A Sunday walk ashore here in Hope Town led us in and around the sweet neighborhoods that wind and wend their way along the waters. We watched a local outdoor basketball game, sniffed fragrant gardens and delighted at the cozy little porches that looked perfect for a Sunday morning read. Upon stopping to explain the gutter-to-cistern systems to Lily on one particular house, the man standing at the dutch door said hello and invited us in for coffee after a quick conversation found us united in a Boothbay Harbor, Maine bond. Small world, small circles, small something, but oh, the luck! An absolutely lovely morning sitting on our new friends’ deck, enjoying coffee and breakfast brownies (as if the girls needed winning over!).
We invited them to lunch with us later, and at their recommendation went to On Da Beach, which was, you guessed it, on the beach. The skies threatened rain but held off the earnest dumping until we’d eaten, had a nice walk back on the beach, and dinghied home.
Once back onboard we hunkered down and had an eating, game-playing, reading and movie-watching afternoon and evening: is there a better Sunday to be had?!
Yesterday’s sun brought us back out into the land of the living, and after school we conquered the 101 steps of the Hope Town Lighthouse, which offered incredible views for our hard work.
More beach time in the afternoon, and work and boat needs led us individually on errands to find hardware stores, markets, post offices and photo copies. While we adults scurried to and fro to do so, the kids made another beach house, this one amazingly detailed. We noted that if were to be stranded on an island, we should be so lucky as to have those kiddos with us to make our safe havens.
A small cocktail gathering in the early evening to introduce our new friends to Chickadee, and zonk, we were out after a long day.
This morning we FaceTimed with Violet’s kindergarten class, and it was SO very sweet. She was so happy to see all of her friends’ faces together in her classroom, and proud too to give them a tour of the boat (though she reminded me just before we connected that she was shy and would need me to do it so that she could duck away and hide if necessary- she made it through without tucking into the bilge, I’m happy to report).
Today after school we’ll head down to Tahiti beach to anchor for a night or two. It’s a whopping three miles away, but it’ll give the kids their chance for kayaking and snorkeling between boats, and it’ll be our stepping stone to our next destination, wherever that may be.
Your post makes me want to be there! I love Hope Town and have never climbed to the top of the lighouse. Maybe in April? We, too have been down the little streets of Hope Town and loved the porches and porch-sitters. We found a little coffee/pastry/sandwich/anything you want spot and sat for a spell. Wonderful way to relax. Missing you but love hearing about your travels. Love you all, Mimi