Hiking Acadia (8-05-18)

We have been to Acadia twice before, and I guess you could say we have seen the “tourist stuff”. So this time, we were all about the hiking, and the food, and the visiting…..

The only reason we really decided to stop here now is because I looked for a last minute spot and actually found one, in the park,  no hook up, but close to hiking trails.

We hit the ground running, so to speak, with the Dorr Mountain Ladder Trail. This trail uses ladders and stone stairs to ascend Dorr Mountain.














When I saw the description of this trail I was pretty excited. It had a good amount of elevation gain at 1150 ft, and at 3.3 miles, it was short enough for us to handle.

I thought it looked like a lot of fun, and it was. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Once we were done with the ladders, we had some granite to hike up.

The views at the top of the fog shifting over the nearby islands definitely made it worth it.

Our descent was slowed by the blueberries along the trail. We are in prime blueberry season and there were thousands of them just sitting there along the trail. Yum!

Our “day off” from hiking was spent…hiking. One of Paul’s fraternity brothers lives in the area, and we met up with him for a hike. It wasn’t in the National park- it was in a dog friendly park so that we could bring Cooper, Rich’s young black English Lab.

It was a 3 mile hike but essentially no elevation gain, so it was reasonably easy.









With the temperature and the humidity in the mid 80s, Cooper was just happy he was allowed to go for a swim!










Our reward was lunch with a view. We picked up sandwiches at a nearby deli and relaxed on the waterfront.
We also went to dinner at Rich and Sue’s house one night, but of course, I didn’t get any pictures!

Next up on our hiking agenda was the Precipice Trail….sounds scary, doesn’t it? Yep, so scary that this is all I saw of the trail:

They warn  you in large letters that if you are afraid of heights, this is not the trail for you. It literally climbs up the side of the mountain. Hmm, not for me, but Paul has wanted to do this trail for a while.. It’s usually closed because of nesting peregrine falcons, but there was no nest this year.











Off he went, along with about 20 other people that started at the same time as him. With my having no cell coverage in the park, we both took Jeep key with us. It was my intention to walk down the road to the beach and hang out there while I waited for him, but I never left.




Instead, I chatted with people as they were starting the trail and also with those who were finishing, so the time passed by pretty quick. And I took lots of pictures.  I couldn’t tell until we got home to the computer that I actually managed to get a few of him.



:
He is waiting for his turn to climb one of the ladders in this picture.

This is what it looked like to him:

He was quite impressed with the view from the top.

It took him about 3 hours to do the trail.

Its been really hot and muggy in Acadia, and we quickly learned to keep our swimsuits and towels in the Jeep so they would be handy. Most days we ended up at Sand Beach for a swim, or in Paul’s case, watching his wife swim.

Running out of days to hike, we broke our unwritten rule of taking a day off in between, and headed for the Beehive Trail the day after he hiked the Precipice.

The Beehive isn’t a long trail on its own – once you climb up it, you decide which trail you want to take to get back down.

Its a mini version of the Precipice trail, with it’s share of ladder climbing and steep drop offs.

This picture was actually taken when we hiked it the first time, in 2009- it shows both the steep drop, and the gorgeous views.

This is my least favorite section of the trail, where I really debate turning around.

Once we reached the top, Paul decided his legs had had enough and he opted for the short trail back down. I wanted to do the Gorham Mountain Trail, so he went back to the Jeep and drove down the road to the trailhead where I would finish.

It was a fun trail, with great views, and the total mileage was only about 2 miles.

Before leaving Acadia, he managed to have lobster one more time- this time it was a lobster roll- his first time having one! It was so great that the weather was nice enough to sit out on the dock at the Fish House Grill.

Traditions (Boston, MA 08-13-12)

Most families have traditions, and mine is no exception.   One of our family traditions began over 42 years ago, when my parents decided they needed a much deserved weekend away from their four kids. They stayed at a small motel in New Hampshire, directly across the street from a beautiful beach.  As soon as they got home, they made plans to bring us kids to the Dunes Motel in Rye, NH. That was the start of one of my favorite traditions, our summer vacation at "The Dunes".  Every year  we would head there, staying anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on how far my parents could make their dollar stretch.     It's not the fanciest, or even the cleanest motel I have ever stayed in, but it had one thing going for it- location, location, location.

On the beach in 1994- me, brother Rich, sister-in-law Dawn, my daughter Jess, and son Stephen

We could grab our beach toys and a towel and walk across the street to play in the waves and the sand.

on the beach 2012- Stephen, Debbie, Rich, Dawn, Ray

 Once we'd had enough of the beach, we'd head back to the pool for a swim before heading out to dinner at our favorite restaurants.

Jess and I at the pool, 1994

 As the years went by, life changed, and not all of us could make it to the beach every year, but we all tried to go as often as we could.  Both of my kids have been going to "The Dunes" since before they could walk.
Eventually, I moved away and didn't have the chance to make the trek to Rye Beach for a long time.  My brothers and sister try to go every year, and they do manage to get there most years, although they only stay for a long weekend these days. 

Paul joins the tradition in 1999, with Jess

Jess and Stephen on the beach, 1999

on the beach, 1994, Ray and Jess

 Part of the reason I flew to Boston at this particular time is because it coincided with the trip to The Dunes. I had a great 4 day weekend with my family and it brought back a million childhood memories.

arriving at the motel, 2012- Richie, Stephen, Dawn and Ray

rainbow over the pool, 2012

and the visiting begins....

Today is Saturday...we arrived in Gloucester yesterday after spending 2 days with Stephen in Sturbridge..it was really hard to say goodbye to him- the only thing that made it easier is that he should be able to spend a couple of days with us in Gloucester. The ride here was uneventful and easy, unusual for a Friday in the summer. Usually the traffic would be a killer, but I guess when they are predicting hurricanes, people don't head to the beach....Go figure. Our first day here we spent cleaning, shopping, etc. and just walked to Wingaersheek beach, a mile or so down the street. Its sooooo awesome to be here where we can see so many friends/family, and be near the ocean. We can't wait to get the inflatable out on the water. Hopefully the weather will clear eventually. No actual hurricane here, but tons of rain and wind today. Gloucester is having a problem with the water- there is potentially bacteria in it, so everyone has to boil their water. We had water in our tank so we have been using that up, and haven't had to use the town water, but it won't last much longer. We really don't want to put that water through our pipes if we can avoid it. Hopefully they get the situation squared away soon. This afternoon, my brothers Rich and Ray, and my sister-in-law Dawn came over. We ate lunch here, then went bowling this afternoon. It was actually pretty fun, since most of us (except Rich, who bowls in a league) haven't bowled candlepin for years. We went to dinner at the Gloucester House, a well known restaurant, afterwards. Tomorrow more friends will be here. The next week or so will pretty much be visiting, although there is a schooner festival this coming weekend that should be interesting...