Our Maine Vacation: Part 3: The Islands

On Tuesday, we rode the Beal and Bunker mail boat out to the Cranberry Islands.  We took the 7:30 boat out, which is mainly taken by locals- contractors, plumbers, shop keepers, etc. We met a woman who gave us tips on where to go and what to eat on the Islands.  

On the ride, school children joined us. The boat is not only the mail boat, and the taxi for local workers, it's the school bus.  Great Cranberry Island has a school for all of the Cranberry Islands, about 16 children attend school on the Islands. 

our boat

Quiet morning in the harbor.

We stopped on Islesford (little cranberry) first. 

Islesford harbor

Post office.

(for you Jenny)

Cranberry Islands school

Museum

beautiful low tide shore

the docks

Fudge.  Home made by a shop owner.

It was the best fudge ever. :)

After Islesford, we headed to Great Cranberry Island. 

mail on the mail boat

beautiful views 

A lobster roll. 

Not my favorite version of lobster, but it's a cultural must try. :)

we took a few short walk/hikes 

yet again, stunning.

tide pool

It's so pretty

The Islands were great. It makes me want to go and live on them.  The people are so interdependent and removed from everyday life. They are all like a big family. They know the mail boat drivers and workers who boat in.  The kids get to ride the boat to school... and the list goes on.  And, I haven't even mentioned the awesome views. :)

I will leave you with this hilarious sign.

It was posted next to the school.   hehe. There could be so many interpretations of this 

End Part 3

To be continued...

In Christ

~Michelle

Our Maine Vacation: Part 2: Hiking

I really enjoy hiking, though I'm incredibly out of shape.  I'm more of a stop-and-smell-the-flowers type then a destination focused hiker, so we managed to do some tough hikes because I kept stopping to snap pictures and rest. 

Jordan Pond- This was a beautiful 3 mile walk around the Jordan pond. It was pretty much flat. 

The Bubbles- We decided to be a little adventurous, and despite having a headache and an awful cold, we made it up the Bubbles.  We passed one hiker who told us it was the most difficult hike he had ever done.  It really wasn't that bad, and I think the exertion cured me, because we made it to the top.  

looking down the trail

Notice the blue paint on the rocks? They mark our trail.

made it!

Bubble Rock

Beehive- This trail was listed as Strenuous in our guide book. But, it sounded like too much fun to pass up. 

Once again, blue marks our path

It was rung and ladder up some of the way. 

it got pretty close to the edge

you didn't want to slip here

The view was, once again, beautiful.

The Beehive connected with the Bowl

Bowl lake

Acadia Mountain- Being in Acadia National Park, we had to hike this one.  The way up wasn't so bad, but the way down was the hard part. The trail seemed to go straight down. 

creepy looking trees

(oh look! a picture that's not a selfie)

It just went down

Man of War Creek

The trickle of Man of War water fall.

This water fall, when full, pours into the fjord, and ships used to be able to pull right up and fill their barrels with water.  

We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather for hiking.   There were so many trails I would have loved to go on, but time is always the issue.

End Part 2

To be continued....

In Christ

~Michelle

Our Maine Vacation: Part 1: Entering Acadia

On the 4th, Nathan and I took off work and headed off to Maine.  

We decided it would be best to drive, so we rented a spiffy little car from our local dealer to save on wear and tear to our aging car. 

One of our unexpected expenses was tolls.  Around here, a toll is $0.60-$1.50. Passing through, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, we spent around $50 in tolls.  The record was $15 at one toll booth. 

The drive was 20 hours one way so we decided to split the trip up a bit.  The halfway mark just happened to be Niagara. We made it to the falls on the Canadian side by Friday evening.  We didn't stay very long because it was getting dark, but they were beautiful. 

After we left Niagara Falls, we decided to keep driving, and try going through the night.  We ended up sleeping at a rest area for a few hours before we hit the road again. 

sunrise over I-80

Since we drove through the night, we made good time and reached the east coast by late morning.  So, since my bucket list includes getting to all 50 states, we decided to do something in Massachusetts.  Cape Cod was the chosen destination.

A pretty little pond

the coast of Cape Cod

We didn't stay very long. Cape Cod is actually a rather big place and we wanted to keep moving north. 

Maine!

Since we didn't know how travel out would go, and we didn't want to set up a tent in the dark, we decided to play it safe and reserved the camp site for Sunday night. So, Saturday night we got a hotel a few hours out of the park. 

Sunday morning, we drove to Mount Desert Island  and in to Acadia National Park, where we spent the week. 

After setting up camp we took a short walk to the ocean. 

Our camp site

The beautiful rugged coast of Acadia, Maine. 

Sunday evening, we drove up Cadillac Mountain.  

wild flowers

stunning views

on top of the mountain

It is here I must warn you- due to the fact that there were only two of us on the trip, the following will be true: there are not many pictures of us and most of those are poorly taken selfies.

It just takes your breath away.

This is a view of the Porcupine Islands.

a carriage bridge

The rest of the week we spent, hiking, eating, touring, and we tried to squish in a little bit of relaxing. 

End Part 1

To Be continued...

In Christ

~Michelle