Maine vacation, day two, part four - Ogunquit

As we wrapped up our cruise near Portland it was time to set out to Ogunquit.  Take 95 south to Highway 1 south and you will eventually find Ogunquit.  Ogunquit meant "beautiful place by the sea" in the native language.  One of Maine's slogans is "Life the way it should be".  Both phrases catch the spirit of the place.  One needs to take Ogunquit at its pace.  If you were to try to be really active you would exhaust your options quickly and become restless.  If you did almost nothing it wouldn't justify the costs of staying there.  The best approach is to be laid back and take it as it comes. 

We arrived at our B and B in the late afternoon and then went to the beach and the Marginal Way.  Between that evening and the next morning I saw the major difference between high and low tide.  Someday I'd like to learn more about this type of thing.  We had some issues finding the Marginal Way from Shore Dr. but eventually a nice hotel employee let us go through their private property and onto the trail.  It's a curby path with the jagged cliffs, small beaches, and ocean views to one side and hotels and oceanfront property to the other side.

By the time we arrived to Perkins Cove it was dark.  We dined at Barnacle Billy's, a mainstay there with two different sets of atmosphere.  Another delicous lobster dinner and we were back on our way for a night of rest.  I was now in vacation mode.  Life the way it should be.

Maine vacation, day two, part 3

I have been putting off this post and the rest of the Maine trip essays because of the lack of details I have about the harbor cruise we took that afternoon.  No more.  You can miss all the details and always go there for yourself.

It was a sunny day, slightly breezy day and optimal for a Lighthouse Lovers Cruise.  We chose Portland Discovery out of a few different options.  We went out, passed some lighthouses, Cape Elizabeth, other islands that form part of Portland, saw lobster traps and civil war forts, and then eventually went through Casco Bay and around Portland back to the harbor.

Our guide had a nice thick mustache and took his duties seriously.  He needed to communicate with the captain, give his talking points, and take questions from the crowd.  There was so much to see and learn about that at some point it became overkill.  He didn't speak incessantly or any more than he needed to, yet I think cruises like this should have some quiet time to hear the natural sounds of the boat cutting waves, the birds, and any other such sounds.  I suppose passengers can choose to tune out the guide, which many people did.

By this time, our full first afternoon on the land or water of Maine, my wife and I were slowly but surely falling in love with Portland.  Perhaps it was just the idyllic August weather, the lobster rolls, or the laid back, not-so-big city feel.  As the cruise wound down we realized that the time to leave Portland for Ogunquit was near.  Fortunately we knew we'd return in just a few days, and it felt like we'd be going to visit an old friend.

South Carolina 33, Michigan 28 - perspective

Near the end and after today's Outback Bowl between South Carolina and Michigan I went through four of the five stages of grieving.  "No that did not just happen" I muttered when South Carolina connected on an improbable but not entirely surprising TD pass will 11 seconds left in the game.  Anger set in quickly and different people were blamed.  The defensive backs that were not in the right position to stop the play.  Or all the DL and LBs that missed sure sacks on previous plays that made this pass possible?  Or was it Greg Mattison's fault?  No way.  Mattison is a great DC and had them where they were supposed to be most of the year.  I decided it was the entire defense's fault.  I skipped the Bargaining step since I knew that I was powerless to change the outcome.  Depression arrived next.  I tried finding somthing else to do around the house, but was numb for a couple of hours.  I went grocery shopping and found Acceptance.  It was quite simple. 

I realized that over 32 years of being a Michigan fan that my perspective had changed as little as the ages of the Wolverines.  When I was 8 to about 18 my favorite players like Anthony Carter, Jim Harbaugh, Jamie Morris, and Desmond Howard were grown men, and would have been 10 feet tall if I ever met them.  While at UM my opinion changed briefly, having seen the players attend the first week or so of classes in the fall or winter semester and then disappear.  This jaded me and I did not actively support the team during the Moellar years while at the school.  That changed in the glorious 1997 campaign, and from then on I've been back to cheering for these "men", these Wolverines.

Well I'm now about 20 years older than the average player, and they're really not men to me anymore.  They're college kids, just out of high school really.  My kids will be as old as them in about five years. And they got beat at the end of a close, hard-fought game by the Ol' Ball Coach.  They're this years version of the kids that put on the uniforms and helmets I love, and play in the stadium I love to the sounds of the fight song I love.  They're probably playing video games now or on their phones.  Or listening to some rap or metal music that I can't relate to.  It doesn't make it hurt any less that I found acceptance, but it helped me rid of some of that numbness.

I have high hopes for 2013 as it's a season when ND and OSU visit Ann Arbor.  I expect there will be more to cheer for, and that today's darkness will become a distant memory.  My love will go on.