New England Vacation - Part 1

In July we went on a 2 week vacation through New England.   

There were a few pictures on the camera from before the vacation that I'll throw in quickly:

Our first mini-stop was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  We went on a little walking tour of the city. One of the stops, pictured below, was at Prescott Park gardens. Since we hadn't gotten to our hotel yet, Snoopy was with us.  He got stuck in his doggy stroller since at 90+ degrees, he doesn't have the stamina to walk for several hours and it was too hot to leave him in the car.  Lots of people commented how cute he was in his stroller (it normally has a screen up all around him).   A few years ago, he seemed to despise the stroller, but he didn't mind it this time once he realized his only other choice was walking.

We'd spend two nights in Ogunquit, Maine, a lovely beach resort town.  We didn't realize how packed it would be.  Canadian tourists seemed to be everywhere, especially French-speaking ones.  We went on a cliff walk in Ogunquit, "Marginal Way," and hung out on the beach.  

One of the highlights for Karina and Lydia was riding the Ogunquit trolley and noticing the names of all the trolleys we saw: Molly, Dolly (names of two of their dolls), Polly, Rolly, and Dory (a name of Lydia's toy fish - Dory was from a different company, so she didn't rhyme with "trolley"), etc.  

We also drove to nearby Kennebunkport, Maine, home of President Bush Sr.  His housing compound is in the background, with United States, Maine, and Texas flags flying proudly. 

We then left Ogunquit and drove north along the coast, first stopping briefly in Rockport, Maine, a picturesque old fishing village.  

Then we stopped in Camden, Maine, and went to Mount Battie State Park to enjoy the beautiful views.  It was here the girls discovered they love climbing on rocks, which came in handy while hiking in Acadia later on. We also found a patch of wild blueberries and enjoyed munching on some ripe ones.

We then arrived in Acadia National Park, where we spent several nights in a cabin.  The girls frequently commented how much they loved the cabin.  It was probably just because they each had their own twin bed instead of having to share a large bed. 

Along Shore Path in Bar Harbor, Maine (the town just outside of Acadia National Park):

Sand Beach was beautiful and the kids participated in a children's ranger program about the sand there.

From Sand Beach, we hiked the Great Head trail.  It was a fairly steep 2 mile hike up and down the mountain.  We weren't sure how the girls would do given the difficulty, but it was a huge success.  They probably would have complained constantly on a simple paved path, but since they were climbing on rocks the whole time and searching for blue marks indicating where the trail went, it was fun. 

On the opposite side of Acadia, we took a nature boat cruise that left from Bass Harbor.  I had been looking forward to it, and I liked the narration, and seeing seals, etc.  Derek thought it was absolutely awful.  He had to sit still the whole time, and keeping him from ruining the other passengers' trip was difficult.  Karina and Lydia didn't appreciate it either.   Next time, we won't waste the money on something they don't appreciate.

Grey seals and harbor seals on one of the islands:

Later that evening we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain.  This is the highest point along the Atlantic coast, and at certain times of the year, it is the first place in the United States to see the morning sun.  It was foggy upon arrival, which added to the mystique, but eventually cleared up and we got some beautiful views.

I really like the fog rolling over the islands in the distance of these next couple pictures.

Since the first difficult hike was such a success, we decide to do one each day.  Next up was Gorham Mountain, which was also just under 2 miles round trip and quite steep.

Derek wouldn't let Nate wear him that hike, so I had the honors.  Sleepy head doesn't look very comfortable in that position. 

Derek woke up just in time for the picture. 

Otter Cliffs was another picturesque area of Acadia.

One afternoon we hiked along a carriage road around Eagle Lake. Acadia has miles of carriage roads that date to the era of horse-drawn carriages and were built by Rockefeller.  Today, they are used by horseback riders, bikers, joggers, and walkers like us.

We had one more boat trip in Acadia.  This one was kid-oriented.  The captain put on a wet suit with a camera attached and dove to the bottom of the ocean and picked up all the sea creatures at the bottom.  He carried them up and the kids got to touch and hold everything he found.  Here is a lobster:

Our final hike was the Acadia Mountain trail, another steep hike.  It offered views of Somes Sound,  the only natural fjord on the East Coast, though it was recently reclassified as a 'fjard', which apparently means it is shorter, shallower, and broader than a fjord.  Lydia especially would yell with excitement every time she found a blue mark showing where the trail led. Including all the short little trails we went on, this was at least our 10th trail with blue marks to follow and she never got tired of pointing out every single blue mark to all of us.  We were thrilled she was entertained on the hikes.  Karina kept herself entertained by also looking for blue marks and taking pride in being the trail blazer in our family.  She always wanted to be first walking.  

I'm standing awkwardly in the next picture because Lydia had been crying about the wind messing up her hair and dress, and I'm trying to help her.

Karina was the photographer here:

Later that day we hiked to Bubble Rock.  Like the other tourists, we unsuccessfully tried to push the carefully balanced giant boulder that was left behind by glaciers off the cliff. 

Next post will feature Cape Cod and vicinity.