Vacations must end!

This vacation was bittersweet. I have always wanted to go to Old Quarry to paddle, but this year I am not in the best shape with my injuries and watching Nick, wore me out. We were able to enjoy a lot of things and the camp was a nice place to just walk around and relax, but I really wanted to paddle to the islands and the boat rides were more than I wanted to spend right now.

We were able to get out for one paddle, one I had always wanted to do. It is in a protected area, so we avoided the winds and fog and there are islands all around. The main reason for this paddle was to go to Holbrook Island, which is part of the park we started in. It is a large island with a beach and a campground and the perfect way to spend the day.

I had the map in my photo brain, so we headed out towards the island. The paddle was in a river that led to thePenobscot bay, so I wanted to go to the mouth of the river, since it was not far away. We could see Castine and the area we had visited earlier in the week.

Bean is giving me the, hurry up and stop taking photos so we can get to the beach. He knows kayaks lead to beaches.

 We landed on a beach, that had no signs, so we figured it was ok. You can see the lighthouse sticking up, at the end of the point on the right.

This is the view to the left of us. We did paddle over to the middle of the two islands, now I wish we had gone all the way, but I had no idea what islands they were and if they were private.

It wasn't until we got back home and I looked at the area we paddled in. And that is when I realized, the island I thought was Holbrook, was a private island, duh. I knew it didn't look as nice as the photos but when we headed from the launch, we were actually on the opposite side of what I had in my mind from the map. So, this photo was taken at the launch, from across the road, the island on the left is Holbrook and the island on the left in the last photo is Holbrook, I could kick myself, lol. Next time I will use my phone to keep track of where I am. You can get turned around with so many islands and coves and with low tide, the islands connect with sandbars.

So, I missed out on landing on the island, but we still have a wonderful day of paddling and beautiful weather.

And we made it to the hill for a spectacular sunset. The sun was just going behind the mountains in this shot, I love how it cast beautiful colors through the clouds.

We had planned on an extra day to go home, but I woke up before 5 and decided to just go home. We saw a lot of places we wanted to stop at, but hard to get in with a trailer. Places to visit on another trip. We did stop at the Rockland Prison store, the prisoners make wooden items to sell to the tourists. I found a wonderful bird feeder, now I need to set up a river to put it on;) I also found the ship at a local thrift store in Blue Hill. The money goes to the local pet shelter.

I made Bill pose for a photo.

And of course we spent lots of time on beaches, most were rocky but a lot of granite. I did find some treasures to bring home, some I plan on painting and the one in the back, is a whale shape. It sits on it's own, so I will paint him and sit him on a shelf. I was surprised to find sand dollars on one beach, they were just sitting there, no others around.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. I think it is time to hit the ocean, and hopefully we can steal Nick to have some fun on the beach with.

Tripods

My Brother in law loves photography, so over the years, I have been gifted with some of his equipment that he didn't want.
This month he dropped his camera and decided to have it fixed and give it to me, and he is getting himself a new one.
Not sure why he doesn't want his, it will be brand new when they replace the lens, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth;)
I guess I am going to have to learn how to use a real camera.

Yesterday he sent me his tripod, he never uses it and I really need one, since I shake too much.
It will be great to use when I take photos of my pieces, and when I get the new camera, hopefully better colors.

Today I tried it with my camera, not sure if mine fits right, but it did keep me steadier. Of course nothing interesting came by, just the usual group of birds who spent the afternoon sitting and fighting over the bird feeders.

When I get the new camera, I will find out if it is the camera or me, lol. I will definitely have to ask santa for a larger zoom this year;)

This is a scrub bush, perfect place for a bird feeder. The long thorns keep the other critters from climbing up and getting into the feeders.



These are on full zoom, I don't think my camera has true zoom, at it's highest point. Most digital cameras have true distance, up to the halfway point, but past that, they go digital, so pictures look blurry. Even with a tripod, I still had to use the sharpen tool. But for those of you who have a problem with shake and want to use a zoom, which is a heavier lens, a tripod is a great item to have.

I am working on a new piece, a possible pattern for sewing, but not sure if I like what I did, and might do another with the original idea I had, so you can see when I finish.