Spring Break Fun - Part II AND Another Bloggy Buddy MIRL

Grandpa had a chance to get involved in the Spring Break fun, too. There seems to be a pioneer theme going on. Last summer DC and I discovered Bobcat Ridge, and spent two beautiful evenings there, walking and taking pictures. I showed those pictures here. At that time, I took this picture of the entrance to the area.




The place is maintained as a natural area and is used as an educational setting for area students. They set up an exploration opportunity on the last day of Spring Break. The girls went with Grandpa and Great Auntie Grace. She is always up for an adventure, and I didn't think the littles would gain too much from the experience at their age.









There were several stations set up for the self-guided tour. They saw a preserved rattle snake and were told what to do if they ever encountered one on a hike.




They learned about the various animals you might encounter on a hike in the area, and what their tracks look like. They also were told they might encounter a bat or two.




They visited a pioneer cabin and learned how hard it was to get water before the days of sinks and faucets.









They played games that kids played 100 years ago - some of the same things they do today - pick up sticks, with real sticks; rolling a hoop; and their favorite - jump rope.






They had a great time, learned lots of things, got a little prize at the end, and spent good time with Grandpa and Auntie. Perfect ending to a good week.


This has been an interesting week for Grandma Dawn - I've actually had several fun encounters with adults and got to be just plain old Dawn!! One day I had a nice visit in a lovely coffee shop with a friend I haven't seen in several years. We had so much fun talking that we never got around to going up to the counter for coffee - or in my case, a cup of chai, since I don't drink coffee. Nobody seemed to notice that we weren't spending any money, thankfully.

Today I made a short trip to the town 20 miles south of mine. I love the friendships that have been fostered here in blogland, and have been so privileged to have met 10 of these friends in real life - and have stayed in some of their homes on vacation in Maine. What a blessing! This friend lives closer than any of the others, but it took us a long time to work out a time to get together. I guess that's what happens when you try to work things into a busy everyday life, rather than meeting someplace while you're on vacation.

We met at McD's for those $1.00 sodas - and definitely got our money's worth. It is so amazing how you can "know" someone in cyberspace, and when you meet face to face, it is a seamless transition. Grammy and I had a wonderful visit and plan to meet again. She also has 4 grandgirls, all close to the ages of my 4. So we may get them together at a park this summer, or we may just do another adult visit - or both!

Maine-ly For Fun, Part 5, The Rainy Season

You'll remember, from Part 1, that rain had messed with our plans to get out of the Boston airport in a rental car. We hoped the forecast would be wrong and there would be no rain the rest of the week. But, after our beautiful day in Acadia and Bar Harbor, Wednesday dawned rather dark and dreary. But it turned out to be a wonderful day of total relaxation and watching of the good movies MM and her family had in the cottage.



By noon, the deluge began, and it rained in earnest all afternoon. In the evening we had a dinner date with Midlife Mom and her husband. We met them at the Lucerne Inn, halfway between their house and the cottage.




We had hoped to see the amazing panoramic view, but it was dark and very wet by the time we got there.





But what an amazing meal we had. I ordered the special of the evening, and it was not only delicious, but beautiful - pinwheels of beef stuffed with lobster and asparagus spears.




I must admit, nothing we ate that night was on my "food plan" - I even indulged in rich dessert. It's a good thing we took these pictures of MM and me before we ate rather than after! MM and I have lost, together, a total of 72 pounds since our last visit with each other a year ago.

This one was taken last November when we had breakfast together the beautiful Senator in Augusta.

It was a fabulous evening for the three of us, visiting with our friends. The funniest thing - MM's husband didn't know until that evening that he was getting together with a blog friend. He thought his wife had found a long-lost cousin or something like that.

I usually love sleeping to the sound of rain on the roof. That is, unless I have a big plan for the next day that is going to be spoiled, or at least hampered, by the rain. I didn't sleep very well that night, waking to the rain all night long, wishing and praying it would stop before morning. No such luck.

It rained all day, the day we'd saved for the trip to Baxter State Park, where the leaves were at peak beauty. All day, as we traveled, I imagined the beauty we would be seeing if the sun were shining through the trees. But we made the best of it and had a wonderful day together. We were blessed with free entrance to the park, since Kevin has a Maine driver's license, and the gate keeper was the mother of one of the TC students.

The steam from the paper mill covered most of the buildings. The smell took me back to International Falls, Minnesota, where I lived for 3 years when I was a kid.

The guys talked me into going on the short hike with them, where we were supposed to find a beautiful waterfall. It was supposed to be 1.2 miles. We walked and walked, and climbed and climbed, and took very careful steps because of the very wet rocks and muddy path. I didn't look up at the trees too much (didn't want to drown!), but looked down and saw these piles of muti-colored leaves.







We never did see the waterfall - don't know how we could have missed it. Maybe it just seemed like twice as far as 1.2 miles, since it was so miserable. But I did catch the rushing water between the trees.








Fortunately, DC had brought a water proof jacket and a poncho with him, and Kev's friend's mom loaned us hers, so we didn't get drenched everywhere - mostly from the knees down - well, DC from the waste down. This picture was taken at the final leg of the Appalachian Trail. We actually have a picture of ourselves at the beginning of the Trail, taken in Georgia a few years ago, but I can't find it anywhere. It was a much nicer day.




It did brighten up a bit as we headed back toward the cottage. I liked this rock, even though Groovy does not.

The GPS got us into a mess, but we saw some beautiful scenery because of it. Just imagine if the sun was shining!

We were very glad to arrive back at our little home away from home, turn on the little electric fireplace, and pop "The Blind Side" into the DVD player.

Stay tuned for Part 6, The Finale.

Maine-ly For Fun, Part 3 - The Lake Cottage

Kevin was happy to join us for 4 days of R&R after his event planning experience. We headed for the home of my dear blogging friend, Midlife Mom. As she said in her post about our time together, "This is what blogging is all about."

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed exploring a bit of their beautiful property - - -


















We enjoyed meeting the horses . . .


. . . and Kevin especially enjoyed an up close and personal encounter with Kipper.







My grandgirls would be green with envy if they saw this great play house for MM's grands --





MM and I hopped in her vehicle, Kevin and DC followed us to our home for the next 3 days - their beautiful lake cottage.







If you follow MM's blog, you will remember that the cabin was destroyed on the inside from a broken water pipe which ran all winter long. What an amazing blessing in deep disguise, as the cabin is now pristine, brand new, beautiful inside and out. We felt so privileged to relax and enjoy this lovely place. We felt like we were at a first class resort.









Kev fixed breakfast for us the first morning - what a treat!




The views from the deck, across the lake, were blissful.















The trees on the other shore changed colors every day --










The guys took the canoe out that first morning - forgetting to hunt for the life jackets. Fortunately, the neighborhood warden didn't see them out on the water.









A walk down the country lane ---








My favorite tree, at the end of the lane just as we entered the highway. . .



Have a great week - stay tuned for Part 4, Acadia National Park