Acadia's Newest Junior Ranger

In our time in Acadia, Cam completed a number of small projects and earned his second National Park Junior Ranger badge. Here he's being sworn in by Ranger Becky at Hulls Cove Visitor Center.

Boys in the Stocks

Saturday afternoon, we took the boys to play minigolf. Ian gave up after 12 holes (too hot), but Cam shot all 18 holes, finishing +32. Given that they weren't exactly the best behaved little darlings one might have hoped for that day, we thought this photo op particularly apropos.

Cam & Ian at Jordan Pond Nature Trail

Ian got to lead this hike, but Cam got to read the interpretive booklet — a leader and a reader.

Acadia Scenery

As the park rangers are fond of telling visitors, Acadia has just about everything: ocean, mountains, forests, beaches, cliffs, ponds, streams.... Every vista is just gorgeous.

Little Hunters Beach

Unlike nearby Sand Beach, which is absolutely packed with tourists (like us) on warm summer days, Little Hunters Beach is almost completely empty of people, which just makes it that much more beautiful.

Spider-Boy

Ian was particularly impressed with himself for his ability to stick to this rock.

"Secrets of the Summit" with Ranger Alex

After leaving Moosehead yesterday, we drove down to Mount Desert Island to spend a couple days in Bar Harbor, just outside Acadia National Park. Today we went to the top of Mount Cadillac, the highest point on the Atlantic seaboard north of Rio de Janeiro, and took a short tour of the peak with one of the park rangers.

Cousins on the ATVs

Ian and Cam got to ride with Grampa, their cousin Danny with Uncle Nick.

Reading on the Deck

As camp has no TV and poor internet connectivity, reading tends to be a favorite pastime.

Blueberry

This old dinghy was rotting away in someone's garage. Grampa patched the holes, painted it, and gave it new oars and oarlocks before putting it back to work as a buoy tender. For a rainy day project this week, I added the name on the stern.

Four-Wheelin'

Off for a short jaunt on Grampa's ATV.

Luci & the Squirrel

One of Luci's favorite activities at camp is chasing after the red squirrels; they, in turn, seem to have as much fun chattering at her frum just out of reach.

Bathing Beauty

Joanna didn't go in the lake much this trip, but she did spend some time on the dock contemplating the mountains in the distance.

Stairway to Heaven

Actually, this goes up to the loft at camp, a.k.a. "Cam's Retreat." A "normal" (straight) staircase would have taken up more space and obscured the view of the lake.

Jumping Right In

While Cam is a bit tentative and Ian, well, downright timid when it comes to the water, Danny, Sara and Nick's two-year-old, throws himself in feet first.

First Moose of 2012

Last night after dinner, Grampa and I took the boys out in the Jeep to look for moose. This was the first of two we saw, plus two deer and a small bunny — not much of a haul, but not bad.

Ian Swims(?)

Ian wasn't quite so keen on getting into the water has Cam, but he did go out over his head in his life jacket. Once.

Cam Swims!

He wasn't so sure about the lake when he first stepped in, but with that life jacket on, he was ready to swim past the dock! Now he insists he's ready to swim over to Farm Island, about a mile across the lake!

Morning Exercises

For Cam and Ian: paddling about in the lake. For Joanna: an invented-on-the-spot cardio routine (because the videos she had downloaded to her Kindle wouldn't work), and of course watching the boys.

Moosehead Sunrise

Taken just after 5:00 AM, when the lake was a flat as a mill pond.

View from Cam's Retreat

Last summer, Grammie and Grampa finished off the loft a camp, accessible from a special arched stairway. Every day since we arrived, Cam has spent at least a couple of hours up there, reading or playing on his DS, and has decided it should now be called "Cam's Retreat."

Crabbin'

On Tuesday, our first full day in Maine, Joanna and I took the boys to Mothers Beach, where we met up with a friend of mine from high school and her two kids. The four of them spent a couple of hours looking for crabs in the tidal pools.

Ian's World

Ian brought a number of Lego minifigures with him to Maine, where they joined up with some old castle bricks on Grammie and Grampa's kitchen table. Look carefully, and you can see Captain Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard, and Dobby the house elf riding a horse.

Sammy the Seal

This one could be straight out of the book by Syd Hoff.

Giraffe

Bronx Zoo

After spending Saturday in Manhattan with Rob and his boys, the four of us spent Sunday at the Bronx Zoo. Here, two of the primates seem to be attempting to escape.

Lego Jack Sparrow

And with their favorite pirate (in Lego form).