Our seaside cottage is located near Lubec, Maine. If you see a US map, go all the way to the eastern most point of the shore lines of the Atlantic Ocean. You’d find Lubec right on the border of Canada and the US. It’s a beautiful remote village with no frills. It’s the Real Maine, Real McCoy. My favorite spot is a long stretch of natural dune, called Sand Bar. (See maps below.) A few days ago, on a sunny day, I hiked the Sand Bar with my dogs.
わたしたちのセカンドハウスは、メイン州のLubecという海沿いの村の近くにあります。合衆国の地図を大西洋沿いにずっと北東に辿ってゆくと、いちばん東端のカナダとの国境沿いにその小さな村はあります。ここまで遠くに来ると、夏の盛りでも観光客の数は知れていて、まったく観光ズレしていない「本物のメイン州」が見つかります。わたしのお気に入りスポットは、Sand Bar と呼ばれる場所。細く長い砂丘が海に突き出している。すぐそこにカナダが見えている。下の地図では Bar Road とあたかもそこに「道路」が作られているような表示ですが、実際には、ここには「道」はありません。おそらく何千年も何万年も昔から、そこにそうしてあったように、ただ長い砂丘と浜が続いているだけです。数日前、お天気の良い日にワンコ達をつれて、ここを散歩してきました。
For Thanksgiving this year, we decided not to go for the traditional turkey dinner. First, my husband and I were not expecting any guests here in this remote Maine cottage, and a big butter ball turkey would be just too much for two of us. Second, our dogs are not big fans of turkey meats anyway. So we just made a simple regular meat loaf and a few vegetable side dishes. Easy and simple. But just for deserts, I stick to the traditional American favorite – an apple pie!
I left my home in NY State on Monday and arrived at the eastern most county of the United States in Maine on late Tuesday night. It was a long drive, nearly 550 miles. I took a long hike in this remote sea-side community with my dogs yesterday.
We hiked good four, five miles. We were all tired; we were ready to go home. “Let’s go back, guys!” I called out my dogs. Then, it happened. I saw Zoolander dashing to a tall birch tree and jump at “something” – something like a ball – clinging to a branch. I realized what it was. My blood froze. “Stoooooop!!!!” I screamed, running toward him to pull him away. But it was too late. When he ran back to me, Zoo’s face was covered with sharp porcupine quills.
After an hour or so, Zoolander came out of the operation room with no quills in his face. We drove him home while he was still drowsy due to the anesthesia. His ruthless act cost us $350 that night.