Saturday, August 13th

The anchor is up at 8 AM.  The sky is clear.  Cutter Loose is en route to Camden, 26 miles to the west.   We resume our passage through Deer Island Thorofare to East Penobscot Bay.  The shortest route to Camden from East Penobscot Bay is through yet another east-west passageway known as the Fox Island Thorofare.  This shortcut separates North Haven Island from Vinalhaven Island to the south.  Once through the thorofare, our course takes us north to Camden via West Penobscot Bay.  By noon, Cutter Loose is moored in Camden Harbor.

[caption id="attachment_1224" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Pat meets author David McCullough and his daughter, seated on his right"][/caption]

With the boat secure, we dinghy into the town dock en route to the 1:30 PM lecture at the Opera House by historian, author and Pittsburgh native David McCullough.  The lecture is a fundraiser sponsored by the Camden Public Library.  The event is a sellout.  Being transients, we have no tickets.  We are placed on a waiting list to fill the seats of no-shows.  At the very last minute, we succeed in securing two seats in the very last row.  

Mr. McCullough was introduced by his daughter, a resident of Camden, a writer in her own right and a Trustee of the Camden Library.  Today's lecture is a summary of McCullough's latest book, The Greater Journey.  In his book,  McCullough documents the lives and contributions of various American authors, playrights, educators, architects, artists and politicians that devoted a period of their lives to live and study in Paris.  The book explains how our country profoundly benefitted from the Parisian influence imported to the U.S. by these expatriates.   It was well worth the last ditch effort to attend this lecture.  McCullough has the knack of making history come alive through informal storytelling.  

[caption id="attachment_1226" align="alignright" width="300" caption="View of the harbor from the Camden Public Library"][/caption]

After the lecture, we attend a booksigning event at the Camden Public Library.  We are now the proud new owners of a copy of The Greater Journey, autographed by the author.