...and finally, it was Saturday, March 31, and we were on our way to the airport! We had chosen to fly into Boston and then drive a rental up to Maine; I know this sounds like an unreasonably long drive, when we could have just flown into Bangor or Bar Harbor, but you only think that because you've never eaten at THE BEST vegan restaurant in the country, Veggie Galaxy in Cambridge MA...just a few miles from the airport. SO worth the extra drive!
We got in pretty late, and our little Bed and Breakfast in Gouldsboro had literally left the light on for us. We knew we had missed enjoying the pretty countryside just because it was DARK (it tends to do that at night, even in New England), but when I woke up the next morning, Roger said, "If you want a happy, go look out the window." The view from our window was the bay with a couple of little islands visible. Not OUR island, but it was lovely to see!
Our appointment to meet with the real estate agent wasn't until 5:00 that evening (timed around the low tide!) but you know we couldn't wait that long! We found our way by ourselves down the long private road that leads to Petit Point in Milbridge, and there is the private property where we have deeded access to park and walk over. It's a lovely property, and according to the handyman we met, pretty much nobody is ever there.
Here is an aerial view of our island...I swear it is just a total coincidence that it looks like the Starfleet symbol! I didn't know that until after we already had the contract! But do you see how the mainland, just above the top of the triangle there, shows a "blue" rounded driveway? That's the property where we cross.
The tide was still too high to cross just then, but I can't even tell you how fantastic it felt to be there looking at it after all the weeks of poring over the photos. In my head, I could do a full walk-through of the cabin, and I knew where everything was...but today, I was finally going to be there!
We had a bit of a head-scratcher trying to figure out how to get down from the main land to the rocky coast where we would cross. We couldn't find any place where that was feasible...and yet we knew that, just the week before, the inspectors and appraiser had all been there, and no one had mentioned needing a stepladder, so we trusted there was a place we just weren't noticing. We couldn't cross just then anyway, so we contented ourselves with enjoying the view. I know this picture looks like a greenscreen...but it isn't...that's our private island ("Ohhh...my IIIIland..." _Donovan Trent).
After waiting six weeks for this moment, having to wait another four hours was just almost unbearable, so we did what any reasonable person would do...we went back to our room and took a nap. But at 5:00 sharp, we were right back in that deeded parking spot, with Lisa, the real estate agent immediately behind us!
Lisa had brought her husband, because he said he'd never seen one of these islands so close to land you could walk at low tide, and they were a very friendly, helpful couple. Plus, Lisa had invited the handyman (who has been taking care of the place for a couple of years) to come out and meet with us as well. Roger and I had equipped ourselves with rubber boots and we were ready for the muddy cross!
The "secret" path for getting down to the shore was workable, but we're going to have to work up something else. Right now the system is kind of "hold-on-to-this-branch-while-you-reach-for-that-one-and-watch-your-step"...we have been talking about better options. But once you're down on the shore, crossing over to the island is not bad at all...just muddy, but that's what the boots are for! If you look back at that picture of Roger pointing, you can see on the left of the island a long, natural grassy slope (which is completely covered during high tide) and that is the best, easiest way to get up into the forest of the island.
We were all chatting as we walked up the slope and into the trees, but then suddenly I saw the roof of the cabin ahead of us and I heard myself say, "Oh! There's my house!"...and then I had a quick moment of tears I had to hide. I just already felt like I had LIVED there!
The cabin was exactly as it had always been presented. the obstacles it offers we've already prepared for, and everything was as pretty and sweet as we had been led to believe. I can't WAIT to get my hands on it! :)
We spent some time going over everything, asking questions about some of the appliances, the composting toilet, the water system. I took measurements for curtains and cushion covers. We checked to make sure that little bottle of mouthwash was still there (it is!).
But then, we wanted to be alone for a while. Obviously, they couldn't leave us alone in the house, since it wasn't ours yet, but after we all said our goodbyes and they locked the cabin, Roger and I took the time to clamber around the rocks on the entire perimeter of the island...and this really made it feel like "ours." I took quite a few photos, and here are the best ones (I'm going to make these full sized, so keep scrolling until I say that's all!):
If you're looking at the aerial Starfleet symbol, you see that the right lower point of the symbol is a scattering of big rocks...this is what that looks like from the island. That big rock at the end, I have told my son Dane that can be his own private island, and he has named it Tortuga.
Here's Roger being rugged...it was about 40 degrees, and he was much better prepared for the weather than I was!
...but check out my knee-length bright red mud boots!
This is a view from down on the rocks, looking up at the forest:
...and this was our first sunset on Serenity Island:
This next one is really my favorite of them all though, because it's beautiful, and it's great perspective...and it's Roger. Here you can see him crossing back over to the mainland:
...and then he helped me clean my pretty red boots in the snow.
The next day we just hung out in the area, enjoying the culture, hitting the antique stores, and daydreaming. But Tuesday morning, 8 am, we were in the Coldwell Bank office in Portsmouth New Hampshire to meet with the title agent to make it all official. Here's Roger, making it official:
...and then back to Boston to catch our plane, but still with plenty of time to have another meal at Veggie Galaxy!
And that's the story thus far. It is ours. We are SO excited! We plan to spend the entire month of June there, making improvements, getting to know the rhythm of the tides. During that month, I'm sure I will post MANY times to show you what we're doing, but until then...let us know if you wanna come up!