Fall in New England.

Well, the leaves have all fallen. The golden glow is gone. However, there are a few stragglers left on the trees, and then there are those trees who for some strange reason never loose their leaves, even when they are weighted down by a mountain of snow. Autumn this year has been fabulous. It has lasted gone on for awhile and the temperatures have been divine. We have enjoyed the colors. I wish that the few pictures I have could do justice to the beauty that is here. The tree are so numberous. At night when the sun is setting, the glow from the sun and the leaves is beyond description. The area has a golden glow that radiates divinity. It truly is a beautiful world that we live in. I would love to share the beauty of a New England Autumn with anyone who wishes to come this way.

Our Front Yard when the leaves are beginning to change.

A look from an upper window as the leaves have begun to change.

You will all have to plan a visit. The only problem is that it changes from year to year. Wishing you were here to share.

Kayaking and Tag!

I have been tagged by Jodi!

Since I am quite new to this blog thing, it is a good thing that Jodi explained how the game is played. I am usually not to good at playing along with these things, but I figure I am older now. Boy! Am I older!!!! When one gets older, they must be more mature and follow through with assignments. Besides I love seeing all the pictures and things that everyone has out there, so I figured it was only fair to play. I have to honestly say that I am surprised by the number of blogs there are. I have actually found some that have ideas for school. Who knew! Anyway I am totally off the subject, kind of like being in school. Get the teacher talking about something else and hopefully you won't have any homework. Unfortunately, I don't think this will work for me. First, I must thank Jodi for the tag. At first, I was a little overwhelmed, but when I read the directions and saw the picture that fit the instructions, I was excited. I now had the idea for my blog this week. Hence the kayaking title! This isn't the greatest picture, but kayaking is something we have come to enjoy. There is so much water, and if you really want to be a true "Mainer," then you must have a kayak or two! We use them on rivers and in the ocean. This picture happens to in Casco Bay. The kids and I are actually sitting on a dock not too far away.
Google Earth is a great place to get an aerial view of the area and some of the places we go. This is near Winslow Park in Freeport, Maine. The others are taken on the Royal River, and in the Casco Bay near the Harraseeket (Figure out how to say that!) Restaurant and South Freeport Harbor.

The ever illusive and yet fun to catch stripper. We are out in the bay. It's a little spooky when bigger boats drive by. The waves they create can cause a little stress depending on how your kayak is positioned.

We look a little silly, but Jake's drift boat has a motor, so out in the bay we go. It sure beats rowing, but I would venture to say that most people have no idea what kind of a small boat they see tootling around the bay.

Look in the distance! Yes, that is a mountain. It is actually quite an impressive mountain. They do have some impressive mountains here. It can be quite challenging to see them though with all the foliage.

I tag Cheloni, April and Liz

You are know supposed to post the fourth picture from the fourth folder. Here's to some great reading and perusing. Have a great week!

Cruise Ships, Sailboats, Tug Boats and Ferries - Oh My!

I will never tire of the ocean whether it is sunning on the beach, climbing the rocks, or sitting on the piers watching the ships and boats go by. Cruise ships have started coming further north, and Portland, Maine is one of their stops(Ya, I know. I thought that Portland, Oregon was the only one around too. ) Anyway, Portland is largest port city in Maine. Most of the coastal cities have ports, but they do not accomodate the oil ships, or larger ships that come into portland. We have been fortunate to be in Portland when a few of these large ships have docked. They are massive. The pictures don't do them justice. Since I have never been on a cruise ship, I can only admire the massive size from the outside. One of these days, maybe!

Front view of the ship. Doesn't look too big, but I couldn't fit the entire ship in my camera when i tired to take a side shot!

I love optical illusions. The only part of the ship you see is the top two floors. The part with the windows and whales is actually a huge warehouse. When you see the cars parked near the warehouse, you can begin to imagine how big this ship is.

The sign at the bottom of the picture in the middle tells vehicles where to park before being loaded on the ferries. The ferry boat is below. I didn't get a very big picture. The ferries go to several of the islands just off the coast. It is quite a pleasant trip on a hot summer day!
This ferry will fit about 10 cars. It makes about 6 or 7 trips a day between Portland and Peak's Island. There are other smaller ferries for people only that go between the other islands at least twice a day, sometimes more. If you have the money and believe me there are plenty around here who do, you can take a water taxi. Much more convenient and quicker.I must admit that this is the first time I have seen this many tugboats. I did see some on the Mississippi River, but Jake and I were a tad bit curious as the boats are from Delaware and New York. Do they follow the boats around? Whoever has the answer I would love to know! And last, but certainly not least, a sailboat. Jake and I would love to buy a sailboat and learn how to sail. It is our goal for next summer. IF we actually succeed, I hope that some of you will come out here and go sailing with us. There are plenty of yachts(Some really big ones down in Kennebunkport and Kittery), and motorboats, but a sailboat is so much more romantic.

Leaves(Ugh!) and Lumberjack Jake

I have come to the grand conclusion that fallen leaves are not as romantic as I once thought they were. On the trees they are divine(New England Autumns are spectacular), but once they have fallen, UGH! I think that we have raked more leaves in the past three years than my first 40 years. The one bright spot is playing in them when we take the time! However, I usually just want to get it done and playing in them is for another day. We learned the hard way last year that you cannot let them build up, or the leaves become a mashed0-together wet mess when it rains, and since it rains frequently around here, get them raked. Then the raking really becomes laborious and all the fun is lost.

This is just the beginning. We will get this many leaves probably three or four times. If you could see the trees, you would notice that most of the leaves are still there. This year we have had an abundance of acorns. Oh my gosh! It makes raking even more fun!

Of course! I am always dressed in the appropriate attire for raking leaves. It was a beautiful Autumn day though. Somewhere around 70. Jake is coming to the rescue though, but I am not sure if his solution is the right one. Cut the trees Down! He really is just cutting the trees down, so we don't have so many that could damage the house. I just hope he doesn't damage himself in the process.

Most of them have fallen pretty well, but this one got stuck in all the other trees that are just out of sight of the picture. Jake did get it down though. One interesting note! Where? Oh where do you think his help is? Where they usually are? Enjoying the view!

Wish us luck!

How to get to Maine by car!!!!!

I need a favor from those of you reading this. Take a minute and let me know if there is something you want to know, I would appreciate any direction you can give me. I think I have covered lots, but then what is so common to some isn't to others. Help me out! Todays entry is a reflection of Jake and I. Driving(Riding) has always been something that Jake and I have enjoyed. We have tortured and tormented the kids as we have driven to various places. Some of our better drives before driving across the country was a 48 hour drive to San Francisco and Lake Tahoe. The same for a trip to the Grand Canyon, and a 6 day tour through Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, and finally home in December. Believe it or not, I didn't take pictures of the state signs for those trips. However, I finally wised up as we have traveled across the country several times. Maine is about 2,500 miles from Utah. All trips have taken days. Some trips up to four and others a day and a half.(Our record is about 38 hours. Yes, that is with bathroom breaks and gas stops only.) We go through about 9 or 1o states from Utah to reach our home in Maine. As you know each state has their own unique signs. Here a few of the states and their signs. Wouldn't you know it! I don't have a sign for Utah. It is not like I haven't seen that a few hundred times in my life, and many of yours.

Wyoming Sign(One I am sure you have all seen many times!)

Nebraska
Iowa Sign

Illinois

Indiana

Ohio

Pennsylvania

New York(Sorry, it was getting dark.)

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Maine(Yippee! Only about 80 miles to go!)