It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, fluffy white clouds and a cool breeze blowing.
On Sunday morning, we went to church in Greenville, then enjoyed the rest of the day on the dock at the lake, just relaxing. Andy did some swimming with the kids and Christian. They also did some canoeing. The weather was warm and pleasant, the lake was calm.
Monday was our first hiking day, but we waited till after lunch so Claire could get a good nap. Christian and Andy, along with Grace & Aiden canoed over to Kineo, while Christy, Naomi, Asher, Claire and I took the shuttle over. Then we hiked to the top of Mt. Kineo. In the book we have of Maine hikes, Mt. Kineo is listed as strenuous. And it is, but it's always such a feeling of accomplishment to make it to the top. The kids are such troopers, even 4 year old Asher, although I think Claire had the best option this year!
While we were coming down the mountain, we heard thunder and had a sinking feeling. Would we be stuck on Kineo till the storm passed by? Deja vu. Last year, we got soaking wet in just such a situation while we were waiting for the shuttle to take us back across the lake. But even though it continued to thunder, the storm clouds were to the north of us, so we didn't get rained on.
Tuesday was another hiking day, leaving after lunch again. Eagle Rock was our destination. We have to drive back toward Greenville and turn off on a dirt road. If you're not watching carefully, it's easy to miss the road. As we were driving back to the trail, we saw a black bear on the road with her 3 cubs. It made us a little nervous about hiking, but we went anyway, making sure we made a lot of noise to scare away the bears!
The trail at the beginning was very buggy and as we went in further, it got very steep and strenuous. It's so worth it, because the end is at the top of the mountain with spectacular views and the breeze is so cool and refreshing. We stayed up there for a while before hiking back down. It's not as difficult coming down, but it's still hard on the knees and shins.
Andy was in hiking mode that first week and Wednesday was no exception. Christy and I were ready for a break so when Christy said she wanted Claire to get a good morning nap, I offered to stay with her. Naomi and I started playing a game, but everyone else went out and hiked a trail called Burnt Jacket Trail. I was sorry I didn't do it with them because I had never gone on that one. Well, maybe next year!
So much for the break - the next day, Thursday, we went to Borestone mountain. That is a difficult hike, too, but again the rewards are great: beautiful views at the top, refreshing breeze, and feeling of accomplishment.
On top of the world!
On Friday, we stayed at the house, sat on the dock, read our books and relaxed. The sun was shining, a cool breeze was blowing gently. I got some sun burn but it was just some nice color, not uncomfortable.
Another hike was fit into our schedule for Saturday. We did the Little Moose/Big Moose trail. We thought we were going to do a simple 1.5 mile hike on Notch Pond Trail but the markings were unclear and we ended up doing the Loop Trail which was 2.5 miles. It was a very nice trail with pine needles carpeting the path. It was steep in several spots, strenuous, but mostly a moderate beautiful hike. Great views from the top again and bugs were bad again. It took longer than we expected because of the longer hike, so we stopped in town and had pizza for dinner.
Getting a little hike-weary, I think
Sunday was declared a day of rest: no hiking! We went to church in Greenville, then enjoyed the lake, swimming, canoeing and sitting on the dock watching the kids. So relaxing!
We got one more hike in on Monday. After lunch, we borrowed the landlord's canoe and along with C and C's canoe, we all paddled over to Kineo. Andy and I took Naomi and Aiden in our canoe, and yes, I paddled! C and C had Claire, Grace and Asher in their canoe, the Flying Frank W! It must be about a mile and a half across the lake, then we hiked overland about a mile to Pebble Beach. The kids and men played in the water, while Christy and I sat on the pebbles with Claire. There was a rope swing there that the kids had fun with.
Then of course, we had to hike and canoe back. I was a little nervous about the canoe ride back because Moosehead Lake is famous for strong winds coming up unexpectedly with people out on the lake struggling against whitecaps. But the day stayed nice and calm, thankfully, although it was still tiring to go that distance even on a calm lake.
The rest of the week was spent at the house - no more hiking. The kids played in the water, we sat on the dock and watched them. Andy did a lot of swimming and playing with the kids. I worked on a tan. I spent a little time reading to the kids, but because the weather was so perfect, we spent most of our time outside.
The house we stayed in is so nice, very comfortable. It has free wi-fi, a washer and dryer and dishwasher - all the conveniences of home!
We were blessed with beautiful weather the whole 2 weeks, with temperatures in the 70's and low 80's, with sunshine and cool breezes. What a nice break from the heat we were experiencing in NJ before we left. There was only one day when it rained for about an hour that forced us to stay indoors.
All too soon it was Saturday morning and time to go home. We left by 3:30 A.M. and were making good time till we got to the NJ turnpike. Then we hit stop and go traffic with people going to the shore. It probably took us an extra hour and a half, but it didn't matter. It was worth it to be able to spend 2 weeks in Maine.
2 comments:
ahh! I wish we could have gone! Beautiful pictures, looks like a lovely time!
Great pictures. Thanks for journaling the days! Now that I came over to your blog I realized that I forgot to take your picture by the lake for your blog header. Maybe if the weather is nice we can do it by the pond next week. I also forgot to take our family picture in the canoe for Grandpop. There's always next year. :)
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