Idyllic Visit to Great Wass, Part One

   

July 26- We drove to Great Wass from Concord, our longest drive in quite a while. We stopped once to use the bathroom at a rest area and it felt quite safe. We stopped for gas in Ellsworth. It was a pretty easy drive. The "cottage" on Great Wass was much improved in the two years since we have visited there. A contractor finished the floor (hardwood and tile) as well as the ceiling and enclosed a bedroom for Otis above the dining room. There is now a beautiful metal spiral staircase going to the new room. We are living up there and are impressed with it all, especially the closets built into the eaves. (We want to copy the design for at home.)

    For the whole week we were there, we had amazing weather. We had packed to wear flannels and long pants, but only wore those in the evenings. The sea was calm the entire time. The fog rolled in the day that we left. 

    That first day, Otis took both Mark and I out for separate boat rides in his homemade boat, "The Best Yet." It is very impressive. Mark and he went down toward the DownEast Institute and he took me over to one of the Ram Islands where we briefly docked and then went around it.

    Almost every morning that we were there, Jecca made homemade bread. She also gave us a lesson and we intend to try to make our own loaves once a week or so. She does sour dough, but we won't.

    On July 27, we took a family expedition over to the Ram Island, which is about 1.5 miles out. Jecca, Willy and Barbara took the kayaks and Otis took Hank and Mark in the boat. Mark and Hank chose not to go in the water, but Otis actually dove in, sans wetsuit. He, Jecca, Willy and Maggie, swam across the channel to a littler Ram Island. Barbara got wet, but not entirely.

On the way home, Barbara and Hank traded transportation modes. But, we towed Hank for a good bit en route home.

    I am not going to remember which days we did what, but in the first half of our week, we got fresh lobsters from the cove from the neighbors, the Hunklers. Willy made a campfire and we cooked them over that. Some were stripped for lobster salad and some were eaten hot. It was all very delicious and so very fresh. The meal was followed by smores.