Provincetown and Maine (7-2001, 8-2001)

	Commercial Street in Provincetown, MA. Provincetown is one of the most interesting and lively towns that we've ever visited. Commercial Street is the center of all the activity. We arrived in P Town (as it is known) on a Saturday and experienced Saturday night there. Quite an experience!
	Pilgrim plaque. As most Americans know, Provincetown was the first landing site of the pilgrims. After they determined that there wasn't enough water there to support a colony they raised anchor and crossed the bay to Plymouth where the first colony was established. While in Provincetown harbor, the 2nd largest natural harbor in the world (Le Havre, France is the largest) the Pilgrims signed their famous compact which some consider to be an ancestor of our Constitution.
	s/v Dovetail and rainbow after a thunderstorm in Provincetown harbor. We met and became friends with Larry, the captain of Dovetail. He and his friend Paul, also a captain, came aboard Attitudes the night before our first open water crossing of the Gulf of Maine and gave us lots of tips and moral support. Thanks so much guys, you don't know how much that helped and how much we appreciate it! We later met up with Larry and Dovetail in Southwest Harbor, Maine, Dovetail's home port.
	Approaching Mount Desert Island, Maine. It took us 28 hours from the time we left Provincetown to arrive in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Our crossing of the Gulf of Maine was pretty easy. We got to sail for a couple of hours at the start, but then the wind died and we motored the rest of the way. Large swells from the south helped to push us along. The most striking aspect of the trip was just how COLD it got out there at night! Wearing every stitch of clothing you have in the middle of July is an interesting experience.
	Island Explorer shuttle bus. The buses run all over Mount Desert Island. We became regular riders during our 2 months at MDI. The National Park Service started the shuttle bus system to help reduce the number of cars in the park. 2001 was the last year of the 3 year demo period, but the overwhelming positive response to the system means that it will most certainly continue next year. There is talk of charging 50 cents to ride the bus next year - well worth it!
	Blueberries on Gorham Mountain. We hiked Gorham Mountain many times during our MDI stay. Early on the blueberries were in full bloom, large and delicious! By August they had started to shrivel in size and numbers. This may have been due to the unusually dry summer Maine experienced. During our stay it rained only a couple of times.
	View from our cockpit in Southwest Harbor. In the background are the western mountains of MDI framing the entrance to Somes Sound, the only fyjord on the US east coast.
	Hinckley dock and dinghy dock. The tidal range in this area of Maine is about 12 feet. Here we are at high tide...
	...and at low tide!
	Authentic Maine lobster dinner. He thought the coleslaw was good but the Diet Coke was a little warm.
	Sunrise over Southwest Harbor.
	Attitudes on the hard at Hinckley for engine repairs. Next to us were Jim and Kay on Soverign. They were having an auto pilot installed. We became good friends and spent a lot of fun time together with them.
	The source of our engine leak was located at the hole on the left side of the engine block. An aluminium plug there had been improperly installed and was leaking. Unfortunately, to get to the plug the prop shaft had to be pulled and that required pulling the boat out of the water.
	Jay, lobsterman and one of our Hinckley mechanics. We invited ourselves aboard his lobster boat one Saturday morning to see how lobstering is done first hand. Jay was more than gracious in taking us out and showing us how it's done. Thanks Jay!