Water, Wind, and Fire

For the second year in a row, we took Kilty's Wake out to watch the West Beach fireworks. As dusk approached and the nearly-full moon rose above Great Misery Island, the revelers anchored in Cocktail Cove awaited the show.

We anchored just south of the fireworks barge as the sun set over West Beach. The stiff breeze would be carrying any burning embers eastward...I hoped. The anchorage was continuously patrolled by the harbormaster, the coast guard auxiliary, and the fire department rescue boat. We enjoyed a sandwich supper as we waited.

The display began before the sky was quite dark.

We were so close that the explosions seemed directly overhead.

I even captured the perfect North Shore fireworks explosion...pink and lime green.

The Three Amigos

Joe McShane, John Kane, and Vin Harrington visit the bicentennial tall ships parade in Newport, Rhode Island on July 1, 1976.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Tired of my moping around as my 60th approached, Kathy whisked me off to Boothbay Harbor for a few days, knowing that the combination of maritime scenery and harborside dining would restore my spirits.

View from our balcony

She found a hilltop hotel in West Boothbay overlooking a lake. Unfortunately, the weather discouraged us from using the free rowboats and canoes.

The eastern shore of the harbor offers dockage for recreational boats and is lined by small shops and restaurants. McSeagulls, our first evening choice, is the tan building on the right. We opted for traditional Maine fare for dinner.

McSeagull's has live music every night. We stayed late to hear this band composed of a keyboardist/singer, guitarist/dobro player, and drummer. Their version of "The Weight" was a highlight.

The west side of the harbor offers some larger establishments, and, as you head seaward, some rustic fish market restaurants.

The "famous" footbridge connects the two sides of the harbor. The cottage in the center was once the bridge tender's house, but is now privately owned.

On our second evening we visited the Boat House Bistro for tapas and a bottle of wine. It took us some time to work through the Glidden Point oysters, stuffed bread and warm olives, goat cheese prawns, and sausage sampler while enjoying the music of a local keyboardist/singer. We never even got to the margherita pizza.

My brother claims that all I write about lately is where I go and what I eat. I hate it when he's right.