ActionshotsNH: Kennebunkport, ME Vacation

We were looking forward to our vacation and rented the Federal House for the 4th year. It is such a great house in a great location with some great history (250th anniversary this year).

My routine for the week would be to get up early, take pictures, return to take someone to breakfast, continue with the day, and after dinner take sunset pictures. The plan worked pretty well as I was up each morning between 4:20AM and 5:39AM and out the door to take pictures. COME ON … Doesn’t everyone get up early when on vacation?

Being up at 4:20AM one morning I thought I would drive to Ogunquit and Perkins Cove. It is the furthest distance so I needed the time to get there before the sun came up. You know you’re up early when you only see one other car and 2 delivery trucks on the road after driving for miles. Note … I was the first Dunkin Donuts customer on Route 1 in Wells and stood outside waiting for them to open on my way to Perkins Cove. Don’t I get a gold star or something? Waiting on Dunkin Donuts did slow me down …

I went to the Maine Diner for breakfast several mornings during the week. Anthony ordered - Eggs Benedict, Matt - the AAA, Kevin - the AAA, Kate - the Almond Crusted French Toast, and me – the Irish Eggs Benedict as the diner makes homemade corned beef hash. Great breakfasts and as always it’s a TRADITION.

At Drakes Island these birds were relaxing and drying off on old pier posts. I saw several birds in the marsh going after small fish, etc. I need my bird buddy Bill H. (Bill turned 99 years old a couple months back) to confirm if this is a Great Egret. We also had a 4 inch slug visit us on our steps late one night. You can see its eyes at the end of its optical tentacles. I think it may have been eyeballing me. Edible?? I think not …

I went to Wells Harbor a couple times to take pictures. I yelled to the guy with the red fishing boat when he headed out to check his traps. I told him he was taking my color away.

Cape Porpoise had lots of early morning activity as boat captains were loading up and heading out to check their traps. I wish there were more clouds in the sky during the week for the sunsets. It would have given me more color.

We went to Gooch’s beach several times to relax. We enjoy swimming, walking to the rocks, sitting on the jetty watching the boats and playing in the cove.

Several large yachts came in during high tide. They were all from New Jersey and showed up around the same time. It could have been a boat Caravan...

Late one afternoon we drove to the Marginal Way for a sunset. I was in Perkins Cove after the sun went down. I took these interesting pictures of this fishing boat with a black hull. The sky was still light but it was dark enough that the black hull of the boat was hard to see. With the reflection of the sky off the water and a tripod, I took slow shutter speed pictures which created the effect of bottom lighting which was much more pronounced on the black hull. Interesting … will try that again.

We took 6 kayaks from the garage and launched them from the property. Scott launched everyone from the dock. We went down the river to the cove by the ocean and had a good time. The tide was in so we could jump off the jetty and swim.

Kevin and Scott rented Mopeds for 24 hours. Evan wasn’t old enough to rent one so he rode with Scott. They had fun riding all over. Kevin rented a sporty moped (if you think that’s possible) and Scott rented the Harley looking one with the big handlebars and mirrors. I told Scott he needs to record Harley motorcycle sounds and replay those sounds as he rides his moped around next year. I think that would get some laughs ...

As I was driving I saw a red Jeep Willys for sale. I called and met with the seller. It was a 1953 CJ3. He said it had the flat head engine and the top speed was around 50mph so not a highway vehicle. More like a camp jeep. I have been toying with the idea of buying a Jeep ever since Kevin bought his but wasn’t interested in this one.

In past years we visited Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge and have walked the trails through the woods along the marsh. When I was taking pictures in Wells I met someone from Hollis and we were talking about pictures. I showed her a couple Hollis Barn pictures I had taken. She asked me if I had heard of Laudholm Farm in Wells. She said it was a farm transformed into the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve to keep it from being developed. In the 28 years we have been coming here I hadn’t heard of it so she gave me an idea of how to get there and I was off using my GPS.

Wow … I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place. The Laudholm Farms history said at one time it was the largest and most progressive saltwater farm in York County.

I ended up meeting and talking to the facilities manager. He said there are people in Wells that don’t even know the place exists. He showed me around the main barn. The inside is all fixed up and can be rented for wedding receptions. All of the metal (hinges, brackets, latches, etc. in the barn are original. The scale set into the barn floor was used to weigh wagons, livestock, etc. and still works. The barn also has a large water tank below ground (innovative back in the day) so it had running water all year even in those cold winters.

There are several other barns on the property. He pointed out the sheep barn and said it was one of the only remaining sheep barns in Maine. There are many out buildings as well as a large house and water tower on the grounds. It is an impressive farm.

There are walking trails throughout the property also. That same afternoon Pam and I went back and walked some of the trails. All was good until Pam saw a snake sunning itself on a rock. It was the first snake she has seen this year. Needless to say she was done with her trail walk experience (guess I was done too) and she/we headed back rather quickly. This would be a great place to explore and photograph more especially in the fall and winter.