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| A field of wild daisies and lupines |
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| Wild irises at Stonington Harbor |
Traveling this little planet of ours, one would be hard pressed to find an area as marvelous as the Coast of Maine. A coast with tides taller than two men, water colder than scotch on the rocks, and scenery that painters will be trying to capture for generations to come. There is a wonder like no other as the coast is full of many surprises held tight.
Here with a week to spend, JR surprised us by enrolling himself in a workshop called Building Your Own Northeaster Dory at the renowned WoodenBoat School. Making a wooden boat has been on his bucket list for years. And what a more perfect opportunity and place for such a wonderful learning experience.
Yummy hors d’oeuvres, delicious fish chowder, the camaraderie of the instructors joisting with one another, acquaintance with new folks from around the country, and a welcome orientation by the director Rich Hilsinger kicked the program off with a fine start. After class each day participants were even welcome at the Waterfront Boat House to check out any one of numerous wooden small boats. The two of us had a lovely evening rowing in a dory called Wild Rose photographing classic wooden boats in the harbor,
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| I like this a lot as JR did all the dory rowing |
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| Yeah I like this when the load lightened so I could break loose out on my own too. |
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| Sunset at the end of an evening row in Eggemoggin Reach was awesome |
Friday evening everyone feasted on a fabulous Lobster Bake dinner hosted by the WoodenBoat School.
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| Steaming lobsters in a wash tub over a wood fired barrel for twelve minutes |
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| just add corn on the cob, cold slaw, and carrot cake along with these goodies |
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| Mighty messy, but very delicious |
Our landlubber and sailing friends alike would indeed be amazed at seeing the various small wooden boat projects under construction. It is quiet an art of craftsmanship and a place of newfound relevance. A relevance for the participants that strengthens their spirit and won place in their own mind as doers and achievers.
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| Sanding hull planks |
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| Stitching the hull panel before gluing |
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| Fiberglassing and epoxying applications |
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| Trimming the hull |
What a wonderful experience being here has turned out to be. We had a place for our RV, the instructor John Harris owner of Chesapeake Light Craft (The Best Wooden Boats You Can Build) was great, Christa found numerous ways to entertain herself and occasionally lend JR a helping hand, the weather changed daily, and best of all JR mastered assembling all the parts, sanding, stitching, and epoxying his very own boat.
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| Class celebration time 5.5 days late |
He learned and accomplished a lot building this beautiful little wooden dory. Look what we will be hauling it around with us the next six months.
Wasn't in our original travel plans, but at least there is one less item off his "bucket list".
Life is always full of surprises and you've got to flow with the moment.
Yummy hors d’oeuvres, delicious fish chowder, the camaraderie of the instructors joisting with one another, acquaintance with new folks from around the country, and a welcome orientation by the director Rich Hilsinger kicked the program off with a fine start. After class each day participants were even welcome at the Waterfront Boat House to check out any one of numerous wooden small boats. The two of us had a lovely evening rowing in a dory called Wild Rose photographing classic wooden boats in the harbor, 
