Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Sun, Sand, and Lobster Boats

My vacation is in full swing and we are living large here in Camp Ellis, Maine. Our rental beach house is sitting at the ocean's edge with only a wall of rock buffering us from the open sea. We spend our days and up until bedtime lounging on the porch staring out at the Atlantic, dreaming of buying the place next door.



Today my dad and I joined up with the crew of Lucky Catch Cruises and headed out into the Casco Bay in seek of Maine's pride and joy: lobster.

Lucky Catch is run by Captain Tom, a seasoned lobsterman who clearly is comfortable showing lay people around a lobster boat. Assisted by two young women, Captain Tom escorted a gang of about 10 passengers out into the waters and showed us how to bait, pull, and release lobster traps. We donned aprons and gloves and got into the fun of measuring the lobsters and deciding if they were destined to become dinner, or head back to sea for another season.



Lucky Catch runs about 5 cruises per day, each lasting ninety minutes, pulling about 8 traps per trip. Tom says that a good lobster run will pull one keeper per trap, and we managed to pull 6, so not a bad run, and buying them at boat cost at the end of the cruise was well worth it.



My skin is taut from the sun and my hair feels like golden straw tonight as I sip my cocktail on the porch and think about the boat gliding over the waves on this sunny morning. Happy vacation indeed.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Preparation Station

Why does it take so long to pack up the family for vacation?

I spent every day this week loading plastic bins with linens, clearing out the pantry and shoving it into every corner of our minivan, washing, drying, folding, and packing clothes for five people, and then cleaning up the mess it left behind so as not to horrify the housesitter. Why does it take so freaking long? Because I do it alone.

Every time we go on vacation I think "I should really insist that someone else do something to pack for this trip". Yet the mere mention of locating even a pair of shoes elicits a deep gutteral sigh and a groan from every male in the room. After all the pissing and moaning I cave and just do it myself with a small child whining at my heels every step of the way.

Once the van was loaded to the gills with all of our worldly possessions needed for a week at the beach (with much room to spare I might add) my husband rolled his eyes skyward and with a tone of sheer exasperation complained "What IS all this stuff? We're only going for a week!" Bastard.

I know that as soon as we are unloaded and lounging in our beach house he will be the first one to ask me to locate the nail clipper or some other stupid item and be outraged when I didn't pack it. Double bastard.

Good times.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Puppy Love!

Hooray for the newest member of the Cosme/Hartshorne family: our new dog Polly! She is 4 years old and has come to us from our New Jersey relatives who, despite loving her to pieces, did not have time to give her the care and attention she deserves. When I visited my aunt and her kids a few months ago, I casually joked "Hey, if you ever need a home for Polly we'd be more than happy to have her". Little did I know she would give that statement so much thought.

We have debated getting a dog for a long time, we've been ready for one but we were just not sure if we wanted to go the puppy route, the chewing and accidents make me feel tired just thinking about it. And then there is the issue of temperment. My friend recently had to find a new home for her dog after she bit her young son, what a devestating decision for a family to have to make. We were wary of getting a rescue dog for the same reason.

Polly has already proved herself to be a perfect fit for our family. She is unbelievably good natured, has never growled or barked at anyone, let alone a child, and is housebroken. We've taken her for 5 walks in the two days she's been with us and everyone is tripping over themselves to cuddle her. Canine success! Thank you to the lovely cousins who knew that this would be a great home for Polly, we are so happy with her!