Maine - Day Four

The family went on a four hour kayak tour around Casco Bay in Maine this morning.  We were all suited up in our life vests and spray skirts by 9:00 a.m.  

Our guide was named Joe and he was awesome.  

We did a little dry land training and got familiar with our paddle positions and some safety instructions.  

Hey Joe, did you know it is officially Shark Week?  We didn't watch on purpose last night so we wouldn't have any visions of sharks biting our kayaks in half.  

So Joe, have you ever seen a shark in these waters?  

Joe says, a couple of years ago the fishermen were talking about a great white in the bay, but I never saw it personally. 

Holy Crap.

Down to the boats at low tide.  There is a ten foot variance between low tide and high tide this time of year.  Once we got in our boats we went over a few more safety precautions like what to do if you fall out of your kayak.  Holy mackerel.  Can I get a refund?  

Just kidding.  I cannot wait!  Land ho!  Bon voyage!  Whatever you say when you are on your way!  Push this boat in the water! 

It was a GORGEOUS morning out on the water.  Me and Harry were Boat #1 and Hubby and Chip were Boat #2.  There were five tandem boats, plus Joe in his solo kayak.  

We crossed some deep water that thankfully we don't have pictures of, because that means Hubby was actually paddling with Chip instead of taking pictures!  We hit so many islands and saw some beautiful homes.  This is Diamond Island.  Houses run from $1 - 10 Million.  And these are only summer homes.  Very few live there year round because the island is only accessible by ferry and the winters are so terribly harsh.  

We went against the current on the way out and rode the current in on the way back.  We saw a couple of harbor seals, all kinds of birds, and a very cool osprey nest.  

Maine has a very rich history and played an important part in military operations.  There were several military forts we visited on our kayak tour that were built to defend the harbor.  In fact, a German submarine was shot pretty close to Casco bay.   

Joe gave us really cool information about the area as we paddled around.  Having a tandem kayak was not only more stable, but it was nice so you could take a break every now and then. 

We left the bay and crossed into the open sea for a short while.  It was much breezier and cool and the waves were a little more choppy.  We saw these really cool cliffs and more military lookout forts that were built to keep an eye out for enemy ships. 

We took a pitstop on an island and had a snack and stretched our legs.  The boys got to rock climbing almost immediately.  

They were checking out tide pools and looking for wild life.  On our tour, we went by lighthouses, piers, buoys, giant docks, we were all over the coast line.  It was an exceptional adventure and we all agreed it was the best part of the trip yet!  

We finished at 1:00 p.m. on the nose and were supposed to check out of our hotel at 2:00 p.m.  We jumped in our car, hit the hotel lobby about 1:13 and all four of us ran through the shower, got dressed and were packed and in the lobby by 1:45.  That has to be a record of some kind.  

That was our last activity in Portland and we were headed to New Hampshire.  First, we had to take care of some urgent food needs.  We were starving!  This was a great little restaurant we found on the way and either the food was exceptional or we were so hungry everything tasted wonderful! 

We arrived at the Hilton in Manchester, New Hampshire and it was physically connected to the minor league Fisher Cats team stadium.  This picture was taken out of the window of our hotel room.  You cannot beat that for convenience.  

It was a perfect evening for some AA baseball.  This shot is from our stadium seats back out towards left field and our hotel.  

Hubby got busy trying to get the perfect shot. 

The Fisher Cats were on fire and had the Rock Hounds down 9-0! 

After 7 1/2 innings, me and Chip were done, so we took a short walk back to the hotel.

Once back, Chip watched the rest of the game from here!  The Fisher Cats won big and we got to see a dinger or two!  

It was a great day in New England!  I am going to sleep so good tonight!  And probably won't be able to move my arms in the morning!  

Maine - Day Three (Harry Guest Post)

Today's post is brought to you by Harry.  He found out that Chip had a guest post back in 2012 and decided he needed some of that action.  So here we go (my editorial comments will be in blue):

Here's a shot of the main street, pretty mediocre pizza place called, "Otto." Not the best pie ever, but I ate four slices cause I'm a big boy.

Yeah this shot was taken during the death march to the Portland observatory. Whole friggin thing was uphill for like two miles. Now I'm no schmuck when it comes to being in shape, but I was feeling sweat in places that I hadn't in a while after this trek.

(This is no lie.  Hubby told us it was six minutes away.  What he failed to mention was that was via car, on an interstate going 80 mph.  Walking it took a bit longer and it was uphill!)

See this firehouse? I thought we were gonna have to call on them for an escort when Chip nearly shat himself on the way back to the hotel after we looked at some lighthouses.

Nothing really to see here, pretty standard old-timey house with a crappy paint job. (See upstairs window)

(These houses were absolutely gorgeous and looking just like I imagined Maine would look like!)

Some boats. This is Maine. Not much to do in this place other than fish for and eat lobster.

(Gorgeous view of the harbor on our early morning walk.  So peaceful.)

A lot of these were taken when Mom and Pop were out on a walk in the early morning. I was passed out, butt-naked asleep during that so I apologize for not being able to fill you guys in on the events that transpired.

(Cobblestone streets.  So cool.)

Same old stuff. This may actually be the same picture as the first one.... Who the hell is in charge of quality control in this establishment??

Okay, seriously? You guys the idea right? Buildings are old, and apparently anything goes at 6 a.m. considering the major case of jay walking going on in this shot.

