Bar Harbor Day Three - Hiking in the Rain

  What a dreary day!  All day the weather has alternated between thick fog, rain, sprinkles, and heavy downpours.  We never once caught a glimpse of the sun.  Today is our last day in Bar Harbor and we had planned to spend it hiking around Acadia National Park and enjoying the views.  We were disappointed but not deterred by the weather and we gamely headed out through the fog in search of a hike in the Park.

Ready for our hike

hiking in the rain

I asked for a hiking pose...

  We missed the trail we were looking for and since the only road around the park was very long and one way,  we decided to find another hike.  We pulled over at a likely looking place and after bundling up in our rain coats we set off through the forest.  The trail was mostly long stretches of rock punctuated by patches of puddles.  The rocks were wet and a little slippery but that didn't slow the boys down at all.  Colin, Will and Jon raced ahead of us, always looking for the next cairn to show the way.

Charlie in a little hideout

Jon is nervous about this overhang...

My boys

  After a while the trail became more adventurous  with huge, jagged slabs of granite that need to be scaled.  We weren't ready to turn back yet but the trail had become too difficult for Camille and Charlie.  So James stayed back with them while I went ahead with the three boys.  Colin has a wonderful sense of balance and can scale any rock no matter how steep and narrow.  Will is a little more cautious but he was still faster than Jon and I, who didn't like to move quickly over the wet rocks.  We hadn't planned to go too far and just when it was time to turn around it began to rain.  

Climbing down the rocks

James hiking in the rain

  As we clambered back down we noticed the puddles we had passed had already grown bigger and soon little streams were chasing us down the rocks.  When we found James, Camille and Charlie they were huddled under a tree.  But rain was getting heavier and the tree wasn't big enough for all of us so we need to look for something better.  Just around the bend we found a little cliff with a number of overhangs, perfect for all of us to stay dry.  It was so cool!  Colin found a little ledge where he and the other boys rested.  Charlie loved it, he kept yelling "hiding! hiding" with a great big grin on his face.  (I wish I could show you his super cute pictures!)

Grandma escapes from the rain

Colin's little ledge

James and the boys hanging out

  Unfortunately I mentioned the cave in The Hobbit where Bilbo and the dwarves are taken prisoner by the goblins.  Poor Jon was so afraid that goblins would come out of the cracks in the rock!  But after I explained that this really wasn't goblin country he calmed down.  Of course when we were in goblin country last year (The German Alps) he wasn't nervous at all!

Me and my boys (Jon is worried about goblins)

Will pointing out where we are on the "map"

Shutterbug

  

















  After a while the rain stopped and we went back down the trail.  Poor Charlie was tired and he fell asleep on James' shoulder before we got to the car.  Colin, Will, Jon and I arrived at the bottom first and we pretended to be in Mirkwood while we waited to the others to catch up.  It was so much fun!  I love having little boys, it is the perfect excuse to be silly and to live in imaginary worlds.  :-)

James carries Charlie down the mountain

Jon in Mirkwood

Will listening for his chipmunk

  Our original plan was to meet our friends, Candace and Michael and their son Jackson, at the top of Cadillac Mountain for a picnic lunch.  But that seemed less and less like a good idea as we drove up through the thick fog.  Visibility was maybe 20 feet (I'm rubbish at estimating distance) and we couldn't see anything over a car length ahead.  When we got to the top of the mountain everything around us was just white.  Cars only three spaces over faded into the fog. 

Will in the fog

Will reads a sign on Cadillac Mountain

  We called our friends and decided to meet in town for lunch instead but I wasn't ready to leave the mountain that quickly.  Colin and Jon chose to stay in the car with Grandma but Will, James, Charlie and I headed out for a little walk.  Will ran ahead so James had to keep calling him back before he disappeared from view.  And I went skipping down the white walled path singing Irish folk music and feeling so happy and free.  It was wonderful.  

Carrying Charlie

Charlie runs on top of Cadillac Mountain

  We were only gone for ten minutes but poor Charlie was tired and needed me to carry him about halfway through.  He takes a two to three hour nap every day and this weekend he hasn't been getting that and I think it is wearing on him.  Oh the importance of schedules!  If we were here even a day longer I would have insisted on a regular nap but it is hard to balance everyone's needs.  

