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And what a fantastically revitalizing week it was. Ernie and I left last Friday and drove five hours to Stamford, CT. We drove the rest of the way (six hours) on Saturday and arrived in Belgrade Lakes, ME around 4:00 p.m. The cabin was everything I’d hoped it would be—rustic, cozy, comfortable, nestled perfectly in the woods between Belgrade Steam and Great Pond, just far enough out of reach from the rest of the world.

The dock on Great Pond:

View of Great Pond from the dock:

View of the stream from the cabin's back porch:

The boathouse on the stream:

Stream view from the boathouse dock:

It was still sunny and warm when we arrived, so I quickly unloaded the car, unpacked my bathing suit and beach towel, and headed for the clear water of Great Pond. Ernie could not figure out what I was doing, but his curiosity was not enough to get him in the water. I told him he was a sorry excuse for a Lab, but he didn’t seem to mind the insult.

It rained hard all day on Sunday. No matter though. I spent the day reading and being lulled into occasional napping by the sound of raindrops on the roof. A disturbance came when I heard a "tap-tap-tap" coming from somewhere in the cabin. After hunting for the cause of the sound, I found that the fireplace was leaking and the entire hearth was soaked. I dug out a dish pan and old bucket from under the kitchen sink, positioned them in the fireplace to catch the dripping water, and called the rental agency. The voice at the other end of the line said he would call the owners to let them know what was happening, then apologized for the inconvenience. No trouble, really, although it didn’t look at though I’d be enjoying a fire anytime soon.

Monday was another relaxing day of reading, watching movies, browsing through the knick-knack shops in town, and walking in the woods with Ernie.

It rained all day on Tuesday, but I decided to venture out to Freeport anyway. Umbrella in hand, I browsed the beautiful town all day, spending most of my time in L.L.Bean. Man, I love that place! I would gladly take any piece of clothing, any shoes, any...anything...they sell. I bought a computer desk online from L.L.Bean about a year ago. I recently noticed the top of the desk had split, most likely from the heat generated by my laptop. When this was explained in an email to customer service, they apologized and offered a refund or exchange, my choice. Rather than trying to figure out a way to return a piece of furniture by mail, and knowing I’d be in Freeport sometime during my vacation, I decided I’d bring it with me and return it in person. So I went to the service desk, explained the situation and said I had the desk out in my car. I told her that I didn’t bring it in right away because (1) it was too much for me to carry by myself, and (2) it was raining and I’d hoped to find a drop-off location with easy access to the store. The woman was so friendly and kind. She arranged to have a refund check sent ASAP, then explained where I could drop the desk off. "Normally we ask that you drop off the item first, but it’s gross out there today and I don’t want to make you run around in the rain any more than you need to." Perfect! When I dropped the desk off at the loading area, I pointed out the crack in the wood. "Oh, yeah, I see it. But we don't ask why you're returning anything. If you aren't happy, we aren't happy and we'll take it back."

Wednesday was gorgeous. I made an omelet and toast for breakfast, then ate and read on the dock, enjoying the beautiful day. Life doesn’t get much better than that. In the evening, Chris and Angel (or as I prefer to call her, Big Yeller Dog) came down for a visit from Bangor. I showed them the cabin, the stream, the lake, and without hesitation, Angel dove off the dock into the water. I could hardly believe it! I told Ernie, "See? That’s what a real Lab does!"

Chris and I went into Waterville for dinner and a movie. We saw 3:10 to Yuma and both loved it. After coming across a fox, a raccoon and deer on the dark roads that night, we took our time getting home. Since it was after midnight when we walked in the door, and the hour-and-a-half drive back to Bangor wasn’t very appealing, Chris opted to crash at the cabin for the night.

Thursday, the weather was absolutely perfect; clear, blue skies and no more than 70 degrees. I got up with the dogs and let them out to romp in the woods while I sat on the porch, sipping coffee and reading. When Chris awoke, we chatted for a while, then went into town for an outdoor lunch, before he and Angel headed back home. Ernie and I spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies.

Friday, I spent the morning packing and cleaning up the cabin. Then Ernie and I enjoyed lunch on the dock before getting on the road around 2:45 p.m., bound for home. I initially thought we’d stop for the night somewhere to break up the trip for Ernie, but he seemed perfectly content in the back seat, so we just kept on driving. We arrived home at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday morning.

An absolutely perfect week.