Maine

Our year would not be complete with our annual trip to the Maine coast.  And this year was just about as perfect of a combination of friends, family time, nature, beauty, and fun as we could have asked for. 

• Day One-  On Saturday, we drove to the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield, NH where our friend's, the Dormer's (whom we'd stayed with the week before for the wedding) were staying.  They invited us to swim in the pool and enjoy ourselves before they checked out.

Carlota had arranged for all of us to stay in a condo outside of Jackson, NH that evening..... however, she got news from the owner that the most recent tenant had had a child with a lice outbreak.  John and I were just too creeped out by the thought of spending our vacation itching our heads, so had a back up plan to stay with Claire and Kevin Mahoney in Freedom.  Fortunately, Carlota was able to get another condo-- without lice, so we went with our original plan which included:

Dinner at the Shannon Door

with lots of fun dancing

Jackson had to postpone fireworks, so we even got to see fireworks (turns out Hazen hated them)

• Day 2-- Family hike along the Peabody River near Mount Washington (we managed to skirt around "Storyland"-- the amusement park and enjoy nature instead)

By early afternoon, the kids were pooped and we got in the car to drive to Camden Hills State Park for the night.  Cally asked how far it was and I told her if she slept, it would feel like we got there sooner.  Both kids slept the 2.5 hours it took to drive there!

• Day 3-  John's old friend, Hodding Carter, who organized the Viking Adventure from years ago,  lives in Camden with his family-- three teenage girls and a 10 year old son.  They invited us over for a great pancake breakfast and we were happy to escape the rain.

We hit the road late morning, got to Seawall Campground in Acadia National Park by 2pm and jumped on our bikes to enjoy the bit of sunshine that was left .

Hazen at Bass Light House

Hiking back up to the "ride"

The kids were happy to be pulled around by their dad!

Enjoying "cocktails" at the Seawall

• Day 4-- Rain came in overnight, so we decided to hit the Dorr Natural History Museum in Bar Harbor before heading out on a hike around Great Head.

Hanging out in a whale's skull

The rain did stop, so we headed to Sand Beach and did a couple mile hike around Great Head with a picnic:

sand between the toes!

Cal has become quite the little hiker!  She showed us all the great foot holds and ways to scramble up the rock.  I call her our little "mountain goat"

Day 5:  Rain in the morning, so Cally and I went to see the Acadia Repertory Theater do a performance of Cinderalla.  It was really entertaining!

Even during a grey day, the kids managed to have a great time scooting around the campground

Best pre-camping trip purchase:  a bug screen

We spent the afternoon riding around the quiet side of the island.  It was a great nap adventure for the kids:

Day 6:  We met up with fellow Vermonters for a sunny day of adventure!  First was a hike up to Bubble Rock with six kids and six adults.  Then a ride on the carriage roads.  Followed by a swim in a gorgeous secret lake.  And capped off with a wonderful cocktail hike around Cadillac Mountain.

Day 7-  Sun was shining, so we packed up our camp and headed out on a hike up Beech Cliffs near Echo Lake:

The mountain goat scampered up rock staircases and five sets of ladders

After some time swimming and playing at Echo Lake, we drove an hour down the coast for our annual gathering known fondly as "Bates Burning Man".  This year, we returned to Nicolas and Ruth's beautiful farm in Castine, ME.  

This gathering of friends has become one of my favorite events of the year.  Over 30 people convene for a wonderful celebration of friendship and community.  Kids ranging in age from 2.5-18 hang out with adults who spent their formative years together.  Folks come in from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, and New Hampshire.  Meals fall together like clockwork, kids play together like they've are old friends, and fun is had by all.

• Day 8-- Sunshine, beach time, and work projects:

Day 9:  Beach day at Bakeman Beach followed by a 7 hour drive back to Vermont.

What a trip!  The kids continue to amaze us with their ability hang out with so many different people, to sleep well in different places, and contentedly hanging in the car for long durations.  Vacations, these days, don't lend themselves to a lot of relaxation...... but we do all sleep very well when we put our heads down.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!  The rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy the Warren Parade again this year.  Addy and Tanner were a real help in ensuring that Cally and Hazen got gobs of candy.  And Mom and Dad were happy to get to hang out in the shade and do a little "tail gating"

And it was a perfect day to swim in the perfect pond with a perfect view of Camel's Hump.

And look who's started to kayak on her own!

We didn't get to see fireworks on the 4th-- they were canceled because of all the rain/flooding, but the kids did enjoy a little dancing and tree climbing at the Jericho Mills River Park Music series.

Wedding Weekend in MA

My dear college friend, Deb, found the perfect match and got married last weekend in Beverley, MA.  John and I weren't sure if we'd go down for the weekend on our own or bring the kids along.  We even had Hazen's godparents lined up to watch them up here in Vermont.  But, when we realized the wedding was so close to our friends, Matt and Carlota and they offered to watch our kids for the night, we decided to make it a family affair.

And we are so glad that we did.  We spent Saturday at Crane's beach in Ipswich.  There are these great tidal pools and a vast beach.  Cally and Hazen hadn't been to the beach since last summer and they were so happy to just dig and hang out with Skylar (2) and Boden (4).

