A "Maine-ly" Perfect Vacation

Clay and I ventured off for a kid-free vacation to Bar Harbor, Maine this past week. It's amazing how you really don't know how much you need a vacation until you actually take one. I have to honestly say that the best part of our 4 day hiatus was just being together. I know it sounds so cliche--but we really needed it. Don't get me wrong, I adore my kids, but sometimes we need a little reminder that there is more to our marriage than just Jack and Maggie. It felt really good to be reminded why we did choose each other in this life.

Like the title says, it was pretty much perfect. The weather was great, we stayed super busy, ate lots of lobster, and Maine was gorgeous! The only (tiny) things that didn't make it perfect were missing Maggie's 8 month birthday and my lost luggage on the return flight. So if that's all I have to complain about, I would say it was "Maine-ly" perfect! Not too bad.

We stayed on Mt Desert Island off the coast of Maine. We flew into Portland and took a 3 hour scenic drive up the coast to our final destination of Bar Harbor. (this picture was actually taken on our departure day--we left just in time to miss the rain!)

Home base was a perfectly quaint Bed and Breakfast called the Atlantean Inn dating back to the 1800's. It was so cozy and the breakfast was phenomenal.

We spent the first half of day 1 at Acadia National Park. I can't even begin to tell how beautiful it was and the pictures could never do it justice. Our first stop in the park was Cadillac Mountain, where as you can tell from my hair, was super windy.

Our next stop in the park was Sand Beach. Nothing like the beaches Clay and I are use to. However, equally beautiful.

There were actually people laying out on Sand Beach. I don't know how, I wouldn't have exactly called it hot. Not to mention the Atlantic was only 55 degrees. Clay and I tested the water and this is about as far as we got.

After the park we headed back to our B & B, put on some warmer clothes (well, actually I did), and headed to the wharf for a boat ride.

We opted for the "nature cruise". Maine can get super foggy, so from what we heard the fog was too dense for a whale watching cruise.

We did get to see some nature among other things...Eagles, Sea Birds, Seals, Lighthouses, the Porcupine Islands.

About half way into our cruise things got chilly. Thank goodness for that fleece I bought last minute at a tourist shop and the hot chocoalate for sale on board.

On Day 2 we decided to take trasnsportation into our hands for the first half of the day. We rented bikes and headed to the supposed "moderate" trails of Acadia Park.

Those moderate trails made for a very nice work out. Well worth it though, the scenary was fabulous and I'm sure we both needed the exercise.

We stopped at Jordan Pond along the trail for a famous lunch of "popovers". Okay, so much for that work out. These things were to die for. So yummy! I would go back to Maine for them over the lobster anyday.

After our legs had turned into jello, or at least mine had, we chose to sit for a while. That afternoon we took a guided trolley ride through the town of Bar Harbor and Acadia once again.

We had our best meal the last night in Bar Harbor. It was suitably named Maggie's. Would you expect anything less from a restaurant with that name? I'm sure the hostess couldn't have cared less that I wanted a picture with the sign because it was my daughter's name. Regardless, we got it...all for you Magpie!

Did I mention we stayed busy? Even with that, I came home refreshed and rejuvinated...and without luggage. By the way, this is the 3rd time I've had luggage issues on one of our vacations--never Clay always me. Nice, huh?

The kids were thrilled to see us and Cosby almost had heart failure when we walked in. We showered all three of them with souvenieirs galore. Lobster pj's, toys, books, tees, and cookies--everyone was happy.

Next vacation is all about Jack. We are going to try for a Disney trip in the Fall!