Fino, being the land-lover that he is, wasn't so keen on the idea of cruising Casco Bay on his friend's new sailboat at first. I jumped at the chance and coaxed him into it. I love boats and being on the water and this was an opportunity the girls and I didn't want to miss.

The afternoon was fabulous and we all had a great time.


The kids have been asking us for years to buy a "house car" and have a fixation on any cars or boats with sleeping quarters. So during our 3-hour boat ride, they spent a lot of time below deck playing house. Once I evenutally coaxed them above deck, they enjoyed sitting up front and checking out the sights.

Unfortunately we only spotted birds on seal rock yesterday.

The girls and I were highly amused at this seagull's perch. Our friend said it wouldn't be so funny if it were our radar. My car knows the mess a seagull can make first-hand.

The kids enjoyed the new perspective on their favorite rollerblading trail at Bug Light.

L. enjoyed the lighthouses and pointed out that they were in order of height - Portland Headlight, Portland Breakwater and Bug Light - when we spotted them all along the shore. My camera's lens wasn't wide enough to capture them all in a single shot.

The girls and I decided we were going to take a ferry ride to explore Fort Georges another day.

Our friend said that this water taxi was making a larger-than-acceptable wake while passing us. The kids asked, "what's a taxi?" Yup, they're growing up in Maine.