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Mainely roughin' it...
...if you count sitting at the campsite and blogging while your child naps in a heated pop-up "roughin' it!"
That's right, we're in Maine...camping for a week!
I figured since we're here and we have access to the Internet, I'd take advantage of Anthony's naps and try to document our trip via pictures and commentary for posterity's sake. (And for the two or three of you that actually read my blog and care about what we've been up to!) Here goes!
Friday, August 1st
In an attempt to avoid some of the Friday afternoon D.C. traffic, we decided to head out of town around dinner time, which is usually a good bet that the heaviest traffic has passed, as Friday "evening" tends to start around 2pm in D.C., especially in the summer. We also figured that that would allow Anthony to spend the first leg of our road trip sleeping since our departure coincided closely with when he goes down for the night. Nice try, Dina & Mark. Thanks for playing.
Yep. Not only did we hit a ton of traffic, the Cherokee started overheating despite numerous dollars getting parts fixed and replaced so that this WOULDN'T happen. 90+ degree weather, sun beating down on the Jeep, heavy traffic (which equals no movement), towing a pop-up. Not a good mix, my friends. So needless to say, I began to stress out, especially since we decided that turning the A/C off would be helpful (so I was sweating), our trip had just begun, and Anthony was not cooperating with the "time to go to sleep" plan like we had hoped. Hmmmm...
Once we got out of D.C. though, the Cherokee started cooling off (phew!), the traffic eased up, and we were on our way. Nothing too eventful on our way up to Hartford, CT, unless you count stopping at a rest area in Jersey for some much needed (Starbucks - shhhhh, don't tell Mark I ratted him out!) coffee as a form of excitement. We got into Hartford around 1am, checked into our Motel 6, convinced Anthony that it really wasn't play time, and fell asleep soon after.
Saturday, August 2nd
Despite getting to bed at an hour that I wasn't even sure existed any longer the night before, Anthony had us up at his usual 6am - ready and raring to go! Although Mark and I were beyond tired and weren't in a hurry to hit the road since check-in at our campsite didn't start until 4pm, we decided to take advantage of an early start so that we could make stops along the way should we run into anything cool. We hit the local Dunkin' Donuts (mmmmm, DD coffee...my fave) for breakfast and were on the road by 9am.
The drive through the rest of CT, MA, NH, and ME were brutal. Not for any reason other than pure exhaustion. It was the kind of tired that you just can't hold your eyelids open, despite how hard you try. I felt so bad for Mark, as he did all the driving since I was/am nervous about driving while towing another vehicle. We made several stops along the way...for coffee...3 times to be exact...before we found ourselves at a local farm stand right after we crossed into Maine. The stand was so cute and so quaint - ended up getting some produce before hitting the road for the last leg of the drive.
We pulled into the Bar Harbor KOA around 6pm and set up camp. The campground is beautiful, so family/kid-friendly, well-maintained, and is just busting at the seams with amenities. It is not the type of place that you would camp at if you really wanted to become one with nature. Screw that, hello KOA! Ahhhhh, yes. This is my kind of camping. We're talking showers, laundry facilities, heated pool, playground, cable, Internet access, but ironically making cell phone calls out have proved to be unsuccessful. That's okay though.
After setting up camp, we headed out to one of the local lobster "pounds" - that's what they call them! - for lobster rolls and corn on the cob for dinner (SO DELISH!) before we called it a night. We went to bed eagerly anticipating the rest of our vacation and so glad that we made it to ME safely and in one piece...considering the excitement we dealt with on the way out of D.C.
Sunday, August 3rd
We woke up to rain. Actually, we both woke up in the middle of the night to rain. And lots of it. And said rain was continuing to fall when we woke up. "We're not going to let a little rain stop us!" - that was our motto that morning. After showers and breakfast, we hit the road to Rockland (a 2-hr drive from Bar Harbor - what were we thinking after spending the better part of 2 days in the car???) for their annual Lobster Fest. Since we're such suckers for farmers markets, we stopped at the Bar Harbor farmers market before heading out of town. We got some pesto goat cheese to file away for later and continued on.
