Hello Bayville. Back from an incredible time in Africa with the big five, the ugly five, local interaction and bungee jumping at Victoria Falls as some of the many highlights. The best way to appreciate how truly blessed we are to live in this country is to see what life is like in others.

I love to travel, but it is always great to come back to the US and more specifically, this beautiful part of the world.

So what did I miss while away? All I had to do was pick up the Register and read Alina Blakesley’s Buzz and her wonderful columns. Anytime the writing bug strikes Alina, it is all yours! Congratulations are also in order to Alina  for her ballroom dancing in England. What a wonderful article and incredible experience! She will be giving lessons in the Community House at 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Better confirm with her first.

More recent events I missed include the 107th consecutive annual BVC meeting. A few updates from the inner circle;

Dock: The new dock and pilings are now ready for cruise ship landings. Negotiations are underway, but looks like Norwegian or Windstar will be first in port.

Highway and byways: Considerations of weighing speed vs. road quality. Keeping the roads smooth, but not too smooth, is a delicate balancing act. Please ask Greg Merrill to see his chart showing their relationship. Of course dollars are part of his graph too.

Huge thank you to Greg and the rest of the board (Andrea Nielsen, Jim Coleman and Joe Rosenbloom) for their time and hard work in keeping Bayville beautiful - and solvent.

Later that night, the village was alive with the Lobster Bake. For the second straight year, threatening weather resulted in porch parties at the Merrills, Robertses and Wolframs. Thanks to them for their hospitality and to a white gloved Dennis Rice and staff for serving a delicious bake which included 100 of the red faced crustaceans along with clams, mussels, corn and  all kinds of homemade treats from the home team crowd. 

Thanks also to the cast of characters who set-up and broke down the whole thing. I was smart enough to miss the set-up, but miscalculated my arrival and was here for the break down. What a crew there was. From the Allisons: Will and sons Aidan and William, the McNamaras were represented by Pat and Karen (Allison) and sons Liam and Brian. The Merrills had Greg, John and son-in-laws (or soon to be) Mike and Chris. Then there was Mike Frascella, Bill LaPointe, Chris Nielsen, Mark Spencer and, of course, Phil Roberts, who is always there to help.

Saturday night the kids unionized and moved the start time for Sunday back to 10 a.m. Phil was ready to go at 7. Special thanks to Bill LaPointe for keeping his Mom’s (Betty) tradition alive.

My Saturday night arrival did have one huge benefit and that was being able to attend Fun at the Fire Pit. The crowd was at capacity and bleachers had to be set-up to keep everyone seated and satisfied. There were some new songs that made their debut on the playlist as well as some new dance moves from away (not sure how far), that were on display.

Attendance is always well guarded, but I can confirm a Malibu Mary Beth (sister of Barbara Spencer) siting.

I hope you are here for this weekend’s ginormous Waterfront Festival. It promises to be bigger and better than ever -and that is saying a lot!

Events will kick off on Saturday, Aug. 11, with opening ceremonies at 1 p.m. followed  by the always entertaining -and sometimes collision filled - blind folded rowing. There will be games, food and entertainment for kids of all all ages as well as the Ice Cream Social.

Who will swim away with this year’s Ruler of the Sea trophy and all the perks that go along with it? Will Emma Collins enjoy another year of fame and fortune or will another take her place?
To get things going there will also be a Pickle Ball Tournament beginning at 9 a.m.

All sign up sheets and official start times are posted at the Post Office. I hope to see everyone there either participating, cheering and/or eating!

As a final thought, I was very sorry to hear about the passing of Mary Brewer. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but she was obviously someone who contributed a lot to the area and cared very deeply for the Boothbay community.