Acadia National Park

Yesterday we woke up to a perfect summer day. We scrambled to load up the minivan and head to the beach. We got to Popham only to find a parking disaster! The lot was full, every 'no-parking' spot was full, all private parking was full and there was even an ambulance trying to get through the mess! It was totally ruining our summer buzz. We pouted, turned around and headed back to Route 1 trying to figure out something else fun to do.

Every time we're up on Route 1 north of us, we always say to each other 'Acadia?? NAH, too far!' Well... yesterday we bit the bullet and at about 1 o'clock we headed up to Acadia! We got there about 4 o'clock after many stops ... one in Searsport which has the MOST delightful town park I've ever seen in Maine.

We did the Acadia park loop and drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain where we took a really nice, fairly quick hike. Then we drove down the mountain and enjoyed Sand Beach. It was getting late by then ... 7 o'clock! We picked up some road food and headed home after meandering through Seal Harbor and Bar Harbor.

We pulled in to our driveway at 11:30 last night. It was a stunning and incredible day. Bonus: Free admission this past weekend to the park! This will happen once more this summer: August 15-16. We had SO much fun and saw so many more things we wanted to do/see that we'll definitely be going back soon.

Acadia National Park

Yesterday we woke up to a perfect summer day. We scrambled to load up the minivan and head to the beach. We got to Popham only to find a parking disaster! The lot was full, every 'no-parking' spot was full, all private parking was full and there was even an ambulance trying to get through the mess! It was totally ruining our summer buzz. We pouted, turned around and headed back to Route 1 trying to figure out something else fun to do.

Every time we're up on Route 1 north of us, we always say to each other 'Acadia?? NAH, too far!' Well... yesterday we bit the bullet and at about 1 o'clock we headed up to Acadia! We got there about 4 o'clock after many stops ... one in Searsport which has the MOST delightful town park I've ever seen in Maine.

We did the Acadia park loop and drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain where we took a really nice, fairly quick hike. Then we drove down the mountain and enjoyed Sand Beach. It was getting late by then ... 7 o'clock! We picked up some road food and headed home after meandering through Seal Harbor and Bar Harbor.

We pulled in to our driveway at 11:30 last night. It was a stunning and incredible day. Bonus: Free admission this past weekend to the park! This will happen once more this summer: August 15-16. We had SO much fun and saw so many more things we wanted to do/see that we'll definitely be going back soon.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

CMBG in Boothbay is one (of the many many) of my favorite places to visit. I wish I could say that it's just a short drive but it is not... it's well over an hour from our house. But it's totally worth the drive because the drive itself is one of my favorites as well. We went out for a quick walk this past Wednesday because we got there about 45 minutes before the gardens closed at 5 o'clock.

The daylilies, astilbe, and Japanese Irises were all in full glory. I've noticed that these flowers are in abundance all over the area... even along the interstates the ditches and forests are thick with flowers... all three of the aforementioned are naturalized all over the place! It's pretty amazing. I especially love the inky purply blue japanese irises.

It's gloriously warm and humid here today... warm as in there is an actual heat index. The folks at the grocery store were sweating buckets and complaining about the humidity... I suppose it isn't the norm around here. But to me, it feels WONDERFUL!

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

CMBG in Boothbay is one (of the many many) of my favorite places to visit. I wish I could say that it's just a short drive but it is not... it's well over an hour from our house. But it's totally worth the drive because the drive itself is one of my favorites as well. We went out for a quick walk this past Wednesday because we got there about 45 minutes before the gardens closed at 5 o'clock.

The daylilies, astilbe, and Japanese Irises were all in full glory. I've noticed that these flowers are in abundance all over the area... even along the interstates the ditches and forests are thick with flowers... all three of the aforementioned are naturalized all over the place! It's pretty amazing. I especially love the inky purply blue japanese irises.

It's gloriously warm and humid here today... warm as in there is an actual heat index. The folks at the grocery store were sweating buckets and complaining about the humidity... I suppose it isn't the norm around here. But to me, it feels WONDERFUL!

Maine Island Trail Association

America's first water trail created, protected and enjoyed by people who love the coast of Maine. (link)

Maine Island Trail Association

America's first water trail created, protected and enjoyed by people who love the coast of Maine. (link)

Midsummer

The sun has finally arrived and we're enjoying a taste of summer here in Maine. It's typically in the low to mid 70s during the day and chilly at night. Perfect weather, really. It'd be nice to get one of those rogue HOT days, but I'm not complaining!

We've settled in to the perfect summer routine. No schedule most days, sleeping in, taking the day slow, splashing in the kiddie pool on the deck, hitting the beach, hiking, exploring. It's all good. This cooler weather has me constantly thinking about fall! I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I'm totally a nut for fall. Every year when the trees finally leaf out, I just see potential for a glorious fall display. I'm sure that we are in for a treat to be living here in New England. I'm already gearing up for major drives and an obscene amount of photos of foliage... just you wait!

