Leaving Gorham at 9:30. Great hotel with pretty views, and a good value, too! Will got to sleep in a regular bed, and Ethan got to flop around all he wanted.
Within 15 minutes, we are in Maine! The top of New Hampshire is pretty small across. :). This part of the drive was probably our most unpleasant, at least for me. It was rough road, and extremely curvy, and this mommy was getting bit green. It didn't help that Eleanor wanted me to read her a few stories. Ugh. The kids seemed fine, though, and I was fine once we got to the major highway.
And might I take a second to brag about how awesome the kids did with all our driving? Each day, which start to finish was always at least 6-8 hours, they only watched an hour of cartoons, and the typically didn't even start watching until the last part of our trip, with a couple of hours to go. They might ask early on, but we always said no and they didn't really pursue it. They kept busy with drawing, tanagrams (thanks, mom!), books on CD, playing with superhero figures, and just pretending and talking. They had their moments, but, overall, it was definitely Will and I that were more travel weary. Granted, they were total animals in the hotels and so hyper, but that's to be expected with so much time cooped up, I suppose.
Anyway, so we finally got to the major highway that would take us to Bangor. We stopped for sandwiches at a travel stop and then drove through Bangor and on to Ellsworth, right before the island. The drive itself took longer than expected given what we were told, or maybe we were just so anxious. In Ellsworth, we hit a grocery store to load up on things for the week and then drove on to the island. We found our place easily and were immediately impressed.
The man we are renting from, Doug Beal, is fifth generation on the island. His grandfather started Beals lobster pound, which is one of two major lobster pounds on the island and featured in guidebooks. His brother is a fisherman. He mentioned if I want any lobster to cook here, if I give him a hours notice, he will get me some for 5 dollars a pound. I've never cooked my own lobster and have only really had a whole one once, but he told me exactly how to do it. We will see. Not sure Will will eat one, and the kids might be traumatized if the watch me kill our meal! Anyway, Doug and his wife Vicki live in a house about 30 yards away (it's beautiful) and there's another cottage like ours just a stone's throw from ours. I will post a link to the pictures of the cabin. Doug build his own house, these two cottages, and another house (now his neighbor). Clearly, he's handy.
The grounds are very pretty, and we have an outdoor fireplace with adirondack chairs, a picnic table, and a grill in the back with views of the bay. Foggy today, but still pretty. Will and I will sleep in the loft, which faces four large windows that face the water, too. The cabin is new and all wood. Very tasteful and comfortable. And, I have to laugh because I brought my own knives, thinking there would just be crappy old ones here. Well, he has the same knives as I do, as well as really nice stainless pots and pans, and all kinds of other nice kitchen things. I am pleasantly surprised!
The kids have claimed a cave-like half closet in the loft as their bat cave. It blends right into the wood but there's a small knob to open it. They think its the coolest and have pushed all my clothes to one side, meaning I will have to crawl in to get them. But at least they are entertained. Oh,and we already had two deer sightings in the yard. The second time it was a mom and a fawn. So cute! Nabbed a picture before they went off to eat Vicki's garden.
The one negative we have so far is that we've noticed some large ants. I've killed several and Will has saved a few. They are carpenter ants and some are pretty big! We will talk to Doug about it tomorrow, and he will hopefully have some answers. We expect bugs and moths and such where we are at, but these ants are not cool.
Right now, we are enjoying some peace and quiet in the living room, watching cable, and loving the fact that we can watch tv or read after the kids are asleep because we have our own space. Hooray! No sure what our plans are for tomorrow. Probably do at least part of the park loop, some short hikes (Doug gave us the names of some easy ones for the kids), and check out the beach at Echo Lake near our place.
Here's the link to where we are staying:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3498716
Haiku:
Twenty hour drive
We rocked this road trip to Maine
So glad to arrive
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