I have no caption for this. I don't know what this building is, nor can I say that I really give a rats, but it looks old, and was for some reason deserving of a picture.

This is the Portland observatory that we trudged through hell to get to. Much like everything else in town, it is old and generally underwhelming upon first look.

(But totally cool once we got inside and heard the history of the observatory and Maine.  Great tour.  We all enjoyed it!)

This is the view from atop the observatory. Pretty cool. The wind up there kinda messed up my hair but that was really the only downside I guess.

Pre-hair debauchery. I am kinda mean muggin' it here because I was under the impression that this would be the funny go-round after we had just taken the serious one. Pretty common practice right? Not in Maine. Anything goes in Maine and/or at 6 a.m.

Thanks, I work out. 

More "Full House" looking mess. 

Not too sure why this made the blog considering we have this exact chain in Austin, but this is where we ate today. You'll probably see a post with us eating at the same friggin place sometime in the near future. 

(I had the burger with lobster in a lettuce wrap.  It was awesome sauce!)

Here we go... This when things really started to pick up. We took a visit to this place that supposedly housed, "The Worlds Largest Globe." Pretty much just about as fun as it sounded. Fifteen minutes, couple of snap chats, boom-bam we're outta there. 

(It actually is the World's Largest Globe....and it actually was kind of lame.)

Here's Chip trying not to spill a load in his pants while staring into a carefully mapped, large-scale model of the Pacific ocean.

(We actually sat here for more minutes than I can believe cracking jokes about how lame the globe was.  It made it not so horrible.)

A lot more "friggins" and poop references with me calling the shots, huh? Must be a fun twist for you readers who are used to my Mom's Hallmark, G-Rated style. Oh yeah here's a lighthouse. Ton of Indian people up in here, not sure why.

(Mom "Hallmark and G-rated???  Who is he kidding??)

That's just gosh darn picturesque right there.

Is that the same friggin sail boat? Get outta here with your subliminal advertising, Old Spice.

Good lord, look at that gap. It's like Chip is some kind of 5-star babe that I'm afraid to make contact with.

(FYI: Chip is not a 5-star babe.)

Yeah here's that "Otto" pizza place. I'm no expert on male jaw-lines, but I'm pretty confident that mine is at LEAST an 8 out of 10 based on this shot. 

(It was a great Day Three in Maine - contrary to some of the lengthy uphill hikes, near miss bathroom incidents and mediocre pizza!  Tomorrow we Kayak!  Woo Hoo!) 

Maine - Day Two

Day Two in Portland, Maine was an early day for the family.  We were headed north to visit Acadia National Park.  It was about a two and a half hour drive, but we had heard that it was not to be missed.

We started off with a stop at Dunkin Donuts. There is a pattern here.  Made a couple of pit stops on the way, but arrived without too much traffic.  Once we got our Day Pass we were headed for Park Loop Road to see what we could find.    

Cool bridge....always a photography opportunity for Hubby.  

First pull over we found was a big lake with some beaver dams.  I didn't take a picture of the dam, but look how excited Harry is to look at a giant pile of logs.  

Next up was Sand Beach.  You can't tell from this picture, but it was packed.  People coming out of the woodwork on Independence Day!   Lots of them seemed to be foreigners.  

Beautiful views.

Gorgeous weather.

The big boys getting close.

Family Selfie.

Since parking was a bit of a nightmare, we walked from Sand Beach down this area called Thunder Hole.  Very cool.

The Maine coast is gorgeous. 

Harry climbing all over giant rocks with no regard for safety was not cool.  Chip's tennis shoes were slick as ice - not much tread left on them so he was stuck with his mother!  YAY!  

Look at these guys!  

Then we were back in the car and headed toward Bubble Mountain.  It was a hell of a climb through the woods.  Did I already mention the gorgeous weather?  Man alive, it was nice. 

Look at these two yahoos.  Harry is trying desperately to get a cell phone signal. Some guy was being traded and he thought the Suns were going to get him.  He was walking around with his arm in the air praying for some technology.  

Chip getting it up a hill.  

If he would have only know how steep it was going to get he would have conserved his energy. 

Great lighting in the woods.  Me and Hubby.  

It was a weird combination of working up a sweat but being in the chilly woods. 

Me and the boys. 

We made it!  All the way to the top!  Holy Moly, it was a steep climb. 

Get the hell away from the edge please! 

So stunning. The view...not me. 

GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THE EDGE! 

Can you even imagine how much fun I am to do dangerous things with.  Seriously! 

Here is a snapshot of a small set of the 1,598,346 steps it took to get to the top of this baby. 

We made it fun! 

After that we headed over to see the lighthouse on the other side of the island.  It was a mess to park here too, but we finally got a spot.  

This was it.  The shortest lighthouse in the history of the world.  What the heck??  It was only 32 feet tall.  It was kind of disappointing!  Look at this family of guys getting their picture made?  They were totally digging the midget lighthouse.  

Next up, the boys agreed to a traditional Lobster dinner!  YAY for mom!  It was so good.  They didn't eat lobster, but they did eat Haddock!  It was at a place called Beal's and it was right on the water. 

I had lobster, steamed corn and a cup of corn/shrimp chowder.  Oh, and an ice cold Bud Light.  It was excellent and I was covered in lobster juice from head to toe!  So fun and delicious!

We drove back to Portland and called it a night!  Great day out in nature, seeing beautiful things with my family.  It honestly doesn't get much better than that!