Dumb Luck

9/10/12: Here we are back in Maine.  And, right away we have one of our run-ins with dumb luck.  Our first night back we need a motel while we are having one of the trailer legs straightened (it is not wise to drive

7 Mountains Motel, Rockport, Maine - our room at far left

away pulling the tiny tent trailer without the legs retracted).  Always looking for a bargain, we try a motel in Rockport that we had noticed was closed earlier in the summer, until we saw it being shown by a realtor one day and open for business the next.

Rockport Harbor

After a night there, we are offered a deal we can't refuse - a month's stay at $200 less than it costs us at our old camp spot on the cove in Lobster Buoy Campsites.  Not only that, but there is an indoor bathroom for mid-night needs, not a portable outhouse to trek to in the dark, AND a refrigerator, microwave, TV, air conditioning, and heat.  Did I mention that Rockport is home to a stunning small harbor, beautiful old homes, great places to walk, and is right next to Rockland, where the boat is?

Conrad seems to be feeling better and is back at work on the boat.  He is focusing on the electrical system right now, and our new goal is to get the boat ready this year, keep having fun in Maine, and launch the boat next spring.  And, while we were in California for Katherine's wedding, the Rockland Democratic Headquarters moved to within a few blocks of the boatyard, giving me lots of nearby volunteer work to pursue while Conrad works.

For fun, on my birthday we drive on back country roads through rolling hills smothered in trees, by little lakes, cat tail-edged ponds, and villages with quaint old white wooden, steepled churches.

At Sheepscot (love these Maine names), we arrive at the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway to ride a narrow-gauge train pulled by an original small steam engine dating from 1904.

The WW&F was the last of five narrow-gauge rail systems built in Maine, hauling freight and passengers from 1895 until closing down in 1933. 

66th birthday - OMG!

In 1985, a local man began fulfilling his childhood dream to rebuild the WW&F.  First purchasing what remained of the railroad's right of way and building an engine house, Harry Percival called on a growing group of volunteers who learned how to lay track and rebuilt five miles of rail line.  Now they're working on another mile of the old 58-mile run from the deep-water river port of Wiscasset, and have replicated the original station house, freight house, and water tank, with a car shed, turntable and other projects still in the works.

The ride is full of billowing clouds of steam and smoke, the smell of burning coal, and the blowing engine whistle.  The little steam engine chugs up steep grades through forest land and by a stream, complete with a beaver dam and the sighting of the beaver himself.  Great birthday fun!

President Obama speaks in Portsmouth, N.H.

Meanwhile, no doubt like most of you, we have been following the Republican and Democratic conventions with interest.  My daughter, Liz, is behind the scenes at the Democrats' convention in Charlotte, fact checking the 130 speeches with some of her research team from the Obama Re-election Campaign, and we are hoping to catch a glimpse of her on TV.  We don't.  But, on Maine TV we learn that the President will be coming to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for an outdoor event the day after the convention.

We manage to get tickets and join thousands waiting  for the Obamas and Bidens to arrive on September 7th..  Even Conrad is excited!  The

Me with POTUS in background

sun is out and after standing in it for over four hours, I am very happy that I am in Portsmouth, New Hampshire's 70-degree weather and not in California's Central Valley heat.

I end up standing right in front of the stage and podium where I hear both Joe Biden and Barack Obama speak.  It is simply amazing to be so close to the President and Vice-President of the United States!  Michelle Obama and Jill Biden are there.  I just can't believe that I am too!!! 

The over-the-top moment for me is when all of them leave the platform after the speeches and start walking along the line of people close to the stage to speak to and shake hands with us.  I actually touch and talk to the President of the United States!  And then Michele, Vice President Biden and Jill Biden.  I am beyond excited.

I was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire when my father was stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard after World War II ended.  Now this location will have even more meaning for me.  How I wish my mother and father were still alive and here to experience this day.