Planning
Sometime this past winter, while imbibing with Mark and Shauna, the four of us decided we should spend a week at Acadia National Park in our neighbor-to-the-north, Maine. I booked the campsite at the highly recommended Blackwoods campground on the first possible day and bought a trail map at our local EMS in the days following. What we didn't know was that this trip would prove to be the most difficult to plan for, despite its relatively close proximity. Despite venturing west to Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Zion, good ol' Acadia National Park had them beat when it came time to get everything sorted and packed. We originally picked this trip around the first of the year, and figured "hell, it's months away!" every time it dawned on us that we should start getting our shit together. In addition to packing for kids, which was new to all of us this year, we had to figure out how to get a weeks worth of living supplies and four bikes to a campsite 300+ miles away. We figured out all of the smallest details over dinner one night and in true new-parent fashion, all four of us waited until the latter days and weeks of June to figure everything out for our July 5th departure. With little more than 72 hours until we were to leave, and no concrete way to transport four bicycles, all was saved when my dad offered his Toyota Tundra to haul our belongings north. It took innumerable man hours to pack the truck perfectly and some late-night packing at Mark & Shauna's house had us ready to go by midnight of the night before we were to depart. Our plan for the drive was for Mark and I to head up bright and early on Tuesday morning several hours before Brooke, Shauna, and the kids left, so we could get the tent set up and the campsite ready without the peanut gallery judging our every error. This proved to be the best decision of the entire planning process.
Day 1: Drive up & Set-up
My alarm blared local rock radio at 5:30am and I was up and in the shower in no time. We were all amped for this trip, so hitting snooze wasn't an option. I pulled into Mark's driveway a few minutes after 6:00am and once he was in and buckled up we were headed due north with 381HP to get us there, courtesy of Toyota. After squeezing our way through Dunkin' Donuts' drive-thru and ordering two of the largest coffees they could fashion, we set the cruise control slightly above the legal limit and left our hometown (and families) in the rear view mirror.
We crossed into the lovely state of New Hampshire around 7:30am and were out of it maybe 30 minutes later and crossing the Pemigewassett River into Maine. Our empty stomachs were screaming for us to stop for food, so naturally we obliged. We hit the service plaza on Rt. 95 in Kennebunk, Maine and feasted on everything Burger King had to offer for breakfast. Our massive coffees from Dunkins were finished miles ago, so we had to refuel with another large cup of Joe from BK. I opted to ride shotgun from this point forward, despite only driving for 2 hours or so, and let Mark take the helm of the great black beauty. There was some trepidation on my part as my dad did warn us A) to not hit any bumps, and B) to not return home if we so much as scratched it. I put my life in Mark's hands and calmly sipped my piping hot coffee as he tried to best Car and Driver's measured 0-60 for the Tundra.
About a hundred miles or so later we needed some petrol for the anti-Prius. The most rinky-dink gas station Pittsfield, Maine had to offer served us just fine as we put in a few hundred gallons of gas, got more coffee, and wasted $4.99 on the absolute worst teriyaki beef jerky I've ever tasted. (I guess that's what we deserve after consecutively desecrating the men's room.) We switched roles again as I desperately wanted to finish the last leg of the drive north, and boy am I glad I did - I don't think I could've talked Mark into hitting the L.L. Bean outlet in Ellsworth, Maine, but with me behind the wheel he had no choice but to oblige. I say that in jest, of course, as Mark is as big of a gear junky as I am. We set a limit of 20 minutes for the Bean outlet, and within that 20 minutes we both found several things we desperately needed to have. Realizing we were to spend the next four nights in a tent with our wives, we opted against purchasing even more gear and quickly left the store.
Once on Mount Desert Island, the home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, we made a rather circuitous route to the Blackwoods campground at the southeast corner of the island. We made mental notes along the way that once camp was set up we needed to do several things: buy firewood, buy beer, and drink beer (in no particular order). We pulled into the campground, registered at the ranger station, and proceeded over to site A141. We pulled in, shut the truck off and got out and walked around the site. It was homey, and surrounded by hemlocks. We began the slow, arduous task to going through the mountain of crap we packed and finally found the tent. 20 minutes, 2 skinned knuckles, and one fractured friendship later the tent was up. It was just that easy! Now that we had the tent up and the rain fly on and taut, we progressed through the smaller items. Coolers, bags, stoves, bikes, etc., were all dismantled from the truck and propped and piled throughout the campsite. We packed for a month. We looked like the biggest rookie campers ever, and for a reason. Though Mark and I (and Brooke) have done a few backpacking trips, this is our first car-camping trip since we were all kids. We figured with a 12 and 8-month-old along for the trip it would be better to have too much stuff than not enough stuff. An hour or so later, La Casa de Us was complete and all Mark and I had to do was cross off the items on our mental list. First up? Beer.
