One Smart Dog

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Cape before the fog rolled in. After a morning spent on Macworth Island for the Brook There Spring 2009 line photo shoot, Orvis and I decided to head to Robinson Wood's for a nice afternoon stroll. We got to our "secret" fetch spot and discovered Orvis's favorite stick missing... looks like our secret spot isn't so secret afterall. After a few round of fetch Orvis got distracted when he discovered an eight foot long branch stuck in the water and decided it was his mission to rescue it. He spent the rest of our time at our not-so-secret spot attempting to destroy the branch, because amazingly enough, he did manage to bring it ashore.

After our walk we decided to catch up on some magazines outside. Orvis's monthly must-reads?? Vanity Fair and Inc.!



Well, we just found out Cain is coming home about two hours earlier than expected! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

As always, breathe easy!

Lonely Times in Cape

Hi everyone! Michael is away on business in North Carolina (doesn't that sound so professional??) for the week, so Orvis & I are holding down the fort here in Cape Elizabeth. We're surviving alright, but we definitely miss him.

How depressed does Orvis look without his buddy around?



No, he's not that depressed! Of course he misses Cain, but we're also having lots of fun going on walks/runs/swims in the woods near our house.

We are looking forward to Cain's return on Saturday evening!

Breathe easy!

Labor Day Franks on the Grill

Enticed by the delectable aroma of numerous cookouts as we drove through the streets of Portland and Cape Elizabeth this weekend, Meredith and I decided to have our own Labor Day cookout.

As shameful as this might sound to all my friends back home, Meredith and my labor day cookout this evening was made whole by some delicious, all-natural turkey franks. Yes ... delicious, all-natural TURKEY franks. Luckily, we were blessed with some beautiful evening weather to sit outside and enjoy this Labor Day tradition. Of course, we capped it off with some lemonade and Gifford's Ice Cream (Meredith's new dairy obsession!).


Now it's time for us to breathe easy since we've finally caught you all up to speed over the last few weeks. Hopefully our next post won't be that far away.

Finally, another road-trip!

Meredith and I ended our short road-trip drought today with a trip up to Grafton Notch State Park. A curiously laid-out state park, Grafton Notch had a variety of sights to offer, from waterfalls to caves, to a nice chunk of the AT complete with beautiful vistas. Unfortunately for us, we never saw these vistas, as Orvis decided to quickly develop a fear of boulder hopping. Forgetting to tell us of this fear, he allowed us to walk a mile and a half STRAIGHT UP a mountain, on one of the steepest trails I've ever been on, only to chicken out when the going got tough a few hundred feet from the top. If it weren't for Meredith's Mexican Wrap lunch and Orvis's eternal hunger, we might still be sitting in between three boulders a few thousand feet above sea level. Long story short, the view of the vista from the ground was still quite impressive, and the waterfalls from other sections of the park, coupled with a majestic covered bridge in the nearby town, almost made up for the three hour drive for a three mile hike. Meredith and I are planning to go back some weekday morning to try and experience the waterfalls and trails with a few less screaming crumb crunchers in the background, though.

Hopefully you guys will breathe much easier than Orvis was this afternoon, stuck on the side of a mountain.

Joanie Stalker Alert!

Off of a tip from Emilie's new graphic designer, Christina Wnek, I was fortunate enough to take my second and third summer Freeport trips to catch this year's Patagonia Outlet Labor Day Sale. Taking pretty much an entire day off from work (yes, life as a web designer is pretty rough...), I made it to Freeport around 9:30 am, and grabbed a place in the already growing line for the Patagonia store that did not open until 1o am. Although it was a madhouse, I made out with some sweet deals that will hopefully provide me with abundant warmth for the upcoming winter.

Since shopping for women isn't really my thing, Meredith and I returned after she got off of work that evening to see if we could find her some cool gear too. Unfortunately, there was little to be had by 6pm, but this apparent loss was quickly made-up for by another Joanie Benoit sighting. While picking out another pair of pants for myself, I heard a "pssst... Michael!" Terrified, that I had been fingered in a shoplifting scam, I spun around to find Meredith wide-eyed on the stairs, mouthing to me, "stop looking, Frank." Obviously confused, I got closer to Meredith and found that she wasn't going crazy, but rather that "Joanie was upstairs!" in a hushed whisper. After one or two silent sideways glance passes of the running star and Meredith's hero, I went to check out while Meredith went next door to check out the Horny Toad sale. While swiping my card, who happened to walk up? None other than Joan herself! Naturally seizing the opportunity, I, in my socially awkward ways, out of the blue asked her if she was "the Joanie runner from Cape Elizabeth." Luckily for me, she was a very friendly person, and was able to look past my awkwardness with a graceful kindhearted tone, and a "welcome to Maine!" After leaving, Joanie passed us on the street and took the time to stop and say hey to both of us, completely making Meredith's day and putting me one up in the "Incredibly Awesome" boyfriend category. Thank you, Joan.

