Is that cat missing something?

Looks a little weird, maybe. A shaved spot on her front leg for an IV...

I'm up in Maine again (my first time was in winter, now I'm back to experience the summer, six months later). I'm pet-sitting the menagerie for my trainer during her honeymoon.

I flew into Philadelphia from San Francisco last Tuesday to pick up my car and trunk-full of stuff that will get me through a summer in Chicago (so, not too many sweaters). Then I hit the road, driving up to my trainer's house outside of Portland, ME. Although the drive was only around 8 hours, I split it up overnight, stopping somewhere in Massachusetts around midnight to sleep. I pulled into the parking lot of a highway-side hotel, read for a bit, and tried to get back on Eastern Time. Well, trying to sleep when not extremely tired in cramped, uncomfortable car while parked underneath a streetlight and trying to be semi-attentive to crazies who might want to murder you is not an easy task. I did sleep for several hours, though, and woke up nice and early and nice and tired. One day back on the East Coast, and I'm already back on Eastern time. Perfect.

I got to my trainer's house very smoothly, packed the car and helped with some last-minute preparations. Then in the morning, it was off to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, a three hour drive. The trip was smooth and scenic, with some fierce downpours along the way.

I was at the wedding to be the photographer, so I spent the weekend behind the camera lens, attempted to document the goings-on. The ceremony was outdoors, and the forecast was not so great. We had the rehearsal in driving rain (with only 6 people there, due to weather), and hoped for better weather on Saturday. Well, the weather for the ceremony was not better. It held itself to a drizzle for most of it, but let loose with a few downpours just to make sure everyone was thoroughly soaked.

Many tourists and visitors to the park stopped to take a picture of the ceremony. It was an unexpected sight, I imagine: 30 people in nice clothes gathered in a circle on the rocks by the crashing sea, the bride and groom inside the circle without any weather gear, rain pelting down incessantly... Some of the small children started to cry. But it was a hugely successful ceremony, short and memorable, and it was a marriage, which is what counts.

After a fun reception and a late night in the hot-tub, the wedding part disbanded the next day, and I was left to explore Acadia National Park, then find my way home to the animals. I ended up taking the long route home (local roads the whole 170 miles... Oops).

The animals are much the same as over winter break, only Baxter, the little fourth dog, was given to a friend of the family. And Truvie, the cat. She was tragically hit by a car earlier this year, broke her pelvis and shattered her right foreleg. Luckily, she survived, and is as mobile and weird as ever. The only big change is that she no longer has two front legs...


So tomorrow it's off to Chicago, via Canada, with another two-day car journey.