This is a continuation of the previous post highlighting our summer '23 vacation. Once we finished enjoying our time on Cape Cod, we embarked on a fun road trip to the beautiful state of Maine!!
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| It was a long drive from Cape Cod, but soon after we crossed the Maine border we saw our first (of 7) lighthouses! |
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| This is Lighthouse #1...Nubble Lighthouse in the town of York, ME. |
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| Here it is again, a little more up close! |
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| The views of the Atlantic were nice... |
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| ...and so the twins did some posing! |
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| We continued heading north and our next stop was the town of Ogunquit. |
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| The skies were luminous, but we walked some of Marginal Way... |
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| ...but started racing into Ogunquit town right right as a massive storm tore through the area (sending us to a local pub for retreat)! |
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| Once the storm subsided, we continued driving and checked out the Bush compound in Kennebunkport (from afar!). |
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| After 4+ total hours of driving, we finally made it to Portland, ME. |
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| Our initial stroll found Portland to be a charming city... |
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| ...where lobsters are a big deal! |
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| We had one full day planned in Portland, and the weather did not disappoint. We began our day making the short drive to South Portland, which provided this great view back towards the Portland skyline. |
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| We made our way to Lighthouse #2...called Bug Light. |
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| The up-close details of this lighthouse |
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| were pretty cool (inspired by Greek architecture)! |
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| For a tiny lighthouse, these two were impressed. |
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| Our next lighthouse required some exercise to cross the rocky breakwater... |
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| ...but these two didn't seem to mind! |
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| Lighthouse #3...Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse |
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Lighthouse #4, Portland Head Lighthouse, was probably the most impressive lighthouse in Portland (and maybe all of Maine). It looked great close up...
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| ...and even better from a distance. |
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| This lighthouse made a... |
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| ...great background for... |
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| ...a lot of photos! |
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| Ok, last one, I promise!! |
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| After lunch, we walked around Old Port... |
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| ...and really came to appreciate the Portland aesthetic. |
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| As daylight started to fade... |
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| ...we made our way towards Portland Harbor... |
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| ...and boarded a Lucky Catch lobster excursion boat!! |
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| Yep, we learned all things lobster... |
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| ...but first had to don the appropriate gear!! |
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| How to catch lobsters: Step 1...bait the traps. |
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| Step 2...toss out the traps!! |
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| Step 3...once a trap (dropped earlier in the day) is retrieved... |
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| ...all lobsters must be measured to determine if they are 'keepers' or 'toss backs'. (The length from the lobster's eye to the beginning of its tail must extend past a certain length to be 'kept'.) |
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| Step 4...once keepers are established, we learned how to band their claws for easier handling. |
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| Now, the fun begins!! We all had the chance to... |
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| ...hold and pose with the catches of the day!! |
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| One of our boat guides took posing with the lobsters to the next level!! |
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| These two had tons of fun (this excursion was the highlight of our time in Portland!) catching and learning about lobsters and soon it was time to head back to the pier. |
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| We passed by some of the day's... |
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| ...earlier visited sites... |
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| ...including a dusky view back towards Portland from the harbor. |
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| Right before exiting the boat, it was time to grab some freshly caught lobsters... |
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| ...for dinner!! |
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| This hungry family of four took those lobsters... |
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| ...next door to a lobster shack... |
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| ...and had a great dinner!! |
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| The next day we continued driving north (on our way to Acadia National Park!) in search of more lighthouses. Here is lighthouse #5, at Pemaquid Point. |
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| The coastline was pretty rugged here, giving purpose to the lighthouse above. |
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| Pemaquid Point is most famous for being the lighthouse on the Maine State quarter and it also houses an interesting lighthouse museum. |
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| But the coolest part about Pemaquid Point was randomly running into a classmate from Kingsley Elementary (the twins school back home)...wow!! |
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| The next lighthouse took a little walking... |
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| ...but the views were worth it! |
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| Lighthouse #6, Owls Head Lighthouse... |
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| ...a great spot for a photo! |
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| Did I mention the views of the bay were pretty nice?? |
