Our commitment prior to coming to work in New Zealand 2 1/2 years ago was to be sure to make time to return regularly back home, and we were due. June 11th we journeyed home. We have found ways to amuse ourselves when laid over between connections, so with a few spare hours in Wellington, we walked to the home of NZ's famed special effects company, the Weta Workshop. Any film-goer is familiar with their work on countless Kiwi and international films, especially the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit franchises. At the
Weta Cave, you can visit Golum and their other creations.
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| My precious..... |
Arizona- Our itinerary this visit was going to take us all across the USA, from Northern California, to Arizona to Maine and back to NorCal, a lot of ground to cover. After getting our bearings for a few days and a brief but pleasant picnic provided by my sisters, it was off to Phoenix for quality time with Sofia and the rest of her family. We did not want to miss Kimarra's dance recital debut. She was gorgeous and glowed with delight over her performance.
The grand-kids were both lots of fun. Isaiah modeled the All Blacks outfit we brought him.
Fayne got to supervise painting surprise ceramic trophies for their dad on Fathers Day.
June is a time to celebrate many birthdays there, highlighted by our baby turning 26!!! Hard to believe. The visit also covered games 6&7 of the NBA finals. It didn't help that my son-in-law Marquise was rooting for the Cavs. (There will be bit of sports commentary at the end of this posting, for those interested.)
Did I mention that the temperature reached 120° F, or 49°C
for my Kiwi friends? On one such day I drove to Rancho Mirage, CA to see my brother Charles and sister-in-law Pam. We had a warm visit (in more ways than one), and it was special to be able to spend a too brief time with them.
Maine- Tuesday June 21 before dawn (and still 100° F) we left to fly to Portland, Maine. It was a trying travel day, with an unexpected diversion to Norfolk, VA due to weather, and instead of a 5 PM arrival, we were lucky to get there by 2 AM.
Why Maine, you might ask? Several reasons, but firstly I went to attend a well-regarded Harvard University course entitled "Neurology for the Non-neurologist" in Kennebunkport, ME. We were to join our dear friends Tom and Melinda Blum, who came up from Mystic, CN.
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| Melinda & Tom |
The conference was well worth it. It was held the century-old Colony Hotel overlooking the Atlantic coast.
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| The Colony Hotel from the front... |
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| and the back. |
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| The Bush Compound |
Kennebunkport is most renown as the summer home of the two Presidents Bush. The Bush compound was a short walk from the hotel as was the nearby church they helped endow and where they worship when in town.
We learned that the Texas flag flying over the compound indicated some Bushes were in residence, which they apparently were. We did not run into any, but did visit the local museum and their cardboard cutouts.
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| [Current political affairs had us thinking warmly of Bush 41 (if not Bush 43)] |
After the three day stay at the Colonial Hotel we were very generously invited to stay nearby with Fayne's sister Mary and her extended family. They decided last year to spend a summer week somewhere together on holiday, and this year came to Maine since we were there. Fred and Mary were joined by their two daughters, Christina and Laura Fayne, son-in-law Dan and grandchildren Anna and Ryan. Fayne's brother Gary and wife Nancy were invited also and were drive from Syracuse NY to spend the weekend.
The house they rented was perfect: one block from a long sandy beach and fronting part of the
Rachael Carson National Wildlife Refuge, named for the famous environmentalist and author.
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| The beach (Photo courtesy of M B Hedden) |
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| The wetlands off the back deck |
This created a quiet natural setting and the house had plenty of room for us all. Days were spent exploring the area and nights roasting marshmallows.
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| (L to R) Mary,Laura, Christina, Ryan, and Anna |
This serene setting was only about a mile from a lively classic 1902 beach/boardwalk resort area at
Old Orchard Beach, so there was truly something for everyone. I even discovered the closest gym was Snap Fitness, the same as in Timaru, and my access card worked there!
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| Palace Playland, one of the last old-timey oceanside amusement parks in New England |
As suggested by the title of this blog, Maine is the land of lobster, lobster, and more lobster. Even MacDonald's has lobster rolls! They come in all shapes and sizes, about every 50 feet or so it seems.
Trying to find the best lobster roll was a challenge I gladly took up. A local favorite is The Lobster Shack at Two Lights, near two lighthouses on Cape Elizabeth. I'm not sure if it was the best, but the setting could have been designed by the Maine Visitors Bureau and painted by Norman Rockwell, with its ocean side picnic tables and rocky shoreline.
I was fascinated by the rock itself. There is a striking appearance of a horizontal "grain" and there are periodic vertical fissures. It looks remarkably like petrified wood chopped up with a chain saw, a conclusion others have entertained. My curiosity led to this (egghead alert!)
scholarly tome which explains this is in fact quartzite, a metamorphic rock.
Later on in exploring another facet of Maine at the Portland Museum of Art, I encountered this 1894 painting by
Winslow Homer entitled "Weatherbeaten" which shows the same kind of shoreline.
I was intrigued by another piece by Homer, "Sharpshooter", done in 1863 during the American Civil War. It looked so contemporary.
