Click here for Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V to hear the start of our story!
Monday was our last full day in Maine. We woke up in our Bar Harbor hotel and headed out to Jordan’s to eat some Maine wild blueberry pancakes with Maine wild blueberry syrup. A local couple sitting at a nearby table struck up a conversation, and they suggested we go try out the Wonderland trail. Since the gentleman was a Bowdoin grad, we decided to follow his advice. I’m glad we did!
The Wonderland trail was a nice 40 minute drive away, and we really enjoyed getting to see the landscape as we traveled. One surreptitious aspect of our Maine visit is that it coincided exactly with the peak of lupine blossoms. I’m a big fan of Barbara Cooney’s book Miss Rumphius (I’d bought it the last time I was in Maine), so to happen to be here at a time when lupines are covering the gardens and roadsides and knolls with purple and pink and white blooms was just fantastic. They are the bluebonnets of Maine!
I’m a little worried that they aren’t native and I’m actually reveling in the beauty of an invasive non-native, but as a tourist, I think I’ll just enjoy my ignorance:) Was Miss Rumphius making the world more beautiful or was she propagating invasives? Shoot. Darn you internet.
OK, on to other things…
We drove along, stopping to play on the rocks.
Sylvia needed close supervision to ensure her safety, but she also loved playing all the rocks!
Such pretty granite!
At the Wonderland beach, we spent several hours exploring, sitting, and looking into the tide pools. We found snails, oysters, lots of sea grass and kelp, and a flock of Eider ducks grunting just off shore.
While Andrew roamed far and wide, Sylvia found a couple tiny rocks that she decided were babies. She put them to bed, would wait a while, and then would go wake them up. She’d cradle them in her hands and talk and sing to them. No doll needed for this little girl:)
After wonderful Wonderland, the kids slept in the car while I shopped a bit alone in Bar Harbor. We all went to lunch, and I learned the pleasure of clams dipped in butter. At first, I didn’t know to take off the “neck.” The first one I ate was full of grit, and it was almost the last one I ate. But then my waiter showed me how to remove the neck and dip it in brine and then in butter. And I was hooked. I can’t think of something yummier. Of course, I could try dipping all sorts of food in butter and test, but steamed clams are now one of my favorite foods.
After lunch, we piled back in the car and drove the 2-3 hours back to Portland. The kids did a great job with all our traveling, and while we were driving Bryan and I made a list of the 15 or so places we’d like to take the kids. Now that they’re getting a little older, it seems like it will be fun!
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We woke up at 4:30am on Tuesday for our flight home. The kids were, once again, delighted to be waking up in the middle of the night to travel:) Despite getting stuck at LaGuardia for several extra hours due to a variety of mechanical issues, and thereby missing our flight from Detroit to Madison, we were able to get home only a couple hours after our scheduled flight.
Andrew has wistfully said several times, “I loved Acadia National Park!”
I feel so lucky that we were able to take them on that adventure. Thanks, Joe, for picking a college in such a beautiful state!
Now we’re home for June…a month of birthdays and anniversaries! Thanks for reading about our trip:) I hope it was a little vacation for you too!
~Althea
Great account of our Maine trip!!
I had no idea you loved Miss Rumphius too! I don’t think I’ve yet made it through reading that book without crying. I’ve given it to a number of people; I’m surprised you were not one of them. 🙂