Back to Cheshire

In spite of ourselves we woke up at 6:00. Already we could see it was going to be a beautiful day. We didn't know whether to be pleased for a nice final view of Monhegan, or disappointed that we hadn't had such weather the day before. Dan hurried and took off to Lobster Cove while I laid in bed, uncertain whether to follow immediately or go back to sleep. But there are plenty of places to sleep and only one Monhegan, so I soon followed, finding him standing on the rocks hoping to catch a glimpse of a seal he had seen among the waves. We wandered around a bit, taking a few pictures and enjoying the pretty morning.

Then we returned to the inn, grabbed our coffee and bagels and packed while we had our breakfast. We got to the dock with 15 minutes to spare, which I used to buy some oatmeal cookies for the road. We were sad to leave Monhegan. I watched a couple on the ferry wave to friends on the dock for a long time and I thought about the people who live on Monhegan year-round. It's an isolated place, even in summer and almost impossible in winter. Having friends over must be quite a treat. Dan and I noticed that the islanders had given their visitors flowers. There is an island tradition that if you toss the flowers in the water as you leave and they float back to shore, you'll return one day.

The boat ride was uneventful. We didn't even manage to see a seal this time. When we got to shore we could really tell the difference in temperature. It was about 10 degrees warmer on shore than on the island. We also noticed a busload of schoolkids waiting to take the ferry back to Monhegan, so we got back just in time! We took our luggage to the car, changed into clothes more comfortable for the warmer temperatures and spent some time in the Port Clyde gift shop. Then it was time to head south to Connecticut.

The trip didn't seem as long as the one from Vermont to Bar Harbor, possibly because we were familiar with the route. We made better time than expected, arriving in Mystic by 4:00. Since our favorite Indian place was closed and I didn't know how to find the new place I'd been told of by the guy I met in the Covered Bridges race, Dan and I went to the Mystic Library. We got directions to the restaurant, checked our email and admired the library cat as he lounged under a bookcase. Then we wandered up the street to Mystic Pizza and ordered a Greek pizza to take with us to the lake house the next day. While we waited for the pizza we bought books at Main Square Books, our favorite bookstore.

Supplied with books and pizza, we went back to the car and set out to find Taste of India restaurant. It was pretty good and the naan bread was excellent. But it wasn't as good as our old favorite, Bombay Spice, had been. Soon we were back on the road and got to Cheshire by 8:00. We visited with my aunt and uncle, did some laundry and turned in early.