When Two Adventurers Come Together...

When two adventurers come together, there aren't many things that can hold them back. They become explorers, risk takers, and pioneers. They become discoverers, builders, connectors, and wanderers. The world is at their fingertips, and together they are an unstoppable force. 

                                                           So it is with Madeleine and Sarah. 

I can still remember so clearly back to that cold winter morning in Rome when I sat by myself on a hard church pew surrounded by a body of believers, yet feeling so completely alone. (Read the blog about it here). And yet even with an eagerness in me to meet people and make new friends, it took every ounce of courage inside me to approach that group of young people standing in a circle after the service and try to somehow introduce myself and integrate into their conversation in the most natural way possible. The awkward edge of that moment still makes me uncomfortable to think about. 

But there in that group of young people was a girl I never had a clue would end up being a lifelong friend, a partner in endless wild adventures, and a support to stand beside me in all my ups and downs of life over the next few years. 

Madeleine Wilgus. 

She was edgy. She was risky. She was completely spontaneous and independent. 

And our worlds collided that day, introducing me to a zeal and passion for life that only needed a little prodding and inspiration to be released. 

In the course of our friendship over the past two years, we have only seen each other face to face a handful of times. The rest of our relationship has grown thanks to the convenience of modern technology, but that still means that when we do get to see each other, it's a very special time. 

One might have picked up on this if he had observed the cinematic reunion of two friends torn apart for over a year when I exited my bus in the bus station of Portland, Maine. Our dramatic greeting with a running start and a lengthy embrace accompanied by squeals and tears was nothing short of theatrical, and already Madeleine's passionate zest for life was flying off from her in contagious sparks. 

And that was just the beginning :)

Each day of our week together ended with new stories to laugh about, new moments to remember forever, and new memories to tease each other about and new experiences to gawk at. There's probably enough to fill a whole book, but this is just a blog, so I'll just tell you the best :)

Day one began with homemade blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup, a wonder I had heard about but never actually tried myself. It was everything I've ever been told it is. The afternoon found us taking a long walk along the sunny beach, several miles from our car. When we finally arrived at the halfway point where we were ready to turn around and head back, hunger and fatigue (must've been from the exhausting sun) overtook us and we concluded we would have to find an alternative way back. Our solution? Ask one of the cute ranger boys working the beach grounds to give us a ride in their golf carts. Rather than responding with the no we expected, they informed us they would be returning shortly and then came back a few minutes later with their nicest truck and a pre-prepared piece of paper with their name and phone number written neatly on it, which they made sure to suavely leave with us when they dropped us off at our car.

Day number two brought us to the quaint coastal town of Booth Bay where we spent our time wandering around the shops and restaurants, and basking in the sun on one of the docks out by the harbor. While I was off taking photos, Madeleine encountered a woman she knew, the mom of one of her friends from high school, who was loading up a little motor boat to take for a spin in the harbor. All smiles on her face, she joyfully offered to take us out on the boat and have us come visit her love nest cottage on a tiny island right in the harbor where she's staying for the summer months. It didn't take long for us to accept her offer. We spun around in the motor boat, just a short way across the water to approach a unique round house that Madeleine had always seen as a kid and dreamed about living in. Thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Madeleine's friend, we spent a few relaxing moments enjoying a tour of the beachy and bright house with the cool ocean breeze blowing on our faces as we sat on the sunny balcony overlooking the sparkling waters. Madeleine and I spent the rest of our afternoon in a lengthy and uplifting conversation over our fish and chip lunch, and then concluded our day with our Bibles and a glass of wine at dusk out on the dock by the lake behind her house. 

dominating gelaterias.

Day three's adventures got a late start but with no regrets about the relaxing and slow morning we enjoyed. By late afternoon, we had meandered through several coastal towns on our way to the city of Portland, where we set out to explore the Old Port section of town, specifically on a hunt for an Italian grocery store or gelato. After being temporarily sidetracked by a happy hour special, we stormed the streets boldly (and loudly) crying out in grammatically incorrect Italian any thought that came to our minds, particularly and frequently referring to our insatiable desire for good Italian food and/or gelato. We found the gelato and some pizza, and convinced several innocent passersby that we were actually from Italy. I'm certain  it was because our loud use of Italian words and gestures was so convincing and that it had nothing to do with Madeleine telling everyone we are from Italy. She sometimes forgets that our meeting in Italy doesn't quite constitute true ethnic connections. To conclude our evening, we met for birthday celebrations for Madeleine's older sister and experienced the wild nightlife of Portland on a Wednesday night (along with the three other people who had decided to go out that night).

The Portland Lighthouse

somewhere in the middle of yelling out random Italian phrases on the street

Celebrating with Madeleine's sister, Geneva, for her birthday

Day four's plan for an early morning departure didn't exactly pan out as expected when the early alarms went off and Sarah and Madeleine's hands hit the snooze. Finally on the road by eleven, we began our three hour drive to the tourist famous city of Bar Harbor. Not one hour of the road trip went by without our little Corolla's speakers blaring our favorite Eurotechno dance tunes - windows down, sunglasses on, and dance party happening with every pounding beat of the bass drum and scratch of the dj's tracks. As soon as we arrived in the breezy beach town of Bar Harbor, we went straight away to the bike rental and set off on an adventure through Acadia national park. After a few hours zooming around below the tall pines trees and gazing out at beaver dams and a glistening lake, the heat of the sun started to beat down on our backs. Eventually the bike path led us to a bridge, where we pauses for a moment to take in the view. I reached into my purse to grab my camera for the photo op, and before I knew it, Madeleine had disappeared down a tiny path that led down to the creek flowing beneath the bridge. I delicately made my way down the rocky trail in my sparkly silver sandals and called out after Madeleine with no response. I followed the trail deeper and deeper into the brush (all the while trying not to break my shoes), and all the nearer to the trickling water I heard, not knowing what to expect when I found my friend. Naturally, once I cleared past all the brush, I looked around and spotted Madeleine's bright blue shirt dangerously close to the waters that she was giddily splashing around in up to her thighs. "Let's go swimming Sarah! Come on!" she enthusiastically yelled out to me. I reminded her that we didn't have our swimsuits (or maybe that was just my excuse for not wanting to swim in questionable waters) but she even more excitedly suggested we just go skinny dipping. I'm pretty sure she was serious. Another gentle reminder that we had an audience on the bridge above us seemed enough to stamp out that idea, but not enough for me to completely stand up against her continual pleas that I join her in the refreshing (and dirty) water. 

And there we were, splashing around, hopping on the rocks, forging through bubbling waterfalls.

 Adventuring, exploring, living...

The night ended perfectly when I finally got to eat my Maine meal - a lobster roll with chips, blueberry ale, and mouth watering blueberry pie a la mode for dessert. Every bite was succulent. 

Day five was the last and greatest adventure, the biggest and grandest so far for the week. But you'll have to read the next blog to hear about that one :)