Day 9 - Carriage Roads and Bubble Rock

Another gorgeous day in Acadia, so today we took on the carriage roads.  There are miles and miles of roads to take,
but since we were fairly out of shape inexperienced bike riders, we picked one that was mostly flat and not too long - Witch's Pond Carriage Road.

It was a fun ride, the paths were wide and easy to ride.  It wasn't completely flat, so you could feel the burn on the inclines.  The kids hung in there pretty well, especially our youngest rider, mostly due to the promise of popovers and lemonade when we finished.

We stopped at the Jordan Pond House for a traditional Acadia snack after our ride.  The Jordan Pond House is a beautiful place to have lunch or a traditional afternoon tea.  We didn't get to sit out on the lawn, but we did get our popovers with strawberry jam and blueberry lemonade.  The lemonade was brought over to us without sweetener and then we each got a small pot of simple syrup to sweeten it as much as liked. Most of us used all that they gave us.  A few more added additional sugar.  It was pretty tart, but very good.

After lunch, Marc took some of the kids hiking to Bubble Rock and to revisit Cadillac Mountain.  Bubble Rock is a large rock that was moved by a glacier and dropped in place when it finally melted enough to not move it any farther.  It looks like you could just push it off the edge of the cliff.

We spent our last evening sitting by the campfire next to the ocean. We were lucky that no one camped across the street from us so we could use the space to hang out.  It was a pretty view of the island and a nice place to relax.

Wish we didn't have to leave.  I think we all wished we could stay a little longer.

Day 8 - Tackling the Beehive and Sea Kayaking

The weather finally cooperated and we had a beautiful day ahead of us - upper 70's and sunny. A perfect day to do some hiking and warm enough for some water fun!

We started the day with a hike on the Beehive Trail, which is a trail straight up the side of a small mountain.  The hike was tough, climbing over rocks, up rebar rungs that were placed to make the hike easier and over a small iron bridge that connected one ledge to another.  It was one of those hikes that makes you feel like you can tackle anything.  We all loved it.  It was amazing, wish we had time to do it again, but there was just too much to do and get to and not enough time on our schedule.

Hiking up the Beehive Trail

After lunch, we did a little shopping in Bar Harbor.  Bar Harbor has tons of stores and lots of places to eat, including plenty of ice cream shops!  Of course, we needed some ice cream to help keep us going for our 2.5 hour sea kayaking trip that was coming up pretty quick.

We closed out our day with a sea kayaking trip.  Sea kayaking was one thing we looked forward to long before we left on our trip and this was the place to do that.  We managed to find a company that allowed all our kids to participate.  Most groups want one adult per kid under the age of 16, so we were concerned we wouldn't be able to go.

The day was warm, but not too hot and the water was like a sheet of glass, perfectly smooth.  We couldn't have asked for a better day.  So all 10 of us suited up, paid close attention to our instructor as he explained the how-to's of kayaking and we were off!

The views were beautiful.  We paddled around Bar Island just across from Bar Harbor and around the Porcupine Islands in Frenchman's Bay.  We saw a bald eagle perched on a pine tree and even caught a glimpse of a harbor seal playing in the water behind us.  It was an awesome trip.

Lobster dinner  to go!

We ended our day kind of late, so we needed to get dinner out.  I was hoping to get a traditional lobster dinner, but knew the kids wouldn't care for it.  So we picked up pizza for the kids and did take out lobster for the adults.  There's a Lobster Pound on just about every corner, so we thought we'd give it a try.  Fortunately for us, it was a good choice!  And since it was a beautiful night, we lit a fire across the street in an empty campsite that was on the water and ate our dinner there.  Pretty much the perfect ending to a perfect day.

I think I could just stay here all summer!

Beehive Trail warning sign

The Beehive Trail from below

Day 7 - Oceanarium and Bass Harbor Lighthouse

As we planned out our week, we knew today was going to be our wettest day.  The rain started the night before and was coming down pretty heavy through the early morning hours.  We planned to be up and going around 9 am, but it was hard to get motivated. Finally, it started to let up, so we headed out to the Oceanarium and Lobster Hatchery.  As we pulled in, we were a bit skeptical on what we would do here as the place looked like a small house with a couple other little buildings on the property.  Nothing special and quite honestly a little run down. But this place was hopping, people were showing up here looking for something to do indoors, so it was crowded.

