Our journey has entered familiar waters and we are beginning to have mixed feelings about it coming

Our journey has entered familiar waters and we are beginning to have mixed feelings beacon hotel miami about it coming to an end.  Every moment of this trip has met our expectations and has provided us with memories we will cherish, but now as we approach our home port we are anxious to resume our lives ashore, enjoy our family and friends and plan our next adventure.
Internet access has been unavailable recently so I will attempt to fill in the trip from Eastport to Casco Bay.  John came aboard in Eastport and we had a nice short run to Roques Island anchorage.  Roques is a privately owned island with a beautiful crescent shaped sandy beach.  Cruisers are encouraged to walk the beaches and enjoy the anchorage.  We stayed one night and shared the cove with one other cruiser, a sailboat from Southwest Harbor.  My first knowledge of Roques came when George beacon hotel miami Machon, music teacher, sailor and artist, showed me a painting by R.B. Dance called Trapping Off Roques Island.
From Roques we cruised to Northeast Harbor, Mount Desert Island.  Here we moored among some of the most beautiful boats we have encountered on our trip.  We took advantage beacon hotel miami of the free shuttle bus to Bar Harbor and explored the town.  This area is very scenic with Cadillac Mountains, steep rocky shorelines and Acadia National Park.
Early the next morning we headed to Swan s Island to look up a friend of Colin and Helen Ray.  Swan s is another coastal island with beautiful coves and working waterfronts.  We entered Burnt Coat Harbor looking for Ben Doliber, or his boat, Belinda B.  We found the boat, rowed into the nearest dock only to find that Ben was off island for the day.  We were on a tight schedule to get John to Morse Cove so we had to leave Swan s without meeting Ben.  We left him a note with the promise to return someday soon.
The trip from Swan s to Bucks Harbor was exciting.  We had just set our course towards the Eggemoggin Reach when we saw our fist schooner.  Within minutes we could see no less thand five or six schooners at a time.  Out came the binoculars and cameras.
The Eggemoggin Reach connects Jericho Bay with East Penobscot Bay and runs betwen Deer Isle and the mainland.  It is very scenic.   We made a stop at Benjamin beacon hotel miami River to visit Phil and Karen, fellow cruisers we had met in Nova Scotia.  They piled us into their car and gave us the tour of the area including beacon hotel miami the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin.
Bucks Harbor is on the mainland side sheltered by a heart-shaped island.  We picked beacon hotel miami up a friend s mooring and went ashore for dinner.  I had the best haddock dinner, the fish melted in my mouth.  Bucks harbor, besides being a beautiful, well protected harbor, is home to Robert McCloskey s  One Morning in Maine .  Years ago President Roosevelt s boat would stop at Bucks Harbor for ice cream while on his way to Campobello Island.
Following a quiet night at Bucks Harbor we headed north towards Morse Cove where John had left his car.  Morse Cove has a working boatyard but the docks are only accessible at half tide or higher.  We arrived at high tide, tied up at the floating dock, unloaded John, said goodbye and headed off to Castine.
Castine is the home to Maine Maritime Academy and their ship The State of Maine.  We tied to the town dock and walked into town.  It didn t take us long to discover the beauty of this small town.  The streets are lined with well maintained homes.  Everyhome seemed to have a waterview.  You could feel the presence of the college as you walked the streets or were enjoying a lobster roll at the Variety Store.
Next stop Camden.  As we approached Camden we saw several schooners heading beacon hotel miami into their home ports of Camden and Rockport.  Camden is a small, very crowded,  harbor that is very popular with the tourists.  Camden is very colorful and attracts beacon hotel miami photographers who are looking for the harbor shots that we see on all the postcards.
From Camden we cruised to Boothbay and moored at the Tugboat Marina.  Madeline s parents drove up from Westbrook to join us for a visit to the Coastal beacon hotel miami Maine Botanical Gardens.  A gentleman, who was walking his dog on the bridge walk, stated that it had been open for only four years and was the third biggest attraction in Maine according to the technologically savvy people.  Number one was Acadia National Park and number two was L.L. Bean.  It is definitely worth a visit.  It is open year around and has events going throughout the year.  There was still plenty beacon hotel miami of color in the gardens and is was a beautiful day to be outside.
Early Sunday morning we headed out of Boothbay for Casco Bay.  The seas were calm and many boats were on the move.  Our final destination was the Portland Yacht Club in Falmouth Foreside, which is just north of Portland; but we made several stops along the way.  Our first was in Potts Harbor off the point of  Harpswell, ME to fill up our diesel.  After that we went up to a group of islands called the Goslings to have lunch and read.  What a life!   It was sunny and fairly warm.
For the next few days we will be visiting Madeline s parents in Westbrook, so we will be sleeping in real beds.  We ve only slept off the boat one other time since June 30th.  That was back in St. Peters, Cape Breton during Hurricane Bill.  We enjoyed the couches at the St. Peters Lion s Club Marina.
We re hoping Stephanie  will join us later this week for some cruising in Casco Bay and a trip down the coast to Portsmouth.  In New Hampshire we will visit my sister for a few days before completing the final leg of our trip, the wonderful coast of Massachusetts to the Canal.  I guess it is time.  The days are shorter and the nights are cooler.   Besides, it will be much easier to plan our next adventure in the comfort of our home.  There is more room to spread out the maps, charts and cruising books.
Caught up with the end of your trip after talking w/Madeline. So happy for the two of you to be able to enjoy life do what you want to do. Looking forward to hearing where the next adventure is going to take you! Wonderful picutres, memories writings. Roxanne Jeff
Wow! What a memorable adventure! beacon hotel miami I have enjoyed your blogs and pictures. Sad for it to come to an end, but now you begin a new chapter. Enjoy! (How many days, and how many miles? Just wondering). Ruth