We hopped back in the truck and meandered the five miles to Bar Harbor, which I will go on record as saying is the hands-down best seaside town in New England, and that's saying something - New England has its fair share of great seaside towns. We had plenty of options when it came to getting a bite to eat and a cold beer, and we opted for the Thirsty Whale. I crushed a grilled Haddock sandwich while Mark daintily nibbled at his crab cake sandwich, and we each washed them down with a local brew. We hit an ATM right outside the restaurant, and the search was on for firewood - but not until we bought some beer. There was a quaint little liquor store in downtown Bar Harbor and we each loaded up an armful of local brews.
While driving back to the campground we passed sign after sign for firewood, but for some reason one plywood sign on the left side of the road called out to us. We abruptly took the sharp left and proceeded to fishtail down a dirt driveway. Little did we know that the homeowner was right behind us in his own pickup truck observing our best Dukes of Hazzard impression. Once the dust settled we hopped out of the truck and were met by the tallest braided man we've ever seen. He firmly shook our hands, introduced himself as Chris, and genuinely complimented me on my driving skills. He had armfuls of pine for $2, for general burning, and boxes of hardwoods, for cooking, for $10. We struck up a conversation about knives (somehow) which led us to discussing how he slaughters pigs and sells every pork product imaginable. Upon finishing his sales pitch he gave us a quick "hold on" and walked through a glass slider into his house. He reappeared minutes later carrying three ice cold cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and tossed us each one. Who doesn't appreciate an ice cold PBR on a hot summer day? We followed the 100' long extension cord to the meat freezer in his driveway and began shopping. We opted for a half pound of homemade breakfast sausage and another half pound of homemade uncured bacon. Because we bought his pork products, Chris had a deal for us: buy a $10 box of hardwood and we could pile up all the crappy pine we wanted, which in a Tundra was quite a lot.
Once back at the campsite we got a fire going and awaited the arrival of our families. We cracked a few of our local beers and after a few minutes Mark's new Grand Cherokee came rolling up. Once the Jeep was fully unloaded we headed down to the ocean cliffs, a two minute bike ride from the campsite. It was the perfect opportunity to give the new bike trailers a whirl and see how much the boys would love (or loathe) them. It was a success, as the boys happily rode the 500 yards to the water's edge. After poking around the cliffs for a half hour or so we made our way back to camp where we sat around the fire until it was time for dinner. We did the classic camping meal of hot dogs, baked beans, and brown bread, all cooked over the fire of course. A few beers later and we were all ready for bed after a long, long day.
Day 2: Hiking the Ocean Path
There is nothing better than sleeping outdoors in a tent in what's commonly known as "perfect sleeping weather." Our first night was dry and cool, dropping into the 50's, which provided us a great night's sleep to kick off our adventure. Brooke and I were the first ones up so we snuck out of the tent and starting getting ready for the day. I put our new GSI percolator on the borrowed Coleman two burner stove and got some coffee going, and proceeded to fry up some of Chris's homemade breakfast sausage on the remaining burner. Like it was right out of a Folger's commercial, Mark and Shauna slowly made their way out of the tent once the aroma of fresh coffee and frying pork wafted into the tent. We petered around the campsite after breakfast and combed through the various maps of the park while deciding what our plan for the day was. We, I mean I, discovered a great first hike to take the boys on. We didn't want to be too ambitious and attempt a crazy eight mile hike with serious ascent with our little guys on our backs, so this 2.5 hike along the cliffs of Acadia ending at Sand Beach was perfect. It was listed as "easy" which is exactly what we needed for our first foray into hiking with the boys.
Mark learned at the ranger station that the park buses visited our campground every 30 minutes and that served as a motivating factor to get dressed and ready as quickly as possible. The first bus brought us to Sieur de Monts, where we had to depart and grab a second bus to our final destination of Otter Cliffs. Us and our absurd amount of gear managed to find our way off the bus at Otter Cliffs and with equal aplomb also managed to find the trailhead. A few minutes were spent strapping the kids into the backpacks and after staring in awe at the views that laid before us we finally took our first steps hiking in Acadia. While the hike itself was only two and a half miles, it took a good two to three hours to complete. Every time we broke through a cluster of trees we found ourselves getting a totally different perspective of the same incredible view we had been gawking at the whole day. The trail snaked along the cliffs and through groves of trees, never more than 50 yards from the water's edge and we made sure to capture photos at every view point. The boys grew a tad restless the closer we got to Sand Beach, so when we finally rounded the last corner and the beach was in view everyone - kids included - breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting on towels, eating our packed lunches, and watching the boys endlessly try to eat fistfuls of sand (they're 12 & 8 months old, respectively) was an incredible way to spend the afternoon. After Mark tempted fate and dove into the 55* water we poked around and explored the beach area a bit. Satisfied we had enjoyed everything Sand Beach had to offer, we hopped back on the shuttle and made our way back to the campground. It was late in the afternoon when we returned so we mellowed out, cracked a beer, and got dinner ready. Mark had packed four enormous Delmonico-cut steaks in one of the coolers, and utilizing Chris's premium hardwood he prepared a meal of steak, baked potatoes, and grilled vegetables all cooked over an open fire. To say it was delicious would be vastly understating the true beauty of this meal. Once dinner was cleaned up Brooke and I shot into town real quick and grabbed a few ice creams to wash down the grotesque amounts of red meat we had all consumed. A few more local brews were enjoyed around the fire and we all retired to the amazing comfort of our Cabela's Deluxe Backwoods Cabin tent.
