85 reasons to celebrate

8/10/2017

Today is the day! The entire reason we went to Maine! Grandpa is turning 85 and everyone is here to celebrate! James rolled in late Friday night/early Saturday morning. Rose got up in the middle of the night to help James and Tyler up into the loft of the cabin. I was so worn out from the exciting day before I didn't even wake up! I just said "hi" in the morning.

We started off the day right: a great breakfast of eggs and deer sausage. And it was really good! Rose, John and myself had made some plans to explore the island a bit before all the birthday festivities went down. We didn't really have a plan; just like most of our adventures! Grandpa told us about a place with hiking trails, a beach, and a great view of the bridge. I'm sure he gave us great directions but it just didn't process completely in our heads...

As we drove up to the causeway we saw the road that supposedly led to the hiking trails. Naturally we drove right past it and crossed the bridge off the island. We decided to just go with it and looked for the next turn off. There was a small dirt road on the right that seemed to lead to the water. It didn't say private on it so down we went.

It was definitely private... but nobody was there to yell at us and we got some great pictures of the bridge! The water was so clear there!

We stayed for a couple minutes before heading out. Didn't want anyone coming after us....

We headed back towards the island to try and find the place grandpa had talked about. Rose and John were talking about cool places they had visited on the island and how to get to them. I was just sitting in the passenger seat nodding along (even though I had no idea what was happening). We decided to head to a lighthouse nearby that John and Rose thought they remembered how to get to...

Turns out their memory is pretty good. This was New England at its finest. American flags, sailboats, old houses, it was perfect!

Finally, on our way back to the island, we stopped at the place Grandpa was talking about. It apparently is a great place for bird watching (if you're into that sort of thing...). There were a couple trails leading to various places. We decided to head towards the beach (obviously). The views of the bridge were great! Grandpa wasn't lying. Rose got ambitious and frolicked in the water for a little bit while John and I sat on the beach like the old guys we are. We wanted to get back for the party so we decided to not hike any of the other trails... Sorry. It was beer o'clock island time!

We got back to the cabin and realized that everyone had left us! Rose's (and John's) mom sent us a text saying to meet them at the beach. And, oh yeah, bring the beer!

We loaded up the cooler(s) with all sorts of drinks and headed down to the water where everyone was playing. John and I posted up in the shade with the coolers and Doritos. If you ask me, that's the place to be! Luckily I always carry my Leatherman on me because nobody else thought to bring a bottle cap opener. I'm not one to brag but I was sort of seen as the hero...

We played on the beach and consumed our beverages for a while. Then Rose, John, Miranda, and I decided to take a walk down the beach to see what we could find. We stopped to take some yoga pictures and some artsy sunglasses pictures.

As we headed back to our spot on the beach I learned that James was not happy with me. Since I always have my Leatherman on me they didn't have anything to open their beers! Such a predicament! I opened everyone's beers and happiness was again upon the beach. We all skipped rocks, talked and enjoyed the sun before heading up to the cabin for the big celebration!

It was just a small family gathering. I got to meet more of the clan and Grandpa got TWO cakes! He also taught me to play bocce ball which is actually pretty fun. It quickly becomes an endurance game when horseflies are involved...