Finally...sun!

Now I understand why people love it here so much in the summer. Perfect weather today after a dicey few weeks. 72 degrees and sunny...so we went on a family ride in Acadia National Park today around Eagle Lake. An easy 6-mile loop around the lake on the park's carriage paths. The kids did a great job with the hills and Diane had Molly in tow on the tag-along. We had a picnic on the lake today and couldn't have asked for a more ideal setting.




Later in the afternoon I took a quick solo ride around the Amphitheater Loop carriage path and caught some great views of the Cranberry Islands. The carriage paths are such a great use of the park lands and gives incredible access to the park that would otherwise not be accessible by most.





It really was a relief to finally get a break in the weather. There is so much to see and do here, but the cold, rain and fog was starting to limit us...Tomorrow looks good too so we are going to try to squeeze some more of the park in before the rain returns and we have to head home later in the week.

4th of July in Bar Harbor

We drove into Bar Harbor for the Fourth of July parade. A small parade but lots of candy for the kids from the parade participants. Afterward, the town put on a picnic and served hamburgers, hot dogs and lobster. The highlight was clearly the lobster races they were holding over 24 individual heats. Had never seen anything quite like it. The weather was pretty good for the day.

Made it into Bar Harbor for fireworks last night. Rain was almost a factor... However, in the picture below, picture if you will, the skies a little darker over the harbor and a dazzling light show and a daring escape just before the rain kicked in. It really was a spectacular setting to see the fireworks over the water and something about 4th of July in New England was special too.

Boston in the rain...

We decided it might be a good idea to ride out the fog and cold and make our way down to Boston on Tuesday via Freeport. Freeport, by the way, was pretty awesome as far as outlets and shopping goes. The L.L. Bean flagship store is there and so are a couple of key other outlets. A little chilly, but a shopping mission accomplished. Made it to Boston and had dinner in the North End (Giacomo's for those interested...excellent) and grabbed pastries at Mike's Pastries. Cannoli's and cookies on the street! Wednesday was chilly and foggy but we ended up taking a Duck Tour which gave us a road tour of Boston and then went straight into the Charles River to complete the tour. A view from the Duck below.



(By the way, a huge shout-out to my friend Mike for ALL the Boston recommendations!) The rain kicked in and we spent most of the day in the Museum of Science. We finally made a run for the hotel (got soaked), but took the opportunity to ride the T. Dinner that night was in Faneuil Hall Marketplace at Durgin-Park. Very good meal. Would have been nice to have better weather, but...

Cold cold cold and foggy (and cold)

Arrival of summer here in Northeast Harbor means foggy and 54 when the rain breaks up that is. Yesterday we were socked in pretty good. Mom and Dad left early in the morning, but unfortunately a combination of weather and a random bird strike delayed their return to Atlanta through Boston. While they were here we got to take a ride on the schooner Margaret Todd. As you can see, if it wasn't 100 feet in front of us, we couldn't have told you we really left port or not. Although the prevailing winds and sub-60 degree temperatures seemed to indicate we were indeed moving.






Believe it or not the first picture is not an actual shot of the Mayflower, but was actually Mom, Dad and Molly Saturday morning on the Margaret Todd. Rain took over yesterday and we packed it in for the day.

Today was a little more promising. We hit Ship Rock in Acadia which was about a 1.5 mile loop out to the harbor near Southwest Harbor and got some spectacular views of the waves and the rocky coastline. Fog had lifted a little but I'd swear the weather was closer to winter in Atlanta than summertime.





...and of course, how can we forget today is Alex's 8th Birthday! We actually devoured the cake Di made for him today.



More to come tomorrow as we hit Freeport and Boston

Sun, sun, Mr Golden Sun, please shine down on me ...

Joan & John arrived yesterday and reminded me that I hadn't posted in a while so here is a quick update:

1. Rain and fog everyday here ...
2. Tuesday we went to the indoor pool. Molly swam to Drew. It was cold ... we also hiked the Compass Harbor trail. A short walk near the town of Bar Harbor.
3. Wednesday we went on what is so far the best hike of our trip. It was the Ship Harbor trail which went from the woods to the coast where the waves were crashing against the rocks. It was foggy but hopefully we will get back there one day when we can appreciate the view. We ate lunch at the Bass Head lighthouse (which we recognized from the lighthouse puzzle we had completed earlier in the week - rain good for something?). Again, we believe there was a view but we are not sure. For dessert we had ice cream in Southwest Harbor.
4. Thursday was another day to hang around the house. We walked through town, went to the library and went to the farmers market. After Joan and John arrived, we went for another walk. We discovered THE BEST toy store with tons of German wooden toys that were amazingly detailed and way too expensive for any kid. We took John out for what promises to be the first of many lobster meals (well he took us out) and introduced them to the bakery for dessert.

