We woke up to overcast skies which quickly turned into a cold drizzle. After the previous year's poor weather we had hoped for sunshine, but no such luck. We went next door for breakfast in the common room, a rather spartan affair compared to the other places we had stayed. I had cream cheese and jelly on a multigrain bagel, coffee and a banana.
After breakfast we walked up the road to Monhegan House to get Dan signed up for a massage, since his back was bothering him. Then we set off for a short hike that turned into three hours over some difficult, rocky trails. We got a bit lost a few times since the trails are so poorly marked. But you can never be too lost on an island only three miles long, so we always found our way again quickly. We saw some seals playing off the shore and watched them for a long time. They looked like they were having a great time, bobbing, splashing and chasing each other around.
After we got back to town I picked up our hummus and we had a lunch of hummus, goat cheese and crackers. It was kind of funny when I picked up the hummus because the girl at the counter wasn't sure what to charge me, so she just let me take it and I could come back and pay later. It's a very fine thing to be trusted-- something that we certainly lack in our modern urban lives. Then again, where was I going to go? It's not like I could just skip town, absconding with two bowls of hummus.
After lunch Dan went to his massage appointment and I took care of a few errands. I paid for the hummus, bought some more crackers, browsed the town's limited trinket offerings and ate a thoroughly decadent cookie that nonetheless had no calories since no one actually saw me eat it. Then I went exploring up a road by Monhegan House. The road took me up a hill and past a house with some great carvings out front.
I continued past where the road ended and down a trail through a meadow until it was time to turn around and get Dan. I found him wandering outside Monhegan House in a state of such bliss that I ran inside and asked if there were any other massage appointments available that day, but there were none. Oh well. So I took Dan to see the yard art I'd just found and we continued along up the road to see what else was there. We were accosted along the way by a very friendly Golden Retriever which ran out of a gate and laid a tennis ball at our feet, eager to play. Dan threw the ball for it for awhile, but then we got tired of the game and continued along the trail. Instead of going into the meadow, we took a different trail that led us to an amazing cliff with combers I could've watched all day.
We hung out there for awhile, then retraced our steps and went to Lobster Cove for a bit. It was starting to get dark and rainy again, so we didn't stay long and hurried back up the hill to Monhegan House. It was a little early, but the dining room was open so we went in. I had a cup of white bean soup and some pasta with pesto and zucchini. We had lemon cake and coffee for dessert. But just as the previous year, what was really amazing about our meal was the bread. It sounds silly, but Monhegan House has the best bread in the world! We gushed over it so much the waiter brought us a big loaf of it to take with us. I don't know if he was trying to shut us up or was just tired of going back for more, but we were grateful. The chef even came out to talk to us and after learning about all my years in the restaurant business he said I could have a job there any time. Don't tempt me, buddy! Finally, Dan and I had a nice conversation with the couple at the next table. They told us they had been coming to Monhegan for 50 years! Hey, I love the place too, but in 50 years I would think you could pretty much do everything that can be done on the island at least 50 times over.
It had stopped raining and was colder now, so we went back to the apartment and changed into warmer clothes. Then we checked our email at the library, blew off going to the lighthouse and spent the evening in the common room looking at books and working on a jigsaw puzzle.
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