Part of our plan for this trip was to NOT plan too much for the trip, giving us flexibility to spend as much or little time as we wanted in any particular region of the coast. Desiring more time in Acadia, we were able to find a little cottage on the quiet side of the island to spend a couple more nights. We checked into our new digs before continuing our adventures.

One of the best quotes of the trip was Trin walking into the bathroom and excitedly announcing, “We don’t have to pay for showers!!” 

That’s right folks. Moving up in the world. AND…there was a washer and dryer!! Weather being warmer than we anticipated, this was a welcome surprise. Our limited supply of warm weather clothes was in need of, um, refreshing. 🙂

Goober #1 guards the camera bag while we unload the car:

We had access to a private beach and the Lupine was in full bloom: But soon we were off for more adventures. Destination: Jordan’s Pond Hike and the famous popovers of the pond house:Between the Balsam Fir and the Honeysuckles in bloom, the entire island smelled amazing!
These girls adore their Auntie Lauren! Popovers!! Light and airy, these treats are a Maine specialty, with Maine strawberry jam:After many busy days of hiking and jumping and climbing and late nights we decided to head back early to our cozy cottage. We brought dinner back to cook up in our little kitchen. (And by “cook” I mean, open-Paul-Newmans-frozen-pasta-and-pour-into-pan-add-chopped-asparagus-and-open-bottle-of-wine.) Lilly was eager for a shower and some down time and Trin was itching to check out that private coastline. So Auntie Lauren hung back with Lilly and I took Trin down to the beach:Trin proudly made short work of the rocky coastline, declaring herself a rock climber, “just like Daddy”. I let her hike and climb as far as she wanted. She IS actually in this picture! Second to last outcropping of rocks 🙂 She likes to go as far away as possible while still being able to see me and know I am watching her. That makes my heart happy. Love that kid. I mean, isn’t that part of what we want for our kids in life? Go. Do. Explore. Be independent. Be who you were created to be. But always know I’m there. I’ll support you in your accomplishments and give you hugs when you fall. Right now those accomplishments are discovering small caves and empty Lobster shells picked over by birds. One day it will be so much more. . .I celebrate it all my adventurous girl!

Our shadow selfie:Early the next morning Lauren caught some extra zzzz’s while we headed back down, this time with Lilly in tow. 

I just can’t get enough pictures of my kids jumping and climbing over rocks! You can?? Alright fine, I’ll move on…

How about a picture of my kid on . . .DIFFERENT rocks! Okay, for really reals, I’ll move on this time. We visited the Bass Harbor Head Light:The lighthouses are run by the Coast Guard. I tried to convince my brother-in-law that he should stop flying rescue helicopters for them and man a light house but, for some reason, he didn’t go for it. Even though I promised we would visit.

Thurston’s came highly recommended to us. We figured the only real way to become lobster roll connoisseurs was to try one everywhere we went, so off to Thurston’s we trouped. Lilly made it through our whole time in Maine without tasting lobster but she sure did like seeing them. And the kind lady behind the counter let the girls pet them!: This ridiculous child was really excited about these lobster traps. She was oddly fascinated by the traps everywhere we went. How do they work? How do the lobsters get in? Why do they go in there? Why can’t they get out the same way they went in? My ever inquisitive one. Always wants to know how and why things work. 🙂Next Stop Wonderland Hike!There are many many amazing things about Maine. The tidepools are not one of them. They are surprisingly devoid of life. But I suppose we have been rather spoiled with the tide-pools we’ve visited over the last 7 years! The water must simply be too cold this far north. It didn’t stop Trin (or the rest of us!) from walking over thick, slippery, squelchy, seaweed to investigate:That pretty much wraps up photos of the Acadia portion of our trip! We had the most perfect weather, amazing food, and plenty of adventures. After some souvenir shopping with the girls and their hard-earned money in Bar Harbor, our last evening found us back by Jordan’s Pond. Eating whoopie pies and breathing in that balsam fir air while Lauren snapped photos by the light of dusk was a pretty great way to wrap up this section of our travels.