“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.”-Fitzhugh Mullan

A couple of weeks ago Skip and I drove to Maine to visit some dear friends of ours who have a cabin in the Rangeley Lakes region.  Just in case you are as geographically challenged as me, it is a long drive.  A very long drive.  Almost to Canada.  The last and only time I have visited their cabin was thirty-five years ago (before kids, before cell phones and internet and google maps for traffic).  I honestly do not remember much except that it was a very long drive, ending on a very long dirt road, and that there were bugs.  In fairness I remember it was very beautiful there, there was a boat and a very large, very cold lake.  My mental images are pretty black and white and I have NO PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER, to help me remember what it was like.  All this build up is to let you know how nervous I was to go knowing that when I was there I would be…

So for several weeks before we left I was working on my survival skills.  I put an action plan into place for my children and sister-in-law to check on my 89-year-old father, I bought Deep Woods Off for the black flies,  I packed extra Diet Coke in my cooler, and I bought a 3.25 inch folding knife at Wall-Mart! (That would surely save me from a bear attack, right)?

This all seems like a big buildup for the end result that it was a lovely weekend.  Yes, it was a very long drive both there and home.  Yes it was a fun time spent with our friends.  Yes, it was challenging to be disconnected, I would not go so far as to say I embraced it with open arms and am looking forward to being disconnected soon, but we still had a very nice , relaxing, enjoyable time hardly worth the anxiety leading up to the trip~ but if I tell you that, it would mean that Skip was right in saying everyone and everything was going to be fine , and I can’t possibly admit to that!!

Our friends cabin has been modernized yet kept the charm of the original design.

The lake they are on , Lake Kennebago, serene, calming, and inviting, but I hear it is very cold though I did not test the waters!

 Of course in order to properly see the lake you have to take a boar ride where wine is involved!  (From our days of river cruising).

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance”.

Benjamin Franklin

We took a walk in the woods to “back beach” where we watched some men fly fishing and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Meanwhile  continued my search for a use for my knife in case there were no bear attacks and I thought about whittling.

Disclaimer, I may not have actually whittled anything.

Later that day we went into town for a lovely and educational walk through town, a tour of a museum, a boat ride and a car ride and a delicious dinner with good wine.