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Even more frightening than the missing boy at Range Lake, Cat and I witnessed a terribly crash on 78 W just a few miles west of the Pennsylvania welcome station.
The driver in front of us fell asleep at the wheel and crashed head on into a construction crews barrier. I estimate that he was going between 50 and 60 MPH. The whole front of his car was smashed in.
I pulled over to the other side of the road and ran over thinking I was going to see a severely injured in not dead driver. I pulled at his door but it was jammed. A couple construction workers were only a second behind me and one opened the passenger side door and pull him out completely unharmed.
I checked him for responsiveness; checked passageways, asked him some basic question to make sure he was right in his mind, and his eyes for responsiveness. A police officer was only a minute away monitoring the construction zone, so when he arrived he dealt with the driver.
I was amazed that while completely unofficial if not sloppy looking cars and trucks obeyed my traffic commands! At one point, I stopped a tractor trailer, so that I could clear the lane of debris from the crash so that cars could continue to move on the road without running over a rear view mirror and some other pieces of glass and plastic.
Earlier in the trip, we stopped and slept for nearly an hour. Thank goodness that Cat and I take precautions when we drive! Cat drove for nearly an hour of the nine hour trip, which was extremely helpful in addition to the forty five minute nap at a rest stop and other frequent stops to stretch, go to the bathroom, etc. kept me alert and able to get my beautiful bride home safe and sound.
We, however, were running late for a number of reasons including leaving late and taking the unplanned nap, so Cat dropped me off at work on the way home. I worked the whole day with an hour and a half of sleep under my belt and a growing number of cups of coffee. Needless to say, we went to bed awful early.
The birthday girl wanted to go swimming for her birthday, so we made the drive to Range Lake State Park, it’s near Poland Springs bottling company. Cat swam her heart out and I tepidly entered the water after a half hour of convincing myself it wasn’t freezing cold. I took two dips in the lake thereafter with much more enthusiasm!
We ate turkey burgers on the grill on the beach and otherwise, spent the morning and afternoon relaxing.
Toward the end of our trip, however, there was a missing autistic boy and they took everyone out of the lake and had a hundred people searching for him. Thank goodness he was found unharmed, but it was a little scary seeing them search the lake as ferverently as they were searching the woods.
One of Cat’s birthday present was staying in Maine two more days than she expected, so that she could celebrate her 24th birthday with her family. We had a small birthday party with Nana, Papa, Dad, and Ellen. We ate dinner and had the traditional cake and ice cream.
Cat got a big bottle of conditioner that she had been raving about from Dad and Ellen! Nana and Papa gave Cat a card and gift. It was a nice, low key dinner with family.
Cat and I were first introduced to gelato from the Turkey Hill Duetto ice cream. Side note, that I’m excited to know that Turkey Hill now distributes in Maine and has been for the last several years! We were, however, treated to real gelato, which is a whole different animal.
Josh and Bruno “set out to rediscover the techniques and practices of the Old World Italian masters of gelato and use them as a foundation for creating innovative flavors born of the essential traits of truly artisanal gelato: use of local milk, adding only the best ingredients, and making a fresh product — from scratch — daily.”
Gelato is as delicious as ice cream but much creamier and strikingly refreshing. This particular shop was great to visit. It was a local hot spot in Brunswick and is a great story of a small business owner making, especially exciting in today’s economy. Not only do they operate their flagship store, the Gelato Fiasco, but also distribute the gelato wholesale to a dozen or more local establishments.
Thanks again to Dad and Ellen for this unexpected treat!
On Sunday, we had planned to visit Maine largest alpaca farm in Bowdoin, but having spent some time with alpacas, we opted for a longer road trip down to New Gloucester to tour Pineland Farm:
Located in the rolling hills of New Gloucester, Maine, Pineland Farms is a 5,000-acre working farm, diverse business campus and educational and recreational venue that welcomes visitors to enjoy its beautiful rural landscape.
Pineland Farms’ mission is to provide a productive and educational venue that enriches the community by demonstrating responsible farming techniques, offering educational opportunities and encouraging a healthy lifestyle through recreation.
Cat and I mainly spent time with the holstein cows. While they were confined, a number of the cows were also grazing in open pasture. As a breeder, Pineland is very particular to see that there cows are treated well, fed the best, and given an opportunity for exercise.
Cows are terribly friends particularly the younger ones. We weren’t to touch the youngest cows but the older calves we could. I took to a calf, Portion, and a calf the next stall over befriended Cat. I had to wash off quite a few times since the younger ones would lick and suckle hoping for food and affection; the adult cows were nearly as forward! Here’s a picture of me with an adult cow:
On our way out, we stopped by the marketplace of fresh fruits and vegetables many of which were local (but definitely not the bananas). We were going to make some other farm stops but the poor weather conditions limited how long we could be out on the farm.
Cat and I helped setup the celebration along with Nana and Papa among others! This was a huge celebration of over a hundred people.
I said to Papa that this was more than what Cat and I had at our actual wedding. He replied that he had less at his wedding as well.
This was not only a great time to celebrate a huge milestone in Cat’s grandparents lives but also a time for me to meet more of Cat’s family. Uncle Mike lives in Missouri, so this was the first time I met him along with other family members and family friends.
Being the picture person, I made sure that there was a sanctioned picture taking time. This was a thrill for Nana too! She got a picture of all of her grandchildren together, a first for her. Needless to say, people wanted to get a picture of the groom and blushing bride as well:
On a personal note, I was thrilled to be so readily accepted into Cat’s family. Along with the direct descendants of Nana and Papa, I sat at the head table and was otherwise included in the pomp and circumstance.
The event, however, couldn’t have gone off if it wasn’t for Dad and Ellen who ran the kitchen with the help of some of Ellen’s best students. Dad was also the master of ceremonies offering the toast and otherwise moving things along smoothly.
Cat and I went over to Cristian and Sabrina’s home to celebrate the birth of their baby boy, Octavio:
He’s a sweet, well-mannered young man. I’m sure Cristian and Sabrina are proud.
Cat and I were invited to an impromptu 4th of July party at her home. We made it and so did mom, Tim, and my brothers. My brothers spent most of the time in the pool and the rest playing hide and go seek. Cat and I made a no bake cherry and blueberry cheesecake to ad to the mix that included hot dogs, burgers, and bratwurst along with various fixings.
Here are the happy cooks:
Cat and I were able to harvest our first crop from the garden – radishes. They are quick too grow and you don’t want them to get too big or they will taste woody and hollow out. We made a salad out of the greens and the radishes themselves along with some other vegetables we had handy.
It was really gratifying to see our seeds grow into a meal. The remaining radishes we are going to bring to Jan and Wayne’s to thank them for the seeds they gave us in the first place.
By the way, Cat doesn’t like radishes! This is new to both of us as Cat has liked them in the past. So I ate a much bigger salad!
Here’s us happy beginning urban homesteaders with some radishes:
We have done a whole bunch of work inside but left the outside to turn into a jungle. I was off work on Friday, so Cat and I had a few full days to work on the lawn. We mowed, we weeded, we find bricks, plants, and all kinds of things that we didn’t even know were in our lawn. We took out bushes and stumps. Basically, we’re tired but we have a yard again!
We’re taking Sunday off!
