August Vacation: Day 2, 3 & 4

Sunday August 8 was our last day in Bangor. I got up entirely too early so, I did what any crazy person would do, I had four cups of coffee and brought three dogs on a very long (read: tangled leashes) walk. The entire household was up by the time I was on my fourth cup of coffee and third walk. Alyssa made us a gourmet breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon. We lounged for a bit with the puppies before loading our kayaks to paddle around a nearby pond.

Ramsay James with Uncle Aaron

Ted and Alyssa took the lead

Me and my bestie of... oh my... 11 years! We met in 1999, is that right? Yes, 11 years!

Wow, I feel O.L.D. Oh well, at least Alyssa is older, ha ha!

After kayaking, the boys went for a long bike ride and Alyssa and I ventured to a nearby garden and then into town to hit up Petco and also walk the boardwalk in the city forest (Bangor Bog). It was so amazing. It's just miles of boardwalk through a forest and bog. We walked and talked and had girl time.

I want this chair... Aaron?

Bog walk

Later, we had a nice dinner before departing for the evening. It was so nice to spend 2 full days with my best friend. Part of me didn't want to leave her, the other part of me was looking forward to the next leg of our vacation which began that evening after dinner. We drove 1 hour south to camp. By the time we unpacked and settled in for the week we were planning to spend there, it was time for bed.

The next morning I woke up early as usual (please, God, let me sleep past 6:30 one day per week. Please?) We had to go grocery shopping for the week ahead so we rode into town. Later in the day my mother came over (she lives nearby) and we celebrated her birthday, swam, and floated around on our inner tubes. There was something funny that my mother said and I have to note it here. The inner tubes were a bit dirty so, they left marks on our skin. I had just purchased a new Victoria's Secret swimsuit and my mother and I had the following conversation

J: Ew, the tubes are dirty! We need to wash them off!

M: They've been in the shed all year, what do you expect?

J: I know but, (pointing to my suit) this is Vicky's!

M: Well, (having no clue I meant Victoria's Secret) give it back to her.

Later that night Aaron and I went for a walk with the pups and we made some pretty flippin' sweet peanut butter cups (recipe to follow on an upcoming menu Monday.)

I love cat-o-nine tails.

(At some point in the near future I'll write about what I put my poor father-in-law through when I decided last minute that I had to have cat-o-nine tails at my wedding.)

The next morning (Tuesday) we awoke early because we had a busy day ahead. We went for an amazing hike that afforded us a glorious view of the nearby lakes. It was gorgeous!

While there I saw this tree that was tempting me to climb it.

Unfortunately the tree was really old and it broke dropping me directly on my rump causing me to bruise my tailbone and get some pretty nasty cuts on my leg (which ended up getting infected because I couldn't stay out of the water.) LOL.

This was a worm at the summit. I have no clue what it was but, it was HUGE!

After the hike we showered up and drove over to a where my sister lives so we could nab Xander and take him to a living history museum. Norlands is an estate/farm you can tour, It educates you about the history of education and what it was like to live in Maine at the particular time the Washburn family occupied the mansion. It was really neat. Xander loved the old school house.

He practiced writing his name with a quill and real ink!

The teacher even let him ring the school bell.

The end of the tour brings you to a gift shop (oooofffffff course) and Xander asked me: "I-ya, can I have a gift?" I said, "Of course, Baby. Anything you want." Now, mind you, there were train whistles, replicas of old coins, stuffed animals, books, and other things related to the 1800's in Maine. "I-ya, I want this candy-cane." What a sweet little boy. He knows darn well I would have bought him anything in the shop but, he wanted a $.25 cent candy cane. That is typical Xander. He's so sweet and happy just to spend time with me.

While we were there it also happened to be his last tee-ball game and we never miss his final tee-ball game when he gets his trophy. The game only lasted a few minutes because it was rained out but, it gave us an excuse to go out to eat at a fun restaurant in town.