Surprise! And Count Your Blessings!

Hopewell Rocks at low tide

Do you like surprises? If you do we can cure you of that. We've been travelling for a week with our camper on what is supposed to be an extended trip to Canada and back. And it has been a series of unpleasant surprises. The first was opening the camper and finding the refrigerator door open and a bottle of beer that popped open when it feel out onto the floor. I suppose we can consider our camper baptized in beer. And it didn't make the surprise more agreeable that it was my fault since I didn't check the latch on the door.

Our second surprise at our next stop was a tipped over quart jar of honey that dripped down into the cupboard and onto the floor. I was as agitated by the loss of our precious honey as I was by the mess. We will be cleaning up honey forever I think. I keep finding more places covered with the sticky stuff. So far no ants thank God, but I expect to find that surprise sooner or later.

Winter Harbor Maine and Acadia National Park

We arrived at Schoodic Woods Campground in Winter Harbor on Saturday and set up camp. This morning had us setting off for the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph's in Ellsworth about 40 minutes away. It wasn't the gong show but it was depressing: almost all elderly with a handful of children, a wandering priest walking up and down the aisle during the homily who wore no chasuble and changed words in both the proper and common of the Mass. The church has an organ but mostly the "organist" played the piano and a keyboard and, oh the insipid music. Why, O Lord?  The Mass wasn't exactly irreverent -- just -- what can I say -- as dismal as the rainy day. Ah well, I prayed for the priest throughout the service. A parish with few children is a dying parish. I always pray we will find wonderful vibrant churches when we travel, and I can't say this is isn't one from a single visit, but it was a depressing start to our day. Jesus deserves better.

Our Latest Travel Adventure: O Canada, Here We Come

Last year we had plans to take a camping vacation to Nova Scotia, but it was a bad years for our bees and we ended up staying home to feed them so they would have a chance of getting through the winter. Both our hives made it and we were blessed with a great season this year that let us expand to four hives. And so...our delayed trip was back on the calendar and we left yesterday on the first leg driving from Woodstock to Stafford Springs, CT which is close to...get ready...Woodstock. Today we spent the late morning and afternoon exploring.