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| Ferry Ride to Vinalhaven |
At my last lobster bake at Maine Media the other night, a
group of my Young Artist from the Portfolio group was kind enough to thanked me
by bringing me a bouquet of flowers & a cluster of balloons. I came very
closed to cry cos the whole moment was touching. I heard the instructor say,
“Let’s go find Chrissy…” that right there just gave it away & I knew that
they were up to a surprise for me. It was only the second time that had happen
to me this summer. The first was from a group from my filmmaker class surprising
me with a few joke pressie & a thank you card at the end of the two weeks.
Only a few of my students had thanked me this summer & I was about to cry
each time with how much love & thought fullness was there in the moment.
It’s been a long & crazy summer working the Young Artist, but it has been
rewarding.
I did get to give a photo talk to a group of
young digital photo class. Maybe I actually inspired them to see more of the
world & to follow their heart not their mind...I enjoyed that moment very
much. I’ve must have done something right, since one of my young artist from
the Alt Pro group told me that I’m a very good surrogate mom. I’m gifted in
many ways…
To reward myself, yes, I decided to take care of me from the
inside. We all must do that each & every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s
quiet time first thing in the morning to ground you by mediating or going for a
walk, the opportunities are endless. I did something that I do from time to
time in my travels to celebrate by going out to eat by myself. For the
occasion, I decided to go finally make it to Primo
Primo.
Let’s just say that I was in heaven. It’s ranked the topped restaurant in Maine
that focus on the farm to table approach to food. I found myself sitting
upstairs at the bar in the farmhouse in the lounge. There was a raw organic
feel to the place. I enjoyed eating a few tapas at the bar with a glass of red
wine. Everything was scrumptious. I highly suggest finding yourself there while
in Rockland. It’s a wee bit off of the hidden path, on South Main Street in
Rockland right next to the Owl’s Head border.
According to their website:
“What started with a garden, a few
hens and a couple of pigs has now become an evolution of food; an endless
pursuit to accomplish more. Primo is much more than a restaurant, it is about
love and respect for food. It is also about creativity. Produce is grown &
harvested here and the animals are raised on the property. Nothing is wasted –
everything has its place. It is a continuous cycle that occurs throughout the
restaurant with, the kitchen, the animals and the gardens. The kitchen uses and
savors every little piece. Seasonal to the moment, it is actually the farm and
the garden that make the incredible ever-changing menu.”
Sunday Morning was a wee bit on the early side, since I
didn’t have too much sleep the night before.
“Sunday mornin', praise the dawnin'
It's just a restless feelin', by my side
Early dawnin', Sunday mornin'
It's just the wasted years so close behind”
~The Velvet Underground
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| Robert Indiana's "Hope" |
The adventurous in me wanted to take an adventure. I decided
to take advantage of going on a wee boat ride, well a ferry ride to Vinalhaven.
I didn’t know that Vinalhaven is the name of the town of the two Fox Islands
& the largest one of the island. It’s home to a thriving lobster industry
& summer colony.
The ferry to
the island is owned & operated by the
Maine State Ferry Service
& the price is $17.50 round trip, which was much cheaper for the ferry out
to Monhegan. However, in Rockland, parking does cost $10 for the day in the
parking lot at the ferry terminal. It’s a wee bit pricy & the lot is not
that greatly developed making it hard to navigate with it’s almost full. Sad to
say that I found it very tricky to find a spot with other cars taking advantage
of parking not in designated parking spaces. If you do wish to take your car to
the island, then I highly suggest getting there early so you can wait in the
queue to make the scheduled boat. The ferry is rather quick with about an hour
and fifteen minutes crossing each way. Just brace yourself for the open ocean
& take some raw ginger or ginger chews along if you get seasick.
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| Tribute to Fallen Lobsterman |
I enjoyed my time wandering around the island. I went by
foot, so that limited what I could take advantage of, but honestly it didn’t
stopped me. My wanderlust took me on an adventure into the village; I found an
amazing nature preserve called “Lane’s Island Preserve” that is part of the
Nature Conservancy in Maine that has an amazing trail selection. I walked into
some shops in the village for some “window shopping”. I found a statue of
“Hope” by Robert Indiana who was
resident of the island. Lastly, I was moved by some local lobstermen who were
hauling traps out of the ocean for one of their fellow lobsterman who just
recently drowned at sea. I was asked by one of them to take some photos for
them, which I did without question. Only after I took the photos that I learned
about what was going on. Just watching the scene & doing the best that I
could do photographing it right next to the Greet Eat’s food truck on the
island has stuck with me all afternoon. It just shows you how beautiful that
acts of kindness go without question.
I spent the ferry ride back thinking about the beautiful moment that I
had just witness with lobsterman & watching the foggy mist on the coast. It
was a great reminder to live in the “NOW” is what I was thinking about on the
ferry back to the mainland.
