By Karen
Posted Friday, August 12, 2005

John and Emily Come to the Island
We really enjoy John and Emily's annual island visit... but RALPH absolutely ADORES it!

For several years now, John and Emily Foss have made a trip to Casco Bay Island part of their summer vacation plans. We've found over the years that many people THINK they want to visit the island, but few really understand and appreciate island life. John and Emily are absolutely ideal island guests.. completely in tune with the slow pace and relaxing beauty, and nonplussed by the variations of island weather and other surprises associated with island living.

This year we had nearly ideal weather for their annual visit. They arrived to calm seas and sunny skies, which allowed us to sail up to Eastport to get lobstah for their welcome dinner. Eating lobstah is one of the treats of summer in these parts, and the pound and a half crustaceans fresh off the boat were absolutely delicious after John steamed them to perfection in seaweed and ocean water out on the side burner of the barbeque.

The trouble began when my darling fish-adverse Michael, decided that the remains should be returned to the sea rather than smell up the trash. Mike, John and Ralph made the trip to the cove to return the shells to the sea and came back up to the cabin to enjoy the remains of the wine. Ralph, however, had other plans. While the adults were enjoying the fading light, Ralph returned to the cove and evidently ate his fill of lobster shells. Our perfect island guests were put to the test in the middle of the night as we all awoke to the sound of Ralph relieving himself of the shells right by the side of their bed in the loft -- TWICE!!! John and Emily proved their mettle once again and took it all in stride… and we all slept in a bit the next morning to recover from the ordeal.

Ralph's favorite part of the Foss visit is his long walks with Emily… Yes, John often goes along, too.. but it is Emily who has won Ralph's heart. This trip the trio picked some early wild blueberries that became wonderful (if I do say so myself) blueberry pancakes and a blueberry and peach tart, picked up a big bag of sea glass, and explored new nocks and crannies off the beaten island paths. We hear there were also some raspberries discovered along the way but those didn't make it back to the cabin. They are so fragile and sweet, it really is best to just pick and eat.. and they did!

Any visit to the island is filled with lazy moments on the deck… looking for whales, porpoises, seals.. or just nodding off. It's all part of just BEING on the island. And that perhaps is the key to a successful island visit.. the ability to just BE.

John and Emily really feel the rhythm of the island… we're already looking forward to next year!

Catch a few more photos of John and Emily on the island 2005 by returning to our home page and clicking on the gallery thumbnail labeled "John and Emily Foss".

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