Maine: Friends, Lobsters, and Heading Home

Our time in Maine was just what we needed during a super busy and crazy spring. It was beautiful, perfect weather, relaxed, and great family and friend time. Amanda, one of my best friends from all growing up now lives in Maine with her husband. I hadn't seen her since her wedding three years ago and it was wonderful catching up. They hosted us for dinner every night, showed us around, gave us Maine travel tips, AND fed us lobster. :)
We went to a special market to get our lobsters, they had been brought in just 30 minutes earlier. Talk about fresh! The lady let Evie pick our lobsters, much to her delight. :)
So funny looking! She still sometimes calls them "monsters" instead of "lobsters" - lol.
Gracie was intrigued...

All ready to eat! Thanks, Andrew, for helping me get all my meat. ;)
Amanda, thanks for the wonderful hospitality! We can't wait to come again and hope you come down this way sometimet! Tell Andrew that we do have some friends who hunt and there is hunting and camping in western VA or beach camping too on the coast! ;)
Evelyn and her new, very patient best friend, Dallas:
On our way back to Boston for our flight we stopped in Kennebunkport. I LOVE THIS TOWN. It's exactly what I pictured Maine to be like. :) Next time I asked Nathan if we could stay here. :) It's also where the Bush vacation home is. The Bush's home is in the background of this first pictures. It's in the most wonderful location, surround by rocks and waves. This is as close as you can get and we all enjoyed climbing around on the rocks as the waves crashed below us.
You're only allowed to park by the Bush's house for a limited time so when I time was up, we drove a little further for a picnic lunch while watching the lobster boats out at sea. The process was most fascinating to Evie. ;) And yes, that piece of pizza is almost the size of her head. ;)
 
After this wonderful stop, it was on to Boston... The bus rides between the car rentals and airports was a pretty big hit on the trip. ;) And that's Evie's lobster boat souvenir that she's clutching.
This oh so flattering picture was taken about 10 minutes before landing. My exhausted baby insisted on staying up and enjoying the flight until about 20 minutes before we landed. What eventually soothed her? Nathan's Clemson hat - haha. It still remains one of her favorite things that we own. :)

We loved our time in both Boston and Maine and hope to go back again sometime when the girls get older!

Maine: Lighthouses and LL Bean

We loved the Maine coast with the blue water crashing on the rocks, blue sky, and lighthouses! We took the scenic route up and it was a gorgeous introduction to Maine. We were going through some woods and then all of a sudden the road turned to go along the coast and this is what we saw!
So lovely!!
I forget the name of this lighthouse, but it's the most famous one in Maine, Portland Head light. It's the one that is always photographed and painted in storms. :) We loved hiking around it, climbing the rocks, and enjoying the crashing waves and view. I love the sound of waves, but I especially love them on rocks. :) The lighting was a bit tricky in some of these but you get the idea. :)


After exploring and playing on the playground, we headed to a famous restaurant (whose name I forget) for seafood on the water. Before you get too impressed with E and G's food tastes, we packed PB&J for them. ;) Evie loved watching the waves and boats as we ate.
  
After the lighthouse we spent some time in Portland on our way up to LL Bean. The LL Bean flagship store in Maine is kind of like Yankee Candle flagship here in Williamsburg - way cooler than it sounds. :) They had huge stuffed wild life, a whole kids section to run around in (with coloring etc), tents to play in, a gigantic fish tank both girls loved, and of course, a giant LL Bean boot. ;)
Nathan teaching the girls about s'mores - haha.
Such a full and fun day!

Maine: Beaches and our B&B

I have lots of fun pics from Gracie's birthday and VBS last week, but before I get to those I wanted to share a few from Maine, starting with our bed and breakfast and the beach that was just down the road from us! We loved Maine and the peaceful, slow, calm atmosphere, especially after a few days in Boston! In Boston everyone drives with their horns and fast. In Maine everyone drives at least 5 under the speed limit - haha.
We figured with two little ones a B&B would be easier than a hotel and it definitely was. We were in Maine during the off season still so we were the only ones there. The girls loved our suite and the common room/breakfast room.
Evelyn was quite intrigued by the lobster traps all around the property. Here's Nathan explaining them to her on one of their exploratory walks.

Breakfast each morning was a highlight for Evie too. Fresh muffins, fresh fruit, cereal, toast, bagels, etc - what could be better?? ;)

Gracie enjoyed exploring our suite as well. This is where I found her when I got out of the shower one morning! Someone looks guilty... ;)
One afternoon I went to lunch with my friend Amanda and Nathan and Evie had a pizza picnic on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Evie was so excited about the location of the picnic that not much pizza was eaten. ;)

We were about a 5 minute walk from the beach (it was right down the road so we could see it from our rooms). The first day we went down it was low tied and Nathan and Evie had a great time sending boats down the little rivers the outgoing tide had made.
Sandcastle making was fun for both girls, once Gracie got used to it. ;)   
We went to another beach with Amanda and her neighbor girl, Brianna another day. The girls had a blast playing together. That big building in the background is an active convent!
It was so fun exploring beaches different from our VA ones! Lighthouses, lobsters, LL Bean and more to come soon! :)