We spent a week in Acadia National park, Maine. Almost every day we hiked one of the many trails in the park. One day we did a huge loop through our side of the park, starting with a two mile hike to the sandy beach. We had an awesome picnic on the beach, and I dipped in the freezing ocean before Ma and I went to hike the beehive trail. Our hike on the beehive trail involved climbing up iron rungs and walking on ledges. The Lonely Planet book described it as “clinging to iron rings bolted to the cliff face.” I think that is a bit of an exaggeration, but the trail was very crazy. Ma thought she was going to die! The boys met us on the other side, and we all hiked down to a pond called the Bowl. The water was a lot warmer than the ocean, but we were told there were leeches so I didn’t swim.
While we were in Acadia, we celebrated Little Kid’s fourth birthday. There were awesome presents, a lot of chocolate milk in the giant birthday cup, and cupcakes. Little Kid ate four cupcakes! Sugar buzz!
We spent a day exploring the Bubble Mountain area. First, we hiked up to Balance Rock, a huge rock balanced on the edge of a cliff. It really looked like it was going to fall! Then, we hiked down a crazy rocky trail to Jordan Pond. We hiked the pretty trail around the lake before hiking back to the car.
Since there was a trail from the campground up Cadillac Mountain, the highest mountain on the island, we decided to climb the 1500 foot mountain. The eight mile hike was awesome, especially after we got above the tree line. We ate lunch on a huge section of open rock before we headed to the summit. The summit was very crowded because there was a road up, but the views were amazing.
On our last day, we explored the tide pools at Wonderland, which really was a wonderland. I found a kind of seaweed that came in long strips without the fruit things. I named it sea leather, and soon I was making belts, bracelets, and anklets from it. Ma also spotted a dolphin, which we watched for awhile, and I found some cool shells.
After a picnic lunch, we went to the swimming pond, Echo Lake. I had an awesome time swimming and fighting water wars with other kids while Little Kid dug holes with some boys. Even Ma jumped in and swam!
I can’t get over how tall Becca is getting and how much hair Andy has! It looks like you all are having so much fun. Keep the posts coming!
We SO enjoyed getting to know your family – and the hike up and down Cadillac together, as well. Huge thanks to Pa for his help with our new solar setup. May all your adventures will be wonderful!