Whale Watching

We took a whale watching charter out of Gloucester yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we saw 5 different humpback whales several times. The naturalist that narrated the tour was really educational and called the whales by name. They can be identified by markings on the bottom of their fins and often feed in groups. They migrate to the area to feed during the summer months and then go to warmer waters to breed in the winter. Three of them surfaced on one side of the boat and then swam under the boat and surfaced again on the other side - very unusual. They dive and surface about every 4-6 minutes. It was pretty awesome to see them in the wild!
We went to Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier for dinner - a unique restaurant on the picturesque harbor in Kittery, Maine that Kyle told us about. They specialize in seafood - primarily lobster - and allow patrons to bring in anything that they do not sell. That includes beer & wine and all sorts of food. We saw people come in with picnic baskets, table clothes, wine glasses and toss their own salads while they waited for their lobsters to be steamed! It was fun and delicious!
Today, we took a lobster boat out in Portland Harbor. Another beautiful day and there are many gorgeous homes, sailboats & yachts along the coastline. We learned how to throw and harvest lobster traps - a tough way to make a living - no high tech ways to do it! Got a bunch of crabs but no lobster big enough to keep. Enjoyed shrimp, fried clams and a cold beer on the pier before leaving. On to Bar Harbor tomorrow.
We talked with Heather & Samantha on Skype the other day and Samantha asked Roger if there was a playground at "our park" - Roger told her there was and she said "Do you need a little girl to come play with you?" Hard to keep the tears from coming!
Emily is now using sign language to "say" MILK. Heather said Wendell assembled her crib in their new house and when he put her in it she giggled and got all excited - poor thing has been sleeping in her "pack 'n play" for ages!
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly:
The Good: The rain has stopped! The locals say they were growing webbed feet!
The Bad: The State of New Hampshire controls liquor sales and they have huge stores and sell liquor at all N.H. rest stops along the highways. Doesn't make sense to us -
to sell booze on the interstates!
The Ugly: the MOSQUITOES!!