Tomorrow we head back to Lithuania. We have had a good ten weeks in the States, but it is time to get back home. We fly to Lithuania on Monday, but won’t arrive there until Tuesday. We land in Riga, Latvia, and then we have to take a bus to Klaipeda. We will be in transit for about 18 hours.

Since we have finished our time in Maine and have come back to Massachusetts, I thought I would share some of our photographs from our vacation. If you click on our photo albums link to the left, you will find an album containing pictures from Maine 2006. Both Stephanie and Kevin’s families had a chance to visit, so there are pictures of both sides of the family there. Enjoy!

Although it flew by, our vacation on Squirrel Island in Maine has come to an end.  We had a great time with both sides of the family.  Stephanie’s sister Tanya was there for the first week.  She brough Ophelia, Sabrina’s daughter, along with her.  During the second week, Stephanie’s brother Fred came with his family: his wife Patti and kids Adrian and Amanda.  Duncan and Emma loved getting to see all three of their cousins.

During the third week, Kevin’s family came for a visit.   His mother Kathy and brother Kenyon arrived on Sunday, and his step-father Tony came on Wedesday.  Kathy and Tony had visited the island about six years ago, but this was Kenyon’s first time.

Our days were spent reading, taking walks, and playing on the beach.  Duncan took tennis lessons and Emma befriended everyone on the island.  She knows more people there than Stephanie and Kevin!  We also got to take a lobster cruise with Kevin’s family.  Stephanie led chapel on the island one Sunday, and Kevin got a good portion of an article written.
We drove down to Massachusetts today.  We need to spend this next week taking care of last minute tasks before heading back to Lithuania.  This week will include doctor and dentist appointments, haircuts, and shopping for clothing.  We also have one final church presentation to do at Stephanie’s home church in Andover, MA.  It will be a busy week, especially compared to the relaxation of the last few weeks.

We arrived on Squirrel Island today. Since July 4th is on a Tuesday, almost no one was traveling today, so we made good time. We caught the 5:10 pm boat out to the island, so we are now settled into the cottage. We are looking forward to three weeks of beach, reading, family, and general relaxation. We probably won’t be blogging much during this time, as Internet access is limited here. But we may try to get a few entries in.

I had a wonderful time at the monastery.  It was very relaxing and spiritually refreshing.  We had community prayer four times a day, plus eucharist in the morning.  I also spent a lot of time in personal prayer, using a method of praying with Scripture called lectio divina.  Thursday was the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, so the worship was very high with lots of incense.  Plus, the food that day was incredible.  You don’t know good eatin’ until you’ve been to a monastery.

I have some pictures of the trip up in the gallery.  I have used GIMP to make some of the photos a bit more artistic.

I am currently in Albany in a hotel.  Stephanie and the kids are en route from Massachusetts.  Tomorrow is the wedding of Veronika Paedelt, Stephanie’s cousin.  I am looking forward to seeing Stephanie and the kids after a two week absence.