Cadillac Mt. in the rain

  We met Candace, Michael and Jackson at Geddy's, a place none of had ever been.  But we liked it so much that it might become a new tradition.  (It is so nice to know locals when we travel!)  We were all completely soaked but the restaurant was casual so no one seemed to mind.  Jackson had grown so much since I saw him last but he is still as cute as ever.  Maybe even more so, his quiet and earnest demeanor was charming and he has gorgeous and soulful brown eyes.

All of us at lunch

Silly boy

Frisbee hat

Jackson at lunch

  
  
  It was so great to see our friends but I am even more grateful for our girl's night on Saturday because it is impossible to have a conversation in the presence of five little boys!  After lunch we took the kids out to run in the rain while Candace showed us her new business venture.  She makes stunning, one-of-a-kind jewelry and because she knew that Colin was looking for a gift for his mother she brought along a couple smaller pieces that she sells specifically to children.  He found a beautiful bracelet for her and I think she will love it.  Colin has such a great heart!  My boys would never think of buying me a gift unprompted....  (hint:James it is OK to prompt!)

Jackson and Charlie run around a puddle

Jackson chasing Jon

  Next Candace and Michael led us to a great ice cream place with unique and delicious flavors such as "Coconut Vanilla Chai", "Blackberry and Basil" and "Bay of Figs".  Would would think to put figs in ice cream??  But apparently it works well although we stuck to less adventurous, though still delicious, flavors.

Jackson

  At this point we were all soaked through and Charlie was so tired that he couldn't even finish his ice cream so we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.  We all had a nice long rest but despite the rain the boys were desperate for one last dip in the pool.  Charlie and Camille stayed warm and dry in the hotel while James and I took the older boys down.  The water was so cold!!  But we had fun swimming and another boy joined us for a game of Zombie Marco Polo (each person tagged becomes another person seeking).  It was a perfect ending to our stay and I'm so glad we didn't let the rain stop us!  

Colin

  I don't know where else to mention it but I want to remember what we've been listening to this trip.  Often our vacations have their own soundtrack, in California my dad made us CDs of traveling music which forever bring back memories of that trip.  In Germany we listened to The Future of Forestry almost the whole time and this weekend we've been listening to folk songs by the Irish Rovers.  I'm not Irish and I don't drink but I can't get enough of the drinking and sailor songs.  Many of them seemed particularly apt while we were on the schooner yesterday.  We discovered the group when I was searching for a version of 'What do you do with a Drunken Sailor" for the boys earlier this year.  I can't remember why... but we now love their music and Charlie in particular loves dancing to it.  

Will as a pirate

  We have also been listening to the "Once and Future King" as an audio book.  If you've never read it (you should!), the Disney movie "The Sword and the Stone" is based on the first part of the book.  It is one of my favorite childhood books although I haven't read it since I was a teen.  I was sure it would be too old for the boys but they love it!  The other day Jon yelled at us to be quiet so he could hear.  We had to talk to him about rudeness but I was secretly happy that he loved the story since he isn't usually invested in books the way Will and I are.  Watching my sons love the things I love brings me so much joy.  It is a definite perk of parenting.  :-)

Well I should start packing up since we have a long drive back and Will starts soccer practice tomorrow night.  We all had a wonderful time and Colin is already trying to plan our next trip.  :-)  I am so glad he was able to come!

Ready for a fun day!

Thank you for reading!

Bar Harbor Day Two - Pirate Ship

  About ten minutes after I posted yesterday's blog, just after I had gotten into bed, Charlie woke up.  He fussed for a minute saying that he wanted to go home and I was able to calm him down.  But five minutes later he was up again and we went back and forth for half an hour until it culminated in him yelling, as loud as only he can, "I wanna sleep Daddy!  I wanna sleep Daddy!"  I was concerned that he would wake up the other boys and even more worried that our neighbors would at any minute come pounding at our door to complain about all the noise.  So I brought him over to cuddle.  

