Day Trip to Pownal

Early morning crisp air
Trees with a hint of changing color
Canada Geese honking as they leave Maine and head south for the winter
Cruising through the countryside
Enjoying the quiet

Great day in Pownal supporting Lisa doing her first year one technical assistance session

Belfast and Home!

Headed to Belfast this morning to complete some record reviews. On the way out of Ellsworth we came across Allen's Blueberries (well, only a mile down a side road!)http://www.allensblueberries.com/. This is quite an operation, processing blueberries and shipping them worldwide all year long. We were lucky to snag some of the last freshly picked wild blueberries to bring home to our families! Looking forward to picking up a box on one of my many future trips up the coast!

A great trip---what a grand opportunity to visit schools all over the state and see the great work that is being done....

Union 76......Say No more

En Route....

Walker Pond on the way to Stonington. We later learned that this is a fresh water pond, unique being so close to the ocean. Apparently there used to be a little railroad that ran along side the pond. Walker Pond was know for its fine ice that was shipped all over the world.

Here we are!

A great day of training for all!

Tired, we headed back to Ellsworth, and onto Bar Harbor for a walk along the Shore and supper. We are all looking forward to a quiet night and good sleep before we head to Belfast in the morning......

Wild Night at the Comfort Inn!

So, who would have thought that the entire crew from Extreme Makeover would be staying at the Comfort Inn, in Ellsworth! Apparently they finished up their work in Milbridge and headed here around 9:00 PM. From then until 4:00AM they were thumping up and down the halls, slamming doors and pretty much just being loud. Luckily for me, I pretty much slept through it other than a couple of hard door slammings, but my fellow team members had a very rough night. They apparently realized this morning how loud they had been----Anna arrived at breakfast with a peace offering of an Extreme Makeover T-shirt! She was hoping to negociate a house, but no luck.....Anyway, the view from the room this morning was pretty nice!

First Stop: Ellsworth

Well, the Comfort Inn is the Comfort Inn, although, I will say it is clean and , quiet so far (even right on Route 1), and has free wireless! Anna Feeney, our fearless leader brought her 3 newbie DEs along to do a training tomorrow in Stonington/Deer Isle. Worked in the office until 2 and then hit 95---got here in time for some devoted shoppers (not me!) to do a thorough review of everything at the Reny's which just happens to be right across the street! Even I picked up a couple of small items, can't tell what, they may end up in Christmas stockings! We headed towards Bar Harbor and stopped to eat in Hulls Cove--a great restaurant, The Chart Room, sitting right on the water. Great fresh fish and views to drool over. Headed back to Ellworth admiring the beautiful sunset vistas all the way. No pics tonight!

Stonington, Here I come!

Beautiful sunny 61 degree day in Maine. Heading to Ellsworth this afternoon, to provide a training day in Stonington tomorrow----have camera, will travel....!

Ahhhhh!

Ahhhh......the weekend! Ten hours of driving to/from Augusta is enough for me this week! Currently listening to "My Sister's Keeper" and have to give it a plug. Without giving too much away, it would be a great read for a book club or and ethics class.....if anyone has read it and would like to discuss, let me know...get together for coffee? (anywhere, just not in Augusta on the weekend!)

First Reservations

So I just made my first reservations for October when I head to Guilford to do a 1-day training. Will go up the night before and stay at the Brewster Inn----take a look! http://www.brewsterinn.com/ Will post my own pictures when I go.....

Visits to come

Scheduling 3-day visits to Ellsworth, Bucksport, Madison, Windsor and Calais...more details to come! Busy preparing a PowerPoint on Program Review for the Director's Fall Conference.....amazing how steep the learning curve can be!

September Morning Drives

The mornings are beautiful as the sun rises and pours into the car from the east; perfect ambiance for sipping coffee and listening to books on CD.....

Belated update!

So.....I am going to try to reconstruct a wonderful entry that I wrote last week when my brain was bursting with all the kinds of new learning that I was feeling overwhelmed with---I unfortunately lost the entry so here I go again.....I guess some new learning is to be had with technology!
With 2 weeks of driving to Augusta under my belt, here are some things that I have learned:

• How incredibly stimulating it is to be learning new information and to be looking at familiar information through a different lens. We have been working on examining the new special education regulations and working with Anna in cross-checking information on the proposed state forms to be sure that references to the state and federal regs are correct before they are officially released. What a difference one word can make!
• I have been reviewing all of the districts that I will be working with this year to become familiar with the goals that they have identified along with where they are in the 2+year phases of their work. At the end of last week, after meeting with Anna to review each district, I am now getting in touch with directors to follow up on information and to begin scheduling visits.
• My travel will be mostly north of Augusta. There are only 2 districts that are on my list that are in Cumberland and York counties. Thankfully, my team in Westbrook gave me a Delorme Map book---I have been busy looking places up that I have not heard of!

I have also learned:

• That working in a cubicle isn't horrible.......to a certain extent there is a built in sense of camaraderie because you can hear everything that everyone says! I am lucky in that I am in the second row of cubicles from the windows so I feel a bit of natural light and see it every time I stand up. Meetings are a great thing as all of the meeting rooms have windows :)
• The people in the DOE are great! They have been welcoming and helpful in getting us settled in and feeling comfortable.
• I am going to be the best listened reader this year! Books on tape have been great and really make the travel go quickly. I am still learning how to pace my requests through the library so that I don't get too backed up with listening! I treated myself to an i-pod so that I can listen to downloads and music, but haven't had time yet!
• The scenery changes constantly going to and from Augusta. There has been beautiful fog--tried to take pics but didn't show the true beauty---also found looking through the camera lens a bit disorienting while driving......the morning colors vary from vibrant to quiet and calm. I am looking forward to the colors that will be coming along soon.

As the school year starts up, I think often of my great workmates and hope things are going well. As I talk with people in the DOE, I am continually reminded what a great, professional and competent group of people I have the luxury to work with in Westbrook.

Here is the travel that is coming up this month:

• Stonington
• Belfast
• Pownal
• Bangor (for a conference)

Look forward to sharing pictures as we start to do some traveling!