Sunrise

Here is a little more on our mini golfing last night. It was fun for all ages. The area was set up like a pirate ship. This morning the girls saw the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain. This is the first place the sun rises on the East Coast. It was very beautiful. The rest of our day was occupied by the eight hour drive to Burlington, Vermont. We hit 3 states in our drive: Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We had a great time in Maine. It is a beautiful state, and so is upstate New Hampshire and Vermont.  I think we drove through dozens of small towns today which was our goal to be off the beaten path as we see the northeast.  This is a great place, but they just don't have the idea when it comes to coffee, so Pops says.  Somebody laughed when he asked directions to Starbucks.

Ann tries to get it in on her second hit.

Kipp sinks one in towards the end of the 18-hole course.

We were the first ones in America to see the sunrise this morning. The Atlantic Ocean is also in view from Mount Cadillac in Acadia National park. 

Acadia

The weather cooperated today, and now we are resting in a cottage just outside Acadia National Park. We covered about 250 miles in the rental van. I nearly have all the buttons and switches figured out. Driving north from Ogunquit was a welcome respite from the hustle south of us. The traffic steadily thinned, and the country-side reminded me of where I grew up in north-eastern Washington. I noticed farms here and there, a John Deere dealership, pine trees, and some black, white-faced cattle, and lots of barns along the way. The handful of buzzards (I think), and absence of mountains, with all those things, though, may be distinctly Maine.

Once at the park, we couldn’t get to the place labeled, “Sandy Beach” quick enough for the kids. They learned to body surf there and had a great time. It was in the low 70’s and the water temperature didn’t seem to bother them at all. After burning some energy there, we drove around the entire park – lots of vista-type views over the water, crashing surf, etc. Bar Harbor offered an ice-cream shop, Ben and Bill’s ice cream shop with their signature flavor, Lobster Ice Cream. It really has lobster in it. We opted for more traditional fare.

We closed out the evening playing miniature golf. Sam and Rylee each hit a hole in one. Great fun, but Ann beat me by a stroke.

Kipp.

Beach and Bean

The beach boys

"Go get wet and sandy!"

The Bean boot

It's another cool and cloudy day in Maine, so we headed by car up to Freeport, Maine, to the LLBean flagship store.  It was just a fun shopping experience.  There were attentive, gray-haired, knowledgeable, customer service people that all had Alaska stories to share.  Tired of shopping, we ventured to the beach again where the kids were again the only ones in the water and Kipp and I watched, shivering, where the surf couldn't quite reach our toes.  They had a ball, especially Trevor who invested all of his allowance in a wet suit for this occasion.  This is a wonderful place to be, I'm sure, when there's sun to mix with the sand.  Tomorrow is our first driving segment of the journey as we head north to Acadia National Park.  Our Nuvi(GPS), Jill with the Australian accent, is talking Kipp through all the intricacies of driving in a foreign place.  (I'm tickled that she's the one getting grumbled at instead of me.)  

The Rain in Maine

Hurray!  That wave may go away!

Mom's last words, "Try not to get too wet and sandy..."  Oh, well...

We've found the recipe for securing an expanse of beautiful, white, sandy, Atlantic beach all to ourselves! Pick a day to visit that's rainy, windy, and about 55 degrees.  The kids weren't hindered which I'm sure amused the locals.  After we were thoroughly soaked, we spent the rest of the day warming in our motel.  We attended a small Baptist Church here in Ogunquit.  This part of the sea coast is primarily a series of small towns, much more laid back than our last few stops and wheels are essential.  No subway, Metro, or "T" in Ogunquit.  It's laid out like Wasilla, but with all quaint, small businesses.  Kipp and Hannah ventured by train to Portland and picked up our car a day early so the predicted rain tomorrow won't hamper our travel bug.-  -Ann

Maine

last  night    we  got     to  maine.      Dad  and  hannah   got back   from   portland                             and  I   went   swiming  today.   --Sam                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Boston

Trevor, Rylee, and Sam stand in front of the U.S.S. Constitution in its home port, Boston. This is the oldest battleship in the world still afloat, and it was undefeated with a record of 33-0. This was a great tour.

Sam listens intently to the Park Ranger telling about the Battle of Bunker Hill. There are a couple of monuments in the background in memorial of this battle.

These are a few very old graves at the cemetery. The graves were pretty readable, especially for some being 300+ years old. There is a Captain's gravestone from the 1700s in the cemetery that has marks from the British shooting muskets at it as an act of disrespect.

This is a view of Boston from the top of Bunker Hill Monument. A few of us may have sore legs from climbing the 297 steps.

We had a great time in Boston today. We visited a few historical sites and it was very nice weather to walk around in- upper sixties to lower seventies. We saw the U.S.S. Constitution, Bunker Hill, and a very old cemetery. We got around by following the red "Freedom Trail" and taking the Old Town Trolley. The U.S.S. Constitution was amazing, and Sam was happy to see Bunker Hill; he is into the Revolutionary War stuff right now. To his dismay, there was no battle going on. He showed up 234 years late. The cemetery we went to had gravestones dating back to the 1600s. After a quick train ride, we are in Ogunquit, Maine. We will be here for three nights, so we plan to just relax here on the Atlantic Coast. Everyone is very excited for the beach!

New York

After a busy couple days in NYC, some time is found to update the blog. We enjoy hearing comments from you followers. I write this at our hotel in Boston; we arrived a couple hours earlier. We did lots in New York, however. These are the details:

Upon our arrival, we had a wonderful introduction to New York by a hotel worker. We got a bit more familiar with New York and the Subway system. The next day, we went Uptown to the 5th Avenue area and Times Square. We started off on the famous 5th Avenue with the Apple Store, where we played with a couple new products. Then we split, with Kipp and Rylee to the boat factory while Ann, Hannah, Trevor, and Sam went shopping and walking on 5th. I'm sure you all have heard of the boat factory disappointment, so I won't go there. 5th Avenue had many stores, but the 5-story Nike shop took up most of our time. We then proceeded to have lunch in Central Park. Next, we both ended up going to Times Square, which is now pedestrians only. It was weird to see lawn chairs in the streets of bustling Times Square. We went to a few shops there and decided to go back to our wonderful hotel. We got ready for the Broadway show and took off to see Mary Poppins. It was a great experience. There was a live orchestra playing the whole time, amazing sets changing each scene, and very talented actors and dancers. Mary Poppins flew with her umbrella and the chimney sweep walked on the ceiling. That was the highlight of New York for a few of us. Meanwhile, Kipp and Trevor saw the movie "Up" in a theater in the hotel. 

Today we walked along the Hudson River and got a clearer view of the Statue of Liberty. Tickets were sold out for the boat trip, but we could see Lady Liberty from land. After a lunch at Hannah's favorite restaurant, Cosi, we took the subway to Penn Station. From there we trained to Boston, where we are now. Tomorrow will be full of walking and education. We will hopefully see Fenway Park.

-HN

This is Times Square during the day. It was foggy the first day, but not too hot- upper 60s.

Here's Mom and Sam walking in Central Park. It is nice to see some green amidst the dense metropolis of New York City.

The three of us kids after the Broadway Show in Times Square. We look tired, but the show was awesome!

This is along the waterfront of the Hudson River. Liberty Island can be faintly seen in the distance. 

Sam was very proud of the ladybug he caught.