*(Etsy) Joy Spills Art
Dear Reader:
Lately I have been filled with so much anticipation and joy because one dream of mine is actually coming to fruition.
I am going to Maine. I have wanted to go there for as long as I can remember but “life” kept getting in the way. These days I realize that we can let “life” slip through our fingers or grab hold of it and just go. Doubts be Gone!
When I told my wonderful oncologist, Dr. Jeter, about the pending trip she was so excited for me…no hesitation at all. She and her husband had gone last year and she even gave me the name of a restaurant to eat at in Portland, Maine.
Don’t you just know when you have made the right choice? Everything just seems to fall so easily into place. This is how “Maine” came to be.
The Ya’s and I had talked about some kind of New England foliage trip for years…even a fall cruise…but prohibitive costs, unexpected medical surprises, and random turns of events for one or all of us kept the dream a dream…it never became a reality.
And then Anne came to me a few weeks ago and said one of her sisters, Kathy, lived in Maine and had been wanting her to come visit for quite some time plus she had a friend, Sherry, in another part of Maine (around Camden I believe) who would love to have us stay…thus saving money on lodging and for me … the delight of making new friends.
We found a quite reasonable round trip flight to Portland, Maine, then a rental car (with a birthday tag attached 🙂 and it was done. It just completely fell into place. We started calling our trip the “Spruce and Moose” Adventure….I decorated my bank envelope where I began putting money left over each month for spending money.
(*I will leave the art design to Anne and Beverly! 🙂 )
Three weeks ago one of the weekend talk shows had a segment on the Portland Head Lighthouse...the most famous photographed lighthouse in America. Another God Wink I thought…the perfect place to start…or end.
It will be a short five-day trip (October 8-12) but just long enough to see the beautiful foliage, feel the chilly air (a real fall) and return with a memory to last a lifetime.
Since Anne is familiar with Maine…I am sure she has lots of adventures in store…in fact while at ‘fiddle camp’ in Maine earlier this summer she found a place where she wanted to return …and I know it will be amazing…part of Acadia National Park.
I already know of one surprise…we are going to Bar Harbor. So excited…look at Main Street in the winter! Just as adorable in the fall.
Then on to George H. Bush’s Kennebunkport Summer Compound…the history teacher in me is beyond excited!
So until tomorrow….
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.”
―
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
I had a cute text message /photo from “Eloise” to Boo Boo yesterday.
“It’s Almost Your Birthday”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I am so excited about Saturday and seeing all the family! The best part of birthdays…the gathering of family.
Jake is on the mend Mandy informed me…to the point that he got to enjoy “Talk like a Pirate Day” at school. Another beautiful day…Vickie’s gorgeous coleus…
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
A birthday present to yourself sounds wonderful. The colors should be out of this world. Enjoy!
I know…when a plan comes together like this one did , out of the blue, I take it as a sign it was meant to be.
We are going to Maine too. 9/28-10/5. Going to be on Deer Isle. Been to Acadia -gorgeous. Stop at Celtic Lodge. Then going to see Katie and family in new home in Indianapolis. So much closer than California! Get to spend my birthday there.
Cindy
We will just miss each other….aren’t you excited? Of course as a grandmother being with Katie and family will even take precedence over the Maine trip and so happy the family has made it to the middle of the country and not the other side…that must have been a wonderful birthday present revelation for you….Have fun…you deserve it! And early Happy Birthday Cindy!
I am so excited abut your trip. I love to visit new places and learn about the history, but Maine is going to be especially great because the Master artist will have painted His landscape with fall colors for you, I think the color of Maple leaves is my favorite. Oh, this is going to be so much fun with Anne and her family and friends.!! Eloise is just beautiful, and she soon won’t be a baby as my, she is growing. Thank you for your blog about Colby and for all the prayers from you and your blog friends (when I read messages from them, they do become like friends to me too.) Now the most exciting part of this week/month etc. for me: The doctor in Texas called Donna this morning and the growth is benign. I am so thankful.
I am in tears I am SO HAPPY! I tell you what…the blog readers are the best prayer participants I know…we keep each other’s backs covered…Now go celebrate you two! You just made my day!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
I am thrilled for you , Becky. I can’t wait to hear all about it and see all the pics. Yes, it was meant to be when everything falls into place like that.
Eloise is so beautiful and growing way too fast! All of your grands are adorable!
I will be coming down again sometime in November and yes , we need to do lunch!:) Have a very happy Birthday !! Love you , sweet friend.
Love you back Patty…from now on since we see each other so infrequently…let’s celebrate the day we meet as both our birthdays at Oscars …since we do good to have one annual gathering each year…celebrate it as a dual birthday…then we can get that wonderful vanilla/chocolate syrup crossainte!!! 🙂 🙂
Love you Patty!
Went to Maine about 10 years ago and it is among my top 5 trips of all time!!! Came home & told my kids to save their money to go to Maine. Traveled back roads & found a little church that was at the bottom of a seaside bluff. Hiked down the steps to explore this spiritual place. Little boats tied up at dock where people had arrived for service. Spent a day in Acadia & walked the bar at low tide in Bar Harbor. Have a picture of hydrangeas that are 6 feet tall!! Enjoy this trip; you deserve it and I can’t wait to hear the tales.
Hydrangeas six feet tall…paradise! Yes we must find a special spiritual place that speaks to us like the ones we found in Ireland… lots of them. So excited…thanks for sharing Beth…just adding to the anticipation!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great time! I just mentioned going to Maine and Vermont to Douglas, who wasn’t so enamored. But, I want to see every part of my own country, especially as I have traveled so much outside of it. Enjoy yourselves, and I look forward to the pictures to come.
Exactly how I feel these days…I am no world traveler…but after seeing Germany, the Bahamas, Ireland, England, France, and Denmark…these trips taught me that as lovely as they were…we are so blessed in our country to have places of unparalleled beauty. …Maine being one of them. And I am so blessed to live in another area where others flock to my home area for the same reason I flock to see our country’s diversified landmarks.
Becky, I am so happy you will be going to Maine. You are going to love it. It is so pristine and lovely my favorite lighthouse is the Portland Light. My favorite town is Camden. Great for antiques, cute little shops to browse in, and a great restaurant down on the water to get a lobster roll or fried haddock. Be sure to eat both, and several times. And Bar Harbor is a fantastic place to putter around. Ask someone about the seal that calls two towns home, swimming back and forth between them delighting the people in both areas. Have a wonderful time. 💕
Carol…so wonderful to hear from you and your earlier Maine locations you have been to…sound fantastic…especially excited since Sherry’s home in Camden is one of your favorite spots of all in Maine…and like me the Portland Lighthouse must have been calling your name too! I must find out more about the seal with two homes while we are in Bar Harbor…so similar to Fungi…the Dingle Dolphin!