After a great time there, Carlota and Matt brought John to what he now claims is the BEST lobster roll joint he's ever been to in his life (right in Ipswich).  We got back to the Dormer's with enough time to shower and gussy up and head out to this gorgeous venue in Beverley, MA

Hester as a bridesmaid extraordinaire!

The bride and her dad

The wedding was super fun and touching.  Carlota handled dinner and bedtime for the kids like a champ.  She texted me before 8:00pm proud to say that all kids were in bed.  An impressive feat, for sure!

We got to spend Sunday on the water in Charlestown.  The kids swam at the marina and then we went out on the Dormer's boat in Boston harbor. 

We are so lucky to have great friends who will watch our kids so that we can celebrate such a wonderful occasion with two folks who have finally found their perfect match.  Weddings always rekindle a little something in our own flame and make me happier than ever to have made the plunge with the guy who Cally and Hazen call Dad.

Mont Tremblant

 

I've been wanting to check out Mont Tremblant for years.  So, when John made reservations to stay at one of the campgrounds at the National Park du Mont Tremblant for the weekend after school got out, I was thrilled.  I was especially excited to not be the one to plan this get away.  With my nose to the grindstone for the weeks leading up to the end of school, I was happy to not have to pack up the car, get directions, and organize gear.  I was also happy to just get in the car after a long school year and explore a new area.

As luck would have it, the day before we were to leave, John's computer was stolen out of his car.  When he reported it to the state police, he found out that some guy broke into four cars parked along the Bolton access road that day (he was doing some work on the Outing Club cabin).  One of the "victims" actually heard his car windows being smashed and got the perpetrator's license plate number and reported it to the police.  For whatever the reason, the police couldn't get to the accused house for several days, and when they searched for the stolen items, none of them were there.  Needless to say, John was sick about the whole thing-- as he has never backed up his files, but has handled it like a champ-- claiming it is a "first world problem".  So true, but such a shame.

Because John's computer was missing, he wasn't able to print directions to the campground we'd be staying at.  When I came home from school on Friday afternoon and looked for the reservation information on his iphone, I noticed that the reservations were for Thursday and Friday night, not Friday and Saturday nights.  I also did a quick Google Map search and noticed that it would take a minimum of 4.5 hours to get there, and I also did a quick NOAA weather search and noticed that there was a 60% chance of rain for Saturday.  All that being said, we decided to go for it anyway.  I quickly jotted the directions from the phone's google map app onto a piece of paper (because roaming charges for cell phones in Canada are crazy pricey) and we set off at 4pm on Friday.  Our fatal flaw was not having a map.......

We actually hit traffic in northern Vermont and outside of Montreal, so it took us 3 hours to do what is normally a two hour drive to Montreal.  John had heard that Mont Tremblant was 45 minutes north of Montreal, but after a horrible Thai dinner pit stop, it took us three more hours to get to the campground.  This has to do with the fact that we took a secondary road with stop light after stop light instead of the interstate that paralleled it (had we had a map, we might have recognized this).

We arrived at the National Park gate and just opening our window to get a park map introduced a nauseating amount of mosquitoes into our car.  I don't think we've ever set up a tent as quickly as we did that night!  But, the kids transferred flawlessly to their sleeping bags and John and I were able to sit outside and sip a much needed beer.

We woke on Saturday morning to the sound of rain, so decided to just jump in the car and go out for breakfast.  We ate at a super quaint cafe where everything on the menu was in french and then decided to head up to Mont Tremblant.  The rain continued, but we put our raincoats on and explored the mountain resort.  There was a gondola to ride up and down to the base of the mountain where there were shops, an alpine slide, rock climbing, etc.

 

It was raining, but the kids didn't seem to care.  They even happily went on a bike ride around several of the beautiful lakes and villages on an amazing paved bike path.

Because we didn't have campground reservations for Saturday night, we had to pack up our tent and come up with an alternative plan for that night.  Just packing up the tent, we got bombarded with more mosquitoes, so we were actually fine with the original snafu.  We did go on a hike to a beautiful waterfall before heading out of the park, but the kids needed naps, so we headed out to find a place to stay. 

Mont Tremblant was packed because there was a half ironman triathalon on Sunday, so we knew we'd never find a place to stay there.  So, we drove twenty minutes south to a cute town called St. Agithe du mont.  We eventually found a cheap, but not inexpensive motel.  Though the room was less than ideal, there was a heated pool, so the kids were fired up to swim in the rain. 

Hazey even went down the big slide!

John was happy because he got to see the Bruins game and we were all happy to be out of the bugs.

On Sunday, we went back to Mont Tremblant, rode our bikes along the bike path, ate crepes and drank wine at a great cafe while the kids played on a playground and we watching world class runners finish the half ironman. And the best part about Sunday..... is that it only took us 3.5 hours to get home!

I love that even though the signs were all wrong about going up north, that we went for it anyway.  The kids were amazing travelers and adventurers.  They rolled with it and we all had such a great time exploring a new area.  Now I'm all fired up to check out the other numerous parks in Quebec.  I've always been of the mindset that you have to go far away to get to big mountains and national parks, but a whole part of the world has been opened up to me and I can't wait to plan a trip for next summer.