Maine Post #7 (7/19-20): Vermont-Mass

We started our long trip back from Maine on Saturday with an extended driving tour across northern New Hampshire and Vermont on the way to visit our friends Jeannie and Kristen in Burlington, VT. It seemed to take forever to get there, but we were glad to arrive at Kristen’s condo around lunch time. After lunch with them and our friend Katy Chabot, we decided to go out and visit the Shelburne Farm, where Katy used to work. Ben got an up close and personal view of some friendly farm animals:

After the milking barn it was time to go out and hang out in the farmyard. Ben got a chance to connect with his inner John Deere and practice bringing in the harvest.

For dinner we grabbed some pizza from a local restaurant and had take-out at home.

On Sunday we drove home through Massachusetts so we could visit our friends Seth and Lynn Hansell and their daughter Arwen. Seth still works at the NMH school in Northfield, MA. We arrived there around lunch time and had some excellent cold cut sandwiches. After a short walk around campus to reminisce about the good old days, it was time to pile back into the car for the final leg of our voyage. We finally arrived back in good old Lakeville at around 5:00 p.m., eight days after leaving. Welcome home!

Maine Post #6 (7/18): Clam Festival etc….

Friday was an exciting day because it marked the opening of the 44th annual Yarmouth Clam Festival. Amazingly, Marcie had never attended this feast of bivalve bacchanalia. So it was a new experience for everyone. Really it’s pretty low key. They have a small fairground set up, which we didn’t visit this year, and also a big craft fair. We walked through all the booths. Marcie found a neat new belt and some bottles of hot sauce.

Ben was getting fidgety, but we discovered a magic trick –  tie a balloon to Ben’s stroller, where he can just reach it:

Of course the highlight of the day (really, the highlight of the whole trip — let’s not kid ourselves) was getting a chance to meet and take a picture with Steamer the Clam!

After such a momentous occasion, we needed to come home and calm down a little bit. Even after fried clams and strawberry shortcake, it seems that Marcie was still a bit peckish:

In the afternoon, we decided to go out and see the Maine Wildlife Park. It’s kind of like a very low-key zoo being run by the Maine Fish & Wildlife people. We had to endure some very scary stories about when animals attack from a man and his son (?), but afterwards we got to see some pretty cool animals. The highlight for sure was getting to see a moose up close with a full rack of antlers. Very neat!

And the day finished as usual with a sponge bath in the kitchen.

Maine Post #5 (7/17): Children’s Museum

We spent our second day in Portland on Thursday, but this time we were inside. It was just as well — the weather was a bit overcast and it rained a little. We decided that day to go to the Portland Children’s Museum. What a great choice! That place has hours of fun for kids from Ben’s age all the way up to much older. Surely it will be an annual visit.

Ben’s favorite area seemed to be the “Toddler Playground” that they had put together on the first floor. It’s a gated area specifically designed for little kids. They have fun structures to crawl through, lots of neat toys, and it’s generally harmless (although Ben did manage to fall headfirst into a wall and give himself a cut on his forehead).

Ben had the most fun with the platform they have set up in the middle of the area. It’s a big cone pointing upward with air blowing out of it at high velocity. You can put a beach ball on top and the air will keep it suspended in midair. Ben enjoyed playing with the beach ball and also just playing with the wind.

Besides the toddler area, Ben enjoyed several other parts of the Museum. They had a neat dinosaur exhibit, but Ben spent most of the time throwing around the fake boulders there.

He also really enjoyed climbing on the front of the big fire truck they have parked in the first floor.

They also have a small lobster boat that he like to play in. The boat is mounted on gimbels so it can actually rock back and forth if you push hard enough on each side. Marcie got a little seasick, but Ben looked like he was ready to ship out on the next voyage.

