The first half of August was pretty busy for Eliot and me. The month kicked off with a birthday BBQ for my cousin's daughter at his house. We got to catch up with a lot of family that I haven't seen in ages due to COVID. It was nice to see the kids again too- even if we didn't get to spend much time with them all running around. My cousin's daughter had a great 3rd birthday and Eliot and I had a lot of fun!
Then, about a week later, Eliot and I went back over to my cousin's house for dinner and a game night. Game night was a blast! We each made mini pizzas that were super yummy. After the little one went to bed, the 4 of us adults played a game called Wingspan that Eliot and I had never played before. It was pretty complicated at first, but once we caught on it was a lot of fun. Eliot was completely obsessed and was looking it up on Amazon before we even pulled out of their driveway. A week later, we own it and both expansion packs... I guess you could say game night was a big hit!
Eliot and I both had our teeth cleanings and Eliot's massage appointment on Thursday the 5th. That ended up being a crazy busy day. I left Portland a little bit annoyed and disappointed. First, the Maine Mall closed early so I didn't get to go there at all. (I basically wasted my entire hour that Eliot was in his massage.) Then, we couldn't eat at Friendly's because they stopped seating people early. (Thankfully, Eliot and I ended up having dinner at Chili's- which was 100% delicious.) Then, when we got home, Eliot totally surprised me by purchasing the Disney+ premiere access for The Jungle Cruise!!! It was already pretty late, but we set up the 3D printers and started the movie anyways. It was the first movie we've paid extra for the premiere access and it was so worth it. The movie was absolutely amazing! In fact, I loved it so much that I watched it again a few days later. (And I'm planning to watch it again sometime this week!)
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Eliot and I have also had a few adventures with my family over a few weekends earlier this month including a visit home in Trenton, a quick trip out to Nana and Papa's camp, spending a few hours at Water Country and enjoying an ice cream at Scoop Deck.
Our last few weeks of August have also shaped up to be busy ones. We have been trying to soak in as much of summer as possible while simultaneously preparing for fall and spooky season. Eliot and I have gone on a few Sunday afternoon shopping trips over the past few weeks. We've been into Biddeford and Portland checking out the Halloween merchandise. (More on that next month!) We've seen stuff out in some stores, but it's still a little bit early for Halloween to be in full effect!
This past week, Eliot and I took a day off and played hooky on Thursday. It was 92° at our house- probably the hottest day of the summer- so we decided to go back down to Water Country for the afternoon. We wanted to use our upgraded season passes once more to get our moneys worth, and we certainly did. We went around the lazy river about 10 times total. We also spent at least an hour floating around in the whirlpool- a pool that pushes everyone in a giant circle. The activity pool was closed the whole time we were there, but the whirlpool was also a great option for cooling off. We were there just under three hours and had a blast! Definitely worth the upgraded passes!
The plan for the rest of the day was for Eliot to go to work for a few hours in the early evening, but after driving home, we were totally exhausted. Both of us collapsed into bed for an hour nap. Then, we had plans to go into Old Orchard Beach to catch the last Thursday night fireworks of the season so we got up to do that. We spent a ton on parking ($20 for two hours... ouch!) and then walked to the downtown area. Eliot and I stopped at Dairy Queen for ice creams since it was still 80° out. Then, we walked onto the beach and found a spot next to the pier to watch the fireworks. After waiting about an hour or so, they started at 9:45. They were good, but not as spectacular as Bar Harbor's 4th of July show this year... still, it was fun and nice to take a day off together!
Eliot had to make up for his lost hours on Friday, so I barely saw him. However, I was able to get a bunch of business stuff done in the afternoon and early evening. I also took the opportunity to watch Cruella late in the evening. (I'd forgotten about it being added to Disney+ that day.) Eliot didn't get home from work until about 1:00 am and I was up until 2:30 watching Cruella but it was totally worth it! The movie was so good!
This past Saturday, Eliot and I decided to take the night off to go back into Old Orchard Beach to play mini golf at Pirates Cove. We had a great time playing a round on the Captain Kidd course. It was the same course we played with my Dad and Jeremy on Father's Day earlier this year. Eliot still beat me, but I scored a lot better this time!