Two other works by Matt Blackwell caught my fancy as humorous reflections on modern Maine life.
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| Vacation (2002) |
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| Moose (2015) |
This leads to the second iconic Maine subject, the moose. We did not see one
in vivo, but saw plenty of other examples, including this giant chocolate moose named
Lenny at Lin Libby Candies.
You can also find this stuffed moose and friends in a diorama at the LL Bean Mothership in Freeport.
Familiar to any American with a mailbox, Leon Leonwood ("LL") Bean became famous for developing his Original Duck Boot in the early 20th century. Like the crustacean and ruminant mammal of my title, the Boot is nearly ubiquitous.
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| The Great Man and early models |
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| The Paul Bunyan-sized monument |
Which brings me to Hadlock (not haddock) Field, home of the Portland Seadogs, the Eastern League Double-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Every summer I like to attend at least one baseball game. With my crowded schedule, I thought I
would miss out this year, but I was able to renew my bond with America's
(erstwhile) Pastime.We spent a very pleasant sunny day at the park, with hotdogs, and of course the
home team won with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th!.
In keeping with the theme of rushing around like
Mike the Headless Chicken®, one afternoon Fayne and I drove to Concord, NH to visit an high school classmate of hers, Mary King. Mary has gone on to become a Geriatrician like me in northwest Massachusetts.
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| Fayne and Mary King |
We met for lunch in an Italian restaurant, then I left the gals to catch up on the last 60 years as I went to explore the capital of New Hampshire, one of the original 13 states, currently the 45th in area and the 41st in population. It boasts a statehouse in continuous use by both houses of the legislature since 1819. The dome is undergoing some maintenance as you can see.
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| New Hampshire's State House with a statue of favorite son Daniel Webster in front |
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| Representative's Hall |
Concord is also the final resting place of our 12th president,
Franklin Pierce. His tenure is not well thought of by historians, and his grave site said to be the least visited of any American President.
Fort Bragg/Mendocino- After a week in New England, finally it was time to head back home to Fort Bragg and the Mendocino Coast. (The return plane ride was much smoother.) We were able to spend six full nights in our own home and bed, something we had not done in 2 1/2 years. It was the best part of the trip. It is a beautiful place we love very much. Over the last year, the community has added a wonderful accessible walking path along the old lumber site, at Noyo Headlands Park.
Every time we visit there are wonderful new things to discover. We wandered into a brand new Visitor's Center and
Marine Science Center. They already have on display parts of local marine mammals that have been found nearby and plan to eventually display and entire skeleton of the blue whale that sadly washed ashore in 2009.
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| Tiny pelvic bone of blue whale |
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| Some blue whale vertebrae |
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| Skull and jaw of an orca .... |
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| and said orca's eyeball. |
The best thing about being home by far was spending time with our old and dear friends. I saw a recipe for Buckwheat Berry Cake with a Fourth of July feel, so baked it for dinner with Christine and Doug.
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| Christine (L), Doug (R), Cake (C) |
I was especially looking forward to observing Independence Day in Mendocino in unique Mendonesian style. Call me naive, but I feel like despite at times passionate divisions in our country, most people can share in our national celebration of freedom. The collage below will give you the flavor of the parade, including the traditional Pigeon (with periodic droppings of shaving cream, I hope) and the giant psychedelic dog that periodically will lift its leg to "refresh" spectators.
Terry and Linnea saved a choice location to enjoy the spectacle.
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| Linnea M, FML, JTW, & Terry K, back together again! |
It was time to pack back up and head back to New Zealand, but first David N and I headed down to Watsonville to check on the Nestlers, my extended family, and especially Dr. Nestler, who is recovering from a few unfortunate falls and injuries. Get better slowly but surely! And special thanks to David for driving.
So just a few rambling end thoughts on sports and life:
- First, in the "toy department" of life, I was sad to see the Warriors fall one win short of their goal of another championship. They tried their hardest, but clearly just sort of ran out of gas. As a fan, I do sympathize for any long-suffering group of fans, so congratulations to Cleveland. I still am waiting for the Golden Bears first Rose Bowl appearance since 1959, and as far as deep disappointments, the Warriors loss is not on the same level as Kirk Gibson and the 1988 Dodgers upsetting the A's. Particularly in the US, fans think of one winner, and everyone else as losers, but we shouldn't undervalue what it took this team to win a record 73 regular season games. We are unlikely to see that bettered any time soon. Also, Kevin Durant deciding to come to Golden Sate does soften the blow.
- More seriously, the last few visits home have been accompanied by tragic senseless acts of violence. This time it began with the Orlando massacre and as we left the Dallas police shootings happened. These are deeply troubling events for us all, but it seems everything gets amplified by our ability to hear from all corners of the world instantaneously. I honestly think things are not as bad as some would have us believe, or that it seems sometimes. This is not 1914 or 1939 or other epically horrible times. The vast majority of us just want to live and let live, the homicidal/suicidal maniacs are too many but still few in number. I hope we do not let them "win" and allow ourselves to be ruled by fear.
- Finally, on Defense for your Edmonton Oilers, #5 is....
The
End