Maine Post #4 (7/16): Portland, part one…

The weather was excellent again on Wednesday, so we decided to go into Portland and check out some of the fun things to do there. We spent the morning on the coast, where they have a long promenade that included a most excellent playground. As usual, Ben decided to start with the swings:

Then Ben decided to move on to the jungle gym and slide. For some reason, Ben likes to investigate slides from the bottom up. But eventually he figured out the routine and we got him going down a few times. Ben likes going down headfirst, much to Marcie’s consternation.

Most of the other toys at the playground were a little too old for Ben, but this hobby horse was just right:

After the playground it was time to get some lunch downtown. We went to a Japanese restaurant and had some great tempura. At first Ben didn’t seem too enthusiastic, but by the end he was gulping down fried tofu like a champ. We did some shopping after that. I found a cool new game named “Zombie Fluxx” (fun in a big group — check it out!).

In the afternoon, we drove out to Cape Elizabeth to see the Portland Head Lighthouse. It’s pretty standard as lighthouses go, but they have some neat hiking trails nearby that are right on the coast. The views out over the water were amazing — sorry, no pictures!

Maine Post #3 (7/15): A day at the beach

Armed with our new L.L. Bean Sun Shelter, we decided to hit the beach at Reid State Park. It’s about an hour drive away from camp. We arrived there around 10:00 a.m., and found the beach swarming with tourists:

Actually, we pretty much had the beach to ourself for the whole day. Ben promptly set about trying to bring as much of the beach into the tent as possible. Apparently he misread the label and thought it was called the “Sand Shelter”. But he did seem to enjoy being at the beach. He would walk out of the tent, roam around for a few steps, and then run back inside, very pleased with himself. Other fun activities included destroying Mommy’s and Daddy’s sand castles, playing with washed-up seaweed, and trying to walk into the water (cold!)

Maine Post #2 (7/14): Freeport

We decided on Monday to go into Freeport and immerse ourself in the yuppie heaven of conspicuous consumption to be found there. Even though we go every year, and usually come away weary, this year seemed a little different. For one thing, they replaced one of the big downhill parking lots with a garage and another one with a little satellite strip with lots of new stores. For another, Ben was a year older, so we could see how he enjoyed it differently this year.

Most of our time was spent in the Microsoft of Freeport, i.e., L.L. Bean. Marcie needed to get some swimsuits and outerwear, and I wanted to get some new sandals. Also we had heard that there was a children’s play area in the store. Sadly, that proved to not be true, although Ben did enjoy pushing his stroller around in the children’s clothing area. Marcie found some great clothes. We then went across the street to the bike shop to look at their bike attire. I bought some great bike shorts, and Marcie found some bright neon yellow tops. We also bought a tent shelter to protect us from the sun on our beach visit.

Besides L.L. Bean, we explored the new shopping area and hit the Nike store pretty hard. I went to Starbucks in an attempt to satisfy my craving for Tour de France news. But they make you pay money for Internet access there — can you believe it?

Maine Post #1 (7/13): Welcome to camp!

Ed. Note: This is a series of posts detailing our most recent trip to Cousin’s Island, Maine, where Marcie’s family has a cabin on the water.

Our trip up was fun and blissfully free of drama. We decided to build in a visit to Grandpa Dan & Cathy along the way, so we drove up to Swampscott on Saturday and spent the night with them. We had nice lunch on the water and then had a good long walk around the neighborhood before coming back for a great fish dinner.

Then the next morning it was off to Maine! We made the last three-hour trip up to Maine relatively easily, despite an unintended detour through most of the coastal towns in Massachusetts. Finally we arrived in “camp” right around lunch time. After going out to get provisions, we came back to camp and went down to the beach for some fun in the water. Ben really liked walking around, picking up pebbles, and playing with the seaweed.

Ben seemed to adapt well to his second visit to camp. One thing we realized immediately is that his curious energy would get him into trouble, so we had to engineer the cabin a bit to prevent him from getting at undesirable things, like the TV and the cast iron stove. Marcie rigged up a little barricade to keep him away from those things.

Not everything could be secured.