Here I am at my beautiful Aunt Dawn's cottage on McGrath Pond in Oakland, Maine.
The beautiful Kool-Bee , which was owned by a previous Maine State Governor many years ago. Aunt Dawn and Uncle Jack have owned it for 40 years or so.
A large house with a gorgeous porch that goes around two sides.
four or five bedrooms upstairs and a wonderful stone fireplace that opens to both the dining room and also the living room.
Brady Beatson and his neice Liv jumping off the Kool-Bee dock into the fresh McGrath Pond water.
Everyone says the water is warm, and they have a floating thermometer which says it is 75 degrees F, but Ross (and I, to be honest) think it may be a little too cold for us. The weather has been cloudy and cool the last two days so we are a little chilly anyways, so the water has lost it's appeal.
The garage with the old sign that used to hang over the Old Barn at the Dairy Farm on Garland Road, Winslow, Maine. Aunt Dawn has just repainted the garage and it looks great.
In the Kool-Bee kitchen with Aunt Dawn and he eldest child, Cousin Mary Richardson. For a while, Mary used to work at the farm, with Grampy, and my brother Guy and I. She moved on to become a teacher and now married to Brian Richardson, who was in my class of 1970 at Hermon High School. They live in Andover, Maine, in the West of Maine, near ski resorts.
Mary and Brian have a son named Ian, who lives in England, and two daughters Sarah and Kristy and through them 5 grandchildren, thus Aunt Dawn is "Grammie" and Mary is "Nanna". to those 5 kids. Olivia is one, with her brother Keagan.
Kristy, Mary's younger daughter.lounging beside the dock down at lakeside.
Kool-Bee looking from the front down onto the waters of McGrath Pond. McGrath Pond, runs freely in Salmon Lake, making quite a large body of water.
We played poker last night with Uncle Carl and Aunt Cilla and Uncle Jack and Mary's brother Cousin "Johnny B" Beatson. (John Albert Beatson III) . It was fun and Ross was the big winner! Who knew he would be such a proficient poker player? Not me, I was gob smacked.
Carl has his back to us, then Jon is dealing the cards with Aunt Dawn standing, over his shoulder.
Then Aunt Cilla, Ross and Uncle Jack. Young Keagan is near Ross.
At 10:30 a.m. this morning (Saturday July 25th remember) I went into downtown Oakland to The Early Bird Restaurant (that opens for business at 5:45 a.m. every morning!) I had breakfast with my old friends and Williams High School classmates, Ricky Pierce and Ronnie Joseph. That was fantastic! I was so happy to see them and renew our old friendship and learn more about how their lives had gone in the 35 or 40 years since I had seen them last.
All three of us have lived well and obviously are still very good-looking and incredibly smart and talented. We are all recently retired, with Rick the newest retiree. He just finished up last month, after teaching Grade 8 history for many many years at Williams, which is the Junior High School now, with a newer High School being built some 15 or 20 years or so ago, Messalonski High School (Go Messalonski Eagles!!).
After I returned to Kool-Bee, Ross and I overcame technology problems and finally got our tickets printed out for the Weird Al Yankovic concert we are attending with Johnny B down at the "Maine State Pier" in Portland tomorrow night. Then Ross and I got into the Great White Beast and headed out for adventure. We went to Days Country Store in Belgrade Lakes first, to where my Nephew Shawn Russell works. He wasn't working today but we met friends of his who praised him up.
We tried out their Lobster Rolls for lunch down by the water on Long Pond and walked around the delightful little village of Belgrade Lakes, in the Belgrade Lakes region, which has about 5 large lakes, McGrath Pond/Salmon Lake being one, together with Long Pond and Great Pond. Days Country Store is on a channel between Long Pond and Great Pond and provides access to food and petrol (gas) for campers on both of these two large lakes.
Days Country Store in Belgrade Lakes with Ross trying to get run over. At least he is wearing a high-vis jacket. If he gets hit they wanted to hit him.
The Mine Made & More Store in Belgrade Lakes. They had lots of stuff. I bought some little trinkets for the Injuns back at home on the Gold Coast.
After an extensive visit at Belgrade Lakes, Ross wanted to visit Colby College again and also to see the new art display at the Art Museum. We managed to get there at 4 p.m., an hour before closing.
It was a very good display, although we found that my taste in art is not the same as Ross's. They had a lot of works by an artist named Katz. I didn't care for his work, although Ross thought they wee terrific.
They had one Art Installation, which was formed into a room which you could go into and be surrounded. I did like this very much!
Anyways, it was a fun visit and I did see a lot of art that was terrific.
The receptionist was English, from London and we had a fun chat with her and discussed the merits of Vegemite vs. Marmite.
One of the buildings was having it's copper roof replaced. All new shiny copper roof going on. Very shiny, but eventually will verdigris and turn green like all the others.
After our Colby College visit (Go Colby Mules!!) we headed back to Kool-Bee for dinner and another night of Poker. Ross was supposed to lose all the vast amount of money he had won Friday night. Unfortunately, Ross did well again and now is talking about a $10 donation of his poker winnings to some worthy cause. (I told him the Gas Money For Uncle Carl was a worthy cause but he wasn't convinced.)
After poker we collapsed into bed.
Uncle Jack found a treasure he has that he said was related to Ian Poulter, the pro golfer. It is a visor with connected red spiky hair. He thought it would be warm and comfortable for Ross.
For quite a while Ross wore it for poker. This is Ross, at poker, surrounded by Aunt Cilla and Aunt Dawn.
Poker with Uncle Carl, Cousin Mary and Cousin Johnny B.
Saturday Night Dinner at Kool-Bee with L->R: John, Brian Richardson, Aunt Dawn, Olivia, Brady Beatson, John's younger brother, Mary Richardson (Brady and John's elder sister) and Ross Smith of great renown.
That's the full blog for Saturday, July 25th. Tomorrow we have a big family party planned by Aunt Dawn going on at Kool-Bee. Then after the party, John and Ross and I are headed for The Main State Pier in Portland, 90 minutes South, to experience the wonder that is Weird Al Yankovic.
Lance and Ross.
No comments:
Post a Comment