Maine - Acadia National Park and Baw Hawbah

Hi everyone!

We are currently in Galax, Virginia at Aaron's aunt & uncles house  - we are here until tomorrow morning and if everything goes the way we hope, we will have a car with a/c today at 2:30.  More on that later. 

We spent a couple of days in Bar Harbor, Maine which included Acadia National Park and then a few days in Kennebunkport, Maine.  We had been told by so many people that you couldn't leave Maine without seeing a moose which we were really hoping to see but what we didn't know is that where we stayed and where Acadia National Park is, is actually an island, Mount Desert Island, and there are NO moose there unless they decide to swim thru the channel to get to the park.  The park ranger said that they have not seen a moose in the park in 5 years.  Bummer! 

Acadia is beautiful...right on the water, everything was so manicured and easy to get around.  (Kristin, you were so right!)  We started at the Visitor Center where the girls made a mad dash to two places:  1) to the first Park Ranger they found to get information about the junior ranger program and 2) the desk where they could have their national park passport books stamped.  I would highly recommend both of these things because they are totally educational for the kids and it is a piece of memorabilia they won't forget. 

Sand Beach was our first stop and it felt like a regular beach with sun bathers, swimmers, picnickers, etc.  We were not prepared for that but we enjoyed ourselves none the less.  McKenna and Aaron totally slipped on a rock and fell into the water which is kinda starting to be a pattern.  :)   Much to McKenna's surprise, she was standing in the water with the Weasley brothers from Harry Potter - we even got a picture.  :) 

Do you see them?  Ron Weasley's brothers?  hahahaha!

Our next stop was Jordan's Pond which was a really nice walk that lead to a wonderful restaurant on the water that is known for their lemonade and popovers with fresh strawberry jam.  Secretly, Aaron had made reservations for us on the lawn which was so nice to rest after walking for quite sometime in the hot sun.  The popovers were so yummy!  After eating, we walked down to the water where we got to pick wild Maine blueberries.  So fun!!  I was wondering what my blueberries look like at home. 

After walking a lot more both in the park and thru Bar Harbor, we came back to the campground where the girls were itching to get into the pool at the campground which had a diving board.   McKenna, not to our surprise, was determined to learn how to dive and that girl dove and dove and belly flopped her way to a really good dive.   It has confirmed for both Aaron and myself that she is a quick learner and determined to improve in whatever she is doing.    She is like a dog on a bone.  :)

The next day was filled with more Acadia - Thunder Hole, hiking around Cadillac Mountain, hiking along old carriage roads, and watching the Womens World Cup in a bar with our kids.  Memories!  We had our first (and hopefully our last because I am still sad about it) road kill in Maine...Aaron will talk about that in a future blog. 

Maine was beautiful...please go there in your lifetime!  The one thing that we did not do was eat lobster - I know, I know...you can't believe it.  But we didn't due to cost, the girls wouldn't eat it, we are not huge fans, etc.  etc. 

From Acadia, we drove south to Kennebunkport, Maine for two days.  It was such a cute town - we loved it there.  I will post on the "Bunk" next.  And then after Kennebunkport, we changed scenery and headed into Jersey City and Manhattan which was an experience for sure - we will NEVER forget our time there and I learned a lot about the city that I love that I had not experienced before.  

We hope that you are all having a wonderful summer.  We have 3 weeks left and are still excited about what is to come but we are looking forward to pulling into our driveway, seeing our Dawber, and seeing all of you.  Your notes and messages make us smile and we hope that this blog is making you smile if not laugh out loud at our sometimes pitiful stories!  :) 

Love and hugs - Karie

P.S.  Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!  Love you guys!