Bar Harbor is Da Bomb!

Day 22 – June 18, 2014

Bar Harbor, ME

Oh Lordy, there was a wicked thunderstorm last night that woke me at 4 in the morning.  The rain was unreal and filled me with anxiety about our day to come – in Acadia National Park.  When we awoke for real the rain had stopped, but it was grey and cold.  No matter, we had a park to explore.

There were so many amazing vistas that I am humbled to even attempt to describe them.  By the time we got to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the skies had cleared and we were lucky enough to really experience the majesty of the area.  Below are just a few of the hundreds of pictures that we took.

Sand Beach

Thunder Hole

The actual hole.

The summit of Cadillac Mountain.

I will share with you a very embarrassing blonde moment that I experienced – the blonde being meL.  When we got to Thunder Hole, which is a lookout point in the park that takes you out over some rocks where the ocean crashes in and travels into a hole in the rock, which makes a very loud sound – like thunder.  At this point in the day, the grey skies were starting to break up, but it still looked very stormy over the open sea.  Audrey, Hunter and Rich were climbing out over the rocks and I made the comment that they may want to come in soon, because I heard thunder and I didn’t think we should hang out for too long.  It only took a few seconds for me to process what I said, but by then it was too late.   People were staring at me and Audrey and her dad were all over it.  I will not live this one down for a long time.

Our public humiliation was not limited to me.  Bear decided once again to urinate at the beach.  I froze, in complete shock.   What the hell is up with this?  Thank goodness for Hunter - who came to the rescue and got him to face the woods and stood behind him, before we publicly flogged.

After the park, we headed to the boat dock for a tour of the bay.  It was cool to see Bar Harbor and all the boats from the vantage point of being in the water.  Our guide filled us in on the history of the town that is rich with Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Pulitzers and Astors.  There was a horrible fire in 1947 that basically wiped out the town.  Many of the families who couldn’t rebuild with the same opulence they had before the Great Depression and WWII donated their land to Acadia National Park.  The boat took us around the coast to see the new homes that have been built since that time, many of them owned by today’s titans of Wall Street and Hollywood celebrities.  Oh, and he told quite a story about Martha Stewart, who is not loved by locals.  It was a good one, too!  She’s not nice.

We ventured out to Egg Rock and saw a bald eagle try to snap a baby seagull from its mother and all seagull hell broke loose.  Oh momma, don’t be messing with their babies.  We also saw many seals, which the kids loved.  We had so much fun on the boat – all of us.  I snapped many great family pictures.

A bald eagle.

Egg Rock

They loved watching the seals!

We weren’t done yet.  We returned to Bar Harbor to eat on the water for the last time of our road trip (unless we find something in Canada).  Another great dinner followed by a quick stroll through the local bookstore to look for a good book on the history of this town.  I’m smitten.

After that we had ice cream and played miniature golf.  It was an awesome day – one for the memory book, for sure.

I’m going off the grid for a couple days, as we explore the Atlantic provinces of Canada.  The phone will be off, with means no Instagram posts.  I think I’ll still be able to use the internet at the hotel, without taking out a second mortgage, so updates should continue.

I’m missing my friends!  I feel very out of touch with everyone.  It’s been hard to even make phone calls, because of the kids.  Some of them have developed big ears and no phone call – whether it be in the car or the hotel room, is private.  I’ve also been bad about email – because honestly, I’m wiped out at the end of the day and can barely muster the effort for my travel log and downloading pictures.  Still, you are all on my mind and I can’t wait to catch up on what’s happening in all your lives.  I hope everyone is having a good summer. 

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 [rs1]

Journey to Bar Harbor

Day 21 - June 17, 2014

Portland, MA – Bar Harbor, ME

190 miles/3 hours

We were so excited to get started on our journey north to Bar Harbor.  I really, really wanted to take the coastal route all the way up, but Map Quest, Google, Mr. Menard and my car’s navigation steered me in another direction.  We ended up going through Augusta, before heading east to the coast.