I have to say we were pleasantly surprised.  They had a touch tank with several sea creatures (sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sea stars, horseshoe crabs and moon snails).  We also had a talk on lobsters and the laws that help protect them.  Apparently, Maine Lobsters are the only species of lobsters that have claws!  We also saw the lobster hatchery and learned about how they develop.  Lobsters can produce 3,000 - 6,000 eggs, but only 1% of them actually survive.

After lunch (and the USA vs. Germany soccer game), we tried to do a tour and tasting at the Atlantic Brewing Company, but again, because it was raining, the place was packed.  We had to either wait over an hour to get a tour or do something else.  So we decided to head back to the park Welcome Center to check out the Acadia video and pick up a few souvenirs.  Then we drove down to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse.  This lighthouse is still used by the Coast Guard and a family still occupies the house.  I can't imagine having random people walking all around my house all day, but that is exactly what these people experience in the summer.  We took a short trail down by the water and got a classic Acadia snapshot of the lighthouse.  Definitely worth the 30 minute drive to the southern end of the island.  Fortunately the weather wasn't too bad today and we were able to enjoy the awesome view.

The next day was supposed to be sunny and a perfect 77 degrees.  Looking forward to a fun day of hiking and kayaking and staying dry!

View of Bass Harbor Lighthouse from the rocks below it.

Day 6 - Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor

Traditional park entrance picture with the kids!

The weather was not looking good for us today and tomorrow, lots of rain in the forecast. Since  today didn't look to be too much of a washout, we loaded up the cars and headed into the park. First stop, the Visitor Center to get our pass and some maps.  We weren't exactly sure what we wanted to do, but we knew it couldn't be a long hike since it could rain at any moment.  We decided to head to Cadillac Mountain (the highest point in the park).

View of Bar a Harbor from Cadillac Mountain

The views were amazing and the kids had a blast hiking off trail as far as they could see.  They all thought it was awesome, comparing it to the Badlands a few years ago. They loved that they could go just about anywhere they wanted to.  It was a tough call as to which was better, Badlands or Acadia.  We did get rained on, but just sprinkles here and there.  Then as we were about to leave it rained a bit harder, but still not a day ending rain.  The kids never complained, in fact, I think they were bummed that we were leaving.  They all asked if we come back to do more hiking, so it was clearly a good start for our tour of Acadia.  My guess is they will all sleep well tonight!

Our next stop was lunch in Bar Harbor.  We found a small place called Finback Alehouse that looked to have some great food.  So we enjoyed some seafood for lunch (lobster roll, clam chowder and a crab cake burger), and the kids had some great looking burgers. We were stuffed!  Once we were done, the rain seemed to stop, for a bit!

Next stop was a trip to Bar Island, which is only accessible by foot during the low tide. We had about a 3 hour window to get over there and back.  It was a nice hike, it was still sprinkling here and there, but under the trees, you didn't notice.  We got a nice view of Bar Harbor from here. With binoculars, you could even see the people at the top of Cadillac Mountain (admittedly, our binoculars aren't that great!).

By now we were getting tired and since the rain was still coming and not giving up, we went back to our trailers.  I took a short nap, the guys were working on getting cable set up. Tomorrow is going to be a soaker (and the USA v Germany game will be on), so we wanted to make sure we had something ready to pass the time.  I just hope the weather doesn't get too ugly.

Marc - the mountain man!

Driving through the park reminded me a little bit of Yellowstone, just without the snow.

Day 4 and 5 - New York to Maine or bust!

Crossing Rainbow Bridge

We spent the next two days driving from Niagara Falls to Maine.  While both days had a lot of driving, they were quite a bit different in scenic views and our need to get to our destination on time.

