thefouramigosblog

We are on another Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Reflection. We did a back-to-back taking 4 days and 3 days. The first four had a sea day yesterday with Key West today and Bimini tomorrow. The three days are the same ports but no sea day.

So 7 days of being pampered.

Celebrity Reflection is the ship that began our love of cruising. In 2016, we took a 16-day Transatlantic trip that included stops in Malaga, Cartegna, Barcelona, and Nice. My dear friend Mary Beth was on board, and she was actually the person who really introduced us to this new way of life.

On our first night in the dining room, I ate my usual escargot. Celebrity has it on the menu daily. I forgot to take a photo before I dug in and consumed the escargot.

The show for the evening was a production show. It wasn’t our favorite but still entertaining.

Afterwards, we tried our luck in the casino. While we were playing one of my favorite slots, the pigs, old friends from South Carolina saw us. Chris and Carrie, we have known for 20 years.

We made arrangements to meet for dinner last night. It’s unbelievable running into friends. It was an elegant chic night. Bruce and I were probably more formally dressed than most people. Celebrity in the Caribbean doesn’t seem to require a dress code. I saw jeans and very casual dress in the dining room.

In the morning we did a meditation on the pool deck, worked out in the gym, and then had breakfast.

Our day was packed with fun and relaxation. We went to a talk on cruising and did a little gambling. Our luck was better today.

We met Chris and Carrie for dinner and spent a lot of time reminiscing about old times. We are all avid cruisers and we will all be on a ship out of LA next month.

We played a little in the casino but Bruce was tired so we made it an early evening. The show was a mentalist, not our favorite so we decided not to go.

Today we woke in Key West.

We spent a leisurely morning in our cabin and then had a late breakfast with Chris and Carrie.

Bruce and I decided to visit the Mel Fisher Nautical Museum. Mel Fisher was an adventurer who spent a good part of his life looking for treasures.

Mel Fisher and his wife and children discovered a Spanish ship that sunk off the coast of Florida in the 1600’s. It was filled with gold, silver, emeralds and other jewels.

The museum is a three minute walk from the dock and cost $17.95 to get in. It was a very interesting museum.

Next time we hope to go to the Hemingway House.

We met up with friends for coffee in the afternoon. I hadn’t been drinking coffee but I indulged in a cappuccino.

We met Chris and Carrie out on deck five. That’s where they take little Toby to do his business.

Celebrity allows dogs on the ship and Toby is a perfect little pup. He sits still and is quiet. Carrie trained him well.

While out in deck 5 we saw a pod of dolphins swim by the bow of the ship on the port side. Unfortunately, all I have is pictures of water. I missed.

We ate dinner together and then Bruce and I went to the show. It was another production show and it was great.

Bruce and I wandered outside to see the sunset but we just missed. The sky was lovely though.

We played a bit in the casino and we finally won a bit so all was good!

Tomorrow Bimini!

Today we had a leisurely start to our day heading to Dysarts for breakfast. I wasn’t very hungry so I had a toasted blueberry muffin. It was delicious.

If you never had Maine blueberries, they are much smaller than high bush blueberries from other states. These little berries are packed with a powerful punch of flavor. Once you have a Maine blueberry, all others will pale in comparison.

This is an old picture of the kids when we went blueberry picking in Maine.

Kristy and Trafton came to say goodbye today so we spent a little bit of time visiting with them.

We headed out to an antique store.

This store had a basement and an upstairs—a lot of stuff. From garden statues to coffee mugs, they had it all.

We even ran into the Blues Brothers and Marilyn.

And of course Bruce found a cannon.

For dinner, we ate at Wimpy’s again and I had my fourth and final lobster for this trip.

Tomorrow we head home to Florida to rest up for our next adventure!

#maine#lobster#ruth&wimpys#vacation#antiques#blueberries

35 years ago today, my life changed. Everything I knew about myself and thought of myself was going to be challenged and ultimately changed. I would no longer be chained to feelings of low self-worth, shame, and guilt.

So, to celebrate the day Bruce, Michael, and I drove down to Acadia National Park. I have to say it was a bit disappointing due to tremendous crowds. The first time Bruce took me here in 1992, it was magical. Yet the landscape and the trees are still magnificent.

