Monhegan

Monhegan is a bit of an odd place to visit by boat.  It is an island about 12 miles off the coast of Maine.  It is sustained by tourists ferried in from 10-3 each day, eager to see this place billed as an eccentric artists’ colony.  We were coming for much the same reason, and because of the fairy houses on the trails that Kate remembered from a visit 18 years ago with her now 21 year old niece.  The sailboat cruising guide for Maine says to come into the harbor, find an open mooring, tie up to it then go ashore and ask the harbor master if you can keep your boat on it.  That is a bit disconcerting for those left on board lest the owner of that mooring comes home, but it worked out. 

In the two days we were there several people seemed to know which boat I came off.  It was also explained to me that the entire island is private.  While they will rent you a mooring, there is no place to bring your dinghy ashore.  A local just told me to bring it on the beach and hope no one complains.  They have no public toilets.  A take-out pizza joint on the island makes their toilets available from 9-4.  When Kate and Leif tried to get them to make an exception at 4:30, the young girl at the counter said she did not know were the key was kept.  I did find that the Inn was receptive when I asked if Ruby could use their bathroom and later I just brought Leif in.  There is no place to put trash.  I did not know this when I came in one night with a dinghy full with a bag of trash and packaging from Ruby’s birthday present.  I could not find anything that looked accommodating and was not going to use someone’s personal trash given that people already seemed to be watching.  The next morning we tried again, but it turns out getting trash off the island is a local problem and I had to being it back to the boat again.  

I had not initially noticed, but when the kids got out of the dinghy in bare feet they noticed that there is glass all over the beach.  As they tried to avoid it, someone told us that they do it on purpose so the kids can collect them after they are smooth.  Indeed, from our boat in the harbor we saw a young man heave a bottle, in full view of everyone, at the rocks on the shore.

They do have some very nice trails, for which they are known, and there are indeed fairy houses.  These are built along the Cathedral Woods trail and Leif and Ruby added several more.