Month: June 2016

Today we drove to Acadia National Park in Maine. We settled into the campsite and then headed out to explore. Mom got a recommendation to go to Thurston’s Lobster for dinner. Since it was my 11th birthday I got to pick my meal. I loved the idea of more lobster.

What a beautiful place we found. It was right not he water and you could see all the lobster boats, traps and buoys. I ran out of fingers so I had to use my foot to add the next year!

We approached the counter and I picked out a 2.5lb lobster.

Me and my dinner!

In short order he was steamed and brought to the table. We passed the time watching the tide come in. The tidal shift here is about 11 feet. It is neat to see how they have to plan around the tides for access to the harbors.

After we finished eating we looked around a bit.

Now that’s a LOT of lobster traps!

We grabbed some birthday cookies at the store on the way back and then played at the campground playground as a family. What a great way to spend my birthday!

 

Mom and Dad think these chairs are cool. They are made from lobster traps!

Today we drove to Portland, Maine to explore the city. It was also Dad’s birthday so we had a fun time celebrating his special day. We started with a walk down the Easter Promenade while we waited for out first stop to open. We then went to the Portland Observatory. It is an old signal tower that has withstood powder post beetles, a nearby HUGE fire and 209 years of wear and tear. We learned about the history of the observatory from a very knowledgeable docent.

I practiced my knot typing skills.

We learned that you could pay the tower, a long time ago, and they kept watch and alerted you when you ship came in. It was amazing for business as it allowed secure dock space and notification of the incoming ship. There were signal flags for every ship that chose to join. Not they fly US and Maine flags and sometimes cruise ship flags during the summer.

We could see out into the Atlantic Ocean from the top of the tower.

Up next was the International Cryptozoology Museum. I was really excited to see all the creatures they have and haven’t found. They have lots of evidence of the existence of cryptids like bigfoot and Nessy.

Some of the items were pop-culture.

Some things were proven to not exist, like the jackalope. 

We have learned about he fFiji Mermaid before at the Ripley’s museum.

There was a cool display not he Dover Demon. Mom grew up in Dover when she was little. So she knew the story.

After the museum we drove the scenic route to the Portland Head Lamp. It is the 2nd oldest functional lighthouse in the USA. The oldest is in Boston Harbor. Sadly, it was under renovation do we couldn’t see much of the tower. We were able to look out at the huge rocks in the water and saw a rather large seal.

When we got back to the campground we had lobster for the 2nd night in a row. We have more coming tomorrow too from Grandma and Grandpa as a family birthday gift! They even deliver the hot fresh caught and cooked lobster in a cool classic truck.

The next day we started at the walk-in clinic for E, Mom and myself. E has had a bad cough but is okay. I seemed fine as well but I have a huge swollen lymph node behind my ear. Mom is the worst off with fluid behind her ear and a swollen lymph node but the doctor felt it would resolve with home treatments. Since we are heading into Canada soon and weren’t sure when we would see a clinic for a while it was a better safe than sorry trip. Especially since I get strep periodically and never had normal symptoms.

After the clinic Mom grabbed some whole belly clams at the Clam Shack in Kennebunkport in Dock Square. I said they smelled delicious but didn’t want to try them. Maybe next time.

The afternoon was spent with laundry and everyone relaxing a bit.  We wrapped up the evening with those lobsters from Grandma and Grandpa and boy were they YUMMY!

Here is Mom in the HUGE chair at the campground. It was a funny chair!