Week 46 - Small Island in Maine

We returned to the Atlantic Ocean! A little over 2 months ago, we were working on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia, and now, we've spent this week on an island off the coast of Maine. I like it here in Maine.

Sam Jones joined us on the bus for the week. Sam is one of our good buddies. He lived with Davis and Cain during college years at Clemson and lived with me in Charlotte after he graduated. In addition to living together, we also both worked at EY as technology consultants, led on the same Young Life team at South Meck high school, enjoyed telling jokes to each other, and sometimes we even pulled pranks on each other. Sam has for sure become one of my go-to’s. He's been dedicated to editing all my previous blogs and will do the same for this one. However, I'm not allowing him to edit this paragraph... I think you know why.

Sam's grandpa built a house on Isle au Haut around 30 years ago. Isle au Haut is a scenic island off the coast of Maine. A portion of the island is designated as Acadia National Park, while the rest is dotted with houses. Some are houses for the summer, and others are owned by the 40ish year-round residents. During our stay on Isle au Haut, the big blue bus wasn't with us because it didn’t fit on the mail boat that ferried us to the island. Thankfully, the Jones family welcomed us into their home on the coast of the island.

The Jones’ house, not another house in sight

This week, we were able to lend a hand right in the midst of the island's beauty at a quaint church. Guest pastors deliver weekly sermons here, and local residents, led by Mabel, contribute to the church's upkeep and operations. Mabel was an easy name for me to remember because whenever Cain introduces himself, people will often pretend their name is Abel (think about the story in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and Cain and Abel are brothers). This is kind of a funny joke, but at this point I have heard it a lot so I will only laugh depending on the delivery. Mabel sounds like Abel, plus an M, so I never forgot her name. Mabel is no joke; she's an amazing lady. Spending half her year on the island and the other half at her home outside Boston, she devotes most of her island time to maintaining the church and ensuring the islanders have a place to worship. Our tasks included cleaning off the church's railings from some kind of fungus called Lichen, then adding fresh layers of paint, and landscaping around the church. Mabel worked right alongside us, joining in improv games during our work breaks (she always added a love twist to the stories we created). We enjoyed our lunches together by the water and she even gave us her coupon she won for a free ice cream cookie from the local store.

Seeing new places in the country has been remarkable, especially the landscape in Maine. It truly is beautiful. However, one thing remains constant through our travels, people are the best part. Spending time with Sam and his family was the highlight of my experience in Maine. Sam's family - his dad Big Sam, his mom Anne, and his sister Virginia - welcomed us with open arms. Virginia's boyfriend Jack and their friends Matt and Amanda also joined in on the fun. After working at the church each day, our time was filled with various activities. Croquet has become our latest obsession (shoutout to the Evenhouse’s), so we'd aim for 1-2 games daily. In addition, we enjoyed hiking, playing games, and long conversations around the dinner table.

There is something special about being around the family of someone you know well. Little Sam, for instance, is a blend of Big Sam and Anne. He's even "perfected" his dad's sense of humor, as he proudly claims. I will say, both of them are funny, and they even laugh at my jokes every once in a while, which is fun for all of us. Getting to know the Jones family makes me more excited to be back in Charleston and play more croquet with them.

At the end of the week, Little Sam asked us about the most relaxing and the most stressful weeks we've had on the bus. I won’t share my answer for the most stressful week, but if you want to guess you can reach out. Right away, I knew this week had been the most relaxing.

On the bus, we've become pros at making collective decisions – a LOT of decisions EVERY day. However, this week was refreshingly different. Staying with the Jones family, we seamlessly joined in on their routines. We ate the same meals, played the games they had at the house, and explored the trails they recommended. Their activities were a blast, so we were excited to join in. Anne connected us with Mabel and even coordinated with her throughout the week. She also chauffeured us to and from the church for our workdays. We didn't even have to cook our meals as the Jones family kindly took care of that. What made their generosity special was they were always excited to help, never making it seem like it was an extra effort. On top of all this, they treated us to ice cream sandwiches each day.

As we enter the last six weeks of our journey, this week stands out as a significant marker. The balance of relaxation and rejuvenation excites me as we gear up for the rest of our journey.