Lovely lily pads floated in a pond.

The smell of wild roses filled the air as bumble bees flew from flower to flower. I went to smell the rose close up but the bee beat me to it.

It was low tide and people were looking for treasures in the sand.

I’ve never noticed this bridge before, although we have driven this route many times.

I’ve been to Acadia in all four seasons. It’s enchanting in each and everyone.

We decided not to venture into Bar Harbor since the crowds were just too much. We headed over to Northwest Harbor for lunch.

I had a hamburger!

We walked around the town and found this cute bear guarding the store.

Northwest Harbor is whimsical and much smaller than Bar Harbor but quaint. We also drove down to the harbor to check out the boats.

We drove to Blue Hill where Bruce was born. The hospital was brand new and we couldn’t find the old hospital building. We stopped at a store going out of business. this was across the street from the Town Hall.

The American Legion was named after a Wescott which is Bruce’s maternal grandparents name.

I caught a glimpse of the sea from the town hall in Blue Hill.

I saw this barn with the background on our way back to Michael’s. I sure do love photographing the buildings in Maine.

It was a lovely day, the weather perfect and all was good in Maine!

#maine#nationalparks#acadianationallark#barharbor#northwestharbor#blyehill#americanlegion#travel#roadtrip

The reunion was fantastic. There were lots of laughs and great food, and everybody started heading back home. Jay, Bethany, and the girls decided to stay, so we met up at Young’s Lobster Pound.

The girls decided not to come so it was just us adults. We each enjoyed a 1-1/2 lb lobster and I also had steamers.

The view from Young’s is great with all the sailboats and birds flying about.

We sat upstairs inside because we felt the sprinkle of rain. Only misting but who knew if it would lead to a downpour.

Since the rain held off, we decided to take a quick trip to Belfast for the Scottish Festival. We listened to the haunting Celtic music as we watched the Scottish games.

But within a few moments, the skies opened and the rain came down. Bruce, Bethany, and I went under a walkway to avoid the rain as Jay ran back to the car. Our hideaway had spaces between the boards so the rain came through anyway. There was a river of water and when we finally reached our car, we were soaked through.

We said our goodbyes to Jay and Bethany and headed back to Brewer.

Most of the roads were lonely with green trees and no inhabitants. But we occasionally ran across some interesting sites.

Last night I forgot to post the beautiful sunset over China Lake.

Now we are back at Michael’s until Wednesday when we head back home to Florida.

#maine#lobster#youngslobsterpound# belfast#scottishfestival#celticmusic#scottishgames#vacation#family

Bruce is now the patriarch of the Dunbar family. Bruce’s children, Ryan, Colin, Bethany, and Alyse, along with their spouses, our grandkids, and furry family members gathered at the McWade Camp on Sheepscot Pond. Kristy, Michael’s daughter, her spouse, and two of their children also joined the festivities.

We spent the day by the water or on the deck. Kristy’s son Garrett and Renee’s son Ray did a muscle pose.

Wyatt, Garrett, and Ray were enjoying the paddlenoards and swimming. For me it was a touch too cool. The air temp was around 80 degrees.

Alyse and Bethany were out in the kayak, while Renee and Sally were paddleboarding.

Bruce and Nate enjoyed chilling on the beach.

In years to come the children can reminisce about jumping off docks, swimming with dogs, and fishing for bass.

Jay grilled hamburgers and hot dogs while Bethany and Renee fixed up salads and set up the table. All was delicious.

Landon sat chilling in the living room enjoying a moment of quiet time.

The family gathered on the deck for conversation and eating.

It was a wonderful day filled with love and laughter and we are ever so grateful to Bethany and Jay hosting it.

Bruce and I hadn’t been to the McWade Camp since 2019. This picture shows just how much the grandkids have grown-up. That was the year of the tie-dyes shirts.

Hopefully, we can all meet up again before the grandkids are off to college or wherever they may go.

#family#maine#paddleboard#sheepscotpond#summer

Not to be confused with Palermo, Italy. Today was family day at the McWade Camp.

The weather was perfect. Aggie, Sally, and Keever the dogs were frolicking in the water.

All the kids seemed to take to the water and loved kayaking. I want to get one of those blow-up boards.