Day 3: Biking the Carriage Trails
We began our second full day much like we did the day before. Brooke and I got an early start and had the coffee brewing as soon as possible. Our meal to start the day was an incredible french toast/egg/sausage casserole that Shauna had prepared at home. Frying it in bacon grease certainly didn't hurt the already-delicious meal, and several cups of strong, grind-polluted coffee had everyone ready for a long day. The previous night around the fire was spent picking the day's activities, and we all had settled on riding the numerous carriage trails that maneuver their way through the park.
The route that we mapped out required us to utilize the free shuttle system again, and managing two kids, two backpacks, and four bicycles wasn't as bad we anticipated. The shuttles were equipped with rather easy to use bike racks in front and back and despite taking two buses to get to out starting point, no tempers flared - amazingly. We switched buses at Sieur de Monts and were dropped off at Wildwood Stables where we were to begin our cycling adventure. Our route brought us a few miles to Jordan Pond where we were to figure out the remainder of the route. We had a small hiccup, though, as Hunter was incredibly tired but refused to nap in the bike trailer. The more tired he got in the confined trailer, the more irritable he got. He had been the absolute easiest child to care for for the first 12 months (and still is), so we couldn't really complain when he decided to be rather non-compliant on this day. After hanging out and snacking with our feet dangling in Jordan Pond, we went our separate ways with Mark, Shauna, and Wyatt finishing the route by biking all the way along Eagle Lake into downtown Bar Harbor. Brooke and I decided to return our dissatisfied customer to the relative comfort of the campsite so he could nap and be a fully functioning well-behaved child come dinner time. As irony would have it, a half-mile after departing Jordan Pond Hunter fell fast asleep in the bike trailer. Mark and Shauna were already well on their way to Eagle Lake, so Brooke and I continued riding the many carriage roads that wrap their way through the park. We navigated three or four miles of roads before returning to Wildwood Stables and only had to wait twenty minutes or so for the next shuttle to come. With one stopover at the park headquarters, we were back at the campground around 5pm and had only one thing on our minds: a hot shower.
The Tundra guided us down the road to the pay showers and much to my dismay, I only had a twenty on me. Carrying towels, clothes, a one-year-old and 80 quarters is easier said than done. Needless to say the 80 quarters let all three of us revel in one of the ten greatest showers of my life. Brooke and Hunter got dressed while I finished up my shower and then we headed to downtown Bar Harbor for dinner & drinks and to ultimately meet up with Mark, Shauna, and Wyatt. While parking the truck we actually bumped into Mark and family waiting for the shuttle, so I gave them all of the leftover quarters and we made plans to meet up for drinks after they showered and made it back into town. Brooke, Hunter and I walked through downtown and picked theFish House Grill for dinner. Our view overlooked the water, our food was delicious, our child was perfectly behaved, and the weather was impeccable. It all added up to one of the best dinners my wife and I have shared together. After dinner we walked along the water's edge, over to the Bar Harbor Inn, and leisurely strolled through Agamont Park. One of our shuttle drivers had informed us that there was a big band concert on the Village Green every Thursday night, so we obliged. Mark, Shauna, and Wyatt met us on the green and we enjoyed the live music while sitting on an impeccably manicured lawn. Shauna summed it up best when she said it was a scene out of 1950's America. Once the music finished up we grabbed an ice cream and strolled along the streets of downtown Bar Harbor, popping into various shops as we pleased. The boys were starting to rub their eyes so we hopped in the cars and headed back to the campsite. After the moms successfully lulled their boys to sleep we all sat around the fire planning our last full day in the park while enjoying an ice cold local brew.
Day 4: Park Loop Road & Return to Home
Our morning consisted yet again of copious amounts of coffee, along with whatever breakfast food we could cook up. We wanted to return home with as little food as possible, so everything got thrown into the pans. Our tentative plan was to scrap the physically strenuous activities in exchange for seeing as much of the park as possible. Much like what Brooke and I did inYellowstone, we decided that the best way to see all of the sights of the park was to drive the perimeter, along Park Loop Road, stopping along the way to take as many pictures as possible.
