Hot Fun In The Summertime

To live in the town of Camden is to live in two different worlds. In the winter months, the town is quiet and cold, filled mostly with hardy New Englanders, many of whom have lived here their entire lives. In the summer months, the town is filled to the brim with tourists, summer people and all kinds of events and concerts. From early June until Mid-September, the streets are bustling, the restaurants are packed, and the harbor is jammed with every kind of boat you can imagine. The inner portion of Camden's famed harbor can resemble a jigsaw puzzles with moving pieces at times. At least six windjammers operate out of the town, and the yacht club holds races almost every day. Downtown is a mob scene, especially on the weekends. Liscence plates from all over the east coast occupy parking spots, and accents from all over the world can be heard above the din of noon time traffic. Yet, for all the commotion that blankets the area, there are times when the town is dead silent. This morning, around 5:30, I walked down my street to the waterfront, to watch the sun rise over Penobscot Bay. Already inching into the atmosphere, the sun was bright orange and sweltering! They don't call July the hottest month of the year for nothing. The street was silent, and the morning was still. Not a trace of wind was in the air, only the sweet smell of the flowers that lined the gardens to the left and the right of me. A lone jogger passed me by as I made my way down to the end of of the town dock. Mount Battie and Mount Megunticook were already getting hazy in the distance. The air was thick with the smell of the the sea, and the prospect of a hot, humid day was steadily gaining traction. I snapped my faithful Nikon for a few minutes, before I headed back home to have some breakfast. The sun was now baking the sidewalks, and the temperature must have been in the upper 70's. Pretty soon, the streets would be filled with people, and the day would be off to a roaring start. I prefer the quiet times in this town, because those are the times when the town really is a town, not just a summer destination for the city dwellers of the east coast. It is those quiet times, when you can feel the natural beauty all around you, taste the winds of the magnificent Penobscot Bay, and sense the overwhelming history of this beautiful town, the self proclaimed "Jewel of the Maine Coast."