writeup by kathy
June 2006,Ogunquit, Maine

Gray clouds on Sunday morning told us that our 2006 trip to Pinderosa in Ogunqit, Maine was off to an iffy start. The sun began to shine later on in the day as we drove along and we kept our fingers crossed. When we arrived at the campsite we were shocked to discover that we were the only tent in the entire 100 + camping area! Apparently the supposed imminent bad weather ahead and the fact that kids weren’t out of school yet left us loners.

After setting up (and realizing the new screenhouse we bought was HUGE!!) we took a walk on the nearby beach and got a “kathy dinner” (for those of you who don’t know, that involves ice cream!). Later that night we saw the movie “Kinky Boots” (which I loved by the way—it’s cute and I totally recommend it!). Then we got back to our campsite and tried to make a fire. With damp wood. In the dark. (cause we forgot to get new batteries for our big lantern, AND we forgot to bring an axe to cut firewood into smaller pieces.). But it was all fun. A little creepy that first night—strange sounds in the wood when it was totally dark and no one else around!

Our five days went by incredibly fast-don’t vacations always?? But we had fun just unplugging and getting close to nature. We ate at a few good restaruants- the Egg and I (amazing amaretto French toast!), Marcia’s (they had Coronas and mexican food, what more could you want?), and a cute cafe downtown called Fancy That, which had great little sandwiches and salads. Our favorite place was a breakfast spot called the Amore Cafe. They made an out of this world French toast made with lemon bread and stuffed with blueberries and cream cheese—now that was amore. Everyone was very pleasant there and apparently a local writer wrote a mystery novel in which the owner of the restaurant was a main character (or, pardon my pun, should I say “Maine” character? I know I am just too corny!). A few dissapointing places were a Jamaican food place which we adored the last time we went, but who switched ownership and the quality of the food went WAY down….mon. Another place, the Haystack, was just not memorable, with bitter coffee. Oh well, you gotta try them all! Of course, when we weren’t eating out we were having smores and jiffy pop on the open fire (yes, we finally bought an axe and some batteries for our lantern!). And of course many “kathy dinners”.

Other highlights of our vacation were minigolfing the “Nautical Nightmare” (Chris won), shopping at a great store called “Spoiled Rotten” (the owner was very cool and even complemented us on how white our teeth looked!), watching funny old people (there seemed to be a running theme of people pulling their pants up way too high—was there a flood we didn’t know about?), walking the beautiful Marginal Way, shopping at the Kittery outlets, burning the jiffypop (it wasn’t our fault—the bag exploded), and nightly strolls on the beach.

For the most part, we lucked out weatherwise, and , aside from a racoon and the constant mosquitos (saved by “natrapel!”), we had very few irritations. There was only one brief rainstorm at night (nothing got soaked) and an annoying confrontation with a fellow camper. (First of all, she and her husband arrived from Texas in a giant RV. So they weren’t really camping, they were cheating!). Most people who camp at Pinederosa are pretty open minded and easy going. When you’re camping, anything goes. Because we were the only people on the campground, and because it costs money to take a shower in the campground bathroom, many couples shower together in either the women’s or men’s room to save time and money. For all of the previous times we had gone to Pinderosa, this was perfectly acceptable and not seen as offensive—as long as no one traipsied about in the open air naked or did anything offensive.

Well, this woman (we will call her “Nosy Nancy”), came rushing into the men’s room yelling her husband’s name. There was no one else in the bathroom besides Chris and I, and, after making sure of that (I never would walk out if someone else were in the stalls out of respect), I walked out of the shower (fully clothed). This woman saw me and screamed “oh My God! Do you realize that you are in the MEN’s room? You really shouldn’t be here!” After calmly explaining to her what things were usually like at this campground, she slammed the door. (What was SHE doing running into the men’s room then??). She hovered around the outside of the men’s room (waiting for her invisible husband to come out), and when Chris walked out she confronted him, telling him that her husband would never go into the bathroom if I were in there. The scary thing? We never saw hide nor hair of her husband, and assumed he didn’t exist because from then on, we only saw her alone. Well, I guess you can expect a few pests when youre camping.

Overall we had a great time just unplugging from the rest of the world and enjoying eachother’s company. We hope to go every summer!