In September, I went home to Maine for a week. Sonia and my sister Emma joined me, and we rented a small cottage in Cape Porpoise. It was on the harbor, and after so long in the desert, it was amazing to smell and hear the ocean so close.
The first night in the house, it was warm enough to keep the windows open at night, and I was surprised to be woken up way before sunrise by the sound of diesel engines starting up and chugging out of the harbor. Cape Porpoise is an active harbor, and you’ll often see fishing and lobster boats heading in and out past the pier.
Growing up, my dad often moored his small wooden sailboat in Stage Harbor, and we would often sleep there, jumping in the water during the day and playing cards at night with the musty old deck that lived on board. I still remember the smell of the kerosene lamps. At low tide, we could walk out to the islands.
There was a spectacular moon one night, and the next morning I got up early (though not as early as some of the local fisherfolk) to catch the sunrise. I will never tire of sunrises on the coast.
