A Very Pleasant Morning

 All of the shitty weather was almost worth it in return for this hike today. Be sure to click on some of the pictures to see them better. I did another mountain that I have never done: Pleasant Mountain in Bridgeton. The views were AWESOME - check out Mt. Washington over my left shoulder in the picture above.

 The Ledges Trail is well maintained and interesting. Its also marked with the old-school metal blazes:

 About half-way up you come out on a huge ledge (hence the name) and get some great views:

 There was also a marker for this lady:

 I don't think she is buried there, just a nice memorial. Getting close to the top:

 The views on the peak were outstanding, including the snowy Mt. Washington:

 The top was flat and open all around.

This is one that I will do again for sure. Even the drive through Turner, Buckfield, Norway, Harrison, and such was kind of fun. Man...I love the woods.
~MET

A Real Maine Lunch

 A big crowd of hungry people found their way to Tut's place for a lobster feast today. Chris was up from Boston with his girlfriend, Lauren, who is from the west coast. This is her first face to face with our state crustacean:

 Sarah, Alex, Kori, and Jacob were also there to swap stories and memories.

 I especially liked hearing about Sarah's rehearsals for 9 to 5.

 Southern California meet central Maine:

Lauren did pretty well, and even had a red hot dog and a few mussels...pretty sure that makes her an honorary citizen. M-S made her awesome potato salad, we had corn, dogs and burgers. Maeve even skyped in from DC before her nap! I'm spending the rest of the afternoon listening to the Nats and getting ready for tomorrow's hike.
~MET

A Holiday Weekend Awaits

     I'm really looking forward to this weekend. In a nutshell:

• Tonight = a relaxing night with M-S and Bax
• Tomorrow = lots of work around the house
• Sunday = Chris comes for lunch, lobster, Tut, meeting Chris' girlfriend
• Monday = hiking Bald Mountain in Oquossic

Life is good,
~MET

Another GREAT Representative Assembly

 Back from the MEA-RA at Sable Oaks in South Portland. Above is a reproduction of the infamous Labor Mural that we had on display this weekend. On Friday I had a Leadership Team meeting and an Board of Directors meeting:

 Then Saturday and Sunday delegates from all over the state discussed the budget, resolutions, and new business items. Here is part of the floor just before the action begins:

 NEA president Dennis Van Roekel addressed the RA:

 On Saturday night we had an outstanding awards banquet.

 You can see M-S at the head table:

 MEA president Lois Kilby Chesley addresses the delegates:

 There was an election for treasurer - below is the new leadership team:

I will have to run for re-election to my position at the next RA. One of the best parts of of this year's meeting was working with Patty Scully, who was Winslow's other delegate. She is my VP in Winslow and will be a mover and a shaker at the state level in the years to come. It was a really good weekend with lots of work and lots of fun.
~MET

A Union Week

 From 6am to 2pm I think about nothing but teaching my classes. Then from 2pm to whenever I go to bed I think about the members of the NEA, MEA, and WEA. Today we finished negotiating the contract for hourly employees - and I could not be more proud. I think our team did an amazing job. We added a lot including a TON of new insurance, increased retirement benefits, more flexible vacations, a raise each year for 3 years, and more. I love bargaining for our ed-techs, food service personnel, and secretaries.
Tomorrow morning I'll be heading to Portland:

To Sable Oaks for the Maine Education Association Representative Assembly. I LOVE the RA! We'll be debating the direction of our union for the next year, voting for a new treasurer, enjoying a wonderful awards banquet and just living large. I'll try to blog each day.
~MET

Miserable Mt. Blue

 After all of these years of hiking I've never climbed Mt. Blue. I did this morning and...well...it kinda sucked. It rained pretty hard, there was lots of ice, and no views. I will do this one again because I think the views must be spectacular. Its a 3000 footer and the trail is well-maintained and kind of rugged. Plus there is a stream:

 I love a drink from a mountain stream.

 The higher I went, the more ice I encountered and the harder it rained.

 By the time I got to the top it was pouring and my camera got all foggy.

 This was the spectacular view:

 On the way down there were some tricky spots, but I took my time. There was also an old ranger cabin - I love these crumbling reminders of how things used to get done.

I'm glad I went, but it was not a whole lot of fun. Still looking forward to my next adventure.
~MET

I Don't Care What the Weather Says...Its Summer!

 This spring has been a little strange. Some mornings I've had to defrost my windshield before work, and then there are black flies in the afternoon. All I know is that its time. Today we had lobster to ring in the spring.

I also took some pics of our peach tree - whose beauty is really ringing in the rebirth of a new season. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break coming up, some time in the wilderness, some important Association work, and wearing shorts whenever possible.
~MET