Saturday Schedule of Events Revisited

We're going to get tired of saying "I can't believe it's only x days until the wedding" right up until the wedding is over, but still, 8 days is blowing my mind. Tomorrow Amy is driving Martin up to Maine, and unless I can contrive a work reason to stay behind, I'll be going too. I'm looking forward to the trip, but I woke up early this morning fully convinced that we won't have enough room in the car for everything. We've got a list a mile long to do between now and then.

One way or the other, we'll get there, and all of you will to. But the point of this post is to tell you a little bit more about Saturday.

On the main website, we have a schedule of events for Saturday. Look at it here.

We've already told you about taking a ferry out to the island, with driving directions and everything.

Click here for directions to the ferry.

The ceremony starts at 5, and the last ferry leaves at 4 from Southwest Harbor. That ferry will probably arrive around 4:30, giving people half an hour to loiter and wander up to the church. We know the majority of people of people will be on that ferry, but we have encouraged people to come early if they can, by telling them about places like the museum, the Islesford Pottery shop, and most importantly, the croquet tournament on the town field!

If you would like to come out early, you can come in full dress or even bring your wedding clothes with you and change on the island. There are a few houses we have access to where you can freshen up.

We're looking forward to the wedding ceremony, and don't want to talk about it too much yet, but thanks in advance especially to our parents, Mayur, Christie, Darin, and the Rivals for helping us out with it!

After the wedding ceremony is over, we'll wander more or less directly back down to the Islesford Dock Restaurant, and the food should start coming pretty quickly.

Click here to watch a short video about our friends and the restaurant proprietors, Dan and Cynthia.

A word about the reception. There will be no formal "sit-down" period at the reception. There will be food stations, and food brought out by servers, more or less continuously, but not a sit down appetizer course, entree course, etc. We thought this would be the best way to let people mingle and relax in the casual spirit of things. Just make sure you eat and don't wait!

After awhile we'll be opening up the microphone for toasts and stuff, and eventually the music will start. We've asked our friend Jason to kind of oversee all this, so he'll keep you informed of things. Jason and Stu (and to the extent they need help, Jimmie) will be DJ'ing, and I can tell you now they've got some excellent material lined up.

Around 10:30 you'll have an opportunity to bid us adieu, as the first ferry back to Southwest Harbor will be leaving around then. After that, the music will just continue until people run out of steam entirely (there will be a late snack to help keep the party going). But all good things must come to an end and there will one more ferry taking everyone else home, leaving anywhere between midnight and one (depending on how it's going).

Thanks to everyone that has been helping us put this all together (there are LOADS of you, it's really humbling), and of course thanks to everyone for dragging themselves up 200, 500, 2,000 miles to get to the thing.

Directions to the Upper Town Dock

The trick to getting to this wedding, as most of you know by now, is that it's on a little island that you'll have to take a ferry to. Since most of you are staying in Southwest Harbor, it's important all of you know where the Southwest Harbor ferry is.

Now before I go on, let me assure you that this is all easy, and you won't have any trouble. This is much, much more information than you'll ever need. But here it is anyway.

First, here's a screen grab from the "Maine Map" page from our website. The red markers are all the different places people are staying in Southwest Harbor. The black marker is the Upper Town Dock. You'll see that the vast majority of people are clustered on on near the intersection of Main Street and Clark Point Road. That's natural, because that's the center of the town. So here are the directions from Main Street and Clark Point Road:

From Main Street, go east approximately 0.43 miles on Clark Point Road. The entrance to the dock is on the right.



That's it! You pass one stop sign and a couple of unmarked intersections before you get there. (Here's some more driving directions, also with pictures. Scroll down.) One thing I'll add is that since parking space is limited at the dock, please plan to walk, if at all possible, from your hotel, or from the municipal lot back at Main Street and Clark Point Road. The other thing is that the entrance isn't particularly well-marked. There's one sign. And this is what it looks like!

Now, that should be more than enough to get you to the dock. The chartered ferry leaves at 4 p.m. If you miss that, you're out of luck. But you can also take an earlier Cranberry Cove ferry to Islesford at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. if you like. Bring your wedding stuff over and explore the island!



Finally, just to make sure this is "more information than you'll ever need," I'm going to include a video of Amy, Martin, and I trying to find our way from Main Street to the Upper Town Dock. Here's a map of the route we're following, and below that is the video itself!

The selling of Maine's coast

Interesting article about declining waterfront access in Maine:

The selling of Maine's coast
Fishing industry access squeezed by development
By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff June 17, 2007

SPRUCE HEAD ISLAND, Maine -- Fishermen on this rocky, pine-studded peninsula have felt a creeping unease in recent years, as real estate prices leapt skyward and stories circulated up and down the coast of fishing piers sold to make room for million-dollar vacation homes.

