In the midst of so much bad news lately, I wanted to write about something light-hearted, as summer arrives and we anticipate all things summery — traveling to the coast, tending gardens, throwing outdoor parties and enjoying time by the water.
So I called a few folks I typically interview mostly about news-related topics to learn something about their summer vacation plans.
Are you taking a few days or a week off this summer? I asked. If so, where will you go and what will you do?
I got a variety of interesting answers which offer a peek into the private lives of public people.
Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro has no plans to go anywhere this summer. He’s staying right in Waterville, and for a good reason: His wife, Amanda, gave birth June 8 to a daughter, Cecilia. He and his family live in the former home of his grandfather, and relatives who frequented the house over the years will come back to visit.
“Because we have the new baby this year, we knew we weren’t going to go anywhere, so we’re having a family reunion at our home,” Isgro said.
Eric Haley, superintendent of Alternative Organizational Structure 92, which includes Waterville, Winslow and Vassalboro schools, doesn’t take much time away from work, but when he does, his plans are simple.
“I’m not much of a vacationer, so if I have a day off, it’s usually to landscape or work around the house,” he said. “I do have a camp with no electricity and no running water that I do get to occasionally. It’s a nice hideaway and getaway, but the women hate it. Nobody knows where it is. Nobody knows how to get to it. Perfect.”
Skowhegan Town Manager Christine Almand is not sure, exactly, what her time off will entail, but it may have something to do with visiting the past.
“I haven’t solidified any plans yet,” she said. “We’ll probably take a trip down to Virginia. I was born and raised there and I haven’t RSVP’d yet, but it’s my class reunion this summer.”
Almand graduated from Hilton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, in 1996 in a class of about 500 students, she said.
The summer for state Rep. Thomas R.W. Longstaff, D-Waterville, will involve spending some time doing something he loves — attending musical theater performances. He and his wife, Cindy, have season tickets to College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Cindy is a sailor and competes in races in that area. His avocation for many years in the 1970s and ’80s was acting, singing and doing some dancing in shows at the Waterville Opera House, and some at Colby College and the Aqua City Actors Theatre. He has appeared in a couple dozen shows, including “Brigadoon,” which will be performed at the theater in Falmouth this summer.
“Basically, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace,’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ are the only ones I’ve done that weren’t musicals,” he said. “Loved them.”
Winslow Town Manager Mike Heavener is heading to Passamaquoddy Bay to a haven he discovered last summer and hopes to make an annual destination.
“My wife and I for years have tent-camped. However, the older we get, the harder the ground gets,” Heavener said. “Last year we rented a cabin in Perry, Maine, on Passamaquoddy Bay. There’s no electricity. You don’t get cellphone service. It’s a lot like camping. You do have running water, an outdoor shower and outhouse.”
The cabin, he said, is flanked on both sides with rocky beaches, so he and his wife get to enjoy the exquisite scenery.
“We booked it again this year. I think it’s going to be a regular occurrence for us. We like the cabin because it’s secluded and I’m actually able to sit and read a book.”
Summer vacation for Sarah Sugden, director of Waterville Public Library, includes lots of family time. She and her husband plan to host cousins from Virginia and other relatives from Massachusetts, and they also will visit family in New Hampshire, Vermont and Cape Cod.
“In addition, every summer for almost a decade, my siblings and their families and my father and stepmother have gone on a summer camping trip all together,” Sugden said. “In years past, we’ve visited Baxter State Park. However, this year, we’ll be camping at Acadia National Park. The children have really improved their ‘quiet campground voices’ over the years.”
On weekends, Sugden plans to do home improvement projects, walk on local trails and kayak.
“Aren’t we lucky to live in Maine?” she asks.
Thomas College President Laurie Lachance relishes the idea of spending time in the woods and on the water.
“I’m so, so, so excited, but it probably may sound boring to some,” she said. “I can’t wait to go to our camp on Sebec Lake in my home town of Dover-Foxcroft and walk on the dirt roads, read lots of books on innovation and leadership and dream big dreams for my little college, eat a lot of ice cream, spend as much time on the water as possible, hike in the Maine woods, visit with friends. This is my idea of an absolute perfect vacation — being out in the Maine woods and on the water. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”
Like Haley, Waterville City Manager Michael Roy sticks close to home in his time off.
“I don’t have a very exciting summer planned in terms of vacation,” Roy said. “I don’t even know when I’m going to take one, and we certainly don’t have any trips planned. I’ll probably just catch up on things around here and take day trips. I’ve gotten out of the habit of feeling like I have to take off. Sometimes just sticking close is the best break anyone can get.”
As for me, I’m a firm believer in the necessity of taking time to deflate and recharge. Much of my off-time will be spent enjoying the breeze off China Lake and listening to the loons at night.
We do have a couple of things planned, such as a weekend visit from old college friends and day trips to the coast. But the foray I’m most looking forward to is a few days on and around Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, where my ancestors came from and where I will visit the cemetery my great-great-grandfather is buried in in Welshpool on the island and try to find his baptismal record.
I’m probably the only one in my family who has not visited Campobello and Grand Manan, where other ancestors hail from, and I look forward to visiting the Roosevelt Cottage and exploring Lubec, another place I’ve not seen.
The great thing about summer is that no matter where we go or what we do, the heaviness of winter is nowhere in sight, so every day is a vacation.
Whatever you do, I wish you bon voyage, sweet sailing and happy trails.
Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 28 years. Her column appears here Mondays. She may be reached at acalder@centralmaine.com. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.
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