Not exactly the best vacation photo. We made an unexpected stop in Bangor to stay in a hotel so as to avoid the inch of rain expected tonight. It has been raining steadily all day and I just can’t imagine setting up a tent and feeding ourselves and sleeping all night outside in the rain. The rain is supposed to taper off tomorrow morning, so we’ll try again then. We were disappointed that the hotel pool is closed (wah!), but we have our National Parks board game from Siggi and our chocolate from Wilbur’s in Freeport and we’ll make the most of it anyhow!
Tag: travel
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July 1
Robin struggled today. There were a lot of tears. She ate an entire container of Cool Whip out of Aunt Cathrine’s refrigerator. She heard me talking to Aunt Cathrine about it and felt horribly embarrassed. BUT… she told me the truth and we talked about it afterwards and I so appreciated that gift. I hope she continues to feel safe talking to me about these things.
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June 30
We went into Portland since the weather app indicated it would be the best weather day of the week. Well, it was cool and foggy. We thought we might go to the Portland Head Light, but there was no point in the fog, so we wandered around spending money for hours. It was fun and I think we bought some nice things that we will use and that we couldn’t find somewhere else. Then we came home and had an amazing lobster dinner. It’s only the second time I’ve had a full lobster and it was delicious and special. The kids wouldn’t touch it. More for us! Someday they will not desire day-old pizza instead of fresh lobster. That day is not today.
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June 29
I walked over 16,000 steps around the island, including one jaunt I thought would take me to a nice lookout point. Turns out that lookout point was a lot farther away than I estimated and between Christina’s shoes being completely inappropriate for walking and the fact that I had to be back for dinner, we never made it. But we did find a little private beach at the end of a dirt road and a very well-hidden trail. Christina was tickled.
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June 28
Lots of rain this morning, and then fog, and then a moment of sun, and then more fog, but we managed a family bike ride around the island and I got a short walk in afterwards. There are thousands of pictures I still need to take! We enjoyed a Lions Club dinner courtesy of Uncle Bob.
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June 27
We had a great day exploring the area. At one point I suggested a walk around the island. We got as far as around the corner, but I loved watching the girls explore the rocky beach, which they have never experienced. We were there for well over an hour. They discovered quartz, sea glass, snails, and even a crab.
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June 26
Made it at last to Maine. Today’s drive was much easier than yesterday’s. The weather leaves a little to be desired; cold and foggy. We had a nice lunch overlooking the water before getting on the ferry. The kids enjoyed biking, although Robin is not used to hills or requiring use of bike brakes and she rode directly into a bush and halfway into the ocean. Now she doesn’t want to bike ride anymore. We’ll break her in. It’s been great spending time with Aunt Cathrine and Uncle Bob. Looking forward to a quiet week ahead.
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June 25
I forgot NYC traffic. I think I got one or two new gray hairs today. The traffic itself doesn’t bother me, but the cutting in and out drives me crazy. People are so disrespectful on the roads, it is unbelievable. And completely draining to deal with. A 7-hour drive took 9+ to complete because of traffic, and we didn’t even go over the George Washington Bridge or through the Bronx as the Yankees game was ending. But here we are, and I had awesome ribs and mashed potatoes and beer for dinner and now the kids are at the pool and honestly, it’s good. A few more little old hours and we’ll be on the beach. Cannot wait!
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June 24
The trip is underway. We were delayed a few hours because our a/c stopped working last night. The technician came by this morning and luckily it was a quick, easy fix. And then on the road! We couldn’t agree on where to go for dinner once we arrived in Virginia, and Robin and Christina weren’t thrilled about where we ended up, but turns out the food was great and they had something for everyone. I even got a BLT, which I had been craving in the car but never thought in a million years I’d find on any menu anywhere on our way. We hit traffic as we crossed into South Carolina for about 50 miles, but otherwise was smooth sailing. Tomorrow we head through Washington, DC, Baltimore, and NYC… headed through the Bronx at the end of a Yankees game… so I am not expecting great things, traffic-wise. I made a great 60’s playlist (I mean, truly great), and it is 19 hours of music, so it should get us to New Haven, no problem. I sang almost the whole way today. I’m sure I drove Billy crazy, but OH FUCKING WELL.
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May 7
It turned out to be a good trip. I made a kick-ass fire and sat watching it until almost midnight. And then we did some hiking along the river. We saw a couple of bunnies on the trail, too. The weather was perfect, no bugs. I’m glad we did it.
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May 6
I got a call on Friday night while we were sitting at dinner saying that we hadn’t shown up for our camping reservation, so here’s the gate code so you can get in after hours. I thought I had cancelled that reservation months ago. My first inclination was to go ahead and cancel the second night. We hadn’t planned on it, Billy had to work… But then I thought, why not? So we did.
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April 28
We are ready for cheer competition weekend! The girls have lost three team members in the last two weeks, so they’ve had to redo their whole routine at the last minute. We’ll see what this means for them, but there are four teams in their category, so they’ll at least place fourth!
