Our Vacation in Maine

Ten years ago, Phil started working on Jekyll Island, Georgia. I went the year after him and we happened to hang out with the same set of people. These folks are some of our closest friends and are responsible for bringing Phil and I together, although I like to think we would have met sometime, somewhere, somehow anyways :). We've seen each other over the years while traveling around and at various weddings, but this was our first planned trip together. We all rented a house in Brooklin, Maine from a co-worker of mine, Kirsta. Well, actually there were two houses, the "big house" and the "love shack." We had a splendid time and here are some pics from the big trip.

Phil and I were the only ones not flying in from somewhere, so we picked folks up at the Manchester and Boston airports and then met in Brunswick, Maine at a hotel the first night. Tressa and Jonathan came from North Carolina, Karen from the Bahamas, and Deniz and Greg and Ayla from Idaho. (Sadly, two couples were missed--Brian & Cyndi and John & Andrea.) It was a lovely reunion and everyone got to meet the newest additions to the Jekyll crew--Ayla and Wesley.

Wesley liked watching TV with his Uncle Jonathan. I swear he can find a TV anywhere...he will even rotate 180 degrees from his Bumbo seat to watch ours! I'm trying to discourage it, but he makes it challenging!Gram was so nice to let us borrow her camper so that no one had to rent a car. Thanks Gram! Ayla and her dad also thought that the hood made a great slide.

As soon as we pulled up to the driveway, I got the overtired, screaming Wesley down for his first nap...then, we checked out our home for the week.

Tressa and Jonathan were admiring the view of Mt. Desert Island, where Acadia National Park is, from our porch. Pretty nice, huh?

That night brought on a serious game of Jenga, the Red Sox version, of course.

The next morning was foggy and grey, but that never stopped us from enjoying being outside.

This is the "love shack" with the big house in the background, as seen from the beach.

Phil was showing Wes a green sea urchin test on our walk.

Wesley and Ayla enjoyed their walks in their baby carriers!

The men of our trip--Greg, Phil, Jonathan and Wesley.

Tressa, becoming one with the top of the rock and admiring the clouds.

The next day we heard the weather was going to be good, so we decided to go to Acadia. Getting Phil and Wes out of the comfy bed was a bit of a challenge, though.

After stopping at the Visitor's Center, we had lunch at Sand Beach and watched the fog burn off.

Wes' first walk on a beach.

Wesley is getting very good at getting just his thumb in his mouth, and looks pretty cute doing it!

Deniz and Greg are both ornithologists, so it was great to have some expert birders with us!

This is Sand Beach, where we had lunch and hung out for a bit.

Deniz and Ayla admiring the view.

Can you see Jonathan?

Of course, no hike with Wes is complete without a diaper change.

It's amazing that at only 145 feet, you can see everything!

A little bit further up, then down,

and we're back on the beach!

Karen thought the water was just a little bit chillier than the Bahamas :)

No trip to Acadia is complete without a drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. There's also a great view of Bar Harbor from here.

We drove into Bar Harbor for some local seafood. I indulged in some local crab, while the other folks had lobster. Phil had a hamburger?!?!?

Our view from our table was pretty nice! I love New England lobster boats!

Ayla knows a few words in sign language, here she's telling Phil there's a bird over there....and there was a BIG seagull waiting for a treat!

After our adventure in Acadia and at Bar Harbor, it was bathtime for Wesley!

After waiting for Wesley's hair to dry, just kidding, we went for a walk.

This is Ayla and her dad enjoying a birthday nap. She turned one year old on our trip!

Phil's trying to teach Wes to have good taste in beer from a young age.

Deniz's parents came up from Florida to celebrate Ayla's big day, and they were surprised by our 50 degree weather!

The birthday girl

Yum! Carrot cake!

Ayla got so into it, she needed a bath after her cake

Ayla enjoyed playing with all of her new toys

By Christmas time there will be another little Jekyll baby, Tressa is 18 weeks along here. We watched her belly pop over the week! Brian and Cyndi also announced that their expecting in January. Our Jekyll family is growing!

Phil and Wes in the morning. What do you think that elephant is saying to them?

Another grey day, so we took a trip into Ellsworth for lunch.

By the time we got back, though, it was beautiful and we all enjoyed some time in the sun!

Karen and Tressa went kayaking.

Phil and Wes enjoyed some time in the shade.

Uncle Chris and Aunt Tammy passed this neat thing down to us, and it was great for our trip!

OK, so it was cold, but I had to get in. The key is to get in slowly and let each part of your body get numb along the way. It was worth it!

Kirsta and her family have built a croquet court next to the house, and we enjoyed playing frisbee and soccer there.The hammock is pretty nice, too! Wes liked to swing in it.

A local specialty in coastal Georgia is low country boil--shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn with lots of Old Bay. Jonathan and Tressa treated us to this blast-from-the-past flavor when it was their night to cook!

Wesley loved his Aunt Tressa, and she could get him giggling so loud by the end of the trip!4:20 AM, just before sunrise--beautiful, isn't it?

So I bought this little blow up pool for the kids, and a ball, but I didn't realize the ball was quite this big!Fortunately, the guys made good use of the ball even if the kids didn't.

The cold and the fog weren't too bad, but we did love the sunny days. Here's Tressa's amazing view as she floated along in her raft.

Wes also like the view from his swing...

...here's what he was looking at.

Ayla, sporting her Red Sox outfit just for Uncle Phil.

Breakfast for dinner--yum!

Wes, going for a walk with Dad.

Jonathan and Tressa going for a kayak--the weather was great on our last full day!

On the way home we stopped in Freeport at LL Bean,

and Wes tried to drive the camper.

We were able to extend our vacation a little bit because Deniz, Greg, Ayla, Tressa and Jonathan stayed at our place for a few night. Sadly, Aunt Karen had to go back to work.

Wesley was excited to say thank you in person to Auntie Tressa for making such a beautiful blanket!