Date: 2004-10-18
From: exploring the maine coast: day 2

To: exploring the maine coast: day 2
Miles today: 0.0

"cundys harbor, a new dream, and a flower for a girl"how do i keep finding myself getting up at 4:30? something just doesn¢t seem right about this. but, we were awake at 4:30 this morning so that we could drive down to cundys harbor for the sunrise. it was about 32 degrees when we went out to the car. a layer of frost covered everything.by the time we reached cundys harbor at 5:30, it was already full of life. the small parking area at the marina was full of vehicles. i could see men readying the lobster boats in the harbor. other men were milling around on the docks. ross and i got out of the car with cameras in hand. i started clicking away, fascinated by everything that was going on in front of me. ross took a few pictures and then retreated to the warm of the car.i walked through a stand of trees and found a better position on an empty dock. i didn¢t think anyone would mind me using their dock to take photographs. especially, not this early in the morning. from what i saw, there was a man who worked at the marina that would take the captain and crew to their respective lobster boats which were anchored in the harbor. once on board the boats, the crew would ready the deck and traps for the day before heading for the mouth of the harbor. all of this was so intriguing in the pale light of dawn.seagulls were perched throughout the harbor. occasionally taking flight to follow a boat as it made its way towards the ocean or to alight on better perch. a flock of small birds flew across the bright yellow sky just as the sun broke the horizon.the sunrise in cundys harbor might be one of my favorite parts of this adventure so far. it was just so fascinating watching these men begin their days. i wondered what it would be like to live a life like theirs. to earn my living on the open sea. pulling my livelihood from the depths of the ocean.¢sometime in my life i¢d like to go out on a lobster boat,¢ i say as i get back in the car.¢well, maybe we can arrange that,¢ replies mandi.say what?¢over at the marina where i dock my boat, a guy keeps his lobster boat. maybe we can go over there and see if he¢ll let you go out there with him.¢are you serious? you¢re kidding, right? don¢t be messing with me. i hope you¢re not kidding.mandi wasn¢t kidding. we drove back down to the southern point on bailey island, the same place i watched the sunset from last night. it looked completely different in the early morning sun, which was shining bright as it climbed into the sky.at the southern end of the island is a monument to the fishermen of maine. it is a bronze statue of a man kneeling with a fish and lobster in front of him. he is cleaning the lobster. beneath the statue is a plaque with the inscription:¢a memorial to all maine fishermen who have devoted their lives to the sea.¢i can only wonder what it really would be like to be a fisherman. especially, in the northern atlantic where the seas are rough and the storms can be frequent. i looked at the memorial glowing beneath the rays of the sun and wondered what it would be like to lose my life to the sea. that is that they meant when they said ¢devoted.¢ it was just a fancy way of saying lost. what would it be like? nothing i would ever want to experience. but, i still say that i one day want to go out on a lobster boat.we drove to the marina where mandi docks her boat and talked to the harbormaster. he told us that chris-the lobster boat captain-had already gone out for the day. the harbormaster said he thought chris might have taken a photographer out on the boat with him before and we should come back in the morning to try to catch him before he went out again. we decided that we¢d return to the marina at 5:00 the next morning just to be sure that we caught him. (these early mornings are going to be the end of me).back at the house, holly cooked another huge breakfast for us with fresh eggs and bacon and toast. i haven¢t eaten breakfasts this good in a long time. if i could eat breakfasts like this everyday on the trail, i¢d be set. i could hike forever.we decided to spend the day in the town of camden, a small tourist town further up the coast. there are a few small mountains nearby that ross said if we climbed to the top of, we¢d be afforded splendid views. on the way to camden we stopped by an outfitter store- the only outfitter store in a hundred mile radius. ross has decided that he is going to join me when i pick the trail back up near grafton notch in southern maine. we are going to traverse the mahoosuc range and the white mountains. ross decided that maybe he should get a warmer sleeping bag and a trekking axe. he hoped he wouldn¢t have to use a trekking axe. i can only dream that we might run into that kind of weather. i¢m ready for it this time. i¢ve got my crampons and trekking axe coming to me in andover so that i can have them through the mahoosucs. i¢m not trying to get my ass kicked through there again like i did last year.camden is a quaint little tourist down that sits on the water. camden harbor was full of large, expensive looking sailboats. i think they are called windjammers. after lunch at a local chowder place (i ate a grilled chicken sandwich) we decided to go to the top of mount battie, which overlooks camden and the surrounding area. some people say that mount battie has the best views in all of coastal maine. we cheated and drove to the summit. what a bunch of tourists we are on this exploration of the maine coast. the views from the summit were grand. we could see cadillac mountain in acadia national park to the north. the expansive atlantic ocean sprawled out before us. i couldn¢t ask for better weather on this vacation. i really couldn¢t.to close out the day we drove to the mouth of the port clyde harbor where we found the marshall point light. this lighthouse was originally built in 1832 and then rebuilt in 1857. the sunset from the point was beautiful. i eventually climbed down onto the rocks that sit at the base of the lighthouse. again, i found small purple flowers mixed in with the rocks, seaweed, and broken seashells. i picked a flower and am going to save it.maybe one day i¢ll give it to a pretty girl.