Bar Harbor... (Warning: Long entry)

In looking back over the last week, I can hardly believe that we packed so much into so little time. As planned, I went running, biking, kayaking, hiking and sight-seeing. It was action packed and I had little time to even digest everything that was going on. Here's an attempt to piece the week together...

My wife, daughter and I drove up to Boston on Friday night (6 hours of driving). I woke up the next morning and did a 5 mile tempo run before heading out the door for the final 5 hours of driving into Bar Harbor. The driving wasn't that bad on the way there (more about that later).

Then, we arrived on Saturday around 3 o'clock in Bar Harbor and really just had a relaxing first night. The most challenging run of the week was Sunday morning. It's really difficult to fit a long run in on vacation. But, I figured I'd get it out of the way early and then have more time to spend with the family. I did three loops around a shore trail and town to get acclimated with my new surroundings. Check out the view down on the shore trail. This was some easy running as a result of the awesome view.

Later that day, the whole family went to the "beach" at Lake Echo. The water was great and the view was pretty good too. It was a little different being at the beach at a lake. But, without the waves, it was actually pretty perfect for the little ones. They had a blast.

Then, Monday was an off-day for running and we went and biked the trails in Acadia National Park. They were really pretty, but we picked a really hilly course which didn't work that well for my sister and brother in-law (or me and Melissa truth be told).

Because we were unable to do the complete trail the day before, Melissa and I went out again on Tuesday for another go at it. I ran 3 miles while Melissa biked with Sophia (in our cool new bike seat, see above). Then, I ran back to the car and grabbed my bike for another 3.5 miles of biking with Sophia and Melissa. It was fun, but all the activity was already starting to catch up to me.

Wednesday was an easy 3 miles (supposed to be 5, but I was wooped). Not to mention, I had kayaking to do. Me, Melissa, my sister Kristina and brother-in-law Kevin all went out. My parents took the kids so that we could have a fun day out and about. It was certainly that... We saw seals and got to see a pretty uninhabited part of the island. It was pretty amazing that there was that much wilderness without houses and commercialism. Almost the entire side of the island that we kayaked along was free of anything but trees, sand and rocks. Very cool...

Thursday included a trip to Cadillac Mountain. I've done a bit of traveling in my day and have seen my share of pretty views, but I have to say that this is the most breathtaking I've seen. The pictures don't really do the view justice (do they ever?).

We also spent part of Thursday at Bar Island. It's a neat little island off Bar Harbor that is actually connected by a sandbar during low tide. So, we went out there at about 2:30 when we knew low tide would make the sandbar available. It was awesome. I'm pretty sure that we had more fun then Sophie. Melissa and I were wading in the water and collecting sea items (shells, urchins, crab shells, etc.). Sophie was throwing rocks... which she really enjoys, but I think she could have done that in a lot of places.

We enjoyed that trip to Bar Island so much we drug my sister's family out the next day. We also had a rockin dinner as our farewell to Bar Harbor. We went to a brewery/barbeque place called the Atlantic Brewing Company. I had a Coal Porter and Kevin (my brother-in-law) and I ordered a huge sampler that had chicken, ribs, shredded pork and hot sausage. It was very good (and so was the beer).

Then, finally, we made the trip home on Friday night. We chose to drive through the night so that Sophia could sleep. Unlike the way up, we weren't stopping. So, it was supposed to take 12 hours. A flat tire and crazy tired driving later, it actually took about 15. I was ready to fall over when we got home. But, it was a fantastic trip! So happy to be home, dreading work tomorrow....