Hi All!
Happy 4th of July from Pemaquid Point Maine. We brought my niece, Laura; her
husband, Bob and her son Garret along with my daughter Jocelyn’s best friend
Kristi to one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
We started out from Saratoga on Friday morning around 10 am
and got to a rest stop about an hour and half from Boston, where I saw someone
I know from Saratoga! If you’re
reading this–Hi Courtney, Brendan and Jeb! Anyway, once we left the rest stop we headed on into
Massachusetts and then into New Hampshire where we ran into heavy traffic in
Portsmouth. Once through that
traffic it was on to All Points Maine!
Kristi, who had never been out of New York State, was
excited when she saw the harbor and the boats.
Once we got into Maine we got into traffic at Bath and
Wiscasset and then it was on to Damariscotta. We were traveling in two cars and
they were about 10 miles behind us so we pulled over behind some stores along
the Damariscotta River to wait for them.
It’s a beautiful river and where the fireworks should be
tonight.
We pulled into the campground about 6:30 and immediately got
set up. We brought a big tent for
the kids and the adults were using the travel trailer. About 30 minutes later we were all set
up. I was anxious to get down to the
lighthouse for lots of photo ops, but as we got closer to the point we saw fog,
and lots of it. But that didn’t
deter the Midwesterners from climbing the rocks almost down to the surf. What a great time they had! About an hour and many photos later they
were tired and ready to eat. We
came back to the campground–Sherwood Forest, a basic campground, that is the
closest to the beach. The site was
big enough to accommodate our large tent and our 19-foot travel trailer, along
with our two vehicles.
Dinner was quick, hot dogs, smoked sausage and chips–and of
course s’mores for dessert.
After we finally got the campfire going we all turned in and
slept until after 8 am.
The next morning we got up to a breakfast of sausage, hash
browns, eggs and toast and hot, hot coffee. We then packed up and headed back to the lighthouse. This time not only did they climb the
rocks (since the fog wasn’t as bad) but they decided to climb the top of the
lighthouse for the most spectacular view.
We went into the gift shop for a few souveniers and a snack; back to the
campground and then off to the beach.
A thunderstorm threat cleared the beach but it was short lived. The sun came back out and then it was
off to the pool. The water was
cold at the beach but that didn’t stop 7 year
old Garret who jumped on the boogie board and rode the
waves, even at the pool the cold water didn’t stop him. He jumped off the diving board much to
the amazement of some of the other families there, even when he jumped off,
slipped and hit his back.
We then settled back in at the campground where I made a big
pot of green pepper soup (recipe to follow) and biscuits. We debated on whether or not to go back
into town for the fireworks but decided to stay at the site. From the site we were able to see
fireworks through the trees, at least some, so the kids walked down toward the
beach where they got a
better look. All the small
communities had fireworks so we were basically surrounded by the lights and
sounds. We had a huge bon fire
going again and so we did our own fireworks–sparklers–in the most creative
ways, first we started out holding them, then we decided to stick them in the
ground in different designs and then we got the idea to put them in the fire. That turned into an experiment–we laid
them on the logs and we put them in the boxes with them sticking out and let
the fire light them. The kids got
a lot of enjoyment from trying different ways to light the sparklers. We finished the night off with camper
pies (recipe and pictures below)
bread filled with different fillings and then cooked in the campfire, a new
twist on s’mores.
All in all it
was a good day in Maine.
Green Pepper Soup
1 ½ pounds of ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 ½ green peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 large cans tomato soup
½ cup minute rice
salt and pepper to taste
In a large dutch oven brown the ground beef but don’t
drain. Add the onions, garlic and
green peppers. Cook until
soft. Add the cans of soup and
heat to boiling. Pour in the rice
and cover. Cook for 5
minutes. Thin with a half a can of
water if needed. Season with salt
and pepper.
Serve in cups with biscuits.
Camper Pies
You will need a camper pie maker. You can order them from camping supply stores. They are cast iron, round or square on
a long handle. The pie maker part
is hinged together. Open the pie
make and oil with either spray or butter.
Place a slice of bread in either side then fill with whatever filling
you like. We used Hershey bars and
marshmallows and strawberry jam and Hershey bars. After you choose your filling then close the pie maker and
put it in the fire. As it cooks
the edges of the bread will cook off and the pie will seal. It takes only about 5 minutes, but be
sure to check it and turn it often.
Then enjoy!!
Today will be going on a puffin cruise and then eat lobster if
the weather holds out……