Our day was kind of up in the air from the outset because Brooke and I didn't know when we were going to depart for home. We had the site through Saturday, but I had an anniversary surprise for Brooke on Saturday night. We could either leave late Friday night and suffer through the 325 mile drive home surviving on nothing but coffee, or we could leave really early on Saturday, racing home and stressed out about the narrow window of time. We opted to leave late Friday night, which still gave us a full day of activities.
We picked up Park Loop Road at Sieur de Monts, which acted as our staging area for the entire week, and headed south (the only option) where our first photo stop was at the trailhead for the Precipice Trail, something Mark and I opted not to do now that we're dads. As fun as rungs, ladders, and exposed cliffs sound, our responsibilities to our wives and sons will not permit us to act like little kids anymore. Depressing, but true. We continued toward Sand Beach and Thunder Hole, and the ladies were kind enough to let Mark and I fish at Otter Cove while the boys napped. Our lines were in the water for a good 45 minutes, but no success was had. Though the tide was out the fish weren't biting, so we packed up after a bit and continued on down the road. Our next stop, believe it or not, is a place called Hunter's Brook. Seriously. It's a brook that runs from the mountaintops and into the ocean at a beautiful pebble-laden beach. I took plenty of pictures because where else am I going to find a spot named for my two favorite people?
The Jordan Pond House was said to be the place to have lunch in Acadia. The visitor center has a restaurant with seating out on a large, open lawn overlooking the pond and the north and south Bubbles. After a twenty minute wait a table opened up and the six of us were seated for lunch. They're known for their popovers, so who were we to not order some? Various chowders and soup accompanied our popovers and after we ate we walked the boys around the lawn, enjoying the gorgeous vista that lay before us. Our well-worn map provided us with one more bit of direction as the only remaining sight to see was the mother of all Acadia sights - Cadillac Mountain. Why hadn't we hiked it? Well, the boys barely tolerated a 2.5 mile level hike along the cliffs on Wednesday, so a strenuous 8 mile hike from our campsite to the summit just wasn't in the cards. It's OK, the mountain isn't going anywhere any time soon and we'll return at some point in the future in order to cross it off the bucket list of northeast hikes. We made our way to the summit via the internal combustion engine, unfortunately, but decided while we were there how the remainder of the afternoon would play out. The boys were in desperate need of naps, so Mark and I decided we would hike from the summit to Bar Harbor where would meet the wives and sons for drinks and dinner. Our foolproof plan turned out to be, well, foolproof. Mark and I took the Dorr Mountain Trail a half mile straight down the side of Cadillac Mountain boulder-hopping along the way until we reached the trail junction where hopped on the Gorge Path. This hike weaved it's way down through a gorge, of all things, and the rocky trail eventually poured us out onto a residential street leaving us with about a mile of street walking to the commercial section of Bar Harbor.
Brooke, Shauna and the boys were waiting for us at Stewman's Lobster Pound right on the water overlooking Frenchman Bay. Mark and I toasted our successful hike with an ice cold Shipyard, and we all order some variation of local mollusks, be they fried or steamed. Brooke and I gathered our belongings at the restaurant, our son included, and drove back to the campground where we packed up all of our $*&%@!$ stuff at a frenetic pace in a rush to get out of there as early as possible. With a five and half hour drive ahead of us, the more time we lingered packing the worse the drive would be. We finally hit the road a little before 8pm and hit "Navigate > Home" on the TomTom. Our ride home was rather uneventful, save for the large coffee and two 5 Hour Energy's I downed around Augusta, Maine. Needless to say I watched TV for close to an hour after we got home at 1:30am.
The trip was a major success. Not only did we have a great deal of fun with our close friends and their son, we proved to ourselves, and I think I can speak for Mark and Shauna when I say this, that we could camp for a week with two babies and come out in one piece. It was a great experience for us to hike with our sons on our backs and to start enjoying time outdoors with our families. I know that this was the first of many trips that we'll share with our son, and I'm sure the same rings true for Mark and Shauna. Sure, everyone vacations with their children - but do they do kick-ass outdoorsy vacations like this? Nope. Not everyone. We certainly do, though, and I've already spent a handful of hours researching our next family trip. With our five year anniversary next year (2012), Brooke and I will be going somewhere pretty sweet for sure, so look for another awesome trip somewhere in the contiguous U.S. around the end of 2012 or summer of 2013.
(Oh, by the way, the anniversary surprise scored a year's worth of bonus points. Keith Urban live at Mohegan Sun with a hotel room made me Husband #1, and was definitely worth a middle of the night drive home from Acadia.)
