The short story is when I started this blog in October 2011, I had just left my job as a genetic counselor in Western Massachusetts, and was transitioning back my home in Pittsburgh. I had been working in genetics since graduating college in 2006, and after five years was still not finding the fulfillment I always thought it would bring. I started CookingScraps as a way to explore cooking, writing, and to keep in touch with family and friends.
In the years since I’ve led backpacking and bicycling trips for teenagers. I’ve worked in New Hampshire as a naturalist for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in their High Mountain Hut system. From there took a cook position in the AMC’s Maine Wildernes
s Lodges for a winter and spring. Along the way I met Garrett, another AMC employee, and we quickly fell in love. We moved to Harpswell, Maine when I because the chef manager of The SchoolHouse Cafe there. We worked there for nearly 3 years, before getting married and leaving to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016.
This blog has progressed more into a travelogue of all of our adventures, and now we’re documenting our current Continental Divide Trail thru-hike. And that’s still just a scrap of it all. If you’re interested in the longer version, you can check-it out here. Happy hiking! -Amy
CookingScraps 
I stumbled upon this while trying to find out what happened to the familiar faces and amazing food my partner Lindsay and I had always looked forward to at the Schoolhouse Cafe. While restoring an old house a few miles down the peninsula, your place became our dining room and workspace since we had no kitchen, no working bathroom, no lights, and desperately needed internet to keep up appearances of “working remotely.” When a few contractors didn’t deliver on their promises last summer we spent many nights in a tent in the backyard. Your breakfast sandwich on a biscuit, blueberry muffins and strong coffee kept us going. Often one of us, or both, would head back for lunch. And if we forgot to buy something we needed in town — normally cause for some colorful language — knowing it opened up the possibility of a cookie from your place made it a little easier to take.
Garrett always offered a warm welcome even if my hair was sticking up, I was covered in drywall dust and was wearing the same clothes as the day before. Now I realize he probably saw worse up at the AMC huts. We made our first new friends at the Schoolhouse. One day a father and his daughter invited us over to swim at their place on Bailey Island. Another day a few guys rolled up on vintage motorcycles and we struck up a conversation. One of them sent me a message yesterday saying he’d made a special trip up to the Schoolhouse Cafe the weekend before but found things were different. I said I’d discovered the same thing in April. We discussed it like we had a mutual friend who died too young. The Schoolhouse Cafe, the way you ran it, was one of the things we (and so many others we have heard from) loved about Harpswell. It was clear that care was put into what you made and we appreciated it. While we are sad to not see you there, we’re happy to hear about your plans — congratulations! I know we aren’t alone when we say we hope you come back and start another venture in Harpswell. Because you certainly are missed.
We are glad we were able to make a difference for you two, and create a comfortable space- as that is what we set out to do. Thanks for the message, and hope you enjoy the upcoming summer. We’ll pop-up again somewhere, I’m sure!