A relaxing weekend

It's Sunday evening.  Week Two of the school begins tomorrow.  This has been a a fairly quiet weekend, but fun, nonetheless.

I woke up without the alarm Saturday morning, showered and ate breakfast.  Then, I went downstairs and out to the driveway where my landlady was conducting a garage sale.  Wouldn't you know that amongst her stuff was a small camera case, just right for my small camera.  Only a buck.

We did some car shuffling to get me out of the driveway around the shoppers. Because I had some time to kill before going to the school to meet my friends, I drove to Rockport.  In all the times that I've been through this area, I've been to Rockland and Camden, but never took the side trip to see the beautiful little port of Rockport.  So, I drove around it, took a few photos and then off to the school.  I'll go back again when I have more time.

I arrived at the school, and unlocked our building.  I dug out a few tools I thought we might need to check the "goodness" of tools, and then waited for Christophe and Tim to arrive.  They both came in right on time, and we loaded up Christophe's rental car for the trip to Liberty, ME, and the Liberty Tool Company.

The drive to Liberty took about 3/4 hour.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a good time talking on the way.

The Liberty Tool Company is evidently a landmark.  Last summer's visit to Captain Tinkum's Emporium with Steve didn't prepare me for Liberty.  On entry, one can't help but being immediately overwhelmed by the shear volume of stuff.  I took a photo with my phone just before we left, but it doesn't do the place justice.

It's primarily tools, tool-related things, and hardware, but it's also a lot of stuff that I suppose could be called antiques, if being old was the criteria for being an antique.  It's at least three floors.  I only saw the first and second floors, and really spent most of my time on the first floor.

I went hoping to find a Record #43 or #44 Plough Plane, but I never found one.  Yes, I bought some stuff - what I think is a Stanley #4 bench plane in fairly decent shape (my most expensive purchase at $24), a Stanley #95 marking gauge ($5), similar to one I inherited from my Dad, an expansion bit ($2.50), a knife sharpening stone and a hacksaw frame.  I also found three old framed photos, two of pre-WWII Navy ships and one of the keel for a large wooden ship on the ways in a shipyard.  Old pictures like that fascinate me.

If you were looking for an old pickup truck, they had one of them, too.

Tim and Christophe also found some things they were looking for - planes, and other items.

Christophe needed gas, and we got some directions to a BBQ place down the road.  We shared a couple of excellent racks of ribs, corn on the cob, and beer and then just relaxed taking in the view and enjoying the beautiful day.

Then we found a gas station, and Christophe filled up for the trip back to the school.

Ariving at the school, we went in to our building and showed off our purchases to the other students who were working on their projects.  I left soon after and drove to downtown Rockland, and then out Route 1 toward Camden.  I stopped at Maine Sports, and bought a shirt that was on sale.  Then back to my apartment.  I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reading a doing other stuff.

This morning I went to church, came back to the apartment, and ate lunch,  Then, I went for a walk.  My sister tells me that I should walk to work, since it is less than 2 miles.  To date, I've had stuff to carry to and from the school, so haven't even considered it.  Today was another beautiful day.  The temperature was in the mid-70's and there was a nice breeze blowing.  So, I filled a bottle of with water, set up my GPS to track my progress, and took off.

At home I walk Sammy up and down the hill I live on twice a day.  But over the past year, I've cut back on my walking, primarily because of arthritis and swelling in my feet.  I've had shots in my big toes, and have arch supports in my shoes.  They've helped a lot, but walking remains painful for me.  But, I set out, regardless.

My first challenge was walking up the hill on the road I live on.  I was pretty winded after that, but kept on.  For the most part, the next mile or so was mostly downhill.  I walked as far as Route 90, but didn't continue to the school, which is perhaps half to three-quarters of a mile down 90.   I was a little afraid of the walk back, because of the long uphill stretch, but it turned out to be easier that I thought.  In fact, walking downhill on the last stretch to my apartment seemed harder than walking uphill.  I have a similar problem at home walking Sammy, because he always pulls me downhill on the way home.  Anyway, the round trip was about 2 and a quarter miles, and took about 50 minutes.  I don't think I'm ready to start walking to school every day, but we'll see.  There's probably no reason I shouldn't do it, other than the need to carry stuff.  That was one of the reasons that I went to Maine Sports yesterday - to take a look at backpacks. I didn't get one, but now I may.