Sometime this past winter, while imbibing with Mark and Shauna, the four of us decided we should spend a week at Acadia National Park in our neighbor-to-the-north, Maine. I booked the campsite at the highly recommended Blackwoods campground on the first possible day and bought a trail map at our local EMS in the days following. What we didn't know was that this trip would prove to be the most difficult to plan for, despite its relatively close proximity. Despite venturing west to Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Zion, good ol' Acadia National Park had them beat when it came time to get everything sorted and packed. We originally picked this trip around the first of the year, and figured "hell, it's months away!" every time it dawned on us that we should start getting our shit together. In addition to packing for kids, which was new to all of us this year, we had to figure out how to get a weeks worth of living supplies and four bikes to a campsite 300+ miles away. We figured out all of the smallest details over dinner one night and in true new-parent fashion, all four of us waited until the latter days and weeks of June to figure everything out for our July 5th departure. With little more than 72 hours until we were to leave, and no concrete way to transport four bicycles, all was saved when my dad offered his Toyota Tundra to haul our belongings north. It took innumerable man hours to pack the truck perfectly and some late-night packing at Mark & Shauna's house had us ready to go by midnight of the night before we were to depart. Our plan for the drive was for Mark and I to head up bright and early on Tuesday morning several hours before Brooke, Shauna, and the kids left, so we could get the tent set up and the campsite ready without the peanut gallery judging our every error. This proved to be the best decision of the entire planning process.
Day 1: Drive up & Set-up
My alarm blared local rock radio at 5:30am and I was up and in the shower in no time. We were all amped for this trip, so hitting snooze wasn't an option. I pulled into Mark's driveway a few minutes after 6:00am and once he was in and buckled up we were headed due north with 381HP to get us there, courtesy of Toyota. After squeezing our way through Dunkin' Donuts' drive-thru and ordering two of the largest coffees they could fashion, we set the cruise control slightly above the legal limit and left our hometown (and families) in the rear view mirror.
We crossed into the lovely state of New Hampshire around 7:30am and were out of it maybe 30 minutes later and crossing the Pemigewassett River into Maine. Our empty stomachs were screaming for us to stop for food, so naturally we obliged. We hit the service plaza on Rt. 95 in Kennebunk, Maine and feasted on everything Burger King had to offer for breakfast. Our massive coffees from Dunkins were finished miles ago, so we had to refuel with another large cup of Joe from BK. I opted to ride shotgun from this point forward, despite only driving for 2 hours or so, and let Mark take the helm of the great black beauty. There was some trepidation on my part as my dad did warn us A) to not hit any bumps, and B) to not return home if we so much as scratched it. I put my life in Mark's hands and calmly sipped my piping hot coffee as he tried to best Car and Driver's measured 0-60 for the Tundra.
About a hundred miles or so later we needed some petrol for the anti-Prius. The most rinky-dink gas station Pittsfield, Maine had to offer served us just fine as we put in a few hundred gallons of gas, got more coffee, and wasted $4.99 on the absolute worst teriyaki beef jerky I've ever tasted. (I guess that's what we deserve after consecutively desecrating the men's room.) We switched roles again as I desperately wanted to finish the last leg of the drive north, and boy am I glad I did - I don't think I could've talked Mark into hitting the L.L. Bean outlet in Ellsworth, Maine, but with me behind the wheel he had no choice but to oblige. I say that in jest, of course, as Mark is as big of a gear junky as I am. We set a limit of 20 minutes for the Bean outlet, and within that 20 minutes we both found several things we desperately needed to have. Realizing we were to spend the next four nights in a tent with our wives, we opted against purchasing even more gear and quickly left the store.
Once on Mount Desert Island, the home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, we made a rather circuitous route to the Blackwoods campground at the southeast corner of the island. We made mental notes along the way that once camp was set up we needed to do several things: buy firewood, buy beer, and drink beer (in no particular order). We pulled into the campground, registered at the ranger station, and proceeded over to site A141. We pulled in, shut the truck off and got out and walked around the site. It was homey, and surrounded by hemlocks. We began the slow, arduous task to going through the mountain of crap we packed and finally found the tent. 20 minutes, 2 skinned knuckles, and one fractured friendship later the tent was up. It was just that easy! Now that we had the tent up and the rain fly on and taut, we progressed through the smaller items. Coolers, bags, stoves, bikes, etc., were all dismantled from the truck and propped and piled throughout the campsite. We packed for a month. We looked like the biggest rookie campers ever, and for a reason. Though Mark and I (and Brooke) have done a few backpacking trips, this is our first car-camping trip since we were all kids. We figured with a 12 and 8-month-old along for the trip it would be better to have too much stuff than not enough stuff. An hour or so later, La Casa de Us was complete and all Mark and I had to do was cross off the items on our mental list. First up? Beer.