Augusta, well, it was a bit of a disappointment.  The Capitol is in rough shape and undergoing a major refurbishment.  We drove through the historic district, along the waterfront, and were once again disappointed.  The city, I assume (and hope), has seen better days.  Then we journeyed to the Camden and Rockport areas, via the back roads, but you know when you just get a feeling?  Ten minutes in, we decided to turn around and take the road more traveled.  It was sort of boring until we got to the Belfast area and finally saw some of the coastline.  And what we saw was beautiful – but paled in comparison to what was coming!

When we got to the hotel, Momma suffered some abuse at the hands of her family for the hotel choice.  Spoiled brats – all of them!  We stayed at a nice motel, which is part of a respectable national chain, but you would think we’d pulled into Motel 6.  Someone in the vehicle even mumbled, “Bates Motel.”  I can assure you, it is not.  The motel is clean, close to downtown and the staff is very sweet.  When you’re doing 30 days on the road, you can’t expect the Ritz.  Little (and not so little) assholes.

We explored the area and it was very pretty, but overcast.  Then we headed into Bar Harbor for dinner.  Oh my, what a wonderful town (or village?  It’s pretty small).  Are you bored of my saying this about everywhere we go?  But it’s Bar Harbor!  And I think it’s up there with Nantucket, Sedona, and Sonoma.  There’s a reason the rich vacation here (but they probably don’t stay at motelsJ). 

Once again, we at like kings and I’m going to have to do a serious cleanse when I get back.  Big Day planned for tomorrow!

Passing through Portland

Day 17 – June 16, 2014

Dennis Port, MA – Portland, ME

192 miles/3 hours

It was really tough to leave the Cape this morning, especially since the day was looking to be as nice as yesterday.  Rich had some work to do in the morning, so I packed and loaded the car and then took the kids to breakfast.  After we ate, I did a farewell tour of some of my favorite childhood sites.  The kids couldn’t have cared less.

On the way out, we had lunch in Barnstable and then hurried our pace, so we could get through Boston before rush hour.  Originally, before work issues, we’d planned to be in Portland in time to have lunch with my friend Lise’s father and stepmother.  We didn’t get to our hotel until 4 and I felt terrible about missing lunch.  There are so many people I want (and plan) to see on our trips and then it’s rush, rush, rush.  Anyway, Ron and Mary came to the hotel and hung out with us while the kids swam in the pool. 

Rich and I were pretty wiped out.  We had reservations down on the wharf, but seriously contemplated ordering room service.  Ultimately, we decided this may be our one and only time in Portland, so we’d better see the waterfront.  I’m glad we rallied, because downtown Portland is precious and our restaurant was actually a boat – and the food was great.  Also, the food gods were smiling down on us, because Barrett ate lobster!  His sensory issues often prevent him from trying new things.  But the best line of the night came from Rich, who delivered the lobster to Bear’s mouth (with a fork!), “Great, he likes lobster.  I’ve just tripled the cost of his long-term care!”  Yes, yes you did.

Father's Day on the Cape

Day 17 – Day 19

June 13-15^th, 2014

Quincy, MA – Dennis Port, MA

It was raining when we woke up this morning, which of course was a huge disappointment.  R. had some work to do in the morning, so our late departures look to be continuing.  We crossed the Bourne Bridge, to Cape Cod, at noon.  I’m telling you, once I cross that bridge, something happens to me and I completely relax (of course have a wingman may be a big part of it this year).  We were supposed to meet Leslie (family friend) for lunch, but our plans changed to dinner because her conference was rescheduled, so we were on our own.  We decided to explore the north shore a little, something we’d never done before.  It’s very quiet, compared to the south shore, but lovely.  We had a nice lunch overlooking a marsh in North Dennis.

