Homeward Bound

Day 14

We survived our night at the Bates Motel...barely.  It was fine, just a late night.  I went for a run this morning (my first the whole trip...my legs have been soooooo restless) and discovered that the town we were in, Lee, is really jus beautiful.  Tons of great Victorian homes with big porches, mountains in the distance, hills everywhere.  Very picturesque.  

Anyway, not a lot of energy to write but just a quick note to say we drove on to Cleveland today instead of stopping after only a few hours of driving today.  We hit some bad traffic in the end due to a lane closure, but other than that, it was not too bad.  Just a long day...left at 8am and got to Marj and Carolyn's at 6:30.  They kids had a great time, then, playing with really cool bubble gizmos they got and also got a great meal and ice cream cake for dessert.  

Thanks to Marj and Carolyn for putting us up not one but two days early.  We kept changing out plans!  But we are all glad to be LaGrange bound tomorrow.  Woohoo!

Great trip, but we are ready to be back in our own beds...

Done

Day 13

After a very nice day of driving, our trip took a turn for the worse around 4:30.  At 8:30, nearly 12 hours after we left MDI, we stopped for the night.  We are in a disgusting roadside motel that smells like funeral home and stinky feet.  We are in the Berkshires, too, which means we are paying way more than we should to stay in a complete dump.  Everything I wanted to avoid by planning ahead and booking in advance went out the window when it was decided that we would roll the dice and find a place on the road since we made it to our planned destination  of Worcester by 3:30.  Unfortunately, the next large town of Springfield, Ma had all kinds of sports tournaments nearby and every single hotel in a 20 mile radius was booked. Every. Single. One. I would know because I called them all. And we drove around the area for two hours.

After dinner at Panera, we got back on I90 and drove to the first town with lodging options.  Will pulled into the first place with a vacancy sign.  Morning cannot come soon enough.

Haiku of the day:

Pleasant day turned yuck
You suck Springfield, Mass. You suck
Sunshine Inn? No thanks.

Last Day

Day 12
Last day! Definitely bittersweet, as we had an awesome time here. We will leave a piece of us in Maine.
Ethan and I went for a mommy son hike this morning. We went to Flying Mountain, which was a short hike to the summit, maybe 20 minutes, but probably one of the best views from the top. It was all water looking down in three directions, and with the sun shining, the water was glittering. It was absolutely gorgeous. Loved it.

We came home and got ready to go to Sand Beach, which was where would spent the afternoon. It was pretty crowded, but we tried the lot even though the sign said it was full. As has been the case this whole trip, we completely lucked out with parking and got a spot. This meant we did not have to park up on the road and walk all of our beach stuff like all the other schmucks.

It was almost 90 today, and the sun was hot! The water was still pretty cold, but it sure did feel good. We spent most of the afternoon there, playing in the sand and water, taking pictures for Asian tourists, and protecting our sandwiches from seagulls. Will had three quarters of his sandwich stolen by a gull. Swooped right down and grabbed it. I didn't see it, but another woman did. Pretty entertaining. The kids would have stayed all day, but, alas, we had to go.

We came home for much needed showers and then our last dinner out. I forced Ethan in to his one nicer outfit and we walked down our driveway and into downtown Southwest Harbor for dinner. We ended up at the Drydock Inn and restaurant, our only sit down place. I got a lobster roll, which was tasty, and Will got a crusted haddock. The kids got kids meals. We walked home and made a quick fire for our s'more dessert. Then it was bedtime so we could pack. We got our clothes mostly set, so tomorrow shouldn't be too bad.

Farewell, Acadia National Park.  We hope to return to you someday!

Haiku of the day:
Early morning hike
A day at the beach-our last
Farewell MDI

Happy Birthday America!

Day 11

Will, always the comedian, is roasting broccoli here.  

