Mid Coast Maine 2004 - Change of Command
What a wonderful trip to Maine we had! We arrived home safely around 7:00 pm sans luggage, I guess it decided to hang around in Cincinnati a bit longer this afternoon, but is expected to be delivered to our home around midnight. No big deal there...nothing I really need in the short term...
Thursday started out very well. I was able to score airline tickets out of Toledo Express rather than Detroit Metro. It meant a connecting flight in Cincinnati, but when I can park my car and be checked in with boarding passes in under five minutes, and be through security in under four minutes, it's usually well worth a few extra bucks...although it was cheaper to leave out of Toledo this time which does happen. The flights were uneventful and we had pretty clear skies on the way out. I booked Jen a window seat, but I think she got a stiff neck from looking around for hours.
We arrived in Portland, ME around 1:00 pm or so, procured our rental car, and pressed on to Brunswick. We had a bit of time to kill before the Pre-Reception meet-n-greet scheduled for that night, so we had lunch at Eggspectations (yummy smoked salmon omelet) and scoped out Cabot Mills antiques, a nice multi-vendor antique store with about 140 vendors/displays...I regret not buying the stuffed beaver...it would have been a great conversation piece in my new office...
That evening, the VP-10 had a pre-reception at a local tavern in downtown Brunswick. It's a chance to meet the outgoing CO, the incoming CO and XO and usually the JO's and the honored speaker. It was also an opportunity to meet my brother's girlfriend and her two kids. She is a very nice person and I'm relieved to see he's found someone stable who makes him smile. The tavern had an open bar and a great spread of food, including giant bacon-wrapped sea scallops. Yes, bacon-wrapped! I didn't think you could make sea scallops any tastier...apparently you can wrap them in bacon for a whole new dynamic...
Friday was the actual CoC for VP-10. We got ourselves all gussied up and headed down to the Naval Airstation. The had a pre-ceremony breakfast in their briefing room which was a nice opportunity to chat with the friends and families of the various officers. It is also an opportunity to see how much respect my brother received from everyone. He has really worked his ass off in the Navy, and as a direct result his name is said with much respect around Reconnaissance Wing 5. The wife of his XO, now the new CO, put together a wonderful scrapbook of photos and news articles covering his command for the past year. She even used one of his old flight suits as the cover of the book. It was very impressive and you can tell they put a lot of time into it. The ceremony itself is something you have to witness to appreciate. The stage is flanked by two of the P3C aircraft and all Navy personnel are in their dress whites. It is also a time to acknowledge all the accomplishments of the CO over the past year, and there where many. I don't get much insight into the professional life of my brother, as he is a very busy man, but he has accomplished a significant amount in the past year including winning an award for excellence in ASW (anti-submarine warfare) tactics.
After the ceremony, they cut the official cake (mmmmmm, official cake) and had a nice luncheon for the officers and families. We only had a small amount of food as we had greater plans for lunch. We ducked out after a few minutes and ran back to the hotel to get more casual. The destination was Wiscasset, the place was Red's Eats. This place really does have the best lobster rolls in all of Maine. More than a whole lobster worth of meat, drenched in butter and served on a toasted bun...you simply cannot imagine how good this is...After indulging in our lobster rolls we drove down to Portland to see a lighthouse (we are in Maine after all) and see the ocean. We decided to check out the Portland Head Lighthouse on Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland. Everyone raved about this lighthouse and its museum and gift shop. Unfortunately for us, it was surrounded by scaffolding and tarps as it was being repainted in preparation for the tourist season...it was more comical then disappointing. The nice thing was that the park it was located in also had some ruins of an old military battery and the ruins of an old Spanish style mansion (Jen has pictures I'm sure she'll post soon). It also has a small cave where you could walk down to the ocean. Jen took advantage of this and kicked off her shoes and dipped her toes in the ocean. It lasted only a few seconds before she realized her toes were going numb from the cold...but she had a smile on her face so I know she enjoyed herself.
We explored and took lots of pictures, but we had to start heading back to Brunswick. The family wanted to assemble for dinner and my brother knew just the place. He suggested we meet at Cooks Lobster House on Bailey Island, south of Brunswick. It was a spectacular drive down to the island as we were basically on a peninsula with water either side. The bridge to Bailey Island was a crib-stone construction which amazes me that it's still standing. The engineer in me knows how the weight is distributed, but to actually see one in use is entirely different! The restaurant was equally amazing. The food was the best seafood I've had in Maine. I would highly recommend this if you are ever in the midcoast section of Maine. We dined and laughed and had a wonderful time. I said my goodbyes to my brother as he and his girlfriend were going north for a few days of vacation before he has to pack up his house and be re-deployed for another year.
Today was a travel day. It was nice to be able to sleep in though. I managed a late enough flight out of Portland so that we could sleep in and take our time getting to the airport. My two sisters were also leaving around the same time (although to different locations) so we had a chance to chat with them before leaving Maine. So today we are home again and I'm already excited about our next trip in two weeks to Stratford for a couple of plays!