Day 6!

Maine is beautiful! We will definitely come back again. 

We have spent quite a bit of time in Freeport which is less than 30 min from Portland. Freeport is home to LL Bean and has many outlet stores. We spent the morning and afternoon shopping and eating lunch in Freeport, our credit cards may be smoking. 

Later in the afternoon we went and put on our fancy clothes to head downtown Portland to have a date night. We took a 90 min lighthouse cruise through the Casco Bay/ocean at 4:30pm. 

Our big tour boat did a full turn around in this little canal... Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the full boat. 

Portland Head light is in Cape Elizabeth, the wealthiest town in Maine. 

This ship drilled for crude oil and was then sent through a 236 mile pipeline to Canada. 

"Half Rock" - do you see the seals on the right side, lying on the rock? And you can see one swimming. 

 

We had dinner at DiMillo's, which is a floating restaurant that used to be a working ferry. 

We found ice cream at Captain Sam's on Commercial Dr. YUM! I realized I needed to start saying restaurant names so we can remember for next time. 

Day 5!

First full day in Maine was fabulous! 

Lazy morning at our hotel and then we headed to Wolfe's neck state park. It was about a 15 min drive from our hotel. We chose the longest hiking trail which was a 1.8 mile loop with some steep and uneven terrain. 

Over looking the Atlantic Ocean. 

We saw a lot of these bright red orange mushrooms, against all of the dirt and green leaves these guys stuck out like a sore thumb. We assumed the bright color meant do not touch.

It took us about 2 hours to finish the hike. 

Later in the afternoon we went to check out a local lighthouse. It was at the end of a string of islands. 

You can't see Portland on the map but we drove around the coast following rt 1 and then 24 south through Harpswell, Orrs Island and then drove all the way to the end of Bailey Island. 

Once we got to the end of the road there was a gift shop appropriately called "Lands End". We stood on some rocks looking for the lighthouse and realized the lighthouse is so far off of the coast we could barely make it out... Oops, probably should have looked more into it before we drove 45 min. We learned it is best seen by boat or chartered plane. So we enjoyed the view for a little bit and then went and did some shopping in Lands Ends. 

I found a sweatshirt and wanted to try it on, I asked Jason to take a picture so I could see it on since there weren't any mirrors. So I know my face didn't matter in the picture but a camera was pointed my way so of course I smiled... Here are the lovely photos my sweet husband took... 

It's hard to notice the sweatshirt when you look like an eager puppy or in the middle of a sneeze. 

And we couldn't leave Lands End without some saltwater taffy, YUM! 

Here are a few photos from the scenic drive home/hotel...

We had dinner at a local place and then walked around a couple blocks checking out the shops. 

Day 4!

Massachusetts, New Hampshire & Maine.

We left Jason's youth pastors in MA a little before 11 and were in Boston by 12:30. We walked around a couple blocks and then wandered through the Wharf. We had lunch at a hole in the wall sandwich shop and then drove aimlessly around Boston's financial district and then around Beacon Hill's residential area. So pretty!

Sorry, I am not skilled at taking drive-by photos. 

We then battled Boston's crazy drivers out of Boston. 

We crossed into New Hampshire at 2:40 and by 2:53....

I would have missed the Maine state line if I hadn't been looking at the map to know how close it was. And still Jason had to warn me how quickly it was coming. 

We are spending 2 nights in Portland for sure, possibly a third...that's the fun of this trip, we don't have to be anywhere at a specific date or time. 

Jason had his first taste of Maine lobster tonight. Granted it was in a lobster roll so not straight lobster but he said it was good. I fell in love with L.L. Bean's home department store, grabbed a couple of their catalogs to re-decorate my house look at in the car. 

Tomorrow we want to explore Wolfe's Neck wood state park in Freeport. I am hoping to make time to wander around the outlet stores that are just a few minutes away from our hotel. 

Day 3!

We left Niagara Falls around 10:30am headed for Springfield, MA. We had plans to visit Jason's youth pastor from high school. 

Today was a lot of driving, had pretty much the whole span of NY to cross and then a part of MA. 

We crossed the border around 4:30pm. We got to Springfield around 5:30. Jason's youth pastor and family invited us into their home for dinner and to spend the night.

Tomorrow we plan to spend some time in  Boston and then head to Portland, ME. 

Day 2!

We were on our way out of Cleveland by 11am. Hit Pennsylvania around 12:30, I  missed the state welcome sign because I was doing something really important...Facebook-ing : / my bad. hopefully I can get the picture somehow later on. 

I got a really bad PA sign as we were leaving and entering NY...

We made reservations for a hotel in Niagra Falls, NY this morning. 

NY! @ 1pm

Sorry, not a great photo. 

About an hour and a half to Niagra Falls from the border. 

Driving to our NY hotel...

Yay for traffic...

As we were driving along we could see Canada across the Niagara River which flows into Lake Erie. 

We got to our hotel and Jason was searching for coffee and this is what his phone location was...

Apparently our hotel is in the river.  We are right on the river...

Niagara Falls was definitely worth the stop. We walked all through the state park on Goat Island and decided to try the Cave of the Winds. 

Above is looking over the falls and into Canada's skyline. 

Cave of the Winds is down below, all of the decking on the left side of the photo. 

We took an elevator down 15 stories. 

We followed the decks to the Hurricane Deck... you can't really pull your camera out up there though. 

Tomorrow we are headed to Massachusetts. 

Road trip day 1

Road trip, time to celebrate Ellie! 

We left around 11am with no reservations. Just knowing we were on our way to Maine. 

Traveling with us is Mercy, the matching teddy bear to the one Ellie was buried with. 

At 2 we crossed the border...

We just passed through Indiana, stopped for gas/bathrooms. 

We hit Ohio around 5:45. 

Cleveland became our destination for the night once we knew what our pace was. 

We found a hotel once we got close to Cleveland. We tried to be adventurous and go to dinner at a restaurant that was recommended on Diners, drive-ins and dives... It was not quite what we were hoping for (not a great neighborhood) so we found a nice local place. 

Tomorrow, all we have planned is to see Niagra Falls. 

1 month

I can't believe Ellie would be 1 month today. Ellie is our first so I really don't know what we're missing out on... But I know we are missing out. Missing Ellie. 

I still look at her pictures every time I sit in the living room. Most of the time I look at them and smile, thinking how cute she is, how small she is, how obsessed with her I am. 

I take watering her flowers as serious as I would feeding Ellie. I am disappointed when I come and they don't need to be watered. It's those little things that are the only things I can do for Ellie. Being  protective over her pictures, is like keeping a secret between my daughter and I. 

Happy 1 month birthday Ellie! 

I love you! 

Today is also one of my best friends wedding day! I get to stand beside her as she marries a wonderful man.