Family Vacation - Part 1

DAY 1
Friday, the 20th we left Tunkhannock around 8:30 or so, on our way to Bailey Island, ME for our family vacation. We had been planning this trip for 9 months, so we were all very excited to finally be on our way!!
We travelled 6 hours, stopping every hour or so, to give the girls and my MIL a walking break. We stopped for the night in Andover, Mass at the La Quinta Hotel; which was wonderful!! The facilities, continental breakfast and price were all awesome!
We decided to make use of the indoor pool - Katrina really enjoyed that and so did I; it has been too long since I have been able to swim in a pool! Katie enjoyed it as long as she could hang on to me. Later we did all sit in the hot tub, without the bubbles on, which Katie did finally enjoy.
For supper, we ordered in pizza and just had a good time relaxing without have a set schedule to adhere to. We went to bed early; our vacation was off to a good start!!
Jaron and his Dad enjoying the hot tub.

Katie with Nana. She got in later on, but the pool water was a little cool for her; the hot tub was a much better option - as long as the jets were off!

We had fun in the big pool!


DAY 2

We were up early to finish the two hour drive that would take us to our destination - Bailey Island, Maine. We only had one potty break before stopping at Shaw's Grocery store in Cook's Corner for last minute groceries; and Walmart for some beach toys and floaties for the girls before heading on to our cabins on Bailey Island.
The last leg of the journey took approx. 30 minutes. Cook's Corners is located on the mainland - we drove from there to Great Island, which leads to Orr's Island which leads to Bailey Island - our final destination!
We arrived at our cabins at 1 pm and quickly went about unloading the Jeep and getting things settled in.
Katrina was extremely excited (to put it mildly!!) about the ocean and going swimming. From the 1st time we saw the coastline back in Portland, ME she kept asking when she could go swimming!
After getting things put away, we walked down to the beach. Maine's beaches and shorelines have a beauty all their own. They are rugged and rocky. The water is cold. Probably about 60* in the summer, not very conducive for swimming; but the tide pools warm up in the sun and are perfect for wading, splashing and finding little sea creatures.
We spent quite a while beachcombing for sea glass, which I had told Jaron I would like to collect some while we were there. Sea glass comes from glass bottles that have been tossed into the ocean, broken in many pieces and tumbled about in the waves until all edges are soft and smooth and the glass itself has taken on a frosted look. The common colors are white, brown and green. Blue and red glass are the hardest to find, but definitely the prettiest. We found lots of the 3 common colors and some blue and red pieces, although they were small. Jessica found the first blue piece; between her and Jaron they found most of the blue and red pieces.
The weather was sunny when we arrived at our cabins, then it changed to overcast, cool and very foggy. It was amazing to watch the mist and fog, literally roll in to the coast. Our first three days there were like this, along with a smattering of rain; but that didn't deter us from getting out.

Almost there...

Walking up to check out the cabins.

Cabin 24 - where my In-laws and Uncle Mike and Aunt Ruth stayed. This was also the cabin Jaron and I stayed in for our Honeymoon, 6 years ago.

Cabin 19, where Jessica and the four of us stayed (on the first floor).

Beachcombing


DAY 3

Sunday we spent either beachcombing or relaxing in our cabins...we did have a complete Sunday meal, though! One of the nice things about staying in a cabin vs. a hotel is that you can do your own cooking; which saves money and saves you from getting sick of fast food.

DAY 4

Monday was busy!!
We started out by doing some more beachcombing. With the change of high and low tides, the rocks, glass and "treasures" on the shoreline are different constantly. You might beachcomb the same area several times and find different things just because of the changing tides.
Then we went to Lands End, which is a tourist shop situated on the end of Bailey Island. The girls each picked out a soft, stuffed Lobster; Jaron found himself a nice 2 layer fleece/windjacket. I found a set of four blue, glass starfish dishes, that I will use to decorate our family room.
From there we drove an hour and a half, to Portland to see the Portland Headlight. Before going there, we stopped at the Lobster Shack. A restaurant that one of Jaron's clients had highly recommended for their seafood - we were not dissapointed! It was very good!
From this spot you were supposed to be able to see the Portland Headlight, but because of the foggy, misty weather conditions, visibility was basically non-existent. It was the same way for the Two Light State park we had planned to stop at on the way. There are two lighthouses there. You had to pay to get in and jugding the looks of the weather, we figured there wasn't any reason to pay admission to not be able to see anything.
The Portland Headlight was really neat to see, even though it was quite foggy! They had a museum I would have liked to go in, but the rain was beginning to fall and I really didn't want to take two little energetic girls into a quiet museum :)
Our last stop of the day was the outlet stores in Freeport. (Another spot we visited on our honeymoon - Jaron actually heard me say I was tired of spending money; but now, I'm sure it would take alot for him to hear that again :) LOL)
It was the end of the day, the girls were tired and we only did "man-shopping" this time :)! We knew what we wanted, we bought it and left.
Jaron picked up another pair of binoculars at L.L. Bean, since we hadn't thought to bring his with us and he picked up a pair for Katrina - she loves playing with his at home. She really thought she was hot stuff!
L.L. Bean is headquartered there - they basically had their own LL Bean complex of stores.
We also stopped at BASS and picked up a pair of dress shoes and casual shoes for Jaron. They were valued at $200 and we bought them both for $90!! You can't beat that!! On our honeymoon, he also needed some shoes and they had lasted him four or five years - so it was well worth the expense.
Last stop in Freeport was Carters for me :) I picked up 2 outfits, an adorable brown and pink fleece blanket and some burp cloths for Baby #3.
The girls both fell asleep on the way home, it was a busy day, but a good one!

More Beachcombing...

Taken at Lands End. ( My Mom made the matching skirts for us, and we had several compliments on them!! Thanks MOM!!) The statue depicts a lobsterman tending to a lobster.

Lobster Shack Restaurant

Wild Rugosa Rose - these grow all over and are probably somewhat evasive, I thought they were really pretty. They add so much color to the landscape and a nice fragrance as well.

Several different shots of the Portland Headlight. You can see how foggy and misty it is! Normally you would be able to see the ocean behind the light, but it was so foggy, you couldn't see very far out.




If you look closely, you can see the light shining from the headlight in this picture.

L.L. Bean - I believe this was the main store in their complex.

more vacation details and pictures later......