Two years ago, in response to growing concerns on the coast, state officials and researchers set out to map the waterfront access of Maine's working fishermen. What they found was more alarming than anyone expected: Along Maine's 5,300-mile coast, only 20 miles of shoreline remain open to commercial fishermen, according to the study the Island Institute released last month.
...
Advocates for fishermen say towns should recognize the value of their presence, which adds character and attracts visitors. That perspective was not lost on the developer of the upscale Harborside Hotel and Marina in Bar Harbor, who bought the last privately owned fishing dock in the harbor. Instead of evicting the fishermen, the hotel has preserved their access to the pier and the sandy beach nearby where they repair their boats. Guests are fascinated by the scene, said Eben Salvatore , director of operations for the resort. "They're hard-working guys, and they've always been respectful of the fact that our customers are right above them," said Salvatore, who grew up in town. "It feels good when you can run a nice property and at the same time help people feed their families."
...

Boat Rentals in and around Southwest Harbor

From Lisa Gollin Evans's "An Outdoor Family Guide to Acadia National Park," p. 47:

- King Camping Supplies. Full-day or half-day canoe and car carrier rentals. Adjacent to Seawall Campground on Route 102, Seawall Road, Manset (207-244-7006)
- Mansell Boat Company. Rents canoes, keel sailboats, and powerboats. Sailing lessons available. Located at Hinckley Yacht Yard, Southwest Harbor (207-244-5625)
- National Park Canoe Rental. Full-day and half-day canoe rentals conveniently located in Long Pond, the largest lake on the park. Put-in is directly across the street; no car transport is required. … Reservations recommended. Located on Route 102, directly across from the north end of Long Pond (207-244-5854).

Trip to Maine, Part 4: The Return

Sunday morning and we debated whether to catch the 8:30 a.m. ferry or wait for the 11 a.m. In hindsight (and at the time to be fair) the better option was to get the earlier boat, but we couldn't be bothered. This time Amy stayed in bed and I took Martin down to the beach.

Once I got tired of the dog splashing in the water, I went back to the house, then went and fetched the car from the restaurant. (Fetching the car means walking about 6 minutes down the lane and across the town field to the restaurant, then a 40 second drive back.) We loaded up our stuff and hauled it right back to the dock.


At the restaurant we discussed the reception a little more with Dan & Cynthia (tablecloths, if you must know), then waited for our food. We waited a little bit more. Then we started checking our watches in a mild but still ridiculous anxiety that people from the mainland get when they're on the island: MUST. NOT. MISS. THE. FERRY. Dan has told us before that a surprising number of guests at the reception will take the first boat back solely because of this anxiety.

As it turns out we were more ridiculous than most. The whole time we were chatting nervously about the schedule, looking out the window, the ferry driver himself was sitting right next to me, having his breakfast. We got our check and rushed out. He strolled over about 5 minutes later.

We made it back safe and sound, of course, and exactly 12 hours after we boarded, we walked back into our apartment in New York. Yes, 12 hours, but we stopped at Amy's dad's house for more than an hour, and the traffic in Southern Maine coming back from the July 4th weekend was unusually dense. Nothing much happened except we realized we hadn't taken any photos together, so we fixed that. So concludes our planning trip to Maine! (Want more? Here are some more photos.)

Trip to Maine, Part 3

Saturday was our only full day on the island and we were determined to make the most of it. Around 7 am, Amy got up and took Martin down to the Sand Beach for a bit. At 8 am we were supposed to meet with Dan and Cynthia to go over the menu. Cynthia wasn't feeling well, unfortunately, so instead we took a walk into town. Town? That's really overstating it. There's a church, a post office, a meeting hall, a bed and breakfast, and that's about it. So we went to the church and saw it for the first time fully opened up. It looks great. Very New England. On the outside, unfortunately, they're still doing some work on the steeple, but Dan assured us the remaining scaffolding will be gone by next month.


Across the street Amy got us some coffee and bought some stamps to use for thank you cards. If you have any stamp needs this summer, it would be really nice if you bought them from the Islesford post office. Funnily enough, their stamp business is a major source of town income! At the post office we ran into Ashley Bryan, who may be the town's most famous resident. For any of you with kids, I encourage you to pick up one of Mr. Bryan's books. Say, "Ashley Bryan's African Tales, Uh-Huh."

With our coffee we sat down and addressed some postcards and dropped those off. Then Amy stopped at the bed and breakfast to check on something for her Dad.

By then it was time to go meet with Dan at the restaurant. I think the food we picked out is going to be a huge hit. One thing I'm especially looking forward to is the raw bar. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee we'll be able to get oysters the week of the wedding. This is because the restaurant only buys local. All in all a sound policy, but we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

By now we were struggling to catch the 11 am ferry, but still dropped in at Marian Baker's pottery for a minute to say hi, while Amy checked out some flower arrangement stuff. Oh, and we drove up to Karen Smallwood's house and had a five-minute consultation on our wedding cake!