For our first day, we left early - 6:40 am.  Now I'm not a morning person, but we needed to be at the Ben & Jerry's Factory by 5 pm and that was all it took to motivate me get up and moving!  Since pulling a trailer adds quite a bit of time on the drive, we knew we had to be on the road as soon as possible.  We managed to get out a bit earlier than planned, so we were off to a good start. Only a minor hang up at the border, but nothing that would keep us from getting on our way!

The Hans Family in front of us!

Driving through upstate New York was pretty uneventful, mostly highway, traffic was good. I noticed some signs for "text stops" that seemed kind of ingenious.  Nice way to help out those drivers who just can't wait!

But even though the traffic was good and the views were nice, the drive was long and the minutes kept ticking away. It seemed like every time I checked the GPS we had 4 hours to reach B&J's, our destination arrival time kept pushing later and later.  I was hoping we wouldn't have to have a Clark Griswold moment with the Ben and Jerry's people as it was almost looking like we weren't going to make it. But we managed to get there 15 minutes before the last tour.  It was a nice reward for a long day in the car.

The Family enjoying some awesome ice cream!

The tour itself was ok, I knew most of the story and seeing the factory where the ice cream was made was fun, but what I wanted was ice cream.  So after the tour, we each picked out a flavor and had them make us a hand packed pint to go. So glad we made room in the freezer! I picked up Gilly's Catastrophic Crunch (an SNL flavor). We also got Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz, Hazed and Confused, Berry Berry Extraordinary, Pfish Food, and Coconut Seven Layer Bar.  Anne also bought Lemon Sorbet which was really good for not having any chocolate in it!

After our fun ice cream adventure, we headed to our campsite and set up for the night. It was a great night to sit out by the fire and relax after a somewhat stressful drive.

Somewhere in Vermont

Today was our day to finally get to Maine, and we had to decide whether we wanted highway driving or scenic back roads driving. The highway route took the same amount of time, but was 100 miles longer, so we opted for the scenic route. So glad we did. It took us through towns and countryside that we would have never seen on a highway. Small New England towns established in the 1700s, old cemeteries,  beautiful lakes and rivers tucked in between the mountain ranges and watching people living ordinary lives all in the extraordinary setting.  Every time we drove through a quaint town or saw kids tubing in a river, I thought, "I want to live here!"  These views could never get old to me. I wish I could gave captured more, but my iPhone was all I could use at the moment.

So today's drive was wonderful, lots to see, and way less stressful. We made it to Trenton, Maine and are camping just across from the ocean. It's a bit chilly and breezy but the view is stunning!

Our view from the campsite.

Here are a few more pictures from our road trip...

Upstate New York near Albany

Upstate New York

Not sure how welcoming their slogan is!

One of the many small towns we drove through in New Hampshire. 

New Hampshire

Moose Crossing - Disappointed that I didn't see a single moose but saw a lot of these signs.

Fortunately these trucks didn't really slow us down.

Day 3 - Niagara on the Lake and Andrew's Birthday

We decided to avoid the craziness of downtown Niagara and headed out to Niagara On the Lake where part of our group was going to do a jet boat ride up the rapids on the Niagara River in the whirlpool area. They had a blast riding the waves and getting wet from the spray.  If you like speedboats and getting wet, this is definitely a must-do activity. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures, but you can check out their website to get an idea of what this was.

The rest of us walked around the  village, did some shopping, and had some ice cream, cause that's  what you do in a little town like this one.  I think we picked the best ice cream shop (it seemed like this place had one every 30 feet).  I wish I could have taken a pint home with me! Chocolate covered sea salt toffee with caramel swirls in vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Today was also Andrew's 13th birthday. So to celebrate, I baked him a red velvet cake for after dinner.  Because the oven is so small, I had to make a 2 layer cake and bake each layer separately.  I was a bit concerned on how it would turn out, but Marc had read that putting a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven helps even out the heat. It worked like a charm!  To make his cake extra special, I put a saxophone ornament on it for decoration. I just happened across it earlier that day while shopping and thought he'd like it.  Based on his reaction, I think he did.

