Final Day: Old Orchard Beach and Portland Head Light

All week, the forecast called for a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms for our Saturday beach trip and last day together. Luckily, in defiance of the ominous icons on all of our weather apps, the sun fought off the clouds mid-morning and we were treated to a gorgeous afternoon.

There was one unavoidable part of our day that could not be remedied by surprise sunshine: before heading to the beach, we bid farewell to our one Italian student, Alessandro. We certainly missed his enthusiasm and frequent, impassioned commentary on the American perversion of Italian cuisine. His absence really sank in when we had one less student on the bus at departure headcount.

After a brief stop in Cape Elizabeth to see the sea fog-swathed Portland Head Light, reportedly the most-photographed lighthouse in America, we arrived at Old Orchard Beach. Most of us set up our towel camp on the sand, while a handful of students checked out the carnival rides. We warmed with some volleyball before braving the waves to cool off; riding the waves was a big hit, and a number of students spent several hours in the ocean. Other than that, we generally kicked back and soaked up some Vitamin D.

We rounded up the students in the late afternoon with the promised thunderstorms casting beautiful colors on the horizon. Returning to campus, the students finished packing and cleaning, and were rewarded with an extra hour of curfew fora final night of mafia, pool, and ping-pong (as well as a generous round of aloe for our few Baltic lobsters who had applied sunscreen less effectively than the rest).