I love Maine, Part 1

Where do I even begin?!?!  October 8th through the 13th, Rob, Tripp, Claudia, my Mom, and I went on a fantastic vacation to Maine.  We planned the trip about 2 months ago, which seemed forever away at the time, but now that it's come and gone, all I can think about is how much I would love to go back.  Maine is just one of those breathtaking places that captures your heart from the moment you step off the plane.  We went Saturday to Thursday, but could have easily spent two weeks up there. 

To start off, it would be an understatement to say I was a little nervous about Tripp's FIRST plane ride.  15 month olds are energetic and unpredictable so I was definitely anxious about our 2 hr. 45 min. flight to Portland.  And how did it go?---AWFUL!  Tripp was cranky and climbed all over mom, Rob, and I the entire flight.  He didn't sleep one wink and it showed in his little attitude.  He tried and succeeded in pulling down the tray on the seat in front of  him over and over again.  It was one of the only things that made him happy and kept him from completely losing it.  Thankfully, the row in front of us was occupied by two 6 or 7 year old little girls.  The guy to the right of the girls didn't look super thrilled about the seating arrangements--he wasn't with the girls--but, hey, it's public transportation buddy.  It is what it is.  Of course we did bring stuff for Tripp to do, but he wanted none of it.  The only other thing that made him really happy was to walk up and down the isle after the pilot turned off the seat belt sign. So, yes, we were all happy when our plane landed in Portland!

So, NOW you're happy!  Waiting to pick up our rental car at the airport.   I think his ears were popping from the flight.

After getting our bags and picking up the rental car, our journey up the coast to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park began.  We drove up US-1 almost the entire time.  It takes you all along the coast and straight through the downtown areas of many of the coastal towns.  It's a gorgeous drive to say the least.  Normally, the drive from Portland to Bar Habour would take about 3 and a half hours, but it took a little longer for us since we stopped a few times.  We weren't in a rush anyhow.

We stopped for lunch in a cute little college town--Brunswick

Tripp having fun stretching his legs and picking up leaves outside the deli.

Downtown Brunswick

Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College.  We drove through the pretty campus.

A little further along US-1.  All of the towns are so picturesque.

We spent our second day in Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.  The park has a scenic road called Park Loop Road that takes you around the perimeter of the park.  It's an absolutely gorgeous drive.  We only planned to spend half of the day there, but ended up staying in the park until sunset.  There are so many things to see and do.  We could have spent a week in there if we had the time. 

"Sand Beach" in Acadia

Tripp and Memere

Tripp and Grammy

All along Park Loop Road there are places to stop and hike to lookout points.  This is one of them.

I could look at this everyday!!!

Rob and I.  The water was oh, so pretty and the temps were PERFECT that day.  The highs were in the mid 70s which is definitely warmer than normal for Maine in mid-October.  Atleast that's what the natives say!

This boy loves dirt!  You'll see a few pictures of him playing in it.

A little windy on the water

The van we rented.  It was FABULOUS.  I was definitely a van hater prior to the trip, but both Rob and I have totally changed our minds.  It was soooooo roomy.

Sleepy Ranger.  My mom got Tripp the cute little hat at a store in the park.  It came in handy on our hikes.

So tired.  He barely cracked open one eye on the transfer to his stroller.

Jordan Pond

We stopped for lunch at the Jordan Pond House in the park.  The restaurant is famous for its yummy pastries-- "popovers."  They were so light and fluffy, I could have eaten 300 of them---DELISH!  

FYI-The pastries are called "popovers" because of the way they are made.  Rob insists they are actually called "popovers" because after you're done eating, you're so full they cause your stomach to "popover" your pants.

Cadillac Mountain--Acadia's tallest mountain and the tallest mountain on the eastern coast of the US

The wind was about to blow us away

Waiting for sunset on Cadillac Mountain

Can we say GORGEOUS?!?!

Still watching the sun go down...

Stunning

On the drive down the mountain.  That's Bar Harbor in the distance.

The next day we got up and headed into town to do a little shopping.  The picture below is only one small part of the downtown area.  There were tons and tons of shops.

Downtown Bar Harbor

Because wild Maine blueberries grow everywhere, you can get the BEST blueberry pie in Maine.  This pie was sitting in the open window of a bakery and smelled AWESOME. 

And of course we ate Lobster, Lobster, and more Lobster on the trip.  Maine sure does have some great food. 

More downtown

Oh yes, we had some blueberry pie with lunch that afternoon.  How could we resist after seeing that pie in the window that morning?!?!

Not sure if we liked it...We may need to try another piece...  :)

Unfortuately, Rob and I were supposed to go sea kayaking, but the tour got cancelled due to the strong winds that afternoon.  The guide gave us the chance to reschedule for that night or early the next morning, but we didn't have the time.  Since we couldn't kayak, we improvised and went hiking in Acadia instead.

On the hike to Bubble Rock

Bubble Rock

Dirt again?

I just LOVE photographing my family!

It was just one breathtaking view after another in this place!

Up even higher to the next Bubble Rock peak

My mom's war wound.  It's not a real trip unless she comes back with a little "souvenir."  She was okay though, just a little splinter.

Our hotel.  I would definitely stay there again.  The staff was great.

Getting ready to head back down the coast to Portland.

But not before one last stop in downtown Bar Harbor-- to do a little more shopping!  Tripp wasn't sure he wanted to do anymore shopping, but giving him snacks kept him satisfied for a little while.  Here he is with a full mouth. :)

I actually took hundreds of pictures so this is only a small, but great sample of our trip.  I'm also breaking up the trip into two separate posts since this one turned out to be pretty long. :)

Portland here we come... TO BE CONTINUED...