After we tamed the wild beast of the sea (hardly wild, actually) we managed to walk with our sea legs to Camden’s local book store The Owl and Turtle. I was giddy like a school girl, I almost ran through traffic to pick up the last Harry Potter book. After it was in my grasp, I had to fight the urge not to read it as we walked back to our car. Josh had to protect me from on coming cars as my imagination was a blaze. Thinking of the final adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermonine fighting the Dark Lord (i’m a nerd, I know) I was fighting my urge to flip to the back of the book. Bad Amber.
We were off, time to travel to the Kennebeck River. We arrived at the Sterling Inn which was a part of the New England Outdoor Center. After we entered, yet another Steven King background, we were directed to the local brewery for dinner. I mention Steven King again, due to the fact that the Sterling Inn could hold up to 40 people. We only saw one. You would look down these expansive hallways with doors on either sides, and you would see no one. The place was also for sale, bad sign. At night, when you looked to your feet, you could see light “shining” up through the old wooden slats that were supposed to be supporting us. Creepy, especially when it was dark, I was alone (with Harry Potter) and I heard the sound of rats in the walls. Josh went out to find some soap. In this one horse town, it took him a while. The local store was a mess, had everything from a life supply of condoms to old dusty taxidermy bunny rabbits with eyes looking off in different directions, but no soap. After being on a boat for 4 days and not taking a shower, soap is what we desperately wanted. We downgraded to shampoo, better than nothing. The whole place was like being camping, and fair enough, the rest of the New England Outdoor Center was a place where youth groups come for the summer….to camp.
The Kennebeck river took our breath away. So many lush trees, osprey nest tucked into the hills, light white water flowing all around us. I was expecting harder rapids, but the ones that we did encounter on our 3 hour ride were pretty sweet. The first half of the trip was where all the action was, then a 90 minute gentle float down to the pullout point. Josh was at the front of the raft, he had some wicked style. Both of us managed to stay in the raft (high five) and each got separate turns taking the inflatable kayak out after we got to calmer rapids. It was so peaceful, especially on the kayak. The river went on forever, and I just paddled away to my hearts content. Stopping just to ride the tide and feel the sun on the back. Josh rode a few little waves and I could see him smiling from a mile away. This my friends, is a vacation.
On to up state New York, Ithaca. Where in William Henry Miller Inn awaited our arrival.