We hopped back in the truck and meandered the five miles to Bar Harbor, which I will go on record as saying is the hands-down best seaside town in New England, and that's saying something - New England has its fair share of great seaside towns. We had plenty of options when it came to getting a bite to eat and a cold beer, and we opted for the Thirsty Whale. I crushed a grilled Haddock sandwich while Mark daintily nibbled at his crab cake sandwich, and we each washed them down with a local brew. We hit an ATM right outside the restaurant, and the search was on for firewood - but not until we bought some beer. There was a quaint little liquor store in downtown Bar Harbor and we each loaded up an armful of local brews.
While driving back to the campground we passed sign after sign for firewood, but for some reason one plywood sign on the left side of the road called out to us. We abruptly took the sharp left and proceeded to fishtail down a dirt driveway. Little did we know that the homeowner was right behind us in his own pickup truck observing our best Dukes of Hazzard impression. Once the dust settled we hopped out of the truck and were met by the tallest braided man we've ever seen. He firmly shook our hands, introduced himself as Chris, and genuinely complimented me on my driving skills. He had armfuls of pine for $2, for general burning, and boxes of hardwoods, for cooking, for $10. We struck up a conversation about knives (somehow) which led us to discussing how he slaughters pigs and sells every pork product imaginable. Upon finishing his sales pitch he gave us a quick "hold on" and walked through a glass slider into his house. He reappeared minutes later carrying three ice cold cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and tossed us each one. Who doesn't appreciate an ice cold PBR on a hot summer day? We followed the 100' long extension cord to the meat freezer in his driveway and began shopping. We opted for a half pound of homemade breakfast sausage and another half pound of homemade uncured bacon. Because we bought his pork products, Chris had a deal for us: buy a $10 box of hardwood and we could pile up all the crappy pine we wanted, which in a Tundra was quite a lot.
Once back at the campsite we got a fire going and awaited the arrival of our families. We cracked a few of our local beers and after a few minutes Mark's new Grand Cherokee came rolling up. Once the Jeep was fully unloaded we headed down to the ocean cliffs, a two minute bike ride from the campsite. It was the perfect opportunity to give the new bike trailers a whirl and see how much the boys would love (or loathe) them. It was a success, as the boys happily rode the 500 yards to the water's edge. After poking around the cliffs for a half hour or so we made our way back to camp where we sat around the fire until it was time for dinner. We did the classic camping meal of hot dogs, baked beans, and brown bread, all cooked over the fire of course. A few beers later and we were all ready for bed after a long, long day.
Day 2: Hiking the Ocean Path
There is nothing better than sleeping outdoors in a tent in what's commonly known as "perfect sleeping weather." Our first night was dry and cool, dropping into the 50's, which provided us a great night's sleep to kick off our adventure. Brooke and I were the first ones up so we snuck out of the tent and starting getting ready for the day. I put our new GSI percolator on the borrowed Coleman two burner stove and got some coffee going, and proceeded to fry up some of Chris's homemade breakfast sausage on the remaining burner. Like it was right out of a Folger's commercial, Mark and Shauna slowly made their way out of the tent once the aroma of fresh coffee and frying pork wafted into the tent. We petered around the campsite after breakfast and combed through the various maps of the park while deciding what our plan for the day was. We, I mean I, discovered a great first hike to take the boys on. We didn't want to be too ambitious and attempt a crazy eight mile hike with serious ascent with our little guys on our backs, so this 2.5 hike along the cliffs of Acadia ending at Sand Beach was perfect. It was listed as "easy" which is exactly what we needed for our first foray into hiking with the boys.
Mark learned at the ranger station that the park buses visited our campground every 30 minutes and that served as a motivating factor to get dressed and ready as quickly as possible. The first bus brought us to Sieur de Monts, where we had to depart and grab a second bus to our final destination of Otter Cliffs. Us and our absurd amount of gear managed to find our way off the bus at Otter Cliffs and with equal aplomb also managed to find the trailhead. A few minutes were spent strapping the kids into the backpacks and after staring in awe at the views that laid before us we finally took our first steps hiking in Acadia. While the hike itself was only two and a half miles, it took a good two to three hours to complete. Every time we broke through a cluster of trees we found ourselves getting a totally different perspective of the same incredible view we had been gawking at the whole day. The trail snaked along the cliffs and through groves of trees, never more than 50 yards from the water's edge and we made sure to capture photos at every view point. The boys grew a tad restless the closer we got to Sand Beach, so when we finally rounded the last corner and the beach was in view everyone - kids included - breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting on towels, eating our packed lunches, and watching the boys endlessly try to eat fistfuls of sand (they're 12 & 8 months old, respectively) was an incredible way to spend the afternoon. After Mark tempted fate and dove into the 55* water we poked around and explored the beach area a bit. Satisfied we had enjoyed everything Sand Beach had to offer, we hopped back on the shuttle and made our way back to the campground. It was late in the afternoon when we returned so we mellowed out, cracked a beer, and got dinner ready. Mark had packed four enormous Delmonico-cut steaks in one of the coolers, and utilizing Chris's premium hardwood he prepared a meal of steak, baked potatoes, and grilled vegetables all cooked over an open fire. To say it was delicious would be vastly understating the true beauty of this meal. Once dinner was cleaned up Brooke and I shot into town real quick and grabbed a few ice creams to wash down the grotesque amounts of red meat we had all consumed. A few more local brews were enjoyed around the fire and we all retired to the amazing comfort of our Cabela's Deluxe Backwoods Cabin tent.