The kids are growing up so fast. I remember when the parents were 10, 12, and 14.

Tomorrow Bruce’s niece and her family will arrive as well as Bruce’s son Ryan and Amy.

But for tonight we headed back to our hotel to get a good night sleep.

Today we went to breakfast at Dysarts. I had one egg and one pancake. That was plenty. I forgot to take pictures of the pancake but we agreed that they aren’t as big as they used to be. That was good for me or I would eat it all.

There are a lot of interesting things around the restaurant.

Afterwards, we checked out Stephen King’s house. Notice the bats and spider webs on the fence? And the wooden statue is quite interesting. It was created by chainsaw artist Josh Landry from a dead ash tree. It features owls, ravens, cats, frogs, mushrooms, climbing vines, a dragon, and a corgi. 

My brother-in-law is a big collector. Here are a few of his cars.

We headed down to Ellsworth on a tour of Bruce and Michael’s ancestry. Our first stop was his maternal grandmother’s farm which had been in the family for over 150 years. Both brothers were sorry they didn’t buy it years ago.

Down the road away was a swimming hole where the boys would enjoy spending time during visits to the old farm.

We decided to visit their old camp, cottage to most people, on George’s Pond. It was sold several years ago but we sure miss our times there.

The walkway to the pond is overgrown. Apparently, the new owners don’t use it very much.

I looked in the window and the old GE refrigerator from 1953 was still there. Those old appliances keep on going!

We stopped by Fox Pond where I took a walk down to the water, enjoying the fragrant smell of pine.

We stopped at the Dunbar Store. No relation.

And our last stop was Ruth and Wimpy’s.

This was a cool little restaurant where I ate my second lobster.

And for dessert, I had a very berry cobbler and Bruce had a strawberry Rhubarb crisp! Yummy!

This was a really cute place with great prices and cool surroundings.

It was a fun-filled day eating our way Downeast!

#maine#downeast#roadtrip#vacation#dysarts#ruth&wimpys#lobster#stephenking#bangor#bats#joshlandry

The only airline I found with a nonstop flight to Bangor was Allegiant. It’s a no frills airline with tiny seats and not much legroom.

If you are on the larger side these seats just won’t do.

Michael picked us up at the airport, and we had lunch at Dysart’s. Dysart’s is at the truck stop, and Bruce had blueberry pancakes. I had a small salad and a bit of his pancakes.

We toured around the University of Maine where Bruce went to college. It’s located in Orono. The ball field was impressive but it looked as though they were adding on.

Bruce’s former fraternity house which he says was like Animal House, has seen better days.

And now for my favorite reason to go to Maine. Lobstah!

Number one at Pepper’s Landing in Old Town!

And to end the night a whoopie pie.

#maine#university#travel#lobster#allegiantairlines#bangor#pepperslanding#oldtown#orono#dysarts#whoopiepie

What a way to spend Father’s Day. A day at the beach with our 16-year-old granddaughter Kadyn.

The surfs up and Kadyn and PopPop went boogey boarding.

I spent most of the time on the lounge chair! The surf was a little too rough for me. But Pop Pop joined me as we watched the comings and goings at the beach.

So a very nice day at the beach.

Happy Father’s Day to my love and all the fathers out there!

I travel a lot – probably six months of the year give or take. But when I’m home, its like being on vacation.

Today I’m sitting on Delray Beach. We have a senior parking permit that lets us park on A1A and the beach lots. For one year it costs $101.25.

We also have an Oceanside Beach Service membership for a year. For $800, we can use an umbrella, two loungers, or a clamshell, which would generally cost $60 per day.

Delray Beach is known for its beautiful beaches. In fact, it was ranked the number one beach in Florida by USA Today.

The water is clear and you can see your feet in six feet of water. Sometimes it’s calm and sometimes there are waves. My husband loves to boogey board.

And the downtown area near the beach is great for restaurants and shopping. Whether you want seafood, Italian, or Thai, Atlantic Avenue has it all. It also has an impressive nightlife with great music and concerts at Old Schoolhouse Square.

#delraybeach#florida#vacation#parking#oceansidebeachservice#atlanticavenue#oldschoolhousesquare