As usual, Day 13 is reserved mostly for the long, sad drive home. First, though, we enjoyed our traditional last-morning breakfast of pastries and coffee at our gazebo, ignoring the fact that we did the very same thing yesterday. We even had the same pastries—a sticky bun for me, a lemon-cheese danish for Rich, and an almond croissant to share. What had seemed a warm morning while we stood chatting with Brandon in the motel parking lot suddenly turned cold and windy as we sat and ate just a few yards from the seawall. I was very glad I hadn’t saved the Cadillac Mountain ride for today! The coffee kept us warm enough, relatively speaking, to finish our pastries. The wind cut short our other longstanding tradition, though. Rather than strolling the Shore Path to the end, we had to be satisfied with yesterday’s short walk along the path. Today it was simply too windy for the walk to be enjoyable.

And we’re off!