Day 3: Biking the Carriage Trails
We began our second full day much like we did the day before. Brooke and I got an early start and had the coffee brewing as soon as possible. Our meal to start the day was an incredible french toast/egg/sausage casserole that Shauna had prepared at home. Frying it in bacon grease certainly didn't hurt the already-delicious meal, and several cups of strong, grind-polluted coffee had everyone ready for a long day. The previous night around the fire was spent picking the day's activities, and we all had settled on riding the numerous carriage trails that maneuver their way through the park.
The route that we mapped out required us to utilize the free shuttle system again, and managing two kids, two backpacks, and four bicycles wasn't as bad we anticipated. The shuttles were equipped with rather easy to use bike racks in front and back and despite taking two buses to get to out starting point, no tempers flared - amazingly. We switched buses at Sieur de Monts and were dropped off at Wildwood Stables where we were to begin our cycling adventure. Our route brought us a few miles to Jordan Pond where we were to figure out the remainder of the route. We had a small hiccup, though, as Hunter was incredibly tired but refused to nap in the bike trailer. The more tired he got in the confined trailer, the more irritable he got. He had been the absolute easiest child to care for for the first 12 months (and still is), so we couldn't really complain when he decided to be rather non-compliant on this day. After hanging out and snacking with our feet dangling in Jordan Pond, we went our separate ways with Mark, Shauna, and Wyatt finishing the route by biking all the way along Eagle Lake into downtown Bar Harbor. Brooke and I decided to return our dissatisfied customer to the relative comfort of the campsite so he could nap and be a fully functioning well-behaved child come dinner time. As irony would have it, a half-mile after departing Jordan Pond Hunter fell fast asleep in the bike trailer. Mark and Shauna were already well on their way to Eagle Lake, so Brooke and I continued riding the many carriage roads that wrap their way through the park. We navigated three or four miles of roads before returning to Wildwood Stables and only had to wait twenty minutes or so for the next shuttle to come. With one stopover at the park headquarters, we were back at the campground around 5pm and had only one thing on our minds: a hot shower.
The Tundra guided us down the road to the pay showers and much to my dismay, I only had a twenty on me. Carrying towels, clothes, a one-year-old and 80 quarters is easier said than done. Needless to say the 80 quarters let all three of us revel in one of the ten greatest showers of my life. Brooke and Hunter got dressed while I finished up my shower and then we headed to downtown Bar Harbor for dinner & drinks and to ultimately meet up with Mark, Shauna, and Wyatt. While parking the truck we actually bumped into Mark and family waiting for the shuttle, so I gave them all of the leftover quarters and we made plans to meet up for drinks after they showered and made it back into town. Brooke, Hunter and I walked through downtown and picked theFish House Grill for dinner. Our view overlooked the water, our food was delicious, our child was perfectly behaved, and the weather was impeccable. It all added up to one of the best dinners my wife and I have shared together. After dinner we walked along the water's edge, over to the Bar Harbor Inn, and leisurely strolled through Agamont Park. One of our shuttle drivers had informed us that there was a big band concert on the Village Green every Thursday night, so we obliged. Mark, Shauna, and Wyatt met us on the green and we enjoyed the live music while sitting on an impeccably manicured lawn. Shauna summed it up best when she said it was a scene out of 1950's America. Once the music finished up we grabbed an ice cream and strolled along the streets of downtown Bar Harbor, popping into various shops as we pleased. The boys were starting to rub their eyes so we hopped in the cars and headed back to the campsite. After the moms successfully lulled their boys to sleep we all sat around the fire planning our last full day in the park while enjoying an ice cold local brew.
Day 4: Park Loop Road & Return to Home
Our morning consisted yet again of copious amounts of coffee, along with whatever breakfast food we could cook up. We wanted to return home with as little food as possible, so everything got thrown into the pans. Our tentative plan was to scrap the physically strenuous activities in exchange for seeing as much of the park as possible. Much like what Brooke and I did inYellowstone, we decided that the best way to see all of the sights of the park was to drive the perimeter, along Park Loop Road, stopping along the way to take as many pictures as possible.
