Today was my day off. So naturally, I shut myself in my room most of the morning and did very little. I made an attempt at working on my computer information studies homework, but ultimately failed. I did manage to wash the sheets and make the bed for a wwoofer who arrived later in the afternoon. It wasn’t my job to do it, but I figured that since I was sitting around doing essentially nothing, that it would be nice to offer. The Farm Mother was grateful since she had so much to do today.

Eventually, Ellie and I finished puttering and working on thing on our computers and decided to get going on out little excursion. We decided to go to Hallowell, Maine, a small town along the river, just south of Maine’s capital city of Augusta. We first walked around and looked into a few shops to get our bearings on the place. The main street is cute and slow, with lots of little red, white and brick buildings hugging the sidewalks. There was a bunch of antique shops, a general store, several restaurants, and even a tattoo parlor. Ellie joked about getting a crossbow tattooed to her cheap.

We had lunch at a little place called Slate’s Restaurant and Bakery. It was very good food, but I could see it being a little pricy for wwoofers on a budget. We both ordered the crab cake sandwiches with the red cabbage and gorgonzola coleslaw on the side. The slaw was amazing, but the sandwich was just a little bit dryer than I would have really liked. It was nice to eat fish!

Afterward, we went for a little walk around the town, and searched for a walking trail that Jo had told Ellie about. Eventually we found the foot of the trail, but decided to hang out on a pier for a few minutes and enjoy a view of the river from some adirondack chairs. Once we had gotten very hot, we moved along, walking the trail for about 1 mile and turned back. We walked to a bakery and purchased cake, a 4th of July tradition for Ellie. We sat out on a picnic table, under an umbrella, enjoying or pastries and iced beverages. After a quick trip to Rite Aid, we drove back to the farm.

Before dinner, I met Angela, my new roommate and fellow wwoofer. She is a 25 year old designer from Georgia, ready to make a career change. We talked in our room, and got to know eachother a bit. Dinner was a little late, which was very surprising because meals have never been late.

After dinner, Angela, Ellie and I went to a “children’s concert” in Vienna (they ranged in age from 12 to 18.) The chore was surprised us with their skill. They sang music from around the world, but focused on music from Lithuania, South America, South Africa, and American Folk. Their harmonies were tight and their voices were well blended.

On the walk home, we stopped in the field closest to the house. As a native Californian, I never had the opportunity to catch (or even see) firefly’s as a kid. Well, Angela and Ellie helped make it my chance. I caught my first firefly this evening, and held it gently in my hand as it twinkled. To say the least, that was a life dream fulfilled; i was so happy to hold that little guy in my hand.