Writers' Day Off Thursday Edition

So, yesterday, the sun was out, and was predicted to stay out all day.

We therefore packed up some drinks, threw ice and yeti freeze-blocks into the big ice chest, made sure we had our cameras in our bags, and escaped into the day.

We stopped for breakfast at IHOP in Augusta, then headed south.  We hit Old Orchard Beach at the peak of high tide; walked the beach, took some pictures, and were very comfortable in our winter jackets and woolly hats.

Though the Original Plan had not been to spend the whole day away, that pretty much went out the window before we'd even finished breakfast.  A whole day of sunshine ahead of us, with no emails to answer, or work to do?  Far too alluring to put aside.

We therefore drove souther, to York Beach, where we stopped short of Long Sands Beach to take pictures of the two lighthouses we could see in the distance, and a pod of ducks playing in the breakers.

The ducks were hard to get a good picture of (yeah, no kidding), but they were hysterical to watch.  The whole pod of them would be bobbing along, and then one would look over its head, discover a breaker, and apparently yell, in Duck, "Oh, no!  We're gonna get wet!" whereupon the entire pod would dive beneath the wave and resurface -- one, two-three, four, five....six-seven-eight -- and bob along happily until the next breaker started to foam, and they'd do their thing again.

So, ducks are hard -- everybody knows that.  What was surprising is that the lighthouses were hard to photograph.  While the sun was busily beating down on us on the sidewalk by Route 1, out there in the ocean, it was seriously misty.

Eventually, after having a nice chat about the glorious day with a couple who were walking their dogs -- and making friends with said dogs -- we got back in the car, headed for Long Sands Beach (this being, as I've always thought, having been early spoilt by the beaches of Maryland and New Jersey, an Exercise in Irony), but!  I saw a sign by the side of the road, and the sign said:

TO THE NUBBLE
------------------------->

"Quick!" I said to Steve, "turn right!"

Turn right he did and we followed a road lined on both sides by, ahem, Seaside Cottages, until the road ran out at Sohier Park, and there, in all its beautiousness, was Cape Neddick Lighthouse, which everyone calls The Nubble, to the point that people have forgotten its proper name entirely.

Here, have a picture of The Nubble.

We spent a loooong time at Sohier Park, taking pictures, sitting on the benches and soaking up the rays (warm and sunny in the park; no need for winter coats, at all).

After awhile, I said to Steve that I was going to walk to the other side of the park to see if the gift shop had lighthouse stamps.  I happened to have my Lighthouse Passport with me (don't leave home without it!), and, after a moment's rummaging about, Steve found his in his camera bag.

So, we both got our passports stamped for The Nubble and! for Boon Island Light, which you can sorta see from York Beach.  Sorta.  That's pretty good, given the Season hasn't opened yet.

We bought souvenirs (a Nubble Light lapel pin to join my collection of lapel pins; Steve got a Nubble Light ball cap), and eventually went out again into the day, to mooch around the park a little more, and finally drive back down into town.

From York, we went to Ogunquit, and stopped at the Maine Diner in Wells for supper.  Steve had the not-Maryland-style-crabcake; I had the chicken pot pie.  It was all good, though I found myself kind faunching after the lunch being consumed at the table next to us, which consisted of: a rootbeer float, a bowl of split pea and ham soup, and a slice of apple pie with ice cream.  I *really* want a rootbeer float now, but all we have in-house is "hard" rootbeer, which, yanno?  It could work.

Anyhow, we eventually wound up at Trader Joe's (yes, again); took on supplies, including some frozen things (see ice chest and yeti cooler-blocks, above), and came home the fast way, insofar as there is a fast way, there to unpack, and view our photos on the day, then to the evening meal, a glass of wine and bed.

Today, it is raining.  I'm doing the laundry, after this blog post is finished, I'll be opening up the WIP.  We also have in house the galleys for the new mass market edition of Conflict of Honors, to be published by Baen in October and!  the list of people who pre-ordered a signed copy of Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume Four from Uncle Hugo's SF Bookstore.  We don't have the books yet, but as soon as they get here, we will leap -- yes, leap! -- into action!

For our next Writers' Day Off, I'm thinking of viewing Aladdin next Friday at the local theater.  That might be pleasant.

In the meantime, as above, it's back to work.

Here, have another picture of The Nubble to warm you up.