I have to say, that I think there is no better place to be in the summer than in Maine!

I have been so fortunate and grateful to spend most of this summer at my home in Cape Elizabeth. I arrived on June 25th, from Johannesburg, South Africa after 22 long hours of traveling….15 hours of flying from Johannesburg to JFK airport in New York City. I had to change terminals at JFK to catch my Jetblue flight to Portland, ME.

I love the Jetblue terminal at JFK…it is bright, airy and has Dunkin Donuts coffee 🙂 I had close to a 5 1/2 hour layover before my final flight to Portland, ME. I arrived at noontime to sunny and warm Portland, ME on Wed, June 25. Thursday, was a rest day for me before heading out to visit my family throughout Maine. Fortunately, I didn’t feel the affects from jet-lag. I organized paperwork to get David’s and my fingerprints sent off to the FBI for a background check. These background checks were needed for the package that we would be submitting to the South African embassy for our work/resident visas when David arrived in July.

I, also, had to send my passport off to get more pages inserted. It is necessary to have at least 2 plain pages, side by side, for a visa to be issued and I didn’t. It is amazing to me how long it takes to organize paperwork and get it sent off! Those two little projects took a good part of my Thursday rest day!

Friday, I was on the road to visit with my family….

My family are all doing well. After my stepfather’s passing on March 16th, my mom stayed in Maine rather than return to Florida. She celebrated her 80th birthday on the 10th of March. As soon as she could, she moved to her cabin on Moose River in the Moosehead Lake region. She has enjoyed the summer there visiting with her friends and working at the Historical Society Museum in Greenville, giving tours three days a week.

I went up to visit with her for a few days near the 4th of July. Unfortunately, it was rainy so we couldn’t really get out to enjoy the beauty of the area. I was able to get a couple of walks in between the rain showers.

I brought my brother’s dog, Jack, up with me to Moosehead. He is a really good co-pilot and great company.  Perry, came up for an overnight and took Jack back with him. We both left on the 4th as I had a wedding on July 5th to attend in Sanford, Maine.

My dad, Ray, is doing well. He will turned 85 on the 28th of September. I have been able to see him more than I have my mom, as he lives only 1 1/2 hours from me. It is much easier to zip up from Cape Elizabeth for a visit than it is to drive over 4 hours to see my mom.

As I often post during the summer months, one of my all time favorite things to do in the early morning, is ride my bicycle to Higgins Beach (about 4 miles away), but a coffee at the nearby farm stand and go sit on the beach to enjoy the scenery, people surfing and dogs walking with their owners. After 45 minutes or so, I hop on my bike and ride home to start my day. I was able to get a few rides in but for most of this summer, I have been plagued with a pulled gluteus maximus muscle on my right side. It has limited me on most physical activity all summer. I have found it extremely frustrating not to be able to enjoy the beautiful weather by walking, hiking and biking. I am pleased to say that I am slowly healing but sad that summer is mostly passed and the bike will soon have to be put away for another season.