The Boys...

I am enjoying time with my nephews... they have grown so much.. not just physically, but they are maturing... well... to a point.. they are after all three boys, ages 9, 11, and 13!  Yesterday they were troopers... we went on an all day adventure on our way to see Dad and Betty and there were a few tense moments, but overall they did great! 

We left my place around 9:00 and stopped along the way to find rain ponchos.. because despite my pleading with mother nature, she decided the day would be rainy...After being in the truck for a couple of hours,  our first stop was a surprise to the boys. We went to Hope, Maine to meet Rosie and Opal at Hope Elephants.  Rosie and Opal are two Asian elephants who  have retired to Maine from the circus.  It is a neat place.  I loved it...

 

After visiting the elephants we stopped in Rockport... where there is a statue of Andre the Seal.  Andre, for those who are not native to Maine and who may not have read the books or seen the movie about him, was a harbor seal.  In the 1970s it was legal for people to capture seal pups and one man captured Andre and as Andre became part of this man's family he learned some tricks and every summer would perform in harbor for people to see.  I remember going to see Andre as a child and since the boys were born they have heard about Andre and have read the picture books numerous times.  It was cool for them to see the statue... in the pouring rain!  But... it was still fun!  There was something, I must say..about this place... the boys had hit a moment of grumpy prior to visiting Andre...and despite the rain, the whole mood/energy shifted here... for the positive.  It was neat. 

 

Mother nature, while spending the majority of her day raining, decided to give us a reprieve at our next stop.  We went to Fort Knox in Prospect.  There is an observation tower there that is taller than the statue of liberty and shorter than the Washington Monument... so pretty high.. and for this chick, afraid of heights, was a bit of a challenge.  But... Davin held my hand and we made it to the top.  It was beautiful... made my stomach churn a bit, but beautiful. 

 

Look how little my truck looked!!  EEK!

 

From there it was time to explore the Fort... The boys were excited... Wednesday night we watched the Ghost Hunters Episode (Season 7, episode 7) of Fort Knox.  Jack had taken notes during the episode to help us search for ghosts... we did not get any hits but we had fun.  I think my favorite part was Ben being scared in the fort as we explored... he is so grown up, but still so young... Love that kid! 

 

This was taken with a flash, but other than that we had no light source... Jack was trying to get the ghosts to turn on the flashlight that is on the ground...

 

Jack IN the cannon!

 

After the fort we stopped at the cemetery in Busckport to see Colonel Buck's gravestone... legend says that Colonel Buck ordered a woman to be burned at the stake after being accused of witchcraft... and as she was burning she told him she would curse him forever... this 'foot' appeared on his gravestone years after his death.  Local legend claims it had been replaced several times and the foot keeps reappearing... there was a plaque here that said the stone has not been replaced.. but... the boys and I believe that's part of the cover up! 

 

Today it was nice to wake up at the lake... we all slept in and as soon as they woke up they all headed for the lake, even Ben!  We swam and kayaked and swam... and had a great dinner... followed by an INTENSE game of canasta.. Davin and I lost to Ben and Jack... Booooo!!! 

 

I love seeing the boys here... and sharing so much of Maine with them.  Maybe its the educator in me, but I am happy they get to see and experience so much of the state where their family has spent so much time. 

 

On a side note... today Dad and I went grocery shopping to prepare for the next several days... and in the store we ran into a woman who was close friends with Mom.  She used to paint with mom and they would go to craft fairs together.  She is a highly religious person... even giving up her job because she refuses to authorize a marriage license for same sex couples... her question to me in the grocery store was if I have found anyone special yet... I told her I know lots of special people.  She smiled, and told me I knew what she meant... and pried a bit about my dating life.  I told her that I was quite happy as a single person, and her response was... that she will pray for me.  Pray for me? Because I am single? This makes me shake my head.. for oh so many reasons... first... as if being single is an illness or something that needs curing... that she feels that she needs to pray for me because something is wrong... I understand people wanting other people to be happy... but defining one person's happiness by how you define your own is narrow minded.  If you are going to pray, I ask you to pray for things that warrant prayers... there are so many more worthy causes... (Given my most recent dating experience... well... maybe I will pray to stay single!) 

 

At that point Dad approached, and this woman asked how he was doing.  He said he was well and I threw him under the bus... told her that he has been shacking up with Betty for a while now, living in sin... and she said she would pray for him too! 

 

Anyway... I am going to sign off for tonight.. lots of adventures to be had in the upcoming days.. Feeling lucky to have the boys around... and to have Dad and Betty in such a beautiful place and willing to share it with us... and grateful for Sis for letting us steal the boys for a while! 

 

Summer Memories...