By now, you may have noticed that we are making our plans day by day.  We have a rough idea of what we want to do, but have waited until the night before to solidify things.  Originally we thought we'd go see the Falls lit up and watch the fireworks, but we needed to leave pretty early the next day in order to get to the Ben & Jerry's Factory tour before it closed at 6pm for the day.  Since  going to B&J's was pretty high on our to do list along with getting enough sleep for the long drive, we decided to skip the nighttime activities at the Falls.  We went to bed early (compared to other nights), so we could get up and leave before 7am.  Hopefully, we'll get there before it closes!

Day 2 - Niagara Falls, Ontario

We spent the day hitting some classic Niagara Falls attractions. We picked up an Adventure Pass that covered a boat trip on the Hornblower Niagara (the Canadian version of Maid of the Mist), White Water Walk, Journey Behind the Falls and Niagara Fury (a 4D Movie).  It was a good deal and we got to see some great sites in a fairly short period of time. Lots of walking and lots of water!

I forgot how much mist comes off the falls, it's almost like a constant sprinkle, but worse cause it feels so cold. The air temperature was just about perfect, so in the sun the mist felt refreshing, in the shade it was a bit chilly.

Of the four sites we saw, the boat ride and the White Water Walk were by far our favorites. Lots of great scenery and photo opps. Unfortunately, Sarah was suffering from one of her stomach aches, so pictures with her were hit or miss.  The only thing that seemed to help her was staying warm, so even though it was in the upper 70s to low 80s, she wore a sweatshirt most of the time. And as usual, we didn't have one with us, so she's sporting a nice Niagara Falls one!

The Canadian side of the Falls is just beautiful.  You really get the best views from here.  This last picture was from the Journey Behind the Falls, where you can get up close to the water.  The tour itself was a bit of a let down as we didn't see much "behind" the falls, just 2 little inlets with a lot of water gushing in front of us.  The American side appeared to have fun and very wet tour that has you walk along side the falls that looked much more exciting!

We managed to avoid what we coined Crazytown, the tacky tourist area. We debated on walking around there tomorrow, but decided the drive through it once was enough!  We plan to head North to Niagara on the Lake tomorrow.

RV Trip - The Northeast Edition

It's been three years since our last big RV adventure, one we enjoyed so much, that we decided we needed to do it again. Yes, I know we're not in an RV this time, but seriously, travel trailer adventure just didn't have quite the same ring to it!  This time we're heading East, Niagara Falls to Acadia National Park, Boston to Gettysburg. It's going to be a great trip!

Preparations for this trip seemed a bit more relaxed, probably because we had our own trailers, but more likely because we were seasoned campers on trips like this, so we thought! Things were going smoothly, gear packed, refrigerator working, and campsites reserved. We were confident this trip would be a breeze, no mishaps like our first trip.  (For those unfamiliar with our first big trip, you can read about it here).  We drove for about 4 hours and then made our first stop for gas. That's when things went downhill fast!

As we were pulling out of the gas station, we made a turn that needed to be wider. Much wider. Our hearts sank, we popped a tire. One of our brand new tires that we never would have imagined would blow, flattened by a cement barrier.  I'm not going to deny the irony of the situation.  It took me right back to that Oasis in DeKalb, Illinois, as Marc and I stood there looking at our trailer tire with a gash in it's side.  I couldn't bear to take a picture, I just wanted it changed and to get back on the road. Fortunately, we had a spare and it only held us up an hour.

Old school mapping techniques!

Our next challenge was trying to find our way without the convenience of the GPS on our phones. Because we were driving though Canada, we would have incurred international charges, charges I didn't feel like paying for. This didn't really stress me out until we were getting closer to our campground. I spent most of the trip using a paper map and some handwritten directions I pulled from Google maps before we crossed the border. Kind of forgot how fun it was to fold and unfold a map!  We were lucky that the highway signs were pretty good. I just needed to pay attention more than usual.

So, what should have taken a regular car 4.5 hours, took us 6 hours, including our 1 hour stop to change a tire. We made it to our first stop, Niagara Falls, Ontario and hooked up with the Hans Family once they arrived.  Looking forward to some awesome sight-seeing tomorrow. But for now, we are planning to relax and enjoy our first night ever camping internationally!