Penobscot River - Castine, Maine

Remember the sense of wonder as we discovered beauty in the simple things. I can't explain exactly how it felt, but this weekend was an amazing journey of exploration, self-discovery, bonding and nurturing. This truly is a special place to be, to learn and to grow. The Penobscot River is the longest river in Maine named by American Indians meaning "waters of decending ledge". It is this river that has captivated my family for years. We grew up here summer after summer and I consider myself sort of a half-time resident. There is nothing more beautiful than this place. It will stay in our hearts forever. This weekend we got to share it with my niece and nephew who have never been there.



They loved it! They opened their eyes, explored the beach, tried new exciting things, hung out with their cousins and played, swam and played more! This place does that to you. As a child, I remember singing songs I made up down at the beach when I was alone. I saw one of my nieces doing that same thing and it brought me back. It brought me back to the millions of memories I have about this place, it's beauty and all it has to offer; the seagull that would eat out of my grandmother's hand when she called him, the crab apple tree which was the location of many crab apple fights, the rolling lawns where we played croquet with all of our cousins, the big rock that I never climbed because I was too scared, and the big rusty boat.



New bonds were formed, endless hours of sight seeing ending in icecream on the dock in Castine where the boat owned by the Maine Maritime Academy, the State of Maine, is docked. They were drawn in by it all. Engrossed in digging for clams and finding flat rocks to paint. Jumping off rocks into the salty water. Watching the sun set across the river until everything turned black only lit by the millions of stars in the clear sky. They are under the spell cast upon all of us who know and love this special place. They too can feel the excitement, wonder and peace pervading their bodies and drawing them in. They had a taste of what we know and experienced year after year, summer after summer and they will want to return as many times as they can to get their fill. And we will bring them here to this special place so they too can feel the magic.










Comments