Part 2 of 3: Maine

Our extremely cool friends invited to us to stay at their family home in Maine—a gorgeous lake front property in Machias. They were gracious hosts…and we had such a memorable visit playing on (and in) the lake, hanging out, boiling innocent lobsters, and eating fresh blueberry pie that it felt like a Big Chill weekend, minus the single friend needing a favor from an old college buddy. Maureen and I usually end up talking all night, or at least until the wine runs out but this time we set a record--we were laughing so loud that her daughter was forced to come downstairs to tell us to knock it off.

We were also treated to a tour of Camp Eagle Wing, a classic New England sleep-away camp on the property next to theirs. Maureen’s oldest son is a CIT (Counselor in Training) there. Chick (preppy New England nickname for Charles), who owns and runs the camp, is an old family friend (Maureen worked for him growing up in Conneticut) and ended up sailing us all over the lake while giving each of the younger kids a sailing lesson... Of course every time he said “Prepare to Jibe”, and everyone chorused, “Ready to Jibe, Captain”, all Maureen and I wanted to do was break into song-- “Jibe talkin’” to the tune of the Bee Gees.

My entry wouldn’t be complete without saying what troopers the men were—they tirelessly gave the kids inner tube rides on the lake, boated and swam, and then, on the rainy day, while Maureen and I had coffee talk for 6 hours, Dean and Steve took the kids to get us all fresh lobster off the boat and later that day, after some old Fitch-Weber family traditions (naming the lobsters and racing them to see who will be cooked first), we sat down to a magnificent feast, complete with fresh corn on the cob so sweet Sam called it nature’s candy.

Finally, to make clear that Maureen and I are not the sit-on-the-dock, afraid-to-get-wet types, I should mention that we swam for an hour from the lakeshore, out to an island and back in dark water (read: cannot see what is swimming underneath you). Maureen and I felt like we had just swam the English Channel and were really proud of ourselves until Steve told us that he thought Maureen’s synchronized swimming demonstrations were pleas for help and he stood at attention the whole time on the dock with binoculars to make sure we weren’t drowning!

We had an incredible time and are thankful for such wonderful friends. An extra special hats off to Maureen’s mother who had the vision, wits and stamina to build “Camp Clyde” from the ground up—it is a magical place—thank you for sharing!