York, Portland, Limerick, ME

Can I just say how much I love long weekends? This one was especially nice. Jesse and I ventured to the Great White North (ie Maine) on Thursday and made our way up the coast with far too much beer that barely got consumed. On Thursday night, we stopped in York Beach to see Ellen and her family. Every year, her parents rent this awesome house right down the street from Short Sands. It’s the most eclectic, eccentric house I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in… shag rugs in every room, paintings of naked ladies hanging on the walls, a suit of armor on the stairs, a room full of creepy masks, and a tower room. The view from the tower room is amazing. Plus, I got to see Ellen, who I haven’t seen since Christmas. Quite a treat really.

After York, we battled tourist traffic up to Portland, where we met up with Belinda and met her boyfriend, Bill, for the first time! While we were waiting for them to come back to town, Jesse and I walked around the Old Port, which is such a cool little place. I would totally live in Portland if it wasn’t even colder than Massachusetts in the winter. I can barely deal with the cold here… and it only gets worse the farther north you go. But anyway, we ate some pizza, then Belinda called, so we waited for her. During this time, we overheard a conversation between a very drunk woman and her less drunk (ex?) boyfriend, during which he told her that she needed to reassess her life, to which she replied, “I am recessed.” Multiple times. Yes, we can see that… you’re drunk at 6pm. After this enlightening conversation, we went back to Belinda’s, drank some beers, played with her dog, then made our way to a small beach in South Portland to watch Portland’s fireworks. The fireworks were a little too far away for my liking, but they were excellent. And I got some good pictures during sunset. Made me crave film… I love the way this set feels:

After the fireworks, we drove through the dark and scary backroads of Maine (are there any other types of roads in Maine, other than I-95?) to Limerick! Finally! I hadn’t been to Limerick in almost 2 years, which was starting to get depressing since I’ve been there every year since I was born. My grandfather built a cabin on Pickerel Pond in 1948, and my mom’s side of the family has been going up there every year since. I love it up there. It’s so peaceful (except when the neighbors have Fourth of July blow-outs, but that’s a different story). There is a tiny grocery store and an ice cream/video store in downtown Limerick, and that’s about it. It’s a nice place to get away from it all, that’s for sure. Maureen, Jay, Raya, Patrick, Nicholas, and three of Pat’s friends were up for the weekend, so we all just bummed around the camp for Saturday. Nicholas is the cutest two-and-a-half-year-old I have ever seen… such an agreeable kid. Patrick took Jesse and I out in his new boat. Then everyone left, and Jesse and I watched X-Files, roasted marshmallows, and watched a rather impressive fireworks show prepared by the people across the pond. A successful evening if I do say so myself.

Overall, a successful weekend. On the plate for this weekend: Me and Jesse’s three-year anniversary! Go us! We’re going to eat meat off a sword at some restaurant in Cambridge. I can’t wait!