MAINE OCEAN VACATION

Good Sunday morning. I am back from my Maine Ocean Vacation and patiently waiting for the call for my next ship/job. A few days ago, I got a call from the Union Hall with a great job offer, but I had to turn it down because I have a Dr appointment for the two broken screws in my ankle. My appointment is on the 4th of November. I am sure I will get a call for a great ship/job to finish out the season. I look forward to sailing again and cooking for a crew. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, let me share some of the highlights of my Maine Ocean Vacation with Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher). I booked our vacation the begining of June. We picked the October 14th check-in date because it was the first date of the off-season rate. We have been staying at the same unit for almost 20 years. We love the familiarity of staying at a place that holds so many wonderful memories. The ocean-view bedroom has two twin beds, and Lorraine and I opt to share the room, so that we can both hear the waves through the open sliding door and see the ocean. We use the second bedroom to store our luggage.

The view from the room with the two twin beds. One bed on each side of the room offering the perfect view.

It was such a nice surprise to have the full moon on display during our vacation. 

We pack our air-fryer so that we can easily prepare our meals and enjoy them from the best seat in the house. Lorraine made all our meals, and one was more delicious than the other. We love to meander through the grocery stores and find new products to sample. We each picked up a package of sausages. They are heat and serve sausages and we tried the Mexican Chorizo and the Cajun Andouille. Lorraine makes the best salads, and my favorite is the cauliflower-broccoli, carrot, and pepper salad made with maple mustard dressing. She made a large salad and it keeps so well in the fridge. We had it with chorizo sausage, and she served it with scallops sauteed in garlic butter for another meal. Another favorite meal was steak nachos. We enjoyed them with Siete grain-free nacho chips, and she topped it off with guacamole and a new hot sauce. They were so delicious.

The Chorizo sausages heated so well in the air fryer. It was excellent with the cauliflower-broccoli salad. 

We found the new hot sauce while shopping. We bought a few sample-size sauces to try. We thought it was such a good idea. We found them at Walmart. They offer a variety of hot sauces that give you the opportunity to sample them for .50 cents or $1. It's great because you don't have to commit to the regular size. We picked up four different samples and I found one that I loved. Melinda's Green Sauce and I bought a full size bottle to take home. I also bought four sample size which I can easily take on the ship with me. I also bought 4-2lb Adobo seasonings to take with me on my next ship. I usually go through 1lb of the season a week.

After trying the sample-size Melinda’s Green Sauce we bought a full size green sauce to take home.  I didn’t try the fire roasted Jalapeno sauce yet. 

I like buying items for the ship while on vacation. When I use them I am reminded of my vacation time. I have been looking for a new finger peeler. I have a couple but I am looking for a spare because they are hard to find. A friend gifted us one, they found online. I think of our friend when I use it. They are brightly colored which makes them easier to keep track of. When I am on the ship cooking for 20-25, I have a large pile of potato or carrot peels and have, in the past, accidentally thrown my finger peeler out with the peels. During our vacation I found a new model of a finger peeler and look forward to trying it out. Lorraine selected a zester from the same company and I will let you know if they pass the test.

I have been using finger peelers for years. They are fast and easy to use. I found the new model on the right and will put it to the test and let you know. 

We are limited with what we can bring across the border on our way into the US (no meat, no fruits, no vegetables and no seeds or nuts.) We are, however, allowed to bring items back into Canada, and we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some new discoveries that we wanted to enjoy at home.

We like this brand of sausage. They were really good and they heat really well in the air-fryer. We each picked up extra packages of sausages that we could enjoy at home. They were both so good that we decided to try their Octoberfest sausages too. I can't wait to try them. It was nice to bring back something from our vacation that we could enjoy at home.

We also returned to the Apple farm and each picked out 8 apples. We tried a few new ones, including the Macoun. The first time I had heard of Macoun apples was from the comments of the photo I shared in my last story with you. Lorraine and I enjoyed reading all of your comments and finding out which apple is your favorite. Since many mentioned the Macoun we knew we had to try them and after trying one, I agree, they are delicious.

This is one of their oldest apple types that they sell. They are an eighth generation apple farm.

They had lots of apple information. 

We used this information to select some apples, choosing ones that were crossed with apples we were familiar with and liked. 

We chose Cortland apples, our mother’s favorite.

We also chose Macoun because so many people mentioned them in the comments of my last post about our trip to the apple farm.

The return trip to the apple farm was so beautiful. The trees were at their peak and each time we made our way around another curve in the road we were treated to yet another beautiful colored tree. It was a fun outing.

The leaves were so beautiful

We could not believe how lucky we were during our vacation. We had 10 days of sunshine. From our years of vacationing in Maine, we know that the weather can change multiple times during one day, let alone one week. We hit the weather jackpot and enjoyed as much time outside as possible. Every day was planned around the tide and our beach walk. One of my most favorite parts of vacationing in Wells is walking on the beach. The low tide offers hard-packed sand, which is easy to walk on. It is 1 km to walk from Wells Moody Beach to Ogunquit Beach. It is a short walk from the beach into town. We have our favorite stores that we like to visit.

We always laugh when we look at photos and Lorraine is dressed for cold weather and I am dressed for summer weather. 

We love to walk on the beach during low tide. Some times there is water left on the sand making a great reflection. 

I love when the clouds are reflected on the wet sand during low tide. 

We really enjoy watching the birds. 

I like this photo

We always stop to take our picture in front of the store with their sign "Spoiled Rotten." The sign says it all about how we feel when we visit. We usually go in the Spring or Fall off-season. We have visited the area in the summer and it is a popular beach destination. It's fun to watch people set up their beach chairs, and as the tide rolls in, they move their chairs.

This sign says it all about how we feel about being on the ocean beach vacation. 

There were lots of fall decorations which reminded us of the time of the year. The warm weather had us thinking it was still summer. 

I never get tired of watching the tide come in and go out. 

This is where we dropped off our key. We look forward to return and pick it up again for the next Maine Ocean Vacation. 

I thought this was a fun picture of a cobweb. 

We had 10 days of sunshine with the exception of a few hours of fog.  However, the fog did not keep us inside. 

We are back in Tremblant and during our walk yesterday Lorraine mentioned that although she missed the sound of the waves during our beach walks, we live in a beautiful area and have beautiful paths to enjoy. It is Sunday morning as I write to you and I wonder how many more Sundays before I am sailing and making Sunday brunch and serving cinnamon buns. Stay tuned! Read about the Christmas Special we are offering below. We also want to remind you about our book signing/meet and greet on November 1st in Watertown at the Samaritan Auxiliary Hospital gift shop. See you soon.

We are offering a Christmas Special Offer online. Buy any two books and get a free 2025 porthole calendar. They make great Christmas gifts. Order soon so we can get them to you in time. Click on the link to order. Shop Online — Ship To Shore | Chef Catherine Schmuck | Author, Entrepreneur & Cook | Canada