Up to Northeast Harbor, over to Southwest Harbor we went. We barely caught Gail the florist to drop off a vase and then over to the Marine store to pick up a new GPS antenna for Dan. And with that, our hard work was basically done. We drove the long way around the quiet side of the island to visit Bass Harbor (a town neither of us had been to), then we made our way to the Knox Road Grille at the Atlantic Brewery.


For those of you reading our invitation closely, you'll know this is where we're meeting Friday night for drinks. And bbq, should you so desire. For $17, they had all-you-can-eat barbecue (pork ribs, chicken, pulled pork, sausage, listed in my order of preference). Amy reports the veggie burger is also legitimately good. The main thing, though, is if the weather holds, it will be an excellent and mellow atmosphere and a perfect place to welcome people to the wedding.

Doug, the pitmaster/proprietor, suggested we arrange transportation between Southwest Harbor and the barbecue so people can more fully enjoy the Brewery's varied and award-winning offerings. So off to Bar Harbor we went! There we stopped at an ice cream shop that's also home to Oli's Trolleys. It's not finalized yet, but we are working on getting a trolley or two for people on Friday night. While Amy was inside haggling over details, I walked Martin over to the harbor. As obsessed as she can be with the frisbee, she's more obsessed with the water, so while we were taking in the view, Martin... jumped in. Nearly bringing me in with her since we were attached by leash. Bad dog.

This report is becoming tedious, but there's still more to tell you about. Two spas, one in Trenton (across from Bar Harbor airport), one back in Northeast Harbor. Between the two Amy and I debated when she'll have time to get her pedicures--with no resolution yet.

We still had some time before the 6:00 ferry so we shopped around for some insect repellent to give to people. I'm allergic to mosquito bites, so this insect repellent thing is a major preoccupation of mine. I carry OFF around with me at all times.


When we finally made it back to Little Cranberry, our energy was understandably ebbing (well, except for Martin, who jumped back in the water below the dock), but we managed to find it in ourselves to go meet with Christina Spurling back at the church, who is going to be playing piano and/or organ at the wedding ceremony. She's very good, and we were kind of abashed because we didn't give her much guidance as to what we wanted. That explains why at this very moment I'm listening to a bunch of organ music I scrounged up from iTunes, hoping to find something we like and she can play for us.

Alright, I'm tired now just writing this, so here's the rest: emails with Darin about the sound system, dinner with Dan and Cynthia and Leslie, picking wines for the reception, back to the house, sleep!

Trip to Maine, Part 2

Friday morning after going to the beach with Martin, the first item on the agenda was to go to Portland to meet with our photographer, Carl Walsh. Actually that was the second item. First we had to go to the LL Bean outlet because we forgot what we had tried to tell all of you, namely that it gets cool in Maine even during the summer.

So we popped into the LL Bean outfit and got a couple of fleeces and I got some preppy brown jeans. Then it was to the coffee shop where we met with Carl for about an hour. He showed us a couple of albums, which if you've seen his website, you'll know were amazing. On top of that, he remembers Amy from way back in 1999 (mainly because of George the chameleon), because he was on Islesford doing a magazine shoot.

After leaving Portland we took the scenic route so we could stop at Red's Eats again. Let me tell you, the food there is incredible, and I would never say don't go there, but it's clear during the summer that it takes a LOT longer to drive up the coast on Route 1 than it does to just take the interstate all the way to Acadia. So unless you just feel like taking your time getting to the wedding, take the interstate.


When we finally made it up to Acadia, the first stop was Westside florist to discuss bouquets and such. We kept showing Gail, the florist, pictures of wildflowers that we liked while she tried to explain to us all of them grow in swamps and bogs and such. I think (hope) we came to a reasonable compromise. We'll be going for all local garden flowers, no big stuff like lilies, roses, etc. We walk a thin line of tentative preferences and total ignorance when it comes to these flowers, so we'll see...
After that we made a video on how to get to the Upper Town Dock in Southwest Harbor. That'll have to be a separate post. Finally, after all that, we caught the ferry out to Islesford.

Once over, we dropped off Martin at the house, and went down to the dock around sunset for a superb dinner with Dan and Cynthia. (We talked wedding stuff. What else?) And that's it for Friday!

Hey man, back again

We made it back late last night from our weekend jaunt up to Islesford. Full update, plus pictures, coming soon!

Off-Season at the Islesford Dock Restaurant

Some of you may recall that we went up to Maine in April (right after a freak snowstorm!) to do some wedding planning. Back then we posted a video of different places to stay in Southwest Harbor. Now that all of you have booked rooms you might get something out of watching that again (or maybe not).

