Sunday, September 20

I purposely waited a week or so before making my last blog entry. I wanted enough time to digest what we had accomplished the last few months. I can easily say that our time on Seguin was a life experience. Brenda and I enjoyed every minute, even the fog and rainy days.

As I have mentioned before, the people we met and friends we made were a significant part of our experience. Here are a few names that stand out. Dave and Linda Power, Cyndy, Dee, Connie, Captain Ethan, Duane, Dave and Tracy Percy, Postmaster Bob, Brent, the Denkers, Jim, Mr. Sterling, Lawrence, Ken, the owners of the Bath Sweet Shoppe, Jenny at CVS Pharmacy, all the FOSI folks at the annual meeting, many island guests, boat people, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Outward Bound folks, Roger’s Hardware associates, Schooner Virginia passengers and crew and many more. I almost did not want to name people because I will always leave someone out. Please don’t be offended if I did. Everyone we met was great. We had a lot of support from everyone!

While people make the difference, the location wasn’t bad either! We awoke every day to hear the surf pounding the rocky shore, the gulls laughing, the wind blowing and the spectacular Maine shoreline. We saw all types of boats, big and small, power and sail, old and new.

Today is our fortieth anniversary. I was blessed to share the time on Seguin with Brenda. We look forward to future adventures, a return to Maine and….who knows? Keep the light on for us!

Friday, September 4

This is our last post from the island. We leave for home tomorrow morning. We are both a little sad and a little glad. Brenda and I have enjoyed our time here but it is time to go home, see the family and return to a routine. At least for a while. We will be riding a motorcycle on Skyline Drive within a month and off to Florida for a few months this winter, and then, who knows? This is our idea of semi-retirement. I will continue working as a deputy sheriff and operating my security/consulting business and Brenda will go back to work at Tony’s Pizza on the Ocean City boardwalk.

I will actively review and pursue caretaking jobs that appeal to us in the future. Caretaking agrees with us and is a great way to see the world, meet people, make friends and live life. In fact that is our motto. “Live Life”. A simple philosophy to glean the most from our time here. Enjoy family, have fun, grow friends and simply live life. This was the first time in forty years that Brenda and I have spent every hour of every day together. It was said that we would either grow closer together or further apart during this time and I believe that is true. For us, we have definitely grown closer together. We both know each other better. Some things good, some not so good. But that is marriage and our time on Seguin has nurtured ours.

While here we have enjoyed excellent health. We haven’t even had a cold. Allergies did not bother us. No poison ivy. Nothing, and we thank God for that! As a matter of fact I’m sure we have both lost some weight and built muscle. We are leaving Seguin healthier than we arrived.

One huge positive aspect of being the Seguin caretakers has been the people we met and the friends we made. I am not going to name them all. It would take too long. Every one of them has been open and giving, supportive and caring and have welcomed us into their world. We plan to visit here again and will make it a point to stop and say hello.

The weather today is great, just like it has been for the past week. Dennis and I went to the cove to play around a while, the girls cleaned the house and began packing things up. Some visitors showed up and Brenda entertained them while Dennis and I replaced the broken pane of glass in the cellar window. I cleaned the riding mower, returned all tools to the shop, etc, etc.

Final packing after dinner and off to bed. Our last night on Seguin.

Thursday, September 3

What a beautiful way to wake up. The early morning blows your mind. Even before you open your eyes you smell the air as the soft south breeze wafts in the window. The clanging of the clapper from the bell buoy on Mile Ledge gently assaults your ears as it dances to the rhythm of the ocean swell. Your taste buds tell you there is salt in the air and you can smell the crispness of fall which is right around the corner.

Imagine this with the woman you love laying next to you. Life is good!

Summer is over in Maine. For the last week we have had fantastic weather. Cool comfortable days and chilly nights with the moon waxing. It will be full tomorrow.

We had about twenty visitors today. Ethan brought out a couple of groups and the others were boaters passing by. One couple in a large sailboat will spend the night in the cove. While Brenda was busy with visitors, Margie took care of the museum and prepared food for all. Dennis spent the entire day weed whacking and I cut the grass at the lighthouse and at the cove. This will be our final mowing for the year and the place looks good.

We had a delicious meatloaf dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, September 2

Up and at ‘em early this morning. We had a bunch of bins to take in today. Laundry and other stuff that can be put in the truck in preparation for our departure. We also put the kayak, the George Foreman grill, paddles, etc in Ethan’s boat when he arrived at 0700.

After loading all the stuff and securing the kayak on the roof of the truck cap we headed to the laundromat in Bath. While the clothes were washing we went to McDonalds for breakfast and stopped at Rommel’s Ace Hardware to get weed eater parts. Then into the FOSI office to see Connie.

All summer long I have been planning a trip to the Maine Maritime Museum and the Bath Iron Works (BIW). So, at 1230 we were at the museum and got on the trolley to BIW. This is where the Arleigh Burke class destroyers are built. It is quite an operation. They are working on ways to streamline the building process and be more cost efficient. BIW is impressive and I hope they are successful in securing their next military contract.

Off to lunch at the Starlight in Bath. This is a small place run by women in downtown Bath. It was OK, nothing special. We went back to the Maritime Museum to look around and headed back to Fort Popham. Cyndy Carney met us there and we loaded up the new (used) stove she had procured. Lobsterman Richard was along to give us a hand offloading the stove on the island. Getting the stove off the boat was not too bad. Ethan, Richard and Dennis got it up the steps and on the tram. I got the donkey engine going And up the hill she went.

The old stove was removed and the new one installed. This was not a plug and play installation. The stove plug is not accessible as someone built a cabinet around it. Instead we left the plug alone and changed the other end where it connects to the stove. At first the stove would not work, but after some fiddling around we got it to come on. The girls successfully prepared dinner but it again stopped working soon after. Some more jiggling got it going again. Not sure about this one.

A big thanks to Ethan and Richard for their help both removing and installing the stoves. Last I saw of the old stove was with Ethan taking it away with the boat.

Tuesday, September 1

Quiet, peaceful, serene. That’s what it is like early in the morning. The birds don’t start squawking until sun up. The wind is calm and so is the sea. No clouds and the stars are shining bright. We saw the moon set from our bed at 0230 this morning. A nice cool wisp of sea air filters in through the window. This is an experience to remember. The lack of auditory stimulation is deafening, almost surreal. These are the mornings we are experiencing now.

After breakfast we walked the South trail. Mosquitoes are still in abundance. The rocks at the south end are quite rugged and the view is fantastic. The only thing that detracts is the abundance of seagull droppings that smell.

Dennis and I framed and hung some more pictures and a mirror. Brenda was busy with some visitors. We are getting some stuff ready for our trip ashore tomorrow. The more we can take now, the less we will have to deal with on Saturday.

After dinner we watched a movie and made it an early night. Tomorrow is an early day.