Maine Vacation

Michelle finally got a few days off, so we took a mini-vacation up to Maine last week. It wasn't all that far away surprisingly (about two hours' drive), and there were some fun things to see/do. The first day didn't look so promising. It was raining pretty steadily when we left Boston, and it only got heavier as we went north.

Our first stop was to be an amusement park that was part rides, part zoo. We decided to go there despite the rain, just in case the rain let up long enough to see a few things. Our luck improved when we arived, and the rain abruptly stopped when we got to the park in York, Maine.

Emmitt had a great time on the kiddie rides, and was excited to go all by himself. Here he is on the train.

The coolest part was Emmitt getting his first bumper car ride! He laughed the whole time and we had to chisel the smile off of his face afterward. That's my boy!

We tried to stay indoors the first two days because it rained literally non-stop for nearly 48 hours. Our first stop on day two was the LL Bean "flagship store" in Freeport. It was huge, just like this boot out in front of the store.

The next day, something amazing happened - sunshine!

We took advantage of the nice weather and headed down to Ogunquit to compare the beaches to what we had back home in CA. Emmitt gave the beaches high marks for scenic beauty and an abundance of rocks to throw...

... but he gave the water a big thumbs down - it was pretty cold and he would only go calf-deep before he wanted to be carried.

We had dinner in Old Port(land), treating ourselves to some lobster. Mommy and Emmitt are excited about eating...

THIS GUY!

He put up a good fight; those things are tough to crack (for rookies like me, so I got Michelle to do it)! However, despite his best efforts, he met the ole' skull n' crossbones. There is room for all creatures on God's green Earth - right next to the french fries!

Old Port(land) has some really old areas with cobbled streets.

On our last day, we stopped by the Children's Museum and let Emmitt run wild. They had a cool fire truck to climb on too.

Our last stop was a place called Fort Williams Park. This is an old coastal defence base dating back to the Civil War that was finally closed in 1963. It has several gun emplacements and lots of great scenery. One of the best parts of the whole place is called the Portland Headlight. It was commissioned by George Washington and is supposedly the most photographed lighthouse in the US.

There were lots of old emplacements like this one for two 3" guns and a few spotters. This park was great, and we were glad we went. The scenery was beautiful and the park was huge.

We were sad when we had to pack up and go home. Some of us were more sad than others.