DAYS 4 & 5: REST AT THE RECORD COTTAGE, DEBLOIS, ME

5 June 2011

Our gracious hosts

We’ve spent two very relaxing days at the Record family cottage in Deblois with our friends Isaac and Ellie and Isaac’s parents Larry and Peggy.  The cottage is in a remote area in a forest on the river.  Isaac, Larry and Isaac’s brother Jared built it themselves, and the house is filled with Peggy’s quilts and Jared’s wood carvings.  A true Record home!

Atop Cadillac Mountain

Yesterday we drove around with Isaac and Ellie visiting pretty Maine places and eating tasty Maine meals.  We started off eating lunch at Mainely Meat (Michael’s choice!*) and tasting beers at the Atlantic Brewing Company in Town Hill on Mount Desert Island.  From there, we visited Bar Harbor, a town on the edge of Acadia National Park, and Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak in the eastern US, standing tall at 1500 ft.  The long, steep road up to the summit reminded me of our climb up to Cape Spear, NL last year.  This time, I was simultaneously glad to be driven up the mountain in a car and sad that I didn’t get to experience the thrill of seeing that beautiful view after the intense and prolonged pain that that climb would have caused.  There is just something about the sense of accomplishment one has after conquering crazy hills that is unparalleled by anything else I’ve experienced. 

At Mainely Meat. Michael is loving the food so much that he can't even look up for the picture!

After wandering through an azalea garden and eating at a diner called Helen’s in Ellsworth, we headed home.  On the way back, we hit a deer!  Fortunately, though, Isaac dealt with the situation in a calm and controlled way: he slowed down the car as much as he could, so while we hit the deer, no damage was done.  The deer got back up and bounded back into the woods and we were all fine. 

Today we mostly just hung out and did work, except for a brief trip out to use the Chesterfield Public Library’s wireless and eat Mexican food from a truck.  Yes, Mexican food from a truck in the middle of nowhere in Maine.  And it was tasty! 

For those of you who had doubts about my ability to work on the road, doubt no more!  In total, I did a solid four hours of work today and made some serious progress revising a paper of mine.  If I can pull this cycling/work trip thing off – I mean really pull it off – then I know how I’m going to spend most of the rest of my graduate career. 

After a tasty meal of burgers and salad, we are ready to hit the road again.  Our bodies feel rested and replenished, our clothes are clean(ish ­– we hand washed them in the sink with camp soap and lake water), and our load has been lightened (by giving Isaac some of our stuff to take back to Toronto).  Onwards we go!

Lounging around the Record camp

*For those who don’t know, Michael is a vegan J