Peak's Island, Maine

   Today, Drew and I drove all the way up to Maine, the state that is at the top of our country (ahem, ahem, that's right--that's yours truly, spouting off geography like it ain't no thing at all), and ended up in Portland.  From there, we took the ferry over to Peak's Island, a place that looks exactly how you would think a coastal island off of Maine should look.  Rocky shores, lighthouses peering over the precipice, rich green lawns, and plenty of fishermen...and other hardy types. 

 

It's beautiful.   

We rented bikes from a bike shop that, I kid you not, had a simple honor system to go with it's unlocked gate and varying bikes scattered across the yard.  We just stuck some money in a box, grabbed two bikes, and were off.  I got this lovely little green number that came with a grandmotherly basket, and I rocked it:

Our first stop was a shore, where Drew managed to figure out the timer on our camera:
Then we found a murder hole.  Yep, you read that right.  Don't worry, we didn't actually murder anybody in it; it's a little hide-out that was built on coasts during WWII so that our army could have a safe place to sit while scanning the shore for U-boats.  Awesome, right?  Well, I looked and looked, but found nothing that resembled enemy boats off the Maine shore, so we can all sleep well tonight.
  Then, we went off the trail a little...en route to this: 
It's called Battery Steele, where the US used to store our munitions during WWII. And yeah, we read this sign, but took it in stride as we forged ahead...
...into, quite literally, the darkest place I have ever been.  My eyes hurt because they were trying so hard to find some light in a place the was void of it entirely.  The only reason you can see any of this at all was because my camera has a flash.  It was truly spooky.  All along the sides of the hall there were these doorways that led into abandoned rooms and of course Drew insisted we actually go into one.  Then, to lighten the mood, he suggested we sing, of all things!  So, we practiced our version of happy birthday, the song we were planning to sing to my friend Betsy, since today is her birthday.  It was eerie in the darkness, though, I can tell you that.
Finally we got to rock beach, where people try to build the most fantastic sculptures by balancing rocks, and then see how long they last against the elements.
I think Drew's lasted about five minutes, as impressive as it was...

It was a lovely day off.  Oh, and you can't see so well from these pics, but I happened to wear my "busy" lucky-t, some jeans that are on the skinnier side (though not my skinniest), and some high tops.  And I didn't ask a soul for their opinion on my outfit.  Though honestly, while I was on Peak's Island I got the impression that the inhabitants couldn't have cared less what I looked like.  Everybody was just too busy enjoying the day.  Which was as it should be.