Happy 4th of July!  Another great day, another night by the fire...this time with the kids.  This morning, when Ethan got up, Will took him for a hike.  They went up Acadia Mountain, which he said was a similar hike to Beech.  Since they didn't have Eleanor with them, they felt like it was okay to do.  I'm glad they took the camera to capture some views. Looked awesome!

Once night owl Eleanor was up and the boys were home, we went in search of Wonderland trail, a flat, easy hike to the coast.  Once on the ocean, we walked all over the rocky sea all, exploring the tide pools.  Mostly, we saw hundreds of snails.  They are fun to watch as they inch along the rocks slowly.  We were hoping to see a sea star or urchin but no such luck. Then, when we were getting ready to leave, a family showed us some small crabs, so Ethan loved that.  While Will headed back to the car with Eleanor, I chatted with this family for a bit.  The one guy was from Southwest Harbor but his wife had only been there four years.  Her parents were visiting from Ohio and had done a similar road trip to get there, so we talked for a while.  They were very nice.  Ethan, who seems to have a bit of a new attitude at six, was getting a bit whine-y on the way back to the car, and then he tripped and fell, making things worse, so we came home for lunch and a rest.  

The kids ended up watching Shrek on tv.  They've been listening to the book on tape on this trip so they were excited, though our book is much different from the movie.  When it was over, we got our suits on and took off for Echo Lake Beach.  Being the fourth, it was pretty busy, but not bad.  And, since it was close to 90 degrees today and sunny, the water felt great.  We stayed for a couple of hours, soaking in the sun.  Highlights include Ethan trying to catch a frog near the shaded shore and Eleanor going underwater on purpose and being so very proud of herself.

Funny/horrifying side story...while we were waiting to rinse off our feet in these little showers, we noticed Eleanor, who was just in her bathing suit, spread her legs wide and start to pee.  Just right there with her suit on in front of a ton of people.  We noticed right away, as did several others, most of whom seemed amused and not completely horrified like we were.  I whisked her off to the bathroom right away. Hopefully, her little incident isn't on YouTube.  

Returning home for showers and burgers, the kids were quick to remind us that s'mores were promised.  Doug had left a nice little pagoda of kindling in our fire pit, likely after watching me struggle to get and keep a fire going last night.  The kindling sure made easy work of it tonight and we had a good fire going quickly.  Ethan roasted his own mallows, while Eleanor was perfectly content to have us do hers or simply eat the marshmallows plain.  Both kids went to bed with bellies full of s'mores.  

We opted not to go into Bar Harbor for the fireworks because we knew it would be a madhouse and they didn't start until 9.   It can take us 45 minutes to get there, so we just assume get the kids down and enjoy our evening.  After a day of hiking, sun, and water, the last thing we wanted was to navigate the crowds in Bar Harbor. A local business in Southwest Harbor plans to have fireworks, so maybe we will be able to see those with our view of the harbor.

We are sad that tomorrow is our last day.  It has been a pretty awesome vacation. But, as is usually the case, we are ready to get home to our own beds and normal routine.  Tomorrow will bring at least one more hike, a trip to Sand Beach, and one more night out to eat.  Stay tuned.

Haiku of the day:

Tide pool fun with snails

More beach time fun for us all

July 4th s'mores-yum!

Addendum...there are literally fireworks happening between the pine trees in our back yard, over the water. It could not be a more perfect view.

Sunny Skies

Day 10

I'm typing this by a fire I built in the pit in the backyard.  Finally, the wood dried out enough.  I started it after the kids went to bed because by the time we got home from dinner, it was too late to start the whole fire/s'mores thing.  We are eating in tomorrow night for the fourth, though, so we will definitely do s'mores with the kids for dessert.  Will only lasted about five minutes out here before heading inside to watch tv, but I've been enjoying the fire outside on a beautiful night.

Beautiful night followed by a beautiful day...finally!  We've seen some amazing things all week, but today was extra special with blue skies.  This truly is such a beautiful part of the country.  Eleanor slept in this morning, so Will took Ethan out to fish at long last.  They did not catch a thing, of course, but at least he got to try.  A fisherman coming in gave them some herring and said to try that as bait instead of the lures.  They may try again tomorrow.

