It all began at Moosehead. Well, not ALL of it. Just this part. In fact, even this part began at Lily Bay State Park. It began with a cacophony of songs among the trees, as the pre-dawn light warmed. The early-bird must get the worm, because the birds were out first. After a quick trip to pee among the treetop performances I returned to the tent, where the din of mosquito rose all around me, competing with the rest of the forest. 

We went from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom and then up and around. Moosehead from below, Moosehead from above. Little Moose, Big Moose, no real moose yet, though. 

It feels like a world away here. A world of our own, with foxes, eagles, loons and a pristine, mountain, lake-side camping spot. It took some work to get out here, but it was well worth it. 

This past weekend in Maine was an ab-SO-lutely gorgeous one! Temperatures reached into the 50′s for the first time in I don’t know how many weeks, and the sky was bright blue and lit up by an enormous yellow sun. I knew it was going to be a beautiful weekend on Friday when Chels and I were getting our outfits ready for our evening. I was dressing as the Dormouse and Chels the White Rabbit for Tod’s birthday and a showing of Tim Burton’s Alice in IMAX 3D. As we were cutting felt we hatched plans to walk to Portland’s winter market, drink some wine and come home and slack-line.

The walk to market was fantastic! Portland is such a dog-friendly city so Zoe came into the market with us and several people stopped to introduce themselves. Portland’s winter market is housed in an indoor storefront across from the Civic Center. It is a pretty cool little market and Chels and I pick up some stuff each time we check it out. Saturday it was some greens – no garlic was available.

After the market we meandered our way into and across the Old Port, looking for a Portland Trails map. We were itching for a mini-adventure and some wine. By the time we found a map on the other side of town, we had already stopped for a bottle of Oregon Pinot Gris by the bay. We sat and watched the Eiders while Zoe sniffed around.  People were everywhere – riding bikes and walking around. Everybody was enjoying an early taste of spring.

The next day Chels, Zoe and I headed down east to Boothbay Harbor. We have driven by Boothbay on our way up the coast before, but never checked it out. We listened to some Avett Brothers and cruised along the coastline. Zoe couldn’t wait to get out of the car. It was a beautiful day on the Maine Coast. A bit cooler than we thought it’d be, so Chels and I bundled up. With hats and gloves on we kept the wind at bay and walked along the rocks. We saw The Cuckolds in the distance while we scanned for birds in the water. We didn’t stay long, meandering our way first to the car, then to lunch on The Sheepscot River, and eventually back home again.