After a nice hike there’s no better way to cool down than jumping in a beautiful lake!
Come on in! The water’s fine!
You may notice I somehow managed to forget Kristhawee’s bathing suit. Didn’t phase him a bit, he wasn’t shy about hitting the beach in his boxers. Good boy!
Life’s a beach! 😉
Good morning from Seawall Campground in Acadia National Park!
Kristhawee is a great helper at breakfast time 🙂 The cheesy eggs master!
The families camping next to us had some pretty cute kids 🙂
Skies are never as blue as after a big storm! With Hurricane Arthur gone fine weather returned to Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.
I asked a Park Ranger for some recommendations for a good hike with my boy and she steered us to the trails above Echo Lake. Good stuff!
Beech Cliffs Trail!
Was a bit surprised to discover that this trail includes a bunch of steel ladders. No problem for my adventurous little boy, but imagine this could be a challenge for some kids…
A fantastic trail that is short but covers a lot of vertical!
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More ladders!
Echo Lake Panorama-
Looking down on the beach at Echo Lake-
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Kristhawee and I bundled up in our warmest clothes and rain gear and walked to the Seawall Campground shuttle bus stop. There were some big trees down in the campground, including a giant old birch that had flattened a picnic table. It was lucky no one was camping in that site- a tree that size could certainly kill.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the shuttle buses were still running, albeit off schedule and having to take alternate routes on account of many roads being blocked by downed trees.
It took a long time to reach Bar Harbor, but it was rather exciting to be driven around Mount Desert Island during the tail end of a hurricane. It was very cold and windy and we took refuge in the Jesup Library, a beautiful old building, where we enjoyed some books and shelter from the storm.
It was getting close to lunch time so we wandered down the street to the Lazy Lobster Deli where Kristhawee ordered a pretty darn awesome flatbread pizza and I enjoyed a large bowl of clam chowder. Kristhawee didn’t want to try the chowder but we have a rule he has to try everything and he loved it!
We wandered around Bar Harbor a little after lunch as the rain was letting up and the weather was improving but it was still very windy and cold. The bus ride back to Seawall campground was long and circuitous on account of more downed trees and blocked roads. My little guy passed out 🙂
Finally the rain stopped and the winds died down; it was actually a fairly pleasant evening. I bought some dry firewood and we enjoyed dinner by the fire and s’mores for dessert.
I very much enjoyed sampling local micro brews along the way. This local IPA from the Atlantic Brewing Company was mighty fine!
The timing of Hurricane Arthur’s arrival was, all things considered, rather agreeable. Kristhawee and I had time to get dinner and get ready for bed before the rains and wind really picked up strength.
We read a couple chapters from the fantastic book by Jean George: “My Side of the Mountain” and fell asleep in our little tent, hoping we’d survive the storm.
My son can sleep through the wildest of weather. Me, not so much. I spent a mostly sleepless night listening to the wind howl and the rain bucket down. At times it felt like the wind would flatten our little tent, but after every strong gust would nearly knock it over the Marmot would pop back up, and we survived the night dry and warm. I was quite surprised to find I could get a data connection in the Seawall campground. Checking the radar and current conditions in the early hours of July 5th-
It was still raining hard and the wind was still howling but we decided to suit up and see if we could catch a shuttle to Bar Harbor. Are you ready little guy?
Wet wet wet, but my boy is still smiling so all is well! 🙂
Crossing the Trenton Bridge to Mount Desert Island, the 3rd largest island in New England (behind Martha’s Vinyard and Long Island)
Welcome to Acadia National Park!
It was July 4th and normally one would expect the campgrounds to be packed, but the approaching hurricane Arthur seems to have scared some folks away so we got lucky and found a great spot in the Seawall campground.
The friendly Ranger who checked us in at Seawall warned me about the approaching hurricane and was kind enough to direct us a site that was on high ground and didn’t have many big trees that could fall on us… After setting up camp the weather was still good so we hit a Lobster Pound in nearby Southwest Harbor.
While waiting for our food Kristhawee got started on his Acadia National Park Junior Ranger book 🙂
On July 4th Hurricane Arthur was heading up the east coast but no one was sure which way it would go. Turns out it was headed straight for Acadia National Park!
Started the day with some “Red, White and Blue” pancakes 🙂
It certainly looked like we would get wet today!
We made good time up the coast, staying mostly on smaller roads and made a pits top in the small beach town of Lincolnville to stretch our legs and grab a snack-
75 more mile to Acadia National Park and fortunately we have managed to stay ahead of the bad weather!
Another perfect hot sunny day on the Massachusetts coast!
Woohoo!! 😀
Father and son explore Caumsett State Park, Long Island, New York. Beautiful day for a hike!
Deer!
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Good food, great service and an adorable miniature golf course at Drossos, Long Island 🙂
Live To Ride, Ride To Live! 