No pics as I forgot my camera on the hike - sorry.

Rain Rain Go Away

It's been a rainy few days here on the Island but I have a few activities to report:

Saturday we went to the Oceanarium. Really more like a lobsterarium but still interesting. We saw a lobster hatchery with lots of teeny tiny lobsters swimming around and learned how they are raised and released. There was also a presentation by a real retired lobsterman. They do love lobsters here ...

There was a touch pool where the kids could hold sea animals. Molly volunteered to hold everything. Here is Molly holding a slimy snail and a horseshoe crab!



Drew is holding a sea urchin and Alex is holding the scallop.



On Sunday we went mini-golfing. I won but Alex and Drew came in a close second and third and both got holes-in-one.

Monday is a windy and rainy day. We walked to the library and got books and movies. Finished a puzzle and will stay cozy in our cottage for the rest of the day. I could wish for better weather but it is supposed to get sunnier for when Andy joins us so I can't complain too much.

Boat Ride to Little Cranberry

We went on a small boat to Little Cranberry Island. But this is my question: why do they call it Little Cranberry Island? It seemed big to me. There were some blankets on the boat. We saw an osprey nest, we saw at least 10 seals and a baby seal in the water. The seals jumped. We started out in Northeast Harbor and when we went on the boat we sailed away across the water to little Cranberry Island. We saw a museum there with a boat in it and stuff people used in the olden days on Cranberry. Awesome fact from Alex: Osprey and falcons have such good eyesight they can see a fish from far off the ground. We also saw lobster traps and Molly picked buttercups. - Alex and Molly

Biking on the Carriage Trails - June 17

We went to a trail that went around a lake. It was a six mile trail. It happened to have one big uphill and one huge downhill. We had lunch and me, my mom and granddad went on another bike ride that was supposed to be three miles but was actually five miles. Then we went home because we were very tired. - Drew

The uphill was about 350 feet. I just went on the six mile ride. We had lunch sitting on a rock. I went on a walk with grandma and molly and we saw tadpoles and two black dogs with curly hair. - Alex

It was a good day outside. I liked having a beautiful fast bike ride. I had fun riding the tag-a-long with my mama. - Molly

Skipping Stones

Forgot to post yesterday ... it was a busy evening as my Mom and Step-dad arrived from Pennsylvania to stay with us for the week. It is much appreciated as I always seem more patient with the kids when there are more adults around.


During the day Monday the kids and I explored Southeast Harbor. About 2 miles away as the crow flies but a long U shaped 12 mile drive from here. We checked out the local bike shop, had a picnic on the water and ice cream in town. I had blueberry - yum. The boys spent most of an hour trying to skip stones and open mussel shells ... see the stone skipping in the picture?


Today we went into Bar Harbor and walked on a path to Bar Island. The path is submerged by the sea except for 2-4 hours around low tide. Hopefully, we will be back that way later when it is underwater so that we can see where we were - looked pretty open to me today. Skipping stones part two commenced on the shore of the island.

We also stopped in the whale museum and saw some gigantic whale skeletons. Jonah definitely would have fit in one! And of course ice cream part two ...

Where are they now?

Today was our first full day in Maine. We are staying in a little community called Northeast Harbor which is near Bar Harbor in the "down east" part of Maine. We arrived last night after a 13 hour car ride from Pennsylvania and had our first taste of Maine seafood. Yummy. The waiter also treated the kids to a lesson about lobster. Waiter holding the live lobster: “If this claw got your finger it would hurt and he wouldn’t let go …” Lobster: (waves menacingly)

We sadly dropped Andy off at the airport to return home to work (poor guy) and went on an epic trip to the grocery store armed with a three page grocery list. Alex commented that he thought we had enough food for a year but I bet we are back at the store within the week!

This afternoon, we went over to Bar Harbor and explored some shops. It was raining but not too hard so the kids just put their hoods up and we shopped away in the many souvenir/T-shirt shops. Me: “these are cute pajama pants …” Kids: “Look it’s a lobster and its getting your finger and it will not let go!”