  At first Charlie just said "Sleep Daddy" and lay down next to James with a big smile.  But almost right away he started making vampire noises!  I don't know how else to describe them, it was a hissing growl with his teeth bared that looks pretty creepy in the dark even when coming from a two year old.  I burst out laughing which was exactly what he was going for.  Poor James had to settle him without me because I could not stop laughing.  Finally he calmed down and James rolled over and fell asleep.  A minute later I heard Charlie say "bonk!" followed by a loud thud as he head butted James.  (I still can't stop laughing about that even as I type this)  That was the final straw and Charlie was back in his crib and a half hour later finally asleep again.

  Due to all the late night shenanigans we got off to a late start this morning.  Charlie didn't wake up until quarter to nine!!  Our first stop was the traditional brunch at Jordan's Restaurant where we filled up on pancakes and french toast.  Afterwards we still had some time to kill before our boat ride so we took a walk down to the water and then along the coast line.  Well, I say "walk" but it was really wading into the water, climbing on rocks, collecting smaller rocks, running full tilt in every available direction, and collapsing in exhaustion on the grass.  So business as usual.

Will at breakfast

wading in the water

James shows the boys a snail

Sisyphus

Colin has been using the kids' camera and he kept asking strangers if he could take pictures of them.  He was pretty cute and no one seemed to mind, most people thought it was pretty sweet.  All the boys are very friendly but Colin and Charlie go out of their way to greet people.  As we were walking down the street today Charlie would yell "hi!" to everyone we passed and Colin would call out "How are you today?".

Colin in a tree overlooking the harbor

Jon in a tree

Will hangs from a tree

Uncle Jacob would be proud

My little monkey

  













  As a treat this morning we gave each of the big boys five dollars to spend since Grandma was planning on shopping this afternoon.  But the money was burning a hole in their pockets and they had to buy something at the first store we passed.  Jon and Will each bought an eye-patch and a pirate hat (which broke right away!) and Colin bought a switchblade comb.  Colin doesn't look thrilled in this picture but he was actually very happy with his purchase.  He spent the whole day threatening to comb people's hair!  

Will the pirate

Arrrr, matey!

Colin's switchcomb

blind pirate

  Today was hot and humid and we were quickly worn out by our walk.  But at last it was time to board our ship.  We were going out on the "Margaret Todd", a four masted schooner that looked, to little boys' eyes, like a pirate ship.  There wasn't much wind when we started out but the calm water and slow speed allowed us to see a pod of porpoises and a harbor seal.  After we got away from the dock they cut the motor and raised the sails.  And Jon got to help!  It was hard for him to pull because he was so little but he was really proud of himself.

Our ship

Camille and the kids

Jon hoists the sails

James and the boys take in the sights

   Because of the lack of wind there seemed to be much more side to side than forward motion.  And it turns out that I get a little seasick.  Not horribly, but it definitely effected my enjoyment of the trip.  I found that I could handle it better when I stood in the front of the ship so that was where I spent most of my time with one kid or another.  Up there it was more pleasant and I think that I might be OK on a faster ship.

Sailing in Bar Harbor

James the pirate

Ready for the shore

  It was dinner time when we at last found ourselves on solid, steady land and we headed up to Route 66, another of our traditional restaurants.  By this time everyone was a bit cranky and tired.  Charlie had skipped his nap and did NOT want to sit down at the table.  James and I were feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of corralling four boys who seemed incapable of sitting still or using indoor voices.  But dinner came quickly and we all felt better after a good meal.  

James is weary after being bitten twice over a highchair disagreement

Boys sharing a milkshake

Boys on a slide

I love my happy Jon

Colin on the swings

  













  We decided to skip shopping and go for a swim instead.  The boys were thrilled and once again we all had a blast in the pool.  At one point Jon got in a little too deep but he kept calm, jumped up and down and called out "help!" at the top of his jump.  He wasn't actually over his head (I think he was just nervous) but I was really proud of him for the way he handled it.  We splashed, played, swam, dunked each other and played Marco Polo until after dark.  We had the pool to ourselves so we could be as loud and splashy as we wanted.  It was such a great time and James and I had just as much fun as the kids.  

Jonny in the water

Jon prepares to jump

splash!

Will and Colin in the water

Colin in the water

Jon swimming!

Jon in the water

  




























  James was once again the "kid whisperer" and was able to get everyone settled and sleeping quite quickly.  I like this new development, if I play my cards right maybe I can get out of doing bedtime on all our vacations!  Now if only Charlie doesn't wake up again...  :-)

Goodnight!