Mary Ann: The months have gone by so quickly, as they always do in the summer and early fall, and here we are in Florida after having traveled through many beautiful parts of the country during these past many weeks. I think it might be time for an update for those of you who might be wondering where we are and what we've been up to.

After having spent much of the summer in the Troy area and in Kentucky, we headed out in mid-August to southern Maine to stay with friends in a small town about 45 minutes from Portland. Those two weeks were filled with one wonderful experience after another. We attended an authentic "bean hole" supper in an area brimming with weekly bean suppers. What made this the real thing was that the day before the event, the church members prepare 3 baked bean dishes using a secret recipe and a different kind of bean in each. Meanwhile, a giant pit is dug in the backyard where wood is burned until the pit is filled with hot embers and ashes. The huge pots are lowered into the ground and then covered with these embers, a heavy steel door to keep the lids tight, and finally they are mounded over with earth. It sits like this, simmering in the hot coals, overnight. Very early in the morning, everything is dug up, the beans are checked and the seasonings adjusted for exactly the right flavor, and then they are reburied for several more hours. Even though all tickets are presold, around 4 PM the diners begin to line up at the door for the first seating at 4:30. (That's because the first ones in get the best choice of the homemade pieces of pie) At exactly 4:30 the doors are opened and everyone rushes in, going to the dessert table first and then sitting down to a meal of 3 kinds of beans, cole slaw, potato salad, red hot dogs, and steamed brown bread, all homemade and delicious. Don and I left filled to the brim and now acquainted with a number of the locals, including a whale boat captain who later in the week would lead us 20 miles out into the Atlantic on a whale watch.

During those 2 weeks in Maine, we were also able to watch an Amish barnraising at the Carpenter's Boat Shop; to camp on Pemaquid Point where we were lulled to sleep by the waves crashing on the rocky shore; to watch the sun go down over the Portland Head Light; to wander the many piers where fisherman gathered to sell their lobster, crabs, and mackerel at the end of the day; to explore the lively Portland art scene and enjoy the excellent seafood dishes that seem to sit on every street corner.