I’m hoping that this week’s MMP will bring a bit of warmth to us all, ‘cause we could sure use some! Well, at least those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, that is. It’s nearly the vernal equinox, though, so take heart all.
I’ve talked about the time as a child when I lived in Michigan, and after we moved back east, it was one vacation spot for us. My family found another place to vacation, though: the state of Maine.
Our first vacation there was in 1965, when we spent a couple of weeks at a cottage on a small inland lake called Tilden’s Pond. I couldn’t recall where it was, but on a google expedition, I discovered it was not far from Belfast and actually not all that far from the Atlantic coast. I do recall going to the Penobscot Bay and having a steamed lobster (this was really a treat – with 5 kids, we didn’t get steak or lobster very often!). We also brought our poodle Jacques and our two cats, Kit and Kat (Kit Kat, get it? lol they were sister kitties); I don’t know how my parents were able to find a place that accepted pets, but they did. Tilden’s pond had a lot of algae and plenty of minnows; Jacques loved to chase those minnows! The cottage also had a –huge- selection of the older National Geographics (you all know which ones I’m talking about now, don’t cha?!), which the older boys and I all goggled over. We only went to Tilden’s Pond that one year, however.
The next place we went to vacation at was a small cottage in Weld Maine, just across from the Weld Inn; we had access to the beach of the Weld Inn on Lake Webb; it was a nice sandy beach, with a dock and a float. Weld and Lake Webb are in Western Maine, not far from Rumford (to the south) and Rangely (to the north). There are plenty of mountains for hiking, including Tumbledown, which I actually hiked to the top with my brothers and Dad one year. That was something, let me tell you! We were supposedly on the “easy” trail (Yah right!), and then my brothers kept telling me that it was, “just around the bend.” You know, they tried that when we went to Mt. Blue, but I wasn’t buying it that time! We did get enough wild blueberries up there, though, to make at least one pie with.
I went up there with them for several summers, usually the month of August, which was my Dad’s usual vacation month (he’s a minister); we always took our pets (the dog and cat), and drove up there from Delaware. One year, we even saw my HS English teacher, who was driving her kids up to their summer vacation home somewhere in New England – we were looking for other Delaware license plates, and there they were. Oh, I would complain about being up there with nothing to do and no-one to do it with. The highlight of my day would most likely be the walk to the local library. There was no TV in the cottage, although there was a radio.
My last summer with them was 1970, the summer after I graduated from High School. The family continued to go but I had summer jobs between semesters at college. They found a different cottage too; I would have liked to go with them, but have never been back to Maine. Yet. I can remember the many day outings we did; once we visited a ski area (yes, you can visit them during the summer!) and rode the gondola to the top of the mountain. Only something happened about half way up and the gondola stopped … and then started swaying in the air! We were afraid it was going to fall, but none of us wanted to voice that; what a wonderful moment it was when the gondola started moving upwards again. Still though, I was very relieved once we got back to the base of the mountain.
I wish that I had links for you all, but I couldn’t find anything on Tilden’s Pond, and very little on Weld! Both places were very small!
Have you ever vacationed in Maine or lived there? Please share your stories about
