My sister and her husband are half-way through a three-day drive back to Illinois. The rest of the brood is home in Chicagoland and St. Paul and already on to more travel, summer camp, and fun, after a few days here in Maine.  Which they loved!!!

And we loved spending time with them  But .... they are gone!  As my sister promised would be the case. “You’ll have your house back.”

Now, the house is quiet. Donna doesn’t have to figure out meals and day-trips.  We can manage time ourselves.  The dog will stare at us later, his deep brown eyes saying, “It’s time for walkie!!!” I may turn on the laptop and submerge myself in the news of the past week I couldn’t keep up with.  I’ll do my daily run and she will get back to her easel and abstract painting.

It was wonderful having the family here. My sister is already making noises about next year. (Now, if she can only find someone to invite her.) It was she, however, who went to the doctor’s office soon after arriving, commenting, “You haven’t really visited a place until you’ve gone to the ER.”

The last thing we did this week was a Cabbage Island Clambake in Boothbay Harbor.  Must do! 

Brothers and their family from Ohio host about 180 people every day, serving up a feast which includes a steamed egg (it’s a timer - when the egg is cooked, so are the crustaceans).  You also get clams, clam chowder, corn on the cob, and two - I said two lobsters, AND blueberry cake. 

A caution about parking in Booth Bay.  We arrived about an hour before the Clambake boat was scheduled to leave.  Donna was driving and asked the parking attendant, a young, smiling woman with an eastern European accent whether there was space available.  She allowed as how there was one space left.  But, she looked around and over her shoulder and then conspiratorially said, “It’s $40.” We all smiled, even she. Tip - park at the Booth Bay Opera House for $10 and walk two blocks.

So, my family has gone home, and we might think it’s time for our vacation to begin.  Not necessarily.  This may be a little village in Maine, but it’s a busy one. We had the monthly Wiscasset Art Walk last week featuring musicians and wood workers. And its just two weeks until the second annual Schoonerfest, a four-day celebration of Wiscasset’s nautical heritage of ship building, trade, and architecture. There was also a meet-and-greet for the Wiscasset Creative Alliance , a non profit that assists cultural, historical, and creative activities and events.  Volunteers welcome. The Maine Art Gallery debuted a new show last week.