Celebrating Jannie's 70th

Branch Haven

This week(August 18th - August 25th) was a really big week for Jannie: her children and grandchildren, 6,457 in number I believe, made the trip to Maine for a formal celebration of Jannie's birthday, which actually occurred back in April.  Earlier this year, knowing Jannie's love for Maine, they rented a small run down shack in Small Point Harbor, on the Phippsburg Peninsula, and on Saturday, August 2012 Jannie and I rendezvoused with the Campell and Lutolf Clans at Branch Haven, as the shack is called, on Saturday, August 2012..

Branch Haven's Lower Level Driveway

Coming from Vienna, we, of course, arrived at Branch Haven first and had a chance to check it out.  Not too shabby, was our assessment.  The house was situated on a body of water referred to as "The Branch", which is apart of Casco Bay.  There were two levels of parking, the upper level, which was the recommended parking area for the house, and the lower level, adjacent to the house, and not for the faint of heart.  Of course, we chose the latter.

Shortly after our arrival, Clan Lutolf, parking on the upper level, made their way down the steps to the house, followed shortly thereafter by the Clan Campbell,also opting to park on the upper level.

Giant Puddle of Water

To our dismay, there was a giant puddle of water directly in front of the house.  The kids lost no time in putting that puddle to good use.







After we all settled in, unloading the cars, getting our room assignments.and generally just starting to relax, we motored down the road, a piece, to have dinner at The Lobster House in Phippsburg.  The hostess was great, and she was able to seat our group of 12 at two adjacent tables.  Unfortunately the hostess was the high point of the evening.  Service was non-existent as we were forced to wait forever for our food to be delivered to our tables.  If we would have known just how bad the food was going to be, we would have beseech ed our server to take even longer.  What a great disappointment!

However, as the week progressed we realized that that was to be our only disappointment.  There were so many things to do at Branch Haven, swimming in the puddle, kayaking and snorkeling right off of our lower level driveway in The Branch,or just lounging on our deck.

Lobster Receiving Station

The scenery was spectacular, and adding a real touch of Maine we had a Lobster Receiving Station, located on the adjacent Hermit Island, directly across from the house.  Some of the Campbells and Lutolf's did however comment that they could hear the lobster boats heading out in the mornings.  I guess, having spent so much time in Maine, we hardly noticed the sounds.

Popham Beach State Park

On Sunday, our fun began in earnest.  Where else would a contingent from New Jersey go?  Why to the beach, of course!  In this case, we headed over to Popham Beach State Park, a few miles away, and within a few minutes we found ourselves at home; the "Jersey Shore" had come to Maine.


After our day at the beach, we took an incredible chance, we opted to eat out again.  This time, however, our experience couldn't have been more rewarding.  Spinney's Oceanfront Restaurant, in Phippsburg, was everything the Lobster House wasn't.  Service was great, and the food, delicious.

Small Beach

On Monday, we decided to try something different, we packed our cars, and headed to the beach!  Branch Haven is a member of the Small Point Association, and as renters we were permitted to use the private Small Beach.  Small Beach is adjacent to, you guessed it, Big Beach.  Mainers are really creative in the names they give to their points of interest.  Again, a great time was had by all.

Later that evening a new guest arrived from New Jersey, a member of Clan Dattoli, Jannie's son.



Morse Mountain Trail

Tuesday morning, everyone sort of set out in different direction, with Jannie and I opting to explore Morse Mountain, a great hiking trail just a few miles from Branch Haven.  It is not a long hike, and the round trip is approximately 3 miles in length.  Despite its brevity its its entire length is quite spectacular.  Morse Mountain is about midway, and in the beginning we encountered terrain not unlike terrain we encountered during some of Ocean County Park's northern Jersey hikes.

Sprague River

Once atop Morse Mountain, we could look down on the Sprague River as it made its way through the wetlands on its march to the sea.

