Maine Revisited

Anytime you see hot air balloons, it's a good omen. At least that is what I tell myself.

On Day 1 of our camping trip we headed out of Canada and towards the American border. We were fed, rested, and ready for adventure. Then suddenly out of the sky, we spot 4 hot air balloons, just hanging out like nobody's business. Who owns a hot air balloon?! I don't think I had seen one since the late 70's. I pointed them out to my children, who had surely never seen one before. As I watched them float in the sky, it stirred up a lot of nostalgic feelings for me...memories of being a kid in the 70's, summertime with my family, and lying out in the backyard imagining shapes in the clouds. It's funny how a smell or an object can transport you back to a place that you thought was forgotten.

Lalala...back to reality. I do that sometimes. After losing lots of time en route to Maine, we checked in at Recompense for our second stay with them. Knowing that the previous stay had us camped too far from flush toilets, I booked a spot in the new part of the campground. AND...it did not disappoint dear campers! "The facilities" were large and clean and just around the bend from our site.

Once we settled in and had all of our gear unpacked, I decided that I would try and make a pizza over the campfire. I had stopped at the local Wal-Mart and picked up some pre-made dough (thank you Kof-K). See what I mean about food in America? Who in Maine needs pizza dough with certification!? Let's just say that I gave renewed meaning to the term "happy camper".

I had never made pizza over a campfire or even a stove top, but really, how hard could it be? When I went to get the dough I realized that it had been sitting in my overly warm car for THREE hours. Oh yeah. It was big...really big, and it smelled like beer. Since my only back up option was Tradition Soup or baked beans, I decided to give it a go anyway. I sprayed my pan, punched out a pizza dough, and slathered it up with sauce and cheese. After about 12 minutes I was beginning to smell the pizza, but none of the cheese had melted yet. You guessed it...black on the bottom. And so it was with my first campfire pizza. Next time I would come better prepared knowing that kosher pizza dough could be found in Wal-Mart!

After some sitting by the fire and having s'mores, we walked over to the ocean to see if the tide had come in yet. Suddenly a bridal party arrived with the bride and groom in tow still in their bridal clothing. Was I in some weird Fellini film? Did I just see a bride and groom come to camp on their wedding night? My innner JAP asked, "what kind of people celebrate their wedding night at a campground?" Perhaps they were two people who met while working at the campground. Surely that could be the only answer. My mind couldn't comprehend a second option.

What was really cool about this wedding party is that they took out a large rectangular red fabric covered object and lit a candle inside of it. Then quietly and gracefully they pushed it up into the air, and it floated so gently up and up and up, high above our campground, high above the ocean, and then drifted away in the night sky. They then lit another fabric box candle, and it too floated away. And then a third, fourth and fifth. My whole family stood there in silence staring into the night sky, watching the fabric balloons disappear into the darkness. 

Don't forget to visit L.L. Bean!