Day 31 thru 35 Monday July 18-Friday July 22, 2011 Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, Maine

 We spent  4 nights at Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, ME.  We arrived with a reservation.  But once we saw the campsite and realized it was kind of little, we were able to change to one of the unreservable sites (# 46) that was more spacious.  We are learning that campsites that are listed as large are not really.  Our site was similar to  Lily Bay in that it was very wooded, nice distance from each other but this one had a little more light shining through.

It seems that all the State Parks in Maine have similar accommodations.  No electricity at the site, water is available to fill up your camper at a main pump, out houses are throughout the campground, with potties and showers in a common location.  There is no charge for the showers.  Mt. Blue has a beach for bathing on a beautiful Lake Webb, a playground for kids  and a boat launch for the kayak.

The town is probably 40 minutes from a Wal Mart Super store for shopping, and 30 minutes to the library and cell service.  Not bad.

During our stay Ed went fishing on his kayak and a really good hike in the mountains--the most challenging so far.

During our time there I read a lot and did my daily pursuit for civilization.  On our last full day on Thursday, we decided to go to the beach about 10 am.  Ed, ever the good scout, made us lunch.  We brought the scrabble game (Ed won) and we planned to spend the day.  It was pretty hot so this was a good idea. 

About 2 o'clock, Ed decided to 'tool around a little' and check out the coves on the lake in the kayak.  Off he went.  True to form, I was expecting him to be gone an hour and his unspoken expectation was to spend the rest of the afternoon on the water.

By 3:15, I finished all the books on my Kindle.  I read his National Geographic.  Then I was bored.  I waited another 15 minutes and could not see Ed anywhere, so I decided to go back to the campsite.  Unfortunately, he took the keys to the car with him.  I made the choice.  Sit and be bored on the beach, or walk back. 

Buddy and I decided to take the hike through the woods to go back to our campsite.  For those of you who REALLY know me, this was no small decision.  In fact at one spilt, I (of course) took the wrong fork so I arrived at a different loop of the campsite making the walk longer then it should have been.  The walk back in the sweltering heat took us 25 minutes.  Buddy almost had to be dragged at one point.  He was done.  I am sure I looked the same way.  But then I saw the showers and knew I was close.  Just like when I (for a VERY short time) tried running, when I saw the finish line ahead I could pick up my pace.  By the time I got back, WE were exhausted.  It took about an hour to stop breathing hard and be back to normal.

After another 45 minutes, Ed shows up. When he arrived, it immediately brought to mind a joke he recently told me:

Who is man's BEST friend--his wife or his dog?  You can prove who it is very easily:  Lock them both in the trunk of your car for two hours.  When you let them out, which one is happy to see you?

Buddy was wagging his tail!  I was not!