Leones Top Cadillac Mountain

On one of our last days in Maine, we wound our way up Cadillac Mountain (yes, in the van), the highest point on the eastern seaboard, and the first place to view the sunrise in the Unites States most of the year. The top of this "mountain" is flat rock, and the view is magnificent. No sudden drop-offs, which made this mom of squirrely kids very happy.

Elizabeth & Lucia

Cadillac Mountain

Leone Go Tide Pooling

We decided to head out very early one morning—earlier than we would normally arise on vacation—and catch low tide at one of the area's popular tide pooling spots. Se we began our hunt for the perfect spot to find intertidal creatures. 

We hiked and hiked and hiked. Having been told there were good tide pools along this path, we were a little discouraged when at first we couldn't find a thing. Then, we found a spot with good access down to the water where it looked like it had receded a bit. We headed down, only to find we were up to our ankles in mud. Not the best spot. 

It took a while, but at long last, we came upon a sand bar that obviously had been under water a short time previously. We headed down and ventured out, scoring some great tide pooling finds. All in all, the outing was a success, even if the tide was coming in by the time we found the favored spot.

Kathleen heads out on the trail, eager to find those tide pools. 

Elizabeth and crew scale a rock to get a view of the water and locate tide pools.
 

Elizabeth.
It's awfully early in the morning to be hiking already with my seven children!
The open Atlantic is just to the right of my face in this photo.

Joe, Dad in Charge, with Baby Lucia on his back. 

We finally make it down to a tide-pooling area, and Marguerite stakes her claim.
The open Atlantic is behind Marguerite.
The inlet area is dry during the lowest tide and under water up to the darkest rocks during high tide.

This is the inlet area that dries completely at low tide. It was very shallow, and the kids found all kinds of great creatures.

Joe (with Lucia) and Therese explore where the inlet meets the ocean.

Leones Do Jordan Pond

With a two-year-old and a one-year-old, this wasn't our year to do some of the more spectacular and challenging hikes that Acadia National Park has to offer. Rather, we opted for hikes that were do-able for everyone. Even so, some hikes proved their own bit of challenge, if only for the length of the journey with little girls on parents' backs.

The hike around Jordan Pond was idyllic. A path with woods and bluffs on one side and the Jordan Pond (which is a lake, not a pond) on the other made for some magnificent views. Following are some shots from our several-hour trek around Jordan Pond.

Where's the raft? And where's the Mississippi? Our Huck and Tom.

Early on our trek. Marguerite had not yet made her way onto anyone's back.

A moment with hubby—and only two kids hanging on. ;) 

Anna Marie was a lifesaver when Marguerite decided she wasn't going to walk.

The pause the refreshes. We were a tired crew by this time!

Look at our handsome Andrew 

William and Andrew scampered up every rock pile they could find. 

Lots of bridges on this hike. Will, Therese, and Kathleen take a breather.

Marguerite spent at least the last half of the hike on my back. Once there, she seemed happy!

Leones Do Bar Island at Low Tide

One of the best experiences of our Maine trip was trekking across the exposed bar at low tide to access uninhabited Bar Island—something that can only be done a few hours out of each day.

What a great time we had walking across the ocean bottom—that exposed bar of sand, filled with all manner of interesting creatures!

While walking across the bar, we found the largest starfish I have ever seen.

As indicated by the photos below, this warning went unheeded by many.

The view from Mt. Desert Island (Bar Harbor area) out across the exposed bar to Bar Island at the other end.

This bar is just amazingly expansive. It's amazing that the whole thing is underwater most of every day.

Andrew and William skip stones from the bar, out into the harbor. It was in this area where we found the giant starfish. 

We're pretty far across the bar here. This is looking back toward Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor where we started.

While hiking on Bar Island, you pack in and pack out, as there are no facilities of any kind. This is how Joe "packs out" dirty diapers. 

Andrew takes a rest on the bar as we head back toward the town of Bar Harbor after our hike on Bar Island.
The bar sprinkled everywhere with cairns, as can be seen behind Andrew's head.  

And on our way back to the "mainland" of Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor, we spotted this amazing starfish in the water, just off the edge of the exposed bar. It was easily as big in diameter as a large dinner plate. The stones surrounding it are huge.  This is one very big starfish! 

Leones Go Lobstering

So, have you ever gone lobstering on the Atlantic Ocean, adjacent to the Cranberry Islands (reminiscent of Blueberries for Sal)? Neither had we. Until our first full day in Maine when we decided we couldn't make it all the way out to a Maine island in the Atlantic without venturing onto the Ocean to haul in some lobsters.

Chartering a trapping vessel for the morning, we not only learned first-hand how the lobstermen do their thing, but we also got the grand tour of Southwest Harbor and the Cranberry Isles region of the Atlantic. Magnificent!

Here we are on the "Elizabeth T.," ready to shove off.

Kathleen and Marguerite.

