A Day Off

Sounds strange, but here it is the Tuesday before Christmas and I'm taking the day off! Every once in a while I just need some quiet time so off to the 10am boat I went with my only planned destination a stop for breakfast and some reading time.

Of course, the first stop on a cold winter's day trip into Portland is Lisa's Peaks Cafe for some damn good coffee and morning type conversation. Seems like quite a few islanders were headed into town to try and finish up their Christmas preparations and many empty grocery carts were being towed along as well. I'll admit it often takes awhile to know who you're talking with on a chilly morning what with all the headgear and wrap around scarfs hiding peoples faces. I'm always amazed at how many places on our boats one can store their grocery cart. Just another island tradition.

Portland was more than a little insane with too many people just stressed out. A little sad to see but I really enjoyed catching up on my reading and sitting with three other individuals in the noon showing of a movie I wanted to see before it departed. Yes, I plead guilty to doing whatever I can to avoid crowds. Can't say I didn't have a choice of seats.

Amazing how many of those empty carts going uptown were absolutely groaning under the weight of many many things coming back to the island. For me, I'm done with civilization until next week. A hearty Merry Christmas to all; may it be sane, enjoyable and spent with those special to you.

Boat Time!

We are fortunate on Peaks Island to have the number of options we do for boat trips into Portland. With this number of possibilities, it seems each boat takes on a characteristic all its own. The early 6:15 boat has high school kids going in for early morning meetings or sports practices, early risers wanting to get a head start on the day, owners of businesses and always a few that just didn't want to, or couldn't, make the last boat from the previous evening. The 7:15 boat is the classic commuter/school boat loaded with workers and kids heading uptown for jobs and schools. The 8:15 boat is for those few individuals that have a 9 to 5 job so this boat has always been labeled the "sloth boat".

Now, the 10:00 boat is really a laid back boat filled with seniors and mom's and kids and dogs heading uptown for some shopping, meeting someone for lunch, medical appointments or just a walk around town to see what might pop up. It seems to be the perfect boat to catch so the Things to Do list can be depleted, spend some time with friends and then get the 2:15 boat back to Peaks and still have time for the island items that need doing. These boats just become a natural part of our lives and allow us to visit with our neighbors, catch up on some reading, work on a crossword puzzle or just watch the bay go by. Of course, watches are a requirement! Here's a few pics from my own trip uptown yesterday on the 10:00 boat; enjoy.