Jannie at Big Beach

 Completing the first half of our hike we reached the shores of Casco Bay.  Popham Beach State Park had been reminiscent of the Jersey Shore, Big Beach, yes another beach, was spacious and devoid of people, that is, until the busload of young people showed up.  Oh well, we enjoyed it for a while.

Paddling Clans

Flat Point Beach

Later in the day, the Clans Campbell, Dattoli and Lutolf in their rented kayaks, and Jannie and I in our Carolinas, set out upon the waters of the Branch and Casco Bay.  After about thirty minutes of paddling, the Jersey Folks spotted an incredible geographic feature; you guessed it, a beach!  Actually this really was a find, as sandy beaches in Maine are not all that common.

Follow Me!

The kids especially had a great time at the beach.  The water is exceptionally clear, and although cool by Jersey standards, they spent a lot of time in the water.  We, the adults, of course, sort of  stuck to the shoreline.   Time really flies in Maine, and soon it was time to return to Branch Haven.  Jannie volunteered to lead the group back.  As you can see, she is a born leader; everyone fell in neatly behind her.

What Took You So Long?

 Having superior kayaking skills, I arrived at Branch Haven several hours later, and received a warm reception, from my fellow paddlers.

Wow, a Birthday Scoop of Ice Cream!

For dinner, we returned to Spinney's Oceanfront Restaurant, at which time the group surprised Jannie with a birthday scoop of ice cream.  Although breathless, Jannie was still able to extinguish the token candle.




Fort Popham

After dinner, and the less than spectacular gala, we walked next door, and took an abbreviated tour of Fort Popham, built in 1861.  Fort Popham is one of several forts constructed along Maine's rocky coastline.

On Wednesday, we sort of chilled throughout the morning.  Obviously everyone enjoyed the kayak trip on Tuesday, so we did it again.  Back to the beach!  This paddle was as great as the first.  In the evening a more formal party was held commemorating Jannie's birthday.  This time she got to blow out the candles on a real cake.




Schooner Mary Day

Thursday, was the day of our great pilgrimage to Camden, no not Camden, New Jersey, Camden, Maine. Jannie's family has heard of talk of our voyagers on the Schooner Mary Day, and today, they would see first hand, just what all the fuss has been about. 

Maiden Cliffs

After taking the gang on a guided tour of the Schooner, we drove over to Barret's Cove on Lake Megunticook.  Clan Lutolf chose to go for a swim, while Jannie and I led Clan Campbell on a hike up the Maiden Cliffs.  At the top of Maiden Cliffs, we visited the giant steel cross that commemorates the death of Lenora French, a young girl who in around 1864 had fallen from the cliffs in a failed attempt to retrieve her hat.  From this spot we were also afforded a birds eye view of Lake Megunticook.




Afterwards the Clans regrouped and we drove back into Camden for dinner at the Water Front Restaurant and finally that evening making our way back to Branch Haven..

Again, on Friday, our last full day at Branch Haven, everyone gain scattered to do their own things.  Jannie and I took the opportunity to again paddle out onto Casco Bay.  Maine is a paddler's paradise, and we could see why.  Prior to our return to Branch Haven we paddled along the shoreline of Hermit Island, then reluctantly made our way home.

Saturday morning saw the Clans Campbell and Lutolf  pack up their cars and head back to New Jersey.  Hopefully they had as great a time as we had.  Thank you all!

Fort Popham

Spinney's Oceanfront Restaurant

Since Jannie and I were only heading back up the coast to Camden we took our time packing.  We then left Branch Haven.  But before heading to Camden we returned for one last time to Spinney's Oceanfront Restaurant and had lunch.  We also took the opportunity to again tour Fort Popham, then on to Camden.

Just a note, obviously time has moved faster than this blogger, and Jannie and I arrived safely home on Tuesday, September 5th.  However, the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I will put together one final blog from this year's trip to Maine.  This blog will focus on our last week in Camden and Appleton.  Hopefully, you'll tune in for the final chapter.