Joe and Marguerite snuggle as we push off from Southwest Harbor.

Kathleen smiles as we haul in a lobster trap!

Anna Marie and William each took a turn holding a live lobster.

Nothing but the wide blue expanse of the Atlantic in ahead of us. 

Marguerite was a little unsure of the whole thing and spent time snuggling alternately with Mom and Dad.

Our captain dropped us on Great Cranberry Island, accessible only by boat or ferry, for a quiet lunch along the shore. Joe takes it all in, with Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park represented in the hills behind him. 

Andrew finds a friend on Great Cranberry Island, just before we jump back on our lobstering boat for our trip back to Mt. Desert Island.

A Cottage in Maine

So if you're going to stay in Maine, you should surely stay in a little white cottage with shutters. One with rose bushes creeping up the porch railing. One with the perfect climbing tree, a porch for morning coffee-sipping, and a master bedroom with a view of the ocean. Yes, that's the one. 

And so it was that we found this perfectly charming little cottage on the "quiet side" of Acadia National Park, owned by a lovely woman who splits her time between New York City, Paris, and Maine—ooh-la-la! And we made it our home for six enchanting days. We boiled lobster here, celebrated the 4th of July here, lost teeth here, and organized tide pooling adventures here. 

Bliss.

Joe and Marguerite look out on the Atlantic Ocean from our little cottage on the quiet side of Mt. Desert Island in Acadia National Park. 

The kids instantly made their home in the sprawling tree in the front yard.

Elizabeth found time to relax and enjoy the slow pace of life
in Southwest Harbor, Maine, on Mt. Desert Island. 

William and Lucia share giggles in our cute little kitchen.

A great kitchen, complete with lobster pot. 

Silliness reigns in our lil' kitchen on Mt. Desert Island.

Oh, and when Mom gets silly, toddlers take advantage and swipe at full cups of milk above their heads. Or something like that.

Too bad the Papa the Photographer is not in this cottage pic.
Check out the sky blue porch ceiling. Love...

Leones Do Mt. Battie, Maine

Following our visit to Boston, we headed north to Maine. Our destination: Acadia National Park and a quaint little rental cottage right with a view of the ocean. 

But first, we stopped at Mt. Battie and took in the breathtaking view. Reaching Mt. Battie was not without challenge, given the pre- Fourth of July traffic. By the time we arrived, we were very ready to stretch our legs and admire the amazing views of the Atlantic.

Certain unnamed older children gave their mother a near-heart attack by standing with toes overhanging drop-offs. Needless to say, despite the amazing views, I was very happy to be back in the van with all seven munchkins safe and sound.

My two youngest girls. Oh, how I love these little ones! 

Honestly, do girls come any cuter than these two?
Marguerite (2), Lucia (1)

William, at the top of the world. Or at least at the top of Mt. Battie.
What a handsome guy!

One of my very favorite photos from the trip.
These three, the former youngsters of the family, are now our middle crew. And what a triumvirate they make.
Therese (6), Andrew (8), William (11)

Leones Do Boston

We vacationed this summer "out East," hitting Boston for a couple days, and then heading up to Maine.

In Boston, we checked out Boston Commons, hiked the Freedom Trail, explored the USS Constitution, and visited Joe's cousin Helen and her beautiful family in Jamaica Plain.

The five youngest Leones got their first taste of the subway. 

We admired the swan boats and reminisced of "Stuart Little."

We noted that Boston ducks are every bit as cute as Wisconsin ducks.

We met cool Revolutionary dudes and made sure our faces reflected our excitement. Or something like that.

We got into the Revolutionary spirit on the Freedom Trail.

We checked out the Old North Church. One if by land; two if by sea. This is where it all happened!

We stopped for lunch, of course.

We checked out massacre sites.

In fact, some of us had to point out the exact spot of said Boston Massacre.

We met still more cool soldier dudes and asked them about their weapons.

We let the soldiers lock Joe up for a while.

Andrew too.

We checked out street vendors doing all manner of interesting things—like playing water chimes.

We checked out the statue of William's hero, Paul Revere. (This was the whole reason William wanted to come to Boston.) 

We endured near-heat-stroke in line to explore the U.S.S. Constitution. 

We mugged for cute (partial) family shots on Old Ironside.  

We resisted the urge to swab the decks and enjoyed being shorties when we reached the low-ceilinged hold below.

We rejoiced that we were on the ferry, headed out of the 98 degree heat and into an air-conditioned restaurant. 

We broke the bank just a bit and ordered all kinds of shellfish, including lobster for dinner at Ye Olde Union Oyster House.
For at least half of dinner we were lead to believe we were sitting in "The Kennedy Booth." Turned out to be a bald-faced falsehood.  The dinner was a success not only for the excellent food but for much-needed AC. The meat-locker atmosphere was just what we needed after managing the whole Freedom Trail with seven kids in high-90's weather.