The drive to Rockland was uneventful, but the weather got increasingly yuckier as we drove. Still, we weren't going to let it get the best of us and decided to press on. Surprisingly, as we pulled into Rockland, the sun came out and we ended up having a really nice afternoon on our hands. The Lobster Fest was fun. We ate lobsters, Anthony rode his first carnival ride, we spent some time walking around the festival, Anthony had loads of fun playing in the "Splatter Tent" - a tent set up with tons of kid-friendly activities, and then headed back "home."
We came back to a wet, excuse me, soaking, camper. Ok, not all of it was soaking wet, but there were parts that were. It was the kind of situation where I walked in first and promptly turned around to Mark and said, "Holy shit. Get ready. You're going to be really pissed when you see this. Just know that." To make a long story short, we bought this camper used so there were/are things that we didn't realize needed touch-ups and/or repairs until we walked in it after leaving it alone all day in the rain. I will leave it at that.
Up until that point, we really did try to make the best of the situation - rain, lack of sleep, etc. But we had reached our breaking point. To spare you some of the nasty conversations and ugly situations that proceeded to take place that evening, I will just say that I wasn't so sure we would both wake up alive the next day. If nothing else, I was convinced we were headed to divorce court as soon as it opened the following morning.
Monday, August 4th
We both made it to see daylight - hallelujah! With a new found outlook on life, we started the day with blueberry pancakes, a dip in the heated pool, hot showers, and a much-needed low-key morning. Anthony went down for a nap, Mark and I enjoyed the pesto goat cheese we bought at the farmers market and a local brew we bought the day before while Anthony napped, took advantage of the quiet time by reading outside - it was in the low 70s, sunny, breezy, no humidity, absolutely gorgeous.
After Anthony woke up from his nap, we decided to take a spin through Acadia National Park to drive Park Loop Road and drive up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain - the highest point on the East Coast. It was spectacular. I was mad that I forgot the camera, but knew that we'd be back for more extensive visits, and picture-taking opportunities, later in the week so I sat back and took it all in. Like some other places I've been, I just can't put into words how beautiful it is here. Among other things, I am struck by how calm and pristine it all is.
We ate dinner at the Log Cabin Restaurant. Mark indulged in another lobster and I opted for the salmon. Surprisingly, Anthony didn't want anything to do with his chicken tenders...he wanted my salmon instead! What can I say, he's got good taste. :)
After dinner, Mark dropped Anthony and I off at the campsite, I put Anthony to bed, and Mark went out shopping for materials to repair the camper. He came back bearing them, other necessities like a 4-cup coffee maker, laundry detergent, a flashlight, and 2 Harbor Bars.
Ahhhhhh. Harbor Bars.
They are the epitome of yumminess. A local treat, they consist of vanilla ice cream, sandwiched between 2 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, dipped in a thick layer of chocolate (Meg, stop drooling!), and worth every gram of the 20-something grams of fat in each one. Seriously.
Tuesday, August 5th
We woke up (again) to overcast skies but no rain, so things looked promising. Had a pretty low-key morning. Spent a couple hours doing laundry and minor repairs on the pop-up before heading to downtown (read: touristy) part of Bar Harbor. So cute. We got take-out sandwiches at a restaurant downtown and ate down by the water. It was windy and chilly - hard to believe it's summer, as we donned our sweatshirts and coveted our warm, toasted sandwiches. It was so peaceful, despite the crowds. We sat on a park bench that overlooked the water decorated with different colored boats.
We all had a blast, especially Anthony. He spent the entire time we were there running (literally!) around, chasing birds, rolling down hills, tasting pine cones, and playing with rocks. It all wore him out well and he went down for a nap easily and as soon as we returned to our campsite.
So here I sit, blogging during nap time. Mark is taking advantage of nap time by continuing the repair work on the camper. As I sat here writing, I heard, "I feel like freaking Betsy Ross over here." I look over and find him mending a hole in the corner of the tent. Hilarious.
Not sure what the rest of this afternoon will bring after Anthony wakes up, but we're thinking about heading to Acadia Nat'l Park to do some biking. Whatever we end up doing, it'll be great. Rain or shine, this vacation is about spending quality family time together...and we're getting that. And it's great. We don't get that very much at home these days - work, various social engagements, schedules, etc. get in the way.
Hopefully tonight will bring our first opportunity to light a campfire. It is currently sunny, breezy, high 60s, bright blue skies. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this will continue...at least for one night!
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