Thinking of fall always kicks my knitting in to high gear. Honestly, so far this summer I've had many knitting failures. I've frogged more than anything. Perhaps it is just my mental state spilling on to the needles... indecisiveness, feeling fickle, at odds, etc. It affects everything. I figured out that I should just knit my go-to knitting... stock socks. Simple stockinette socks with a trusty old friend yarn -- Opal in this case.

But last night I dug out my Staghorn pullover that has been hibernating for quite a while and knit a few rows on it. I snuggled under my afghan in front of the open window... chilly Maine summer air spilling in and knit away on my sweater. It was awesome. It filled up my spirit a little bit and I feel motivated to get this sweater done.

I want to get this done not only to enjoy the process of learning something new (saddle shoulders). But also so I can move on to another sweater. Can you believe I've already accumulated a lot more yarn? (I sent most of my stash back to Iowa to friends earlier this year). I have several sweaters-worth sitting in the stash tote and it's beckoning to come out and play. I am eager to knit some more sweaters... I'd love to knit the Central Park Hoodie using the autumn-red/orange Cascade Sierra in my stash, I'd also love to knit the Cable Down Raglan using the purple Ultra Alpaca I have. I'm also always on the lookout to find a nice vest pattern for the Kathmandu Aran.

I did knit a sweet little hat for my 2 year old son using Berocco's new Vintage Wool. I have to say that I do like the yarn a lot. It's not scratchy at all but still warm which is perfect for my boys' noggins. I have enough Vintage Wool to knit each of them a sweater as well.

This is the tough part -- so many sweaters, so little time! I best get knitting and hope I can stir up a whole lot of mojo so I can get at least a few of these done.

Midsummer

The sun has finally arrived and we're enjoying a taste of summer here in Maine. It's typically in the low to mid 70s during the day and chilly at night. Perfect weather, really. It'd be nice to get one of those rogue HOT days, but I'm not complaining!

We've settled in to the perfect summer routine. No schedule most days, sleeping in, taking the day slow, splashing in the kiddie pool on the deck, hitting the beach, hiking, exploring. It's all good. This cooler weather has me constantly thinking about fall! I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I'm totally a nut for fall. Every year when the trees finally leaf out, I just see potential for a glorious fall display. I'm sure that we are in for a treat to be living here in New England. I'm already gearing up for major drives and an obscene amount of photos of foliage... just you wait!

Thinking of fall always kicks my knitting in to high gear. Honestly, so far this summer I've had many knitting failures. I've frogged more than anything. Perhaps it is just my mental state spilling on to the needles... indecisiveness, feeling fickle, at odds, etc. It affects everything. I figured out that I should just knit my go-to knitting... stock socks. Simple stockinette socks with a trusty old friend yarn -- Opal in this case.

But last night I dug out my Staghorn pullover that has been hibernating for quite a while and knit a few rows on it. I snuggled under my afghan in front of the open window... chilly Maine summer air spilling in and knit away on my sweater. It was awesome. It filled up my spirit a little bit and I feel motivated to get this sweater done.

I want to get this done not only to enjoy the process of learning something new (saddle shoulders). But also so I can move on to another sweater. Can you believe I've already accumulated a lot more yarn? (I sent most of my stash back to Iowa to friends earlier this year). I have several sweaters-worth sitting in the stash tote and it's beckoning to come out and play. I am eager to knit some more sweaters... I'd love to knit the Central Park Hoodie using the autumn-red/orange Cascade Sierra in my stash, I'd also love to knit the Cable Down Raglan using the purple Ultra Alpaca I have. I'm also always on the lookout to find a nice vest pattern for the Kathmandu Aran.

I did knit a sweet little hat for my 2 year old son using Berocco's new Vintage Wool. I have to say that I do like the yarn a lot. It's not scratchy at all but still warm which is perfect for my boys' noggins. I have enough Vintage Wool to knit each of them a sweater as well.

This is the tough part -- so many sweaters, so little time! I best get knitting and hope I can stir up a whole lot of mojo so I can get at least a few of these done.

New England Blog

New England Travel: I've spent a lot of time at this web site. It is a great resource for all things New England. Keep it handy if you plan on vacationing out here.

Kim's New England Travel Blog
Best of New England

LL Bean Summer Concert Series

For Tips for Attending a Free Summer Concert at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine, click here.

New England Blog

New England Travel: I've spent a lot of time at this web site. It is a great resource for all things New England. Keep it handy if you plan on vacationing out here.

Kim's New England Travel Blog
Best of New England

LL Bean Summer Concert Series

For Tips for Attending a Free Summer Concert at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine, click here.