Maine is definitely a change of pace from our earlier travels. The first half of our trip has been devoted to going to interesting cities with deep historical roots. The last half will be mostly interesting geographical locations. Maine has not let us down with wide open spaces, cool temps, and such unique beauty. I've (Runcie) always loved quaint coastal towns, and Maine does not disappoint. It's a different way of life from the hustle and bustle of the cities we have seen. I'm definitely more partial to the slower pace and outdoorsy way of life. I'm sure it's brutal for months at a time in the winter, but it's paradise right now.
We had a lazy morning and then drove up to the top of Cadillac mountain in Acadia National Park which takes up most of Mt. Desert Island here. While much of the coast is fairly low lying, This island has somewhat of a mountain very near the coast. The views are panoramic and awesome. My niece, Kristin, tells us that those who watch the sunrise from this mountain are the first to see the sunrise in all of the U.S. We had a lot of fun pic opportunities at a couple of different lookout points:
. . . and then there's the obligatory "help, I'm about to fall off a cliff" pic - one of the family faves:
. . . and we added a new twist with "help, I'm stuck under this huge rock":
Francey has been saying periodically on this trip that she is ready to go home. I think it's partly because she misses her pets and wants to make sure they are okay. While we were up on Cadillac Mountain, Francey said that she wanted to stay here for 332 more days. I asked her about the pets, and she said we could go get them and bring them back. She then added that we should drag our house here - I'm not sure how well that would work.
After exploring a little around Bar Harbor, we went back to our cabin which is situated right by the water. We walked around during low tide, ate lunch, and then went out in some rowboats. Some of the kids even did a little swimming in what had to be COLD water. From low tide to high tide, the water rises about 12 feet here, so the landscape changes dramatically in just a few hours. One of the biggest differences from most coastal areas is that the beaches here are mostly rock. We were also very fortunate that Kristin was off this afternoon and evening, so she came and joined us for row boating and then for dinner.
We had another wonderful dinner in town before getting back home at a reasonable hour. It was nice to be in before too late. I'm definitely looking forward to some more outdoor activity tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment