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1. PREHEAT air and ocean temperature to 65° F. 2. COMBINE father and daughter in an idyllic Maine coastal island setting. 3. MIX equal parts hiking/paddling and downtime. 4. CHILL mixture over three days of glorious weather. 5. SAVOR the experience forever and ever. This would be M’s first paddle on the sea, and it needed to be planned in a way that didn’t threaten her level of experience. Those who know me understand that I rather enjoy longish day paddles and sea safaris; this outing called for an attitude adjustment. Because the marine forecast for Casco Bay called for other than “5 kn or less”, I decided that we would trek about in the more protected upper reaches of Casco Bay. We launched about an hour before ebb slack at Bethel Point, with plans to ride the tide up the New Meadows River, checking out the available camping options along the ride. Conditions were favorably benign, mostly cloudy skies, 5–8 from the NW, and easily navigable wavy seas. I hesitated only slightly to expose M to the shameful history of Malega Island, but knew that she was well schooled in the category of social injustices. Nonetheless, she was not a little disappointed to find out this tragedy occurred in coastal Maine. Before re-launching, we enjoyed Mediterranean panini’s from Wild Oats Bakery, on the rocky ledges. Nearby shell middens entwined discarded lobster traps and ropes. Sites 1–3 were well-scattered camping options in the area, but didn’t quite satisfy our needs for hiking, which I knew we would find on site 4 if we were not too late to claim a spot. We needn't have worried, as we had both sites to ourselves for two nights (surprisingly, only two other log entries for camping events for 2021). We enjoyed our messy Italians while chilling on “Precious Point,” watching the sun disappear, the birds squabbling, and the occasional fish splashing. My plans for a day #2 Sebascodegan circumnav quickly evaporated into the cloudless, bright blue sky. Today would be a lazy day at base camp, exploring the exposed, low-tide marine environment. Mother Nature was generous with her wildlife display-bald eagle (four at one viewing), osprey, cranes, herons, and a shoreside mink wrestling a large crab amidst the seaweed-guess who won? We were able to secure less than a dozen mussels (where have all the mussels gone?), and a solitary, soft – shelled clam.These mollusks were no stranger to me, having harvested them regularly as a child, at the mud flats of our Maine neighborhood. M, on the other hand, had never tried these critters, and I was a bit surprised that my vegan daughter wanted to sample, though she is majorly “back to the Earth.” We sequestered the shellfish under bunched seaweed as the tide continued to drain. Our modified plan was to hike the nearby Hamilton Audubon Preserve. A review of the hiking map suggested that we would have easy access, as trails skirted the coastline for most of the route. However, the tide was still dropping as we approached, exposing a potential slog through mud flats. We had a deuce of a time getting through, but prevailed, parking our boats on a dry, exposed, rocky ledge (shown below, upon our return). We thoroughly enjoyed our 3-mile stroll through the beautiful preserve, encountering many hikers who were out on this beautiful Saturday, including a couple from New York who were quite enthused to view a bald eagle (ho-hum) from afar. Our track: Post-hike, we meandered to the environs of Gurnet Strait, circled nearby islands, crossed the river, and paddled back to base camp under a light breeze. We were undecided about going for a swim, until we realized that the muscle and clam caches were now above my waist. I had good luck retrieving the black-shelled delicacies, but M was disappointed with her luck retrieving her solitary clam. Much later, 10 PM-ish, very determined, with headlamp, she was able to extract a replacement to sample for next day’s breakfast. We arose early on Sunday, to squeeze out every bit of the last day on the coast. We were on the water by 7:10, and rode the outgoing tide down the New Meadows River, enjoying flat seas under partly cloudy skies and warm air. We further prolonged our landing by (barely) weaving in and out of inlets and islets on Yarmouth island’s western shore, encountering two young free – range, carefree, children swimming in the warm waters of a cove. We made short work of packing up and headed home, stopping at the requisite Wild Oats (new to the list), Pat’s Pizza, Amato’s, Standard Baking, and Trader Joe’s, in that order. REFLECTIONS: -Many paddlers drive past Cook’s Corner with other kayaking destinations in mind, but if you’re looking for a more relaxing couple of days, this venue can’t be beat, especially for first-timers. -Thanks to MITA and private landowners for providing several opportunities for camping along this journey. -Send me a PM if you have questions about the different camping options.