Another video we took was out at the Islesford Dock Restaurant with the proprietors (and our friends) Dan & Cynthia Lief. The Islesford Dock is not only where we're having the reception it's really the spiritual home of the wedding.

So in the video, Dan & Cynthia talk a little about the restaurant and the time when Amy stayed up with them in 1999. Back then, right before Amy went to Investcorp (and mere months before she met me!), Amy hung out at the bar (with her pet chameleon George) every day for weeks, went on lobster boats, and had in general had a great time with Dan (her old boss at Goldman Sachs) and Cynthia.

The quality isn't too great (it was taken on our digital camera), but it's okay to watch.

We're going up to Maine again this weekend and hopefully we'll get some good footage of what it looks like in-season!

Marian Baker: Islesford Pottery

Next door to the Islesford Dock restaurant is Marian Baker's Islesford Pottery shop. We think her stuff is beautiful and have bought a few pieces over the years. Amy commissioned a beautiful bowl as a Christmas present to me to commemorate our engagement. I highly recommend stopping in her shop while you're there and picking out something nice.

Marian says that inspiration for her pottery

comes from many sources: nature (rocks, the colors of moss and lichens, the sea); some traditional English and Japanese pottery; and the material itself (the way clay can hold a mark and appear soft, the way glaze can be rich, layered, watery or stone-like.

Anti-Jinxing the Weather for This August

One memorable passage in "The Secret Life of Lobsters" records a party at the Islesford Dock Restaurant towards the end of August. Let's hope August 2007 doesn't have the same storms August 1996 had! (but check this out)

The hurricane warning crackled over Bruce Fernald's radio aboard the Double Trouble two days before the end of August 1996. The storm was a monster and approaching Little Cranberry Island quickly. ...

The day the hurricane was to arrive a stiff breeze raced across the harbor. The men spent the afternoon hauling small boats out of the water and battening down equipment on the co-op wharf. ... When the rain came crashing down in leaden sheets across the harbor and the ocean frothed white out of the west, the fishermen knew they were inside the leading edge of the the hurricane, and there was nothing more they could do.

Still in their rain slickers and dripping wet, they congregated in the bar at the end of the restaurant wharf to watch the storm come. It was the final day of the restaurant's summer season, when the owners held their customary closing night for the islanders--no tourists allowed. Leftover beer would flow for free until the kegs ran dry. Clutching pints of Harpoon ale and Budweiser, the fishermen sat with their backs to the bar, gazing out through the windows while the rising tempest buffeted the wharf on its pilings and pulled their pitching boats tight on their mooring lines.

Ferries to Little Cranberry Island

Obviously no one can get on and off Little Cranberry without a boat. That's why everyone on the island always knows exactly when the ferry comes and goes. We've scheduled a charter boat to get people to the wedding (4 pm from the upper town dock in Southwest Harbor!), but if you decide to come out to the island early, you'll be on one of the ferries. Virginia Thorndike's "Islanders" describes the ferry business to the Cranberries:

A lot of freight has to be carried out to the Cranberry Isles, in addition to all the people who want to come out or go ashore. Less than half an hour is scheduled for the boat trips between the Cranberries and [Mount Desert Island]; the islands are well connected through relatively protected water. ...

One or two barge trips a week usually take care of the needs of the islands during the winter--fuel, construction lumber, bait for the co-op in Islesford, and trash on the return. In summer, "it's just as fast as we can do things," says David Bunker. There are three trips a week just carrying trucks of lobster bait.

The Oceanarium in Southwest Harbor

From Lisa Gollin Evans's "An Outdoor Family Guide to Acadia National Park," p. 44: "The Oceanarium / Southwest Harbor offers wonderful hands-on exploring the sea life of coastal Maine. Touch, smell, listen, and learn amid a wealth of interactive exhibits, including twenty tanks filled with sea creatures. Located on Clark Point Road in Southwest Harbor, between the Coast Guard Base and Beal's Lobster Wharf. Admission fee (207-244-7555)."

Accommodations in Southwest Harbor

Amy and I were Maine the other week and took a short driving tour of snowy Southwest Harbor, so guests could get at least a tiny sense of where they were staying. We started south of the town at the fork in the road off towards Manset and the Seawall Motel. The other two accommodations that aren't shown on this video are the Island House and The Birches. The former, by the way, is booked up, but the latter looks like a really nice to stay, if (relatively) remote from the others. In the video we pass the Harbor View Motel, the Captain Bennett House, the Kingsleigh Inn, the Inn at Southwest, the Cafe Drydock & Inn, the Harbor Cottage Inn, and end just below the Claremont Hotel.

Below is a little map of where we went. For more detail look at our Maine Map. Note that there's a marker on this map for the Upper Town Dock, which is where the charter boat is currently scheduled to leave. (There are other docks, however, including the Coast Guard and Beale's docks, which I mention in the video as being possible points of departure. Those two are farther out on the point.)