Eleanor and I spent the first part of the morning cleaning up, having breakfast, and packing up a lunch for the rest of our day.  Actually, she spent it in her pajamas watching the Disney channel while I did those other things.  When Will and Ethan got back, about 10:30, we hit the road, and drove to the other side of the island to the Park Loop Road so we could drive up to the summit of Mt. Cadillac.  The views were pretty awesome, with Bar Harbor down below, and we stopped a couple of times on the way up for pictures.  Mt. Cadillac is the highest peak on the eastern seaboard, apparently, which made us think this drive would've similar to that of Pikes Peak.  Not so much.  It was really only 15 to 20 minutes, which was okay by us.  We hiked around at the top for a bit before driving down to find a place for a picnic.  We ended up at site with tables and we ate our sandwiches (side note...pretty sure I am listening to some coyote howl right now...don't worry, they don't sound close) and then Ethan and I did a short hike around the picnic site.  

From there, we hit the Park Loop Road again and drove a little ways to Sand Beach.  This is the only sand beach along the ocean here, and one of two public beaches.  The other, Echo Lake, is near our cottage, and we were there our first full day.  That one is obviously freshwater.  Sand beach is salt water, has waves, and is supposedly very cold.  It was cold, no doubt, but it really didn't feel any worse than Lake Michigan.  All the guidebooks make it seem like it was such an accomplishment to swim in it, but there were plenty of brave souls today.  Will and I didn't put our suits on, but the kids did and had an absolute blast.  Ethan got right to work building a city, and Eleanor ran back and forth from the waves and back.  She was undeterred by the frigid water.  Ethan, right before we left, discovered the water as well.  The cold was enough to keep them from going in too far, which was fine by us because we had no desire to venture after them.  And we loved sitting there watching them with the jagged cliffs and rocks off to either side.  We stayed for at least an hour and a half before deciding it was time to go.  

On the way out, we saw a helicopter hovering near the mountain, and we used binoculars to see rescuers on the cliffs.  It would seem someone fell or had some kind of  accident.  This was on a section that could only be climbed with ropes and equipment.  Scary.  We moved on, sending good thoughts to the hiker(s), and stopped at our last stop of the day, Thunder Hole.  This is a spot where, at high tide, the water rushes in to this alcove type thing and produces huge waves and a thunderous sound.  Unfortunately, you need to be there at the right time, but we were not.  Oh well.  We snapped some pics and moved on.  

After missing another turn (it can get confusing...), we took a bit longer than expected to get back to our side of the island.  The kids really needed a shower, but we decided to go right to dinner and the shower before bed since we were not going anywhere fancy.  We went to yet another lobster pound, this time Beal's, owned by our cottage owners family.  I intended to get a lobster roll, but Eleanor announced she wanted to eat lobster with me, so she picked one out for us to share.  Ethan got a hot dog and Will a haddock burger, which he enjoyed.  The lobster we got was okay.  I felt much more confident with this one.  But, sadly, Eleanor took a big bite of the tail, chewed for a while, and the decided she didn't like it so spit it out. I was enjoying mine until a got a bit of the yucky liver stuff that's in the body.  I told Will it tasted like taking a bite out of the ocean, but not in a good way.  Just like salt water fishiness.  And that taste didn't leave my mouth.  Bottom line, I wished mid gotten the lobster roll.  

We came home to showers and bed, and now you're all caught up.  

Haiku of the day:

Sunny skies at last

Cadillac, Sand Beach, and more

Fire to end the day

Beech Mountain Hike

Day 9

We slept to the sound of drizzle last night and woke up to some rain, too.  I decided it was a great day to make a big breakfast, so we ate pancakes and bacon.  Will had gotten some yummy strawberry syrup yesterday, so we used that.  The rain let up eventually and we decided to find another hike on our side of the island. 

