After our summit to Katahdin, and all the celebration, Blue and I headed to Medway, just past Millinocket. Blue reserved a room for us and I was all sorts of ready for rest and relaxation.

Our next few days, were a whirlwind of everything but hiking! We drove to Portland, Maine where my first bit of business was going to REI. I needed to replace my leaky mattress, obtain a new water filter and found trekking poles that weren’t bent. My husband George has always thought I should be a “Gear Tester”. If something can break, tweak or wear out, I would be the first one who would make that happen. I love REI. The gal working the front counter, heard my dilemma and without hesitation, pointed me in the direction of a new sleep pad. Awe, how nice sleeping on air will be.

One thing Blue required of me, before further ado, was purchasing some new clothes for our city weekend. My town dress isn’t cutting it any longer and I was ready for a pair of jeans. We stopped and shopped at TJMaxx and I found exactly what I was looking for. Blue Jeans, T-Shirt, Sweater, Underwear and new Shoes. There’s nothing better than a good fitting pair of jeans!

Afterwards, Blue had booked me a Deep Tissue Massage with a Sports Therapist. I love a great rubdown. I met my Masseuse and she was an athlete herself. She’s climbed Mt. Katahdin 15 times! Oh my, she’s crazier than me. In no time flat, I was disrobed and laying on my back. This little woman found everything aching on my body and then some! Ninety minutes later, I was standing taller, and melting at the same time. Best ninety minutes I’ve experienced in the past three months! Thank you sweet Blue and Happy Birthday to me!

We made our way down to The Wharf. Blue and I found Brickyard Hollow which was rated #1 Pizza in Portland. What a great combination, pizza and beer. I introduced Blue to Roasted Brussels Sprouts and ordered a pizza with grilled peaches, goat cheese, basil, and balsamic drizzle. It was delicious, and the beer wasn’t too shabby either. By the way, Blue loved the Brussels Sprouts.

The next day was spent exploring Peaks Island. It’s the most visited island in Portland, with a Ferry that transports people, cars and bikes hourly. After our 20-25 minute ride, we disembarked and headed to the bike rentals. The guy who rents bikes has been doing this for nearly 40 years. I don’t know how many bikes he has but there was a slough of them. He set Blue and I up and off we went. The island is one mile long and 1-1/2 miles wide with about four miles of beach trail. It was so nice using opposite muscles from hiking.

And the beach was stunning. The rocky ledges protruded from the retaining walls with limited sandy beaches. There were moorings pretty much around the leeward sides of the coves with tons of sailboats. The weather was ideal, not too hot, and not too cold. We stopped along the way, building rock cairns, talking to the locals and just peddling to our hearts content. We found the one and only Ice Cream Shop and indulged ourselves with two scoops each. Then returned our bikes and back to the ferry, right before the big black cloud landed on the island. It was definitely time to leave!

Blue and I scoped out the wharf. I found the local Pub that had a live band. Two guys playing guitars, singing original music as I drank beer. Blue listened as she was saving herself for an evening beverage. It’s my birthday so I can have beer at 3pm. The restaurant across the water was hustling and bustling with the evening set-up. I had asked for dinner recommendations and Scales was the place. After my beer, we headed over as they don’t take reservations over the phone for the day of. I walked in and Tony was able to squeeze us in at 6:15pm. Perfect. We had about two hours to walk and work up our appetites.

Blue and I decided to head north and see about kayak rentals for the following day. We arrived at Maine’s Narrow Gauge Train & Museum. Hmm, why not take the train and see about kayak rentals later? And we did. It was a well spent hour learning of the history in Portland. Ends up that Portland is a deep water port that served in supplying all sorts of equipment to England and Europe during WWII. It also is the closest distance from America to the east. The town has burned countless times but has been rebuilt and now has thriving businesses and restaurants. It really is the best place I have found in Maine. The vintage train was a three-mile jaunt and in fact, stopped where we wanted to rent kayaks. Perfect.

