State Bird of Maine

Hello!


**Today's Quiz: Who can guess the state bird of Maine?**

We just returned from a quick jaunt to Maine. Frank has a co-worker (in South Carolina, actually) who has a "cabin" on the coast. He offered, a couple of months ago, for us to take advantage of the cabin if we were up there to visit. WELL. Who can pass up such a nice offer?

LIGHTHOUSE TOUR. During the three hour drive from here to the cabin, we had some excellent variety of Lighthouse viewing. This one is called Portland Head Lighthouse. Thanks to some breaks in the clouds, we caught some sun shining on it! It is the most photographed lighthouse in the country.

I liked this one, mostly because of the name. "Bug Light!" (I never read or heard the story of how it got its name. I could make one up for you, though...)










The kids love any type of landmark that is surrounded by rocks and cliffs. Monuments, building foundations, ruins...if they are allowed to climb around on them, they are in heaven. This one has rocks leading out to it. David and Teresa race back...







ACADIA NATIONAL PARK. A three-hour drive further up from the cabin, we visited this glorious, breathtaking national park. A coastal walk where the cliffs meet the Atlantic Ocean...hikes and trails with spectacular views of breathtaking islands out in the bay. Wow, is all I could say. Of course, that was the FIRST day we visited the park.

The SECOND morning, we all woke up with the same expectations of the glorious landscapes we absorbed the first day, pulled back the blinds, and we were overwhelmed with...................FOG. Couldn't see across the street to read a sign. Hey! What's that all about?

(Reminder: this is New England. We have WEATHER here. Our new mantra in this part of the country: Plan on less-than-sunny weather. If you cancel things because of the weather, you'll never end up doing ANYthing.)








So, we changed the order of a few visits, to wait for the fog to lift a LITTLE. Then we hiked our hikes anyway. Rain makes rocks slippery, but fog doesn't, really. The kids had been looking forward to a particular "non-technical climb," so named because of steep elevation gain, without the use of ropes and caribeeners. The whole climb was rock steps and iron-rod staircases that had been pounded into the rock faces. 900 ft gain in 1.5 miles, I think. The guide book said you needed to be in "good physical condition and not be afraid of heights." (The fog took care of the heights thing...we couldn't really see how high up we were.) At any rate, everybody did great!



The last little treat was to go fishing off the pier. You can also see how foggy it is, in this picture. The kids spent some time casting their lures at the end of a pier with a little snack shop, which specialized in...you got it, Maine Lobster! They didn't catch anything. But from what I hear, that's not the REAL point of fishing, anyway, right? (Please tell me there's another point to fishing...never mind.)



And the answer to the quiz--the state bird of Maine is.....




THE MOSQUITO!!!!!!!!!

(ok, I'm kidding, but not really. Oh my holy cow, there were enough mosquitos to swat for eternity. The real answer is the Chickadee, same as the Massachusetts state bird. But mosquitos come in 2nd.)

Have a great weekend! Kari :)

Vermont

Hello!

We have finally had a couple of days without rain. It rains more here than I could ever have imagined.

Last weekend was a FIRST for all of us, even Frank. We have now been to VERMONT! I am so glad to be here--I am learning so much. Instead of "New England" being a nebulous mass in the northeast corner of the U.S. somewhere, I can tell you all of the SIX states that are included in "New England." They would be Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. (Quiz at the end...)

Friday afternoon, while we drove, it POURED. Yes, the buckets-dumping-on-your-head kind of rain...running from the door to the car was like jumping in a swimming pool kind of wet.

Then, the weather gave us a break.

JOSEPH SMITH's BIRTHPLACE. We went to this memorial on Friday evening, and the rain let up so we could ride/walk around the grounds and see the foundations of his family's homes from the mid-1800's. (This is David and me, next to one of the home foundations.)

They have a HUGE monument made of granite, 40 tons they had to transport. (For the very cool story on that, click this word "monument," then scroll down in the article to "Erecting the Joseph Smith Jr. Monument"). They also have a peaceful visitor's center.

GREEN, green, and more green. Absolutely beautiful, so much lush foliage you just couldn't believe it. (It's been raining here for 2 months solid...what did I expect???)

BEN & JERRY's. You can't go to Vermont and miss the Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour, ending of course with free samples! Ben & Jerry, 2 hippie guys from the 70's, pooled $5 to take a course on making ice cream. They started out giving it away, then people lined up for it, out the door and around the block. It's a fun story.

(BTW: Unilever bought them out in 2000, and now Ben & Jerry live just a few miles away from the factory. I suppose they struggle daily with how to spend their multi-million-dollar pittance...)

MAPLE TAPPING and CHEESE. We went to a working farm, and now we know how they get sap from the trees in the dead of winter. And, it takes 40-50 gallons of maple sap to get ONE gallon of maple syrup. We tasted 4 different varieties of maple syrup, and about 14 different types of cheeses. (Smoked cheese was a family favorite.) Yum!

GRANITE QUARRY. We visited "Rock of Ages," a granite quarry...the video showed us how they drill hundreds of columns, feed explosive lines through those drill holes, and blast, to get a chunk out of the mountain. It's a pretty amazing process.

The old quarry, though, was water-filled and beautiful.

QUECHEE GORGE. A nice hike, by a very pretty river. The best view was from the bridge the cars drive on, though, so you're stuck with all the traffic noise in the background.

Here are the kids, posing at the bottom of Quechee Gorge. It rained the day before and the day after, but we made the most of our one sunny day. Now we know more about Vermont!

And, here's the quiz I promised:

Which SIX states are included in "New England?"

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