New England Vacation: Part 2

Our fourth day at Acadia started with a trip up Cadillac Mountain (well, truth be told, our day really started with trying to keep small children quiet during campground quiet hours, sipping coffee under the tree canopy, and letting said children run amok once loud hours started). Funny to think that Steve and I hiked to the top of Cadillac in 2008... yea, we drove this time. But, there was fun scrambling at the summit with a wonderful view of the islands, ocean, and maybe Nova Scotia.

The babies were lazy and rode in packs most of the time, but the big kids had loads of fun scrambling ahead of us...

After our hike (so to speak), we decided to try a round of minigolf/putt-putt near Bar Harbor. I think this was to settle a score from Niagara Falls in 2007... but it turned to total chaos. Somehow our four sweet children multiplied to about a dozen, still sweet, children. Grace and Bjorn kept running ahead to other holes, anytime an adult was possibly maybe going to hit a ball into a hole, a five year old stuck their foot in its path or a one year old picked up. Henry and Elsa found all the water obstacles - chucking balls, their baby clubs, or nearly themselves into the water. At one point, I was carrying Henry, the camera, the diaper bag, three clubs, and had four golf balls in my pocket. I think I actually played three holes. We did not keep score.

Nevertheless, it was a GREAT time.

Grace ,who has asked to have her photo taken approximately zero times, eagerly pleaded to have her picture taken with this guy.

He looks like he's grasping the fundamentals...they just happen to be the fundamentals of toddler putt putt, a different game entirely.

After mini golf, we headed back to nature... after possibly comparing ice cream shops in town. We went tide pooling on a spit that connects an island off Bar Harbor with the mainland at low tide. I was reminded of checking out all the mussels and crabs on the rocky beaches of northwest Washington as a kid, and it was weird to realize that Grace really hasn't experienced that before. We did find some tiny fish and crabs. It was a beautiful evening - warm, calm water, beautiful scenery. And, look at me being involved, sciency-mom!

We spent the final evening at camp making s'mores, trying to keep babies out of fire, running around the campground like hooligans, and star-gazing at the abundant stars that peeked through the trees. I cannot imagine what the stars would have looked like if there weren't trees. I remember many an evening as a child looking up at the night sky, seeing so many stars. Now, having lived in major urban areas for most of the last 17 years, I have all but forgotten that one can actually see stars. I digress... the point is: melty marshmallows, beer, friends, woods, stars. 

The morning of our final day, our tent roused early to go back up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. For most of the year, Cadillac Mountain is the first place on the east coast to be touched by sunlight/sunrise. We had to go - to Steve it was the bookend experience to seeing the sunrise over the Hawaiian Islands at Haleakala. This may be blasphemy, but I much preferred the Cadillac Mountain experience - much shorter drive and NOT freezing. I know, who knew, sunrise on Maui = freezing, sunrise in Maine = quite pleasant. I just kept thinking I should go into business with a coffee truck for tourists at the top. Aren't I a purist about these wild wonders? Actually, if there wasn't a road to the top and hordes of people, I would be more of a naturalist about it all, but as it was I accosted some newlyweds to find out where they had gotten their coffee, and their answer of "from the hotel room" was not acceptable. 

So anyway, SUNRISE - it was gorgeous. I was being the supportive wife, staying in the car with the sleeping kiddos while Steve took his photos, but they woke up just in time and we dashed over to see as well. Henry was bewildered and Grace didn't like the wind, but look at this... they will thank us one day. Or not.

On the way back, we finally got a photo of the charming harbor we had drive past several times (I believe it was called Seal Harbor). We did stop for coffee, and I asked the man in the shop a bit about the area. He said that after Labor Day the place is completely empty, many of the locals work as caretakers of vacation properties, and they get so much snow that they have to truck it out. I am guessing it's similar to the Cape and Islands in MA - real poverty in the off season, but essentially invisible to the hordes of tourists during the summer.

I love a beach/harbor in the wee hours.

We tried to get a group shot of the children before saying goodbye. 

This is the best we could do... one of the children, nameless for now, learned just how far down it was from the top of the picnic table.

Oh, it was hard to leave Acadia and say goodbye to the Jensens. Luckily, our children slept for much of the drive to Brunswick, most of it along country roads (again with the juxtaposition of beautiful vacationland and rural poverty - i'm a killjoy aren't I. Do you think the Maine tourism board would hire me?).

Big treat - Rach, Nate, et al. had just moved back to Maine the week before our trip, so we stopped by for a visit with Rachel and the kids en route to Kennebunkport. We missed seeing Nate, but it was so good to catch up with Rachel, see how the girls have grown, and finally meet sweet Sam (who apparently I don't have a handy picture of - too bad because he is CUTE). Too short, but we will be back!

Will post about the final few days soon!