BUOYS AND GULLS!!!!

Arrived at the Franciscan Guest House on Friday, about 2:30 pm. to attend the Alliance of Divine Love conference. The Lithuanian Franciscans purchased the estate, about 60 acres, in 1947. There are walking paths, shrines and Chapel designed by famous Lithuanian Artisans; and, close by is the Rachel Carson sanctuary. My friends, Cathy and Ted, are both ministers ordained by ADL and had asked me to join them at the conference in Kennebunk, Maine.

This is the grotto dedicated to the Blessed Mother from Lourdes. It's such a beautiful stone grotto, and the dark line you see running below the statue of the Blessed Mother is actually water running from the statue down to the left of the altar and funneled back into the ground. On the altar are numerous offerings and petitions left by people from around the world. In front of the grotto are benches set up for people to sit and meditate, or for various functions offered here.

Today, Ted and I boarded a ship for a whale watching excursion. Cathy wasn't feeling too good, so she decided to forego the trip in order to really relax and catch up on her sleep. She has a dear friend who was staying with them the week before Labor Day and was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. Cathy and Ted had been helping to take care of her at the hospital until her husband could arrive from California. Here's Ted as we began to make our way out into the Atlantic. Ted says he looks like a bandit in this picture, but I think it turned out great. He's quite a character, flew rescue helicopters in Viet Nam.

This picture is taken on the Kennebunk side (the starboard side) of the boat. On the port side, the left, is the Kennebunkport side, where the Bush family have their compound. We left at 9am and didn't return until 2:30 pm. We were supposed to be back at 1pm but it took a while to locate some whales. We did see a "minke" whale, the smallest of the baleen whales, along with a harbor porpoise and a gray seal. The captain saw a "right" whale, named because they were the right whales to catch. The baleen from the whales was used in things like ladies corsets as stays. Also, as we headed out, the Kennebunk side is partially undeveloped and that land is owned by the Franciscan order.

Maine is so beautiful, it's motto is "Life as it should be". I absolutely love coming up here, so much to see and enjoy. Ain't life grand!!!!!