Day 8 - Heading home, the long way

This was all right. It was raining steadily so packing up and getting ready to leave wasn't as nearly as traumatic as it might have been had it been bright and sunny.

Day 7 - Bubble, bubble, toil and summit

Our last full day in the park wasn't bright and sunny. As a matter of fact, it had rained all night and it was still drizzling with more showers in the forecast. Still, given the options of driving an hour north to check out Schoodic Point, the mainland portion of the park or attacking as many summits as we could, we chose to stay and climb. A good choice. We had looked through our guide book and had marked all of the easy and moderate trails, figuring that the kids would be able to handle those. The strenuous trails we thought could wait until our next trip and the ladder trail - which consisted of iron rungs pounded into vertical rock faces - would definitely be for the future. The kids had done very well with the moderate trails so we figured, what the heck, let's try one of the strenuous trails and see what happens? If there is a problem we can always turn around... We decided to climb the Bubbles that overlook Jordan Pond. The South Bubble is rated as a strenuous trail whereas the North Bubble is rated as moderate.
the rain had finally let up, so we set out to tackle the South Bubble. We shouldn't have been worried. The kids, being the natural climbers that they are, really have no conception of easy versus strenuous and loped up the trail with no difficulty. Karen and I held our breath and tongues a few times, but we couldn't have had more fun. The view from the top was spectacular. The summit looks down on Jordan Pond and in the distance, the ocean can be seen providing an amazing vista. After a quick snack, we headed back down then took the turn to the North Bubble. This trail was a piece of cake in comparison. There were many steep climbs, but wooden staircases had been laid in the trail. By the time we reached the summit of this Bubble though, the mist and clouds had moved back in and really nothing could be seen below the summit. It was an ethereal experience. On the top of the Bubble there sits a huge boulder, left by the glaciers, named Egg Rock. It sits precariously, leaning over the edge of a cliff. It looks as if it will fall with the slightest touch, but it is actually very secure - as we found out. The Bubbles having been conquered, we decided to take the road and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. I really can't say enough about the power of rocks and boulders to inspire the childish imagination and need to move. It was chilly and damp but the kids were all over. There was a serious conversation about staying on the trails and rocks to preserve the environment on the summit. Several of the plants are very fragile and have limited biomes that can be quickly ruined with foot traffic. Cadi and Cole understood and tried to be careful.
It was time for lunch, so the negotiations began again... Mom and Dad prevailed with the offer of lunch at the cabin, hiking then dinner and ice cream in Bar Harbor. The afternoon was a bit better weather wise and we decided to take on the summit that held the most interest for our daughter - Acadia Mountain. At over 800 feet, Acadia is not huge, but the trail is rated as strenuous for several nearly vertical climbs and rock falls. Also, the round trip trail, which included a fire road at the end, was nearly 3 1/2 miles. Undoubtedly, this was the best hike of the trip - challenging, picturesque and just plain fun. The back side of the trail was dramatically different from going up. Where as the trail that we took up was heavily wooded with few views of the surrounding area, the way down was very open. There was a lot of scrub pine, wild blueberry bushes and the occasional birch tree. This was an interesting dichotomy. We finally made it back to the car and decided to head back in to town. It had become chillier as the day went on and the mist was thick and wet. It hadn't really dampened any of our fun while we were hiking, as the exertion kept us warm.
It was kind of sad, realizing that this was out last dinner on Mount Desert Island, but we were in good spirits and still enjoying ourselves. Dinner was a local sub place that served absolutely enormous portions for a cheap price. Not only was it good deal, but the food was really good. Afterwards, we headed out on the town to look for mementos of our trip and of course, a good place for ice cream. I don't remember the full name, but the Emporium on Main Street had some outstanding ice cream - the blueberry sorbet and the moose droppings were great. We did shy away from the lobster ice cream, though a brave soul did order some while we were there... We headed back to cabin to bundle up and begin the packing process.

Day 6 - Ah, the sweet smell of seasickness...

