Boothbay Harbor, ME to Rockland, ME

Our next stop in Maine was in Boothbay Harbor.  Here we found an entertaining aquarium to visit.  The kids particularly enjoyed the touch tank where they picked up hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs and sea stars.  The town has a nice library with a used book store next to it where we stocked up on books.  There is plenty of ice cream and the price was right so of course we HAD to have it (two days in a row).

Finally getting to use our Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks for the picnic table cloth!

Blue lobsters are rare and considered bad luck to eat.

Ice Cream!!

After a few days in Boothbay we moved on to Tenants Harbor where we met another family cruising (short term) with their 3 and 5 year old from Gloucester, MA.  Tenants has a newly renovated library that had some cool kids games and toys to play with.

The next stop was to be Rockland but half way there we decided to anchor next to Dix Island.  We were soon visited by a charming lady named Reilly that runs a business on her small motor boat.  She will cook a lobster diner with fresh island fares right there on her boat for you.  We decided on her fresh blueberry pies, delicious!

In the 1850's Dix island was a granite quarry.  Some of the granite was shipped to Washington to be used for the columns of the Treasury Building.  We were able to hike around Dix island to see some of the leftover granite.  It was great to get out and stretch our legs.

A face carved into a granite rock on the island.

Then onto Rockland.  We are planning to be here the rest of this week.  My friend Julie is planning to visit for her holiday this weekend.  Our plan will be to cruise around to some close anchorages to Rockland and show her a good time on the boat.

Finally get to some laundry.  This is our cool new dry bag.  It is a back pack big enough to carry our laundry.  Dinghy rides invariably end up getting everything wet. 

Eagle Island, ME

After Jewell Island we took a day trip to Eagle Island State Park.  This is the former home of Admiral Robert Peary who was the first person to reach the North Pole.  Nicholas was curious if he met Santa Claus while visiting but we said he was probably on vacation at the time.  After leaving Eagle we attempted to find a mooring near Seguin Island.  We arrived at low tide and still had 4 feet under the keel but the mooring was questionable with other large boats near us and rocks so close we chose to move on instead of staying up all night fending ourselves off.  We then tried the next anchorage Five Islands 1.5 hours away and had the same issue with the mooring there.  Just across the river we found another place to anchor near Love Cove.  Finally a peaceful nights sleep.

Robert Peary's Home

Listening to the audio tour.

Jewell Island, ME

This part of Maine reminds us of Colorado with the abundance of Pine trees and the cool weather at night.  Jewell island has some cool camping spots and WWII ruins that we hiked to.  The tide range here is just over 10 feet and there are hidden rocky areas just under the surface of the water in many areas.  We watched a speed boat zip over a rocky area, then have to limp back to port. 
Everyday we are thankful for our GPS navigation system at the helm. 

At high tide this is all covered with water.

WWII ruins

School at the beach - Balance

Portland, Maine

After we returned from Quebec Julie and her family joined us on the boat.  With five kids ranging in age from 4-8 years old and four adults on the boat it was an adventure.  We sailed to Sand Island and enjoyed the sun and beach.  The kids fished and kayaked around.  We bought fresh lobster from a local lobster-man (for $5 a lobster) and had an amazing dinner.
Overall it was a fabulous trip.  I will have more pictures to add soon.

Portland Head Light

Road trip to Quebec

We left the boat in Gloucester, MA and rented a car to visit Staci's friend, Julie, and her family in Quebec.  We have been here for four days and are headed back to the boat today, but they are going to drive down to Portland, ME. to meet up again on Wednesday for some sailing. It's the first time we've slept off the boat since beginning our trip.

Montreal is a wonderful city and we've had a great time.

Taking the launch to shore after leaving Shambala on a mooring in Gloucester

The kids got new booster seats for the ride.

Our groovy rental car

The kids with Luc and Zoe outside their home

Felix and Nicholas 

The wrecking crew

The Metro

Lunch downtown

Nicholas and Justin wasted no time getting in the fountains

Old Port, Montreal on the St. Lawrence River

Nicholas with his abstract box painting titled "Night going away"

Provincetown, MA

Otherwise known as P-Town.  This is a colorful place with wonderful people and rainbows everywhere.  It is said this is the Key West of the North. 
We are having a great time on land and of course eating ice cream.

Sir Knight Nicholas

Butterfly Samantha

Yoga class on the latest craze Stand Up Paddle Boards (SUPS)

We are anchored out in the bay in about 25 feet of water.  This isn't a bad thing considering the tidal range is over 9 feet here.  The only complaint Paul will have is when we have to pull up the anchor.  As long as the wind is right and waves not to big we will be heading north tomorrow. 

Mystic, CT

While in Mystic we visited the Mystic Seaport Museum.  It is a huge museum with a lot of wonderful kids activities that make it easy to see the museum and enjoy it as adults also.
One of the kids favorite activities was watching how the whaling ship actually harpoons whales from a rather small dinghy.  Very scary. 
Another was the navigational quest.  We found clues with a GPS, spyglass, and a compass.  We spent two full days there and still feel like we could go back for more. 

One of the big boats we explored.

Children's museum

Games of the 19th century

Practice writing with ink and a quill.

On the quest!

Candle making.