Morrisville VT

Now we're back at Tom III and Carolyn's after a fun-filled weekend in Maine at Danny's graduation.  Saturday morning, we took a drive in the Maine countryside on the way down to LL Bean in Freeport, ME.  Couldn't quite drive along the ocean, but we did manage a side trip to catch a glimpse of the bay and some islands.  Beautiful homes in the area - would have loved to see inside some of them.  I would think some of them are summer homes for people in either Boston or New York, but these ain't cabins in the woods!  Ended up in Freeport, the home of LL Bean which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Huge complex, not only is LL Bean there, but also almost every other store who wants to attract customers. We were there on Saturday and the crowds weren't too bad.  Can only imagine what it's like in the middle of summer.  Going through the various LLB buildings - Hunting & Fishing, Camping and Hiking, Family & Home, etc. was interesting - could have ordered one of everything.  Their quality is excellent and their guarantees are unsurpassed - return anything, anytime.  This was the entrance to the Hunting and Fishing area. I have a friend who could have spent the summer there checking out the merchandise.

We took a different way back to Lewiston, more through the farm country, and had lunch in Auburn (across the Androscoggin River from Lewiston).  Met up with the rest of the group for the Baccalaureate service on the Quad in front of Coram Library.

Impressive ceremony - it wasn't just a religious observance, but one filled with song and dance.  Neat to see the graduates (kind of a run-through for tomorrow's graduation).  After the ceremony, we talked, took pictures, drank wine (courtesy of Mike and Christie) and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.  According to the President of  University, this was one of the weekends which were filled with sunshine in her six-year tenure at Bates.  Below are several of the pictures we took.

After the ceremony, we went over to Danny's house so he could change and we could get ready for dinner.  Most of Danny's housemates had left the building, but a couple showed up while we were enjoying some adult beverages.  One of Danny's housemates (five boys and four girls) parents had arranged for a dinner for the whole group in one of meeting rooms at Bates.  All nine housemates were there with their families and friends.  Great idea for all the parents to gather one last time and meet all the people who had come to the graduation in a slightly less hectic setting than graduation itself.  This is the group of graduates - happy and relaxed.  Tom III was the MC after dinner and in the picture below Danny was handing out candles to each of the graduates for them to place on their respective tables to share with friends and family.  Nicely done and a great credit to the mother who made the arrangements.  p.s.  Dinner was awesome.

Danny went on a night of celebration of his last night at Bates.  Don't think there was much sleep involved before graduation.  The next morning there was a breakfast for all the people who attended the graduation in the dining hall. Vi and I elected to meet everyone afterward at graduation. 

I'll do another post after I gather some of the pictures we took at graduation.