Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Rejuvenation and reminder

A month or so ago one of daughter Sara's good friends e-mailed her in Macedonia and said that she was weary of her city life and needed a nature break--did Sara think that her mother (that would be me) would let her come to Maine for a visit? Sara sent me the reply email which said "Are you kidding, of course she would!" So, it was set--Louise and a friend of hers (coincidentally named Sarah) would fly up to Maine from their busy lives in Washington, DC for Halloween weekend. The excitement of the weekend began when I met their plane in Portland late Thursday night and we noticed that Senator Olympia Snowe had been on their plane. I guess she needed a nature break, too.

One of our first stops on our nature tour was my favorite tree. Since my last posting on the tree, it has been determined to be the second largest white pine in the state of Maine. If I was more competitive that #1 tree should be in serious trouble. After hiking all over the woods checking the beaver dam and the beehives, we went back to my parents' house and had a lovely dinner where my parents fell hook, line and sinker in love with these two girls.

On Saturday, we drove up into the mountains and hiked out to Angel Falls. Angels Falls is a startlingly beautiful waterfall that is really hard to get to. The path to the falls starts 3.5 miles down the Bemis Track which is sometimes navigable by vehicle, sometimes not. We hit it lucky--there had recently been some logging along the track so it had been stabilized for the first 3 miles. After that, we were on our own and the last 1/2 mile was scary. But we made it to the trailhead and then hiked into the falls crossing the river once and then a stream once, twice, three times then navigated our way around a big boulder and there it was. Surprise!

Halloween night in between passing out candy to every little kid in the River Valley, the girls discovered Molly and Archie's craft box and the sounds of their soft voices in front of the fire as they created cute little crafts made my heart absolutely grow three sizes.

On Sunday morning, we headed off to the coast. There were no big storms out to sea and it was low tide so the waves were not impressive, but the setting was beautiful. Sarah looked out to sea, I watched birds on a nearby island with my binoculars and Louise sketched.

After a final stop at L. L. Bean on the way to the airport, we said our good-byes and went back to our lives--all touched by the weekend. Louise and Sarah said that their souls were rejuvenated by being immersed in nature, by being with a family, by having their senses touched with laughing trick or treaters and soft kitties and a warm fire but my soul was rejuvenated because once again I realized that this generation of young people, just coming into their own, is really spectacular. The future is in very good hands.




6 comments:

Ruth said...

What a welcoming host you are, providing the warmth of home to the girls. I love the picture of them doing crafts. Of course your scenery is spectacular too!

Tom Ryan said...

That did it! I'm moving to the big city so that I can come out on a nature break, too. What a wonderful weekend.

You are, indeed, a great hostess.

beckie said...

Beth, what a kind and generous soul you are to open your home to the girls. But I suspect you are also a little selfish, too. :) It must have been great to have substitute daughters for a long weekend and they a loving 'mom'.

The nature tours look spectacular. I am just going to have to visit Maine someday before I get too old to enjoy it.

Take care and I hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Jayne said...

What a very lovely weekend Beth. I am sure it will be etched in their memories for a very long time too. :c)

R. Aastrup said...

Angel Falls! Our family "cabin" is a few miles on down the road from there! That's a great hike, but you're right, it's challenging. The last time we took some kids out there, two of them fell into the water. Still, the view is worth the trek.

I agree with everyone else in that you gave a special weekend to those girls.

As a teacher of teenagers, I also agree with you about their unique gift to the world...

Kathie Brown said...

Beth, you make it all sound so lovely I almost want to move back! I've got to find a way to come and visit you next summer! Tell Louise I love the sketch.