Breathe easy, (Meredith's still having trouble catching her breathe after that day).

More backyard treasures

Since Meredith and I have been very busy with our jobs and future plans, we haven't had as much of an opportunity to go on long road trips as we would like, but luckily for us, there are so many places right next door for us to enjoy.

On the backside of Portland lies a bay that the town has surrounded in a park/trail system. Meredith, Orvis, and I were lucky enough to try the Back Cove Trail one Saturday afternoon. The trail is 3.5 miles of beautiful Portland skyline scenery, over the calm water of the Back Bay. We had a great time taking in the sights and are hoping to return one evening for some beautiful night skyline pictures.





The following morning, Meredith, Orvis and I had the opportunity to head up to Bradbury Mountain State Park. We spent a good chunk of the morning exploring the trails and searching for the best vistas in this lesser known park, not too far from Portland. As soon as we can get Meredith's mountain bike fitted with better tires, this will soon become our Mountain Bike Stomping Grounds. On a side note, Orvis saw his first horses up close that day - spooked them a little - but was happy to find another giant furry creature to share the day with.







It's so cool to have places like these right next door to provide just the right distraction from our ever-increasing workload, and to help us breathe easy.

Friends and Family

Wow, it's amazingly simple to start a blog that you plan to keep up with on a weekly basis... and then not touch it for almost 3 weeks! So much has happened since the Peeles visited, and for the sake of not creating a pseudo-novella for you guys to read, we'll try to split up the past few weeks into a few different posts.

Shortly after the Peeles visited at the beginning of August, Meredith and I were lucky enough to get to see a friendly face from back in Chapel Hill. Dan, the guy responsible for Meredith and I meeting, was visiting his family in York, Maine, just a few miles south of us. Not only was he nice enough to take the time to come visit me with his sister, one afternoon in Portland, he also opened up his family's home in York and invited Meredith and I down one evening for a birthday/family reunion cookout. It's great to see old friends, and it's made even better when they are as fun and accommodating as the Ryan family. His family's place in York was gorgeous, his family was a delight, and York is definitely a place that Meredith and I will have to take a road trip to, one day soon.

Almost immediately after we left the Ryans, we were joined by my own parents, who came up to spend their first weekend in Maine with us. Although the trip here was riddled with storms and delays, I believe they had a great time in Maine, and I know that Meredith and I loved the company. In a matter of four days, we attempted to do as many touristy things as possible. On the first day, we made the trip to Freeport, to experience the town of LL Bean. Meredith and I had been here together once before, but only in the off-season, when the streets are only mildly crowded. Freeport during the summer is a sight to see, the town is literally centered around Bean, and seemingly every downtown building has been converted to some sort of outlet shop. I'm glad my parents got to see and experience all that is Maine's shopping city.



That night, we partook in what is quickly becoming a visitor tradition and went to Alewive's Brook Farm for a homemade lobster dinner. It was my mom's first lobster and it's always a delight to share these new experiences with those we love. The next day, we made the trip up to Rockland to see the Maine Home and Boat Show. The furniture and wooden boats were incredible! It still baffles me to see the handy work of these craftsmen doing the things that they love. It makes me miss the wooden skiff that my dad and I were building back home. Hopefully it won't be the last boat show I'm able to attend.

After relaxing and watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics that night, Meredith and I had the opportunity to spend the next day showing my parents downtown Portland and the surrounding areas. We got some pictures at the Head Light and walked all around the Old Port, taking in the sights. We capped off a fun day with an excellent dinner at my favorite local restaurant, The Good Table, where we had the opportunity to share some laughs and stories over some delicious dinners and blueberry desserts.



We're so thankful to have had those weeks with friends and family, and we're looking forward to our next guests (Savanna and Victoria!) in September.

Breathe easy!