Well, I knew I wasn’t really missed, but I’m going to torture you all with long boring tales about my trip to Maine for the paternal family reunion to make sure that next time my return will be awaited if not with hope, then fear!
First off, having to catch the shuttle to the airport at 3:30AM reeks big time. Sitting in those little airplane seats for over six hours also stinks.
So I make it to Providence RI and wait an hour for my aunt to pick me up, turns out that there was a misscommuniation with my father and he got to walk about 2 miles from the station to her house, while she waited at the Boston airport for him, not knowing that he took the train out of Boston to the Franklin station. Anyways, it cost them some time, so they were late picking me up. We get to my aunts house and I collapse on the bed, ahhhhhh rest.
The next day, we drive up to Auburn Maine, which is where my father is from. We check into the hotel and then drive up to the farm house. Maine is beautiful, that is all there is to say about it. If you like forest, and trees, and mountains, Maine is Eden practically. I say practically, because throughout the weekend my one complaint was that I was both appetizer and main course for the mosquitoes that inhabit the area. We then drive back down to the hotel to gather up the rest of the clan and have dinner.
On Sat, we drove to my aunts house and had a large breakfast/lunch, I tried my uncles homemade maple syrup and it was pretty good, if a bit thinner than I like. (about 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup, egads!) We gorged ourselves and I met family members I haven’t seen since the last time I was in Maine, about 13 years ago. The Demers clan is big, about 40 showed up for the lunch, luckily, there was enough food. I tossed a football for a while, talked with cousins and then we headed back to the farmhouse. There we went on down into the family woods, my uncle owns about 100 acres I think it is, it might be smaller, since I know some of the orginal family lands have been sold off. But this area is where the wild things are, namely beaver. They had built a huge dam down in the valley that stretched at least 450 feet, the lake was pretty impressive. They even used the small bridge my uncle had built for an access road as part of the dam, luckily, they didn’t tear it down, just used it as bracing for the main part of the dam. The dam was tretcherous to walk on, but we did anyways, and I paid for it with a slightly twisted ancle (hurt about 3 hours) and stubbed toe when I sliped and fell into the boggy area. Well, there went one pair of pants, whew, did they smell bog fresh later.
After I had a chance to clean up and put on new pants, we went to Wolfs Neck State Park and walked around the coast lines…Ah the sea, nothing looks or smells like the Maine coast, at least the clam beds stank. Still neat looking though. There was an osprey’s nest on an islet just off the main shoreline, boy were the chicks loud, but we got to see one of the parents hunting for them, brought back some huge fish to feed them, which caused them to shut up for about 3.2 nanoseconds. I hope that my pictures of that area turn out, but they were a bit far for my cameras zoom level.
On Sunday, we had the true gathering of the clan, about 60 of us desended on Sebego Lake for a picnic. Of course, standard rules apply, the day was overcast and cold, so I didn’t get to swim in the lake. I could have, but I didn’t want to even contemplate how cold I’d be after getting out of the water, which was warm, unlike the air. The picnic was fun though, and I met cousins that I hadn’t seen since I was a gleam in my daddys eye. After the picnic, I went with my aunt, sister, and her boyfriend to Bailey’s Island, while the rest of my immediate family went to the LLBean store in Freeport. Lands End at the end of Bailey’s Island (I believe that it is also where the Catalog gets its name, but am not sure) is a magnificent vista, only spoiled by the ever present mosquitoes. The rocks on the Maine coast don’t look like rock, they look like petrified wood, it is so neat. After enjoying the view for a bit and getting to see a two master in the distance, we retired to Cooks for dinner. I must have eaten way to much fried food there, but it was excellent tasting. We then drove back to the hotel and I tried to sleep.
I wasn’t feeling well Monday morning, partially because of how much I ate the night before, and partially because of tension because I dislike being crammed up in airplanes. After saying our farewells to the family, my parents drove me back to Providence to catch my flight before they headed back into Franklin to spend the night at my uncles since their flight to Ohio didn’t leave until this morning (Tues).
I spent two hours sitting in the plane in Prov as it waited on the tarmac for Atlanta to give the go ahead so they could fly there…then a 2 hour flight to Atlanta, followed by a 5 hour flight to San Francisco and a one hour drive home to San Jose. Ugh, but it was worth it, I had a great time, and I really love Maine.
A few disappointments, We just didn’t have time to go to Portland to see the tall ships, I would have loved to do that. And I didn’t get to go to the LLBean store, I would have liked to see that, but I wanted to see the coast more.
Now a few observations…People always note the rustic charm of Maine…all I can say is that it must be written into the laws of nature there. A house, no matter how modern, will look like it is a century old after only one year in Maine. Homemade maple syrup is good! Elms appear to be making a bit of a comeback, my uncle has several growing on his land, and it looks like the blight is currently in abayence. (Knock on wood) Family gatherings are often fun places to learn stories about your parents that are good for blackmail later. 
Well, it is good to be back in SJ, now to recover enough to work.