After, we walked into downtown OOB to get some Pier Fries for our "dinner". The Ironman race was taking place the following day, so the race stuff was all set up on the road we were on. Eliot and I checked it out while leisurely walking into town. The road was already fully closed off so we could stroll right down the middle of the road. We got a giant box of fries that were delicious and ate them on a bench right next to Pier Fries. I didn't eat as many fries so I'd have room for my frozen banana. Eliot laughed at my $4 chocolate covered frozen banana but it was delicious!
On Sunday, Eliot and I spent the first half of the day working on a few business things and staying put. The Ironman race actually goes by our road, so we didn't want to get stuck in that. (We got stuck trying to drive through it one year and that was a giant pain in the butt!) We decided that we wanted to go out and do something. It was 70° for the high, but since it was overcast, it still felt cooler. I've been wanting to go to the Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park for a while now, so we decided to do that.
We left our house and went to the Amato's over on Broadway in South Portland to pick up our lunch. Eliot got his usual pizza and I got an Italian sub. We also picked up drinks, desserts and some of the cheese bread stuffers we both like. Then, we drove about 10 minutes down the road to Cape Elizabeth and the Fort Williams Park.
We've only been there once before and that was years ago. We had to stop there one time to meet up with the chiropractor that was helping out at my clinic. (Eliot had some x-rays done and it was quicker for us to go there to her office to have them read.) I think it was late fall, winter or early spring so it wasn't very lush at the time. However, I still remember thinking that it was beautiful and I've wanted to go back since then.
As soon as we drove under the gates, I immediately wondered why we'd waited so long. The park was alive with other visitors enjoying the beautiful summer day. There were families playing, people having picnics, lots of happy dogs and tons of people walking around. Eliot and I found a parking spot in the overflow parking section where it was free to park. There was a nice picnic table under a large tree that we'd spotted nearby, so we grabbed our food and made our way there.
We both sat on the same side of the picnic table facing the ocean and enjoyed our Amato's picnic with a gorgeous view of the ocean. The people at the picnic table next to us were also enjoying their afternoon. There was a funny moment when one of the daughters climbed the tree we were all sitting under and two squirrels ran up it not realizing she was up there... but other than that it was blissfully uneventful.
After Eliot and I finished our lunch, we walked back up the hill to the truck and dropped off the food. Then, we slowly wandered in the direction of the Portland Head Light lighthouse. I've always admired how beautiful it is in photographs so I was excited to see it in person. The park was gorgeous. There were flowers near the lighthouse entrance. There were plenty of grassy areas and places with trees. It was also a good workout with all of the hills we walked up and down.
The Portland Head Light was beautiful. We were there too late in the afternoon for the museum and the gift shop to be open, but we figure that we'll go back again to check those out. We walked down to the lighthouse and took in the gorgeous views of the ocean. There were plenty of other tourists there enjoying the lighthouse as well. It's crazy sometimes how we forget how much beauty there is right in our own backyards.
Eliot and I sat on a bench for 10-15 minutes looking back at the lighthouse and enjoying some time people watching. Then, we slowly made our way back toward the parking lot. We took note of the two lobster roll food trucks we passed. There was also a gelato truck right near the lighthouse. Along the way, I spotted a black and white woodpecker up in the trees. You could barely hear the light banging on the branch. Eliot had never seen one before, so we stopped for a few minutes to watch.
After getting back into the truck, we decided to take a drive around the rest of the park before leaving. I drove over to where the other doctor's chiropractic office used to be near the play ground. Then, we drove around the loop by the lighthouse one last time before heading out of the park. We really enjoyed our time there and we will probably be making Fort Williams Park a regular place to visit. Not only will it be the perfect place to take the puppies to explore, but it's also a great place to spend a relaxing day!
Speaking of relaxing... this month has definitely been a busy one, but Eliot and I have also been trying to make time to relax. We work so hard- between his full time job, the businesses and working on the house- and sometimes we forget to chill out. We've made time to watch a few movies together. Of course we've caught most of the new summer movies from Hallmark. As I mentioned above, we watched The Jungle Cruise on Disney+. Finally, I had Eliot watch Cruella with me Saturday night after we returned from our mini golf and Pier Fries adventure. He really enjoyed the movie too!
August has certainly been full of adventures and fun! I'm so glad that we've made sure to take time to enjoy the summer before it goes away for another year. I'm incredibly grateful for all of these summer moments filled with happy memories! °o°
