Tourists R Us

You’d think, after three months of blogging, that it would come to an end with tires and toes dipping into the Atlantic Ocean. You’d be wrong, of course. While Kyle and Grandpa are still sending pictures, I’m gonna keep yammering on. And on. Try not to cry. There is therapy available if you need it. No, I ain’t paying for it!!

So, I suppose I should give you some substance to go with my prattling. The lads spent today puttering around Bar Harbor, and nearby Acadia Park. Don’t let me forget to tell you something interesting about Acadia. If I forget, I’ll have Kyle do pushups. What? You didn’t think I would do them, did you?

Of course, when one is going to be puttering around ad nauseam, one must properly fuel up. Besides, it ain’t like The Boy is gonna skip a chance to score one last big breakfast:

It seems frighteningly disturbing that he had a pancake option and selected waffles instead. Maybe it’s the ice cream. In case Kyle is reading this, he should be forewarned there will be no waffles with ice cream when he gets home. We’re just cruel like that.

Kyle and Grandpa took a tour bus today, and let a diesel engine tote them around. Lazy bums! Okay, I suppose after using pedal power for 4,000 miles, we can let them go soft for a little bit. They started off with photos of Bar Harbor itself:

As they motored up into the park, they got more scenery:

The tour bus took them up on top of the tallest peak on the Eastern Seaboard, Cadillac Mountain. I’m sure the lads scoffed at that a little, as Cadillac Mountain would be little more than a big hill in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana…cuz it tops out at a paltry 1,530′. Still, when you are the tallest peak in the area, it gives you a pretty great view:

Now, for the story. Settlers in the 1600’s called the area Arcadia as it resembled Greece, though the park itself had a couple of different names (including Lafayette Park and Sieur de Monts). There were a lot of French settlers in the area initially. As more and more English settlers came into the area over the years, the name Arcadia got mispronounced as Acadia and the name stuck (likely as the English are wont to lose the r’s in words…however, they tend to stick them on the end where they don’t belong, so I’m surprised it didn’t morph into Acadiar). MORE interesting, however, is that many of the French who left the area moved to Louisiana, where they were known as Acadians. That word morphed again into Cajuns. Cool, huh? No extra charge for that, folks, just a free service we offer. (PS – Kyle, you just got lucky, no pushups for you!).

Kyle and Grandpa also got to take a look at a wigwam, which like a teepee but considered a more semi-permanent structure:

Once the lads came down from Cadillac Mountain, they spent some time at a place Kyle called the coolest beach he’s ever been to. This is the eastern shore of Mt Desert Island in Acadia National Park:

With all of the rocks jutting out, the incoming waves put on a spectacular show. Water would spurt out of unexpected places, or crash thunderously. Sadly, they had to leave the beach with the tour. On the way out, however, they stopped at the park gate house:

After Kyle and Grandpa got back to town, they indulged themselves in something everyone must do when they visit Maine…eat lobster!:

The soups are a lobster bisque and a clam chowder. Kyle is putting down a lobster roll with sweet potato fries. Grandpa’s gnoshing on a 1 1/4lb Maine lobster…but not the lobster liver. Kyle is almost always quite happy to venture outside his food comfort zone. Knowing that most people have never eaten a lobster liver, including their waiter, he stepped up and gave it a shot. He loved it!

To finish off their meal, the lads shared a blueberry pie, made with Maine blueberries. They said it was the best blueberry pie they’d ever eaten. Apparently, it was consumed too quickly for them to provide us any photographic evidence! Instead, they got a couple of night time shots of the town:

Here’s one last photo, the most important thing about the entire trip…the time Kyle and Grandpa got to spend together facing challenges across an entire country. They’re really going to miss this time they’ve had together:

Tomorrow Kyle and Grandpa spend the day traveling to Portland, Maine so they can fly back home. Ironically, they’ll fly from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon on Thursday.

We can’t wait to see them.

Goodnight!