 We went to Long Pond and saw a few trailheads there.  A group was heading down a steep section and pointed us in the direction of what they described as a much more kid friendly hike.  Well, the hike started off fine, as it wound around the lake a bit.  Lots of natural bridges over little creeks running down the mountain.  Very pretty.  The trail started to get a little more steep, which Ethan was loving because he's been dying to climb an actual mountain.  I turns out that is just what we did.  We climbed just about to the top of Beech Mountain.  Let me tell you, there were several times we almost turned around, as we realized it was not an appropriate hike for small children-at all. We felt pretty irresponsible.  It wasn't super dangerous, but as we got higher and higher, we knew coming down was going to be scary.  But the kids were doing well and were so excited, so we pressed on.  

What made us nervous were several sections of rocky, uneven stairs, and-even scarier-many large,flat stone sections with slippery rocks. Going up was easy enough but going down was going to be tricky.  Alas, we trekked on, literally into the clouds. We got .1 miles from the summit but decided that was close enough. We'd already had some amazing views, and with the clouds we knew we wouldn't see much from the top.  Thankfully, we had brought the backpack for Eleanor, which I used part of the time on the way up.  Will put her in it for the way down.  He went first, followed by me and Ethan.  I had to hold Ethan's hand for a good portion of the way down.  There were no sheer drop-offs or anything, but we knew if he lost his footing and tumbled down, we'd be visiting the MDI emergency room.  Thankfully, we all made it out scrape free and with the bragging rights that we climbed a mountain!  Can't wait to share some pictures.  It was a pretty crazy at one point to see our tiny car in the parking lot from way up high.  Ethan claims he wants to come back to Maine sometime and climb even more mountains.  His favorite thing is to be the leader and find the best route.  Quite sure not many 3 and 6 year olds have done that hike...and probably shouldn't. ;)

The hike took us about 2 hours, and it was way beyond lunch time when we got done, so we went home for sandwiches and some relaxation time.  We hung out around the cottage for most of the afternoon.  Will picked up some lures at the town hardware store for Ethan's fishing pole.  He's dying to fish, and Will found out we don't need a permit to fish in the ocean on a public pier and that people fish for mackerel.  They fish with a specific lure and no bait.  Will You tubed how to fish for mackerel last night.  We thought we might try tonight but the tide was too low after dinner.  

Dinner, by the way, was at Thurston's Lobster Pound, an iconic place on the island.  I was a little nervous but I went for it and ordered my lobster (they pick it up live and weigh it right there) and hoped I could figure out how to eat it.  In the cottage, there are trays that list directions on how to eat a lobster, and I'd studied it a bit before we left.  :) But when it actually came, I was a bit at a loss.  Thankfully, the people there were very nice, and a young girl came by to help when I asked.  Her boyfriend and father are both lobster men, and she answered a lot of questions we had and made us feel right at home.  And she helped me get the most out of it.  And it was really good!  I'm not a lobster aficionado, but I know that this lobster is uber-fresh, caught that morning, and the meat has a delightful sweetness.  I'm the only one who got lobster.  Eleanor said she wanted to share mine but once she saw the live one she changed her mind.  She was interested in the claw crackers, though, so maybe she will try next time.  She ate my corn on the cob and potato chips for dinner.  Will had a burger (likely from an IL or WI cow),  and Ethan got pb and j.  I'm trying!

Now, with a belly full of fresh Maine lobster, it's time to relax!

Haiku of the day:

Rain means big breakfast

Beech Mountain-climbed to the top

My first whole lobster

Lobstah...

Day 8

Long day of adventuring over here.  Will started off with a run, which is adventure enough around here.  The hill that is essentially our driveway is quite steep.  When he was home, I walked into the small downtown here and did a little shopping.  I bought a scarf at a boutique.  It was a bargain at $12, the cheapest thing in the store by about $50!

