Fantastic 4th

I love long weekends. That extra day seems to make all the difference in making you feel truly away from worklife. This weekend the sunshine made a comeback and we were treated to three days of beautiful Maine summer weather....mid to upper 70's, slight breeze, blue sky. Ahhh, it was so cleansing after weeks and weeks of rain!

On Friday I hung out with Abby and we worked on a secret home project (to be revealed at a later date!) that I'm very excited about. Saturday we had a BBQ at home and Abby brought her famous homemade cherry pie. It was scrumptious!

Afterward, we rode our bikes to Portland's Eastern Promenade to join the masses in watching a spectacular fireworks display. It was put on by the same team who did the fireworks for the Beijing Olympics. We were not disappointed... in fact the whole atmosphere seemed magical - the lights of hundreds of boats sparkling in the bay, throngs of people perched all over the grassy hill oohing and ahhing with each colorful display.

photo courtesy of the Portland Press Herald

Sunday was the best weather of all, and Dave Vernon came up for a visit from his base in Portsmouth. We headed to Scarborough Beach, where the guys took to the water to give Dave his first shot at surfing. The waves were tiny, but gave him good practice paddling and gaining balance on the board. I was content to read on the beach, though at one point got hot enough to brave the frigid ocean (no wetsuit!) to cool off. It was a refreshing, invigorating and quick dip. We snacked on a picnic of leftovers from the 4th and I just have to put this out there...is there anything better than eating watermelon on the beach??


Later, the three of us went on a 20 mile bike ride loop through Cape Elizabeth and South Portland. The strawberries are out in full force and as we pedaled past berry farms the sweet aroma was intoxicating!

Finally, we finished up our day with dinner out on our deck and another slice of leftover cherry pie. It was a fantastic weekend!