Our day was kind of up in the air from the outset because Brooke and I didn't know when we were going to depart for home. We had the site through Saturday, but I had an anniversary surprise for Brooke on Saturday night. We could either leave late Friday night and suffer through the 325 mile drive home surviving on nothing but coffee, or we could leave really early on Saturday, racing home and stressed out about the narrow window of time. We opted to leave late Friday night, which still gave us a full day of activities.
We picked up Park Loop Road at Sieur de Monts, which acted as our staging area for the entire week, and headed south (the only option) where our first photo stop was at the trailhead for the Precipice Trail, something Mark and I opted not to do now that we're dads. As fun as rungs, ladders, and exposed cliffs sound, our responsibilities to our wives and sons will not permit us to act like little kids anymore. Depressing, but true. We continued toward Sand Beach and Thunder Hole, and the ladies were kind enough to let Mark and I fish at Otter Cove while the boys napped. Our lines were in the water for a good 45 minutes, but no success was had. Though the tide was out the fish weren't biting, so we packed up after a bit and continued on down the road. Our next stop, believe it or not, is a place called Hunter's Brook. Seriously. It's a brook that runs from the mountaintops and into the ocean at a beautiful pebble-laden beach. I took plenty of pictures because where else am I going to find a spot named for my two favorite people?
The Jordan Pond House was said to be the place to have lunch in Acadia. The visitor center has a restaurant with seating out on a large, open lawn overlooking the pond and the north and south Bubbles. After a twenty minute wait a table opened up and the six of us were seated for lunch. They're known for their popovers, so who were we to not order some? Various chowders and soup accompanied our popovers and after we ate we walked the boys around the lawn, enjoying the gorgeous vista that lay before us. Our well-worn map provided us with one more bit of direction as the only remaining sight to see was the mother of all Acadia sights - Cadillac Mountain. Why hadn't we hiked it? Well, the boys barely tolerated a 2.5 mile level hike along the cliffs on Wednesday, so a strenuous 8 mile hike from our campsite to the summit just wasn't in the cards. It's OK, the mountain isn't going anywhere any time soon and we'll return at some point in the future in order to cross it off the bucket list of northeast hikes. We made our way to the summit via the internal combustion engine, unfortunately, but decided while we were there how the remainder of the afternoon would play out. The boys were in desperate need of naps, so Mark and I decided we would hike from the summit to Bar Harbor where would meet the wives and sons for drinks and dinner. Our foolproof plan turned out to be, well, foolproof. Mark and I took the Dorr Mountain Trail a half mile straight down the side of Cadillac Mountain boulder-hopping along the way until we reached the trail junction where hopped on the Gorge Path. This hike weaved it's way down through a gorge, of all things, and the rocky trail eventually poured us out onto a residential street leaving us with about a mile of street walking to the commercial section of Bar Harbor.
Brooke, Shauna and the boys were waiting for us at Stewman's Lobster Pound right on the water overlooking Frenchman Bay. Mark and I toasted our successful hike with an ice cold Shipyard, and we all order some variation of local mollusks, be they fried or steamed. Brooke and I gathered our belongings at the restaurant, our son included, and drove back to the campground where we packed up all of our $*&%@!$ stuff at a frenetic pace in a rush to get out of there as early as possible. With a five and half hour drive ahead of us, the more time we lingered packing the worse the drive would be. We finally hit the road a little before 8pm and hit "Navigate > Home" on the TomTom. Our ride home was rather uneventful, save for the large coffee and two 5 Hour Energy's I downed around Augusta, Maine. Needless to say I watched TV for close to an hour after we got home at 1:30am.
The trip was a major success. Not only did we have a great deal of fun with our close friends and their son, we proved to ourselves, and I think I can speak for Mark and Shauna when I say this, that we could camp for a week with two babies and come out in one piece. It was a great experience for us to hike with our sons on our backs and to start enjoying time outdoors with our families. I know that this was the first of many trips that we'll share with our son, and I'm sure the same rings true for Mark and Shauna. Sure, everyone vacations with their children - but do they do kick-ass outdoorsy vacations like this? Nope. Not everyone. We certainly do, though, and I've already spent a handful of hours researching our next family trip. With our five year anniversary next year (2012), Brooke and I will be going somewhere pretty sweet for sure, so look for another awesome trip somewhere in the contiguous U.S. around the end of 2012 or summer of 2013.
(Oh, by the way, the anniversary surprise scored a year's worth of bonus points. Keith Urban live at Mohegan Sun with a hotel room made me Husband #1, and was definitely worth a middle of the night drive home from Acadia.)