We left the house in search of the Acadia National Park visitor center.  We accidentally took the longer, scenic route.  The park is surrounded by a large park loop drive, but part of it is one way, and since we missed a turn, we ended up I driving through touristy Bar Harbor.  We made it to the visitors enter eventually, where we watched a short film about Acadia and talked to someone about the junior ranger program for Ethan.  

Since it was close to lunch time, and it was on my list of definite stops for the week, we drove to the Jordan Pond House, the only restaurant located in national park territory.  It is famous for its popovers, and you can either just get tea and popovers (served with butter and strawberry jam) or a full lunch.  We waited about twenty minutes and ate outside at a rustic wood table with an umbrella.  We had an awesome view of Jordan Pond and the surrounding mountains.  Best al fresco dining view I've ever had.  

Eleanor got the soup de jour, which was a sausage vegetable soup, Ethan got the grilled cheese, Will got a cranberry walnut chicken salad, and I got the lobster stew.  My meal came with two popovers, and the others' just one.  Ha ha.  They are quite stingy with the popovers...there's no unlimited bread basket kind of thing there.  And it is easy to see why.  They are freaking delicious.  Yummy!  And my lobster stew...basically lobster pieces floating in a butter and sherry broth, was delicious, too.  

After lunch, we hit the tourist shop (Will bought a hat and shirt) then we walked down by the pond.  Ethan and I watched a frog hop over a tourist's foot and jump right into the pond, which was fun.  Then, we took a short walk down a little carriage road.  Within the park are miles of carriage roads, which are only accessible to hikers, bikers, and carriages.  Rockefeller had them made in response to more and more automobiles on the island.  He wanted the park to be auto free, but when he realized that was not going to happen, he had all thee carriage roads built.  All along the carriage trails are beautiful stone bridges as well as very pretty carriage houses, meant to blend nicely with the surroundings.  

Well, we saw a little foot bridge off one of the carriage roads that led to a trail. We thought we'd take a look and go a bit down the trail, but we ended up hiking the whole thing, which was over a mile each way.  Once again, we did not have the backpack for Eleanor, who ended up being held.  This trail was worth it, as it was completely magical.  On either side, the ground was covered in bright green moss, and it really gave it an otherworldly feel.  I told Will I felt like I was in some kind of J.R. Tolkien enchanted forest or something.  It really was so cool.  And the trail went up a really steep hill, or mountain I suppose, so we had quite a few stairs to climb.  The only bad thing was that the Mosquitos started to get bad and we were without our spray.  Again, I think it was worth it. 

We eventually made it back to the car and decided to head into Bar Harbor once more and look in the shops.  It is all the same touristy stuff, but fun to look at nonetheless.  We ended up buying a wooden lobster after Ethan dropped it, breaking one of the claws off.  We were thinking of getting it anyway, and we plan to glue it, paint it red (all the wood in the shop was unfinished),  and use it as an ornament momento of our trip.  But we left the store quickly before Ethan or Eleanor dropped a much pricier piece of wood.  

The weather cooled down quite a bit by the  water, and we left around 5:30,  deciding to do dinner at home since we ate out at lunch. The kids had hot dogs and Will and I are having grilled chicken, sweet potatoes, and asparagus on the grill. It's cooking now.  

One random thing of note is that Eleanor locked herself in her bedroom after dinner.  There is a childproof door knob cover on her knob, and she must have locked it then shut the door.  We tried telling her what to do to get the door open, but she couldn't do it.  Will went around the house to a window to help, but he said she was more interested in reading books.  At least she wasn't panicking.  Will eventually had to run over to Doug's to get the key to open it up from our side.  Thank goodness he's our neighbor and was home.  He also told us where he keeps the key in our cottage for future reference.  :)

Haiku of the day:

Dreams of popovers

Lobster at last for Michelle

Running tomorrow

View from our backyard

We have some sun poking through...this is the view from our backyard.  The house you see is Doug's.