After check-in, we took a very chilly walk on the beach.  It was drizzling and the temperature was in the mid-60s.  The family dared me to go into the ocean in those miserable conditions, for my first of the day.  I obliged and it was miserable.

Leslie drove over form Hyannis to join us for dinner at the Ebb Tide.  It was nice to catch up with her, but too brief.  Leslie has had terribly tough year and it was nice to see her smile and have some fun.  The kids surprised us with good behavior as well.

On Saturday, the weather hadn’t improved and we took a drive through Harwich, to show the kids where I lived and went to school as a child.  We ended up in Chatham and had lunch at the Squire – a well-known Cape Cod watering hole where I’ve wanted to throw back a cocktail for years.  It would have been one of my rites of passage, had my family stayed on the Cape for my teenage/college years – but we were there at 11:30 (in the morning), so I didn’t do it.  I still can’t believe I’m in my 40’s and have yet to imbibe at The Squire. 

We took the kids to the Chatham bandstand, the Wayside inn and the Candy Manor to get penuche fudge!

By late afternoon the weather had cleared a little and we spent some time at the beach.  Then we ordered pizza for the kids, so mom and dad could indulge in a fancy dinner next door at the Ocean House.  It was fabulous!  After dinner we met the kids on the courtyard lawn and listened to live music and threw around the football.  Fun.

Father’s Day was magnificent.  We could not have ordered better weather.  Seventy-two degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Perfect beach day.  For dinner we drove back over to Chatham, to a restaurant Rich “remembered” passing the day before.  It turned out to be Pate’s, which was funny.  Pate’s has been there for decades – my dad knew the owner and hung out there.  Mr. Pate also had a few restaurants in Naples of all places, and my dad worked for him when we first moved to Florida, before he bought his restaurant.  I loved Pate’s in Naples, but it’s now closed, so this was perfect.  I felt like me dad was there with us.

We’ve had a wonderful time on the Cape and everyone wants to come back next year!  I love how much my family enjoys being here.

Daddy to the Rescue!

June 12, 2014 – Day 16

Boston, MA

I got up and went to the gym this morning.  I was hoping that it would help improve my mood, but no such luck.  In addition to the complaints I made yesterday – I’m having an adversarial relationship with the “woman” who navigates from my car’s dashboard.  I’ve never had one of these systems before, but can now relate to all the sitcoms that portray drivers getting mad at their electronic navigators.  I want to kill mine.  If I didn’t love my new car so much, I would have punch the screen on the dash.  Whatever her name is ran me through all the tunnels under Boston this morning, on my way to pick R. up from the airport.  I was so frustrated.  Then, when I tried to call my husband to tell him I was running late and that half the drivers in Boston had yelled at me or flipped me the bird, “she” suddenly doesn’t understand me.  The name and phone number that I’ve dictated to “her” hundreds of times is unrecognizable and therefore the call cannot be connected.  And there was no way I could take me eyes of the road to dial my phone.

Yeah, good times.

I got to him eventually and I think that once he saw my frazzled state, R. wanted to get back on the plane.  Not going to happen!

We headed to Lowell, because R. had never been there and wanted to see my mom’s house and all the other nostalgic sites.  I was also on a mission to find my Grandfather’s foundry.  I have nobody to ask the questions about where it was, when it closed and what it produced so I’ve been doing my research with the Lowell Sun and the Pollard research library.  I was armed with some information, but no address.  At this point, I’m pretty certain the building was demolished.

We hightailed it down to Quincy, where we stayed the night before heading out to the Cape for the weekend.  We had a fabulous dinner in Quincy (Alba’s steakhouse) and the kids were miraculously well behaved!

I’m hoping for a nice relaxing weekend on the Cape (although the weather does not look promising), so I probably won’t post a blog each day as it will be eat, drink, beach, sleep, repeat.  I’m certain I’d bore you all.  I’ll condensed the weekend into one post on Monday!

Happy Father’s Day!