to wear on the island. The wagon…omg….we could not have made it without the wagon, as soon as she heard we weren’t going to be able to use the tram she suggest the wagon!  Putting the twin beds together to make a king…and so many other ideas.

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They went on hike down the South Trail.

Bev walkiing the South Trail

Seal

Enjoying the walk, seeing the familiar sites, taking photos and while they were out they spotted a seal out in the water.  The seals are here, they are usually camouflaged by the rocks.  If you get close they are scared and rush out, so seeing them close isn’t always available.

The weather was cold and windy…it got down to 56 degrees.  I didn’t think we would get any visitors, but we did.  They were all from their individual boats. 

Bo prepared dinner, they originally were going to do a shrimp boil, but when she learned I was allergic, they decided to do shish kabobs….they were fabulous!  I fixed baked potatoes and got fresh lettuce and spinach out of my garden.  I also collected fresh chives for the potatoes.  Later I made a dump cake!

Bo and Larry

We talked more about our parents, about them living here, about their neighbors, about everything.  It was so good to finally meet them.  Cyndy wasn’t able to join us out here and spend time with all of us.  We missed her! I will be able to share a few photos that Beverly let me download from her camera!

Me, Bev and Cyndy at SummerFest

Ethan receiving his Volunteer of the Year! 

It has been a great day…now for bedtime!

Friday July 24, 2015

Day 71

Got up early and started the day…we had to be ready to go with Ethan at 1:30 to head to shore.  This was the first time we have left the island by itself.  Usually someone comes and stays while we are gone…it felt different leaving.

Cyndy, Beverly and Bo Ramsey met us at the dock.  This was the first time for us to meet them in person.  Beverly is my island sister.  She came to Seguin when she was a week old…I didn’t come till I was a year old.  We had only talked via facebook and some phone calls.  They were the keepers in 2012 and they really helped us prepare for our time on the island.   

F.O.S.I.L. group were having their annual SummerFest.  This was an event where they sold tickets to the event.  They collected items to be used for a silent auction as well as some items that they auctioned off.  Larry and I gave a presentation….we’ll I prepared the presentation and Larry gave it.  It was a powerpoint about Past/Present/Future of Seguin.  I got to use several photo’s from 1960 and compared what my parents did out here and what we do.  The sea air can reek havoc on building up here.  So I showed the “before” and “after” of different projects…like the back concrete porch.

They choose a “Volunteer of the Year” and this year it was our Captain Ethan!

They served vegetable lasagna, corn on the cob, lobster rolls, clam chowder….I’m sorry I mean…clam chowda. 

They did something that I had never done…they had a “Needs” list of wood and bolts…they listed the item and told the amount to buy the wood…so the timber to fix the tram was 100.00 a piece and there were ten pieces needed.  Only a couple of pieces of timber were “sold/bought”.  I’m thinking that maybe if they sold each timber in sectioned, people might be able to purchase more.  It would be like four folks going in together to make it happen…one guy give 50…the next guy 20…the next 25…the last 5…that way each one was able to help with the amount that they were able to give.

I met Tom Skolfield’s son and daughter.  Their father was the first USCG lighthouse keeper for Seguin in 1939.   I sat and talked with him for a moment and really enjoyed hearing what he knew about the island…I never knew there was a blacksmith’s shop, or that there was a “look” out tower on the rock just a little southeast of the house.

We were able to put a lot of faces to names we had heard. 

Ken and Dot invited us to spend the night with.

I’m writing this on Saturday morning and I guess I left my camera in the pickup this morning…so it will be Wednesday before I’m able to show you photo’s.

Thursday July 23, 2015

60 degrees w/ 3 mph winds

Day 70

Photo of photographers taking photos!

Last night we had overnight guest who were up most of the night taking photos.  They were exhausted this morning.  They are out for the week taking photos of different Lighthouses. 

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They brought a “old” uniform: hat, shoes, suit, etc…  We just happened to have a visitor who was doing a magazine article and traveling up the coast.  He was a perfect model. 

Our visitor helping by being their model

Ethan was going to be picking them up around 9 this morning so they could head to their next lighthouse.

Breakfast….nope, we started early and didn’t slow down for lunch either.

I stressed all day, I needed to be cleaning my side and the guest quarters, but I felt that my presentation for the SummerFest tomorrow night should be my primary concern.  I worked on it until Larry called and said we had guest coming. So I started the tours. 

9:30 Jeff and David came out this morning in their boat to work, so Larry went out to meet them to “dingy” them in.  They were going to be working on the Boat House support that was started earlier last week.

Larry stayed to help them and to finish mowing.  He was going to stay and help when Ethan’s boat came with visitors about 11:00.  So he helped get the first group off the dingy then headed up to help with tours…it takes two… one in the museum and gift shop and the other in the tower and outside.  As always, visitors are intrigued about the island and its history.    

First visitors of the day

Ethan's group of visitors

After that group left, a few more boat loads came up.  Larry was working so I gave both tours….I forget what I said, but it felt good when a gentleman, who had been here several times before said, “I have never heard that” to something I said….I think I was telling how the “Head” keeper came to live on the East side of the duplex.  The story is that the Head Keeper was going to stay in the two story house that stood alone, a little ways from the duplex.  But the first couple of times the fog horn went off, and it was loud, the Head guy came up and told the assistant keeper to move down to the house and the Head guy and his family moved to the duplex!

I continued to use every moment I could to work on the presentation….I’m doing a powerpoint presentation on the Past/Present/Future of Seguin.  When I told Larry I had some 70 slides…he almost passed out… “it’s going to take you an hour”….nope…I did it in 10 minutes and they told me I had 20…all is well.

Went and did a little cleaning of the guest quarters, will finish in the morning.  Beverly, Bo and Rambo will joining us on Saturday night.  Beverly has already planned a Shrimp Boil…this will be our first!  We’ve told Cyndy that she has to join us on the island!  Cyndy is our “go to” girl while we are here in Maine!

We will be going in with Ethan’s group tomorrow to get ready for the SummerFest.  Its going to be held at the Maritime Museum…I’ve heard it’s a wonderful place, I’m looking forward to seeing it, meeting the rest of the committee members: putting names with faces and meeting other guest.  They are also going to be doing an auction to help raise money.

Bandit will be going with us onto shore tomorrow.  I won’t be posting a blog for tomorrow until Saturday night.

Time to sit and relax…we are exhausted, but it’s a good exhaustion!