Tuesday seemed like it would be a much better day. Karen and I had agreed that even if I wasn't feeling 100% better, whale watching would certainly be a doable endeavor. We had gone on the whale watching cruise when we had been to Acadia 9 years before and recalled that it was a pleasant cruise that didn't require a lot of energy. The kids loved the idea. I did feel better, so everything was a go.
We parked in downtown Bar Harbor and walked to the wharf to get on the ship. The whale watching ships are pretty big - double hulled catamarans built for speed, stability and maneuverability. Still, the captain made sure to tell us that there was a pretty heavy swell - anywhere from 3 to 6 feet - and that some of might feel "a bit squeamish." Remember that. Setting out was great. The water was calm and wasn't too cold. We had brought warm clothing because the temperatures out in the open ocean could drop down to the high 40s. We passed the Porcupine Islands and that famous four-masted schooner that is on the Maine state quarter.
As we hit the open ocean though, the temperature began to drop quickly and the ship began to dip and roll a bit. It's pretty amazing how quickly that bit of motion can upset the whole body's sense of well being. Within minutes, a few people were using the easily accessible sea sickness bags. Fortunately, we felt fine - for the time being. Egg Rock lighthouse lies just a little ways off the coast and is an observation post for biologists to watch the arctic terns and puffins. We saw quite a few of them around the small nub of rock. Further into the ocean, the swells were a bit more serious. By this time, we had gone into the cabin to get some hot cocoa, as the outside temperature was a nippy 51 degrees. Cole was the first to fall... He had buried his head in Karen's lap and assured us he felt all right before he threw up. The "motion of the ocean" has affected us all, but not as badly as Cole. There was a lot of lying the head on the table and wondering when the ship was going to turn around. Of course, the purpose of the trip was to see whales! Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. No whales. Not even hint of a whale. Oh well.
The trip back in to Bar Harbor was much more pleasant as we were riding with the waves instead of plowing into them. The upshot was that because we didn't see any whales, we got tickets fro a another cruise when we go back to Acadia. Maybe we'll do the nature cruise next time.
Our stomachs had sufficiently recovered so that lunch seemed like a good idea. We went back to cabin after negotiating with the kids. They wanted to eat out for lunch and then hike. We countered with: go back to the cabin for lunch, go hiking and then eat dinner out and shop in Bar Harbor. Mom and Dad were successful.
For the afternoon, we traveled to the other side of the island to climb Flying Mountain, which was classified as a moderate hike. We lucked out again. The weather was perfect and there was virtually no one else on the trail. I was feeling much better and had no problem with it. Flying Mountain overlooks Somes Sound, Eagle Cliffs and Valley Cove. Somes Sound is the only fjord on the eastern coast of the United States. Normally, people think of Norway with fjords, but we do have our very own. Essentially, a fjord is a long, steeply walled ocean inlet that is fairly shallow at the opening and grows progressively deeper that was carved out by glaciers. The kids had fun just saying the word "fjord" over and over again. The trail from the top winds down to Valley Cove which is an idyllic spot. Legend has it that because of the relatively calm waters of the sound and privacy of Valley Cove, pirates would hide and ride out storms centuries ago in that spot. Supposedly, there is some treasure buried. We didn't look too hard though. The kids found their own treasure by wading the water, clambering over the rocks and pointing out the numerous jellyfish that we saw.
From Flying Mountain, we headed to Southwest Harbor to check out Bass Harbor lighthouse. This is probably one of the most lighthouses in the world. It sits right on the very southern edge of Mount Desert Island and has a nice view of the Cranberry Islands to the south. The kids were duly impressed with the building itself, but were quickly taken in by the rocky shoreline which of course, just begged to climbed on. We did this for a while and then decided to head back in to Bar Harbor for dinner. What would a trip to New England be without a lobster feast? That was dinner and it was delicious. The kids were adventurous and tried to lobster which they liked. After dinner, we shopped in town for souvenirs for a couple of hours - Cadi had to find the perfect sweatshirt that had Acadia on it. It was finally tracked down... Tomorrow, we plan on climbing more peaks as it is our last day. :(

Day 5 - The spirit was willing

Monday morning broke as a perfect day for hiking and experiencing the natural wonder that surrounded us. Unfortunately, my body definitely did not agree with this. I still wasn't feeling well, but decided that really all I needed to do was get moving and hydrate with water and Gatorade. I was wrong. We hit the park fairly early and navigated the park road to the trail head for Cadillac Mountain. At a little over 1,500 feet, Cadillac is the highest point on the eastern shore of the United States. The trail is a little over 2 1/2 miles long and should have taken about an hour and a half to climb.
We started up with no problems and were treated with frequent views of Bar Harbor and the "Porcupine Islands." These little islands are sharply humped, upcropping granite that are covered with bristly pine - thus their name. The kids and Karen were doing fine, but I was quickly flagging. About a third of the way up the trail, I had to call it quits. I was feeling down right awful. Cadi and Cole weren't happy about the decision to turn back and we discussed options but finally arrived at the decision that the only choice was to all head back down and go back to the cabin.
After we got back, I laid down and Karen and the kids had lunch, while they planned their afternoon. They decided that they would tackle Great Head, a low uprise that overlooks Sand Beach and gives a beautiful view of the ocean... I'll let Karen take over from here.