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| This lighthouse is surrounded by some nice vegetation. |
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| After seeing Owl's Head, we did a little exploring down near the shore. |
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| It was mighty scenic, but for some reason, (three of us) had to know what was on the other side of those rocks!! |
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| Making it to the top for this nice photo wasn't easy! |
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| Hiking on slippery sea oak can be treacherous! |
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| Yep, that's what I meant! |
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| Still, it was worth the price of falling on your bum once (or twice)! |
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| After two more hours of driving, we made it to our final Maine destination, Acadia National Park. We decided to check out Jordan Pond (and the Bubble rocks) as the sun began to fade. |
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| We took a little walk around knowing we'd come back tomorrow for more. |
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| We had a great dinner at Jordan Pond House Restaurant, where the twins devoured these popovers... |
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| ...and we watched the sun create some spectacular views from our table. |
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| We were very excited for a first full day at Acadia and headed towards Sand Beach... |
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| ...but when we arrived... |
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| ...it was covered in some pretty dense fog (I mean, they did make a hazy IPA called Acadia Fog!!) |
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| Still, we made the best of it and walked a good distance along the Ocean Path trail. |
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| Foggy as they were, the views were still... |
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| ...magnificent with a lot of... |
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| ...beautiful rock formations... |
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| ...and places to pose. |
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| On the way back to the hotel, we decided to stop off again at Jordan Pond where there was no fog, only a pretty day for this gorgeous backdrop. |
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| These are the Bubble Rocks...can you tell why?? |
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| The twins again enjoyed walking around... |
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| ...and posing with the pretty scenery. |
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| One last view of Jordan Pond and the Bubble Rocks |
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| While most of the group headed back for some R&R, Daddy headed back out... |
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| ...to hike the famous 'Beehive Trail'! |
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| This was definitely a moderate hike... |
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| ...but the view from above (and as fog started lifting) was worth it! |
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| It wasn't easy at times... |
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| ...but the views back to the Atlantic Ocean definitely kept you climbing for more! |
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| Here are a couple of shots... |
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| ...from the top of the trail. |
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| Once the hike was over, our family was reunited, and we enjoyed this pleasant view of Frenchman Bay from our hotel room in Bar Harbor. |
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| For our second full day in Acadia, we decided to venture to the Schoodic Peninsula part of Acadia National Park and began exploring at Frazier Point. |
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| Park rangers were waiting to lead the twins through some interesting facts about the birds in the area and how they catch prey (comparing each bird's mechanisms to familiar kitchen/eating utensils). |
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| After the ranger demonstration and a short nature hike, we walked down to a small harbor for a look... |
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| ...and saw a lot of purple clam shells! |
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| These two were having a good 'ole time... |
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| ...so we continued to explore a bit more before heading out. |
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| As we drove the Schoodic Loop road, we were treated... |
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| ...to more spectacular views. |
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| There were some great backdrops... |
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| ...for some great... |
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| ...family photos! |
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| Before heading back to Bar Harbor, we decided to challenge ourselves with the Anvil Trail. |
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| This trail wasn't so rocky... |
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| ...but hundreds of sets of tree roots made the path somewhat of a challenge. |
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| We continued to forge on... |
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| ...and took rests as needed! |
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| The view from the top of Anvil Trail was definitely scenic (even on another cloudy day). |
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| Going down was maybe even more tricky than the trip up!! |
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| Soon we were near the water's edge and saw a lobster boat checking traps (hey, can we help?!?). |
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| Our final morning at Acadia was, sadly, the worst weather of the whole trip! We wanted to see the views from famed Cadillac Mountain but the rain and fog did not cooperate AT ALL. So, we checked out one of the many auto-free carriage roads. |
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| There are nearly 60 miles of these scenic trail roads throughout Acadia National Park, and many bridges too... |
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| ...which always means something scenic flowing beneath them! |
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| Before leaving Acadia and heading back to the airport, we made it our quest to see one last lighthouse... |
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| This one was tricky to walk to along these uneven (and sometimes slippery) rocks... |
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| ...but Lighthouse #7...Bass Harbor Head Light station was one of the most dramatic views of all! |
Maine was great to our family and we look forward to more travel adventures in the future!!