We headed back to Scales and arrived about ten minutes early. We sat in the lounge with another gal who was waiting for her friend. And then we were escorted to our table. The restaurant has an open kitchen, which I love. The waiter gave us some great recommendations. Being we are in Maine and Seafood is King, we ordered all things fish. Our dinner was one of the best meals I’ve had on trail. We started with Endive & Stilton Salad with crispy prosciutto, sourdough croutons, and dijon vinaigrette, along with Smoked Bluefish Paté olive & caper relish, on toasted sourdough. This was followed by Grilled Octopus with sweet pepper & pine nut conserva, corn fritter, and rouille. The octopus was the sweetest and most tender I have ever tried. For dinner, Blue and I shared Seared Scallops with roasted peppers, kale, applewood smoked bacon and cream corn. What a dinner indeed. Our dessert was a Fig Cake with a perfect Cappuccino.

On our final zero day, Blue found a Calvery Chapel in Portland. Since I’ve been hiking, I haven’t set foot inside a church. It was so overdue, singing to the Lord and reading God’s word with fellow believers. That is one of my favorite things to do, sing songs of worship and reading my old leather Bible. I was in heaven! The Worship team and Pastor were just what my soul required. He shared scripture from 2 Samuel of David and Bathsheba, his complacency and disobedience. It is so easy to fall from grace, and the reminder to stay focused on what is right and true, along with being thoughtful about God’s calling in our lives. Such a great reminder of who I am in Christ.

After church, Blue and I headed back down to the beach. The weather was perfect for paddling. We rented a couple of kayaks and paddled in the bay. We found an Osprey nest being guarded by both Momma and Papa Ospreys. The chicks had hatched and they were quite vulnerable to the many large birds in the area. A seal popped his head up to check us out and Blue opened up her favorite beer of all, Mic Ultra. It’s not really beer, but it’s what she likes. We sat and lounged for a bit, paddled around the Marina, checking out yachts and sailboats before heading back to shore.

At this point, we figured it was time to take care of domestic duties like laundry and packing. But one of my followers and previous Shuttle Driver Homespun, recommended a great stop called Gorgeous Gelato. Well, we haven’t had a proper lunch so that sounded like a perfect plan. We found 15 minute parking, ran in and got our three scoops worth. Just for the record, I don’t typically eat, drink and indulge as much as I did these past days. But this is my birthday weekend, and I’m hiking many miles, so excessive calories need to be consumed. Along the way, we made our obligatory stop at Allagash Brewery. They brew one of my favorite IPA’s I’ve tried in Maine. That concluded my overindulgence and binging of food, ice cream and beer.

I nodded farewell to Blue today. She’s flying back home, as she planned to do long ago. I’ll miss hiking with her, and all the Platinum Stays along the way. Blue has been one of my most favorite hiking partners ever. It is hard to find someone who you can be with day after day, week after week, month after month. She arrived the first of July and seven weeks later, I love her more than I did when she showed up with “Bob the Bear”. She is full of energy, has grace and amazing athleticism, and just a ton of fun to be around. I believe she hiked close to 800 miles with me, from last year to this year. She told me she has no intention of completing the AT but she’d like to hike another trail elsewhere. Maybe one with less rain, mud and muck! CDT might be in her future. Maybe give her a year or two to recoup. In September, an Alaskan Cruise Ship is in the works for her and her sweet husband Alan. Thanks to Alan, who shared his bride with me, so I could hike for weeks on end with Blue. For his faith and constant prayers, and his loving support of this most beautiful Lady Blue.

With four days off trail, I’m ready to get back out there. It’s funny how much I yearn to put my feet back on the narrow ribbon of dirt. I have visions of Virginia, free of the mud, muck and rocks with trails of grandeur. It seems only fitting after everything I’ve conquered. The weather guessers on this section of the AT, are predicting mostly sunny, in the low 80’s. I’ll take that. Humidity will be high but I’m gonna walk with purpose and cut right through all things hot and humid.

My final day I am flying to DC, then taking the Amtrak to Harpers Ferry and spending the night at Towns Inn. It’s virtually the same route I took three months ago. This time I’ll hit the trail and start hiking southbound. I’ll be a Sobo for the next three weeks. The trail should be less crowded, with most of the Nobo’s further along by now. The Sobo’s will still be making their way from Maine, with a handful of flip-floppers like me and Reset, heading south from various points along the trail.

Reset was rearing to get back on trail. Like me, she had taken a stretch of days off. She was headed south to the first campsite, some four miles down trail. As for me, I’m hanging in town and picking up my resupply box from the Post Office in the morning. I’ll load up my pack and head out, or up as it typically goes. For now, I’ll be solo with the Lord and looking forward to the Shenandoah‘s. Much more to follow…