Why the trip?

Last summer my good friend Steve and I went to Maine to attend classes at The Wooden Boat School which is in Brooklin, Maine.  We initially planned to take a couple of weeks, and to travel to Maine by train.  In the interest of time, we decided instead to fly.  Once we got to Maine, we toured from Portland to Brooklin and back again, with stops along the way.  Included among our stops were a tour of the Maine Maritime Museum,  and a somewhat disappointing trolley tour of the Bath Iron Works, both in Bath, ME.  Walking around downtown Bath, I fell in love with Maine all over again.

I first went to Maine was when I was very young, in the late 40's.  It was before my sisters were born, and I must have been about five years old.  Evidently Dad found an advertisement for a farmhouse in Damariscotta, between Bath and Rockland.  We piled into the car and drove through the night from our home in New Jersey.  In those days we didn't have the interstate highway system we have now, so that was quite a drive.  I still remember driving on roads that were being built.  I also remember staying in a white-painted inn near the ocean, and a tremendous thunderstorm.  Other than that, I don't remember much about it.  Evidently Mom and Dad decided that they were not ready to pick and move to Maine.  Gee.  Imagine what a place like that could be worth now. 

Anyway, my next trip to Maine was perhaps 14 or 15 years later when I went to Rockland on my Youngster (sophomore) Midshipman summer cruise compliments of the US Naval Academy.  I have some memories of that which I won't publicly share, but I do remember the lobster boil we had on the fantail of the USS John R. Pierce (DD-753). 

Two years later I went to Maine again on my First Class (senior) Midshipman cruise.  This time I was on a submarine, the USS Grouper, (AGSS-214) and we went to Bar Harbor.  Lots of fun on that one.  I remember that a Navy destroyer also visited Bar Harbor at the same time.  I remember that we were there in celebration of Navy Day, and I believe that a senior member of the Navy League, who lived in a huge house on a hill in Bar Harbor, had made it happen.   I also remember that we submariners looked down our noses at the destroyermen.  I had no way of knowing at that time that a year later I would also be a destroyerman when I graduated from the Academy.

I went to Maine one more time with the Navy.  I don't remember the year, but I was the Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Officer on the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) and we went to the Bath Iron Works shipyard to have our sonar dome replaced. 

Since then, Linda and I have attended the Wooden Boat School several times, she taking painting courses, and me building model boats.  Someday I'd love to go back and build a real boat, but that's not a very useful skill for somebody who lives in the WNC mountains.

As I said, last summer I fell in love with Maine all over again, and when Steve and I were in Bath, I decided that I was going to spend this summer there.  My plan was to find a place to rent for the summer and then use that as a base to tour around the state.

Last December I got an email from the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport.  Several years earlier I had signed up with the school for a week-long woodcarving course with the English master woodcarver, Chris Pye, who teaches there occasionally.  I canceled out when Linda started getting ill.  However, I am on their mailing list forever after.

So, I received this email, and I discovered that they offer a "Twelve-week Furniture Intensive" course.  Then I noted that there was a session to be held beginning in June.  It was exactly what I wanted.  They only take 12 students at a time, so I immediately called and discovered that the course beginning in June was already filled.  They put me on a waiting list.  Several weeks later I got a call to tell me that a place had opened up if I wanted it.  Duh!  I sent off my deposit, arranged for a place to stay, and then started the countdown.

It  amazes me that in spite of having almost six months to prepare, and no matter how many lists and plans I've made, there are still some things that I just won't get done before I leave.  Other stuff keeps taking up my time.  But, I'll be leaving soon for what turns out to be my birthday present to me.

I'm also looking at this as somewhat of a transition point for me.  Linda passed away almost two years ago, and no matter what kind of a face I put on it, I have been grieving since then.  It isn't so intense as it was, but it has still been there.  I watched the video on the school site (watch the video) and was struck by the comments of a former student during the last minute or so of the video.  His experience of being able to completely let go of his regular life, and immerse himself in woodworking, is exactly what I am looking for.  I'm hoping to come home at the end of the course with a new attitude and outlook (and, some new skills, too).

So, I'm going to do my best to keep up with this blog, if for no other reason than to keep a record for myself.  But maybe somebody else might find it interesting.