Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse- It Just Shines

Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.

~Dwight L. Mood

Life: Thanks for all of the comments and thoughts about yesterday's post. I still have not heard a word from Postcrossing and I don't expect I will.

You know who else I haven't heard from? My allergist. I have left 3 messages requesting test results and I have not received a call back. It has been about 6 weeks.

We have a raccoon causing havoc in our barn. He is getting into the cat food that is in a tight container and pretending it is an all you can eat diner. He makes a mess too. Brian even put a 15 lb hitch on the lid to the container and he knocked it off like it was a mosquito. We now have the food in a metal trashcan with a bungee cord locking the lid. Darn animals.

Ty had two boys spend the night last night because Ladybug was off at a camp sleepover. The boys were great fun. They played flashlight tag and slept in the treehouse. I love being rural. Have I mentioned that before?

Ladybug has a horse show today. I will take pics and try to remember to video it to show you later. It is nothing big, just a little exhibition for the parents of the campers. She still is excited about it though!

About the pictures: I didn't have tons of time to edit pics last night with the three boys running around the house, but I did try some new Photoshop techniques on a picture of Bass Harbor Lighthouse. The first picture is a replica of an old Polaroid picture and the second is a replica of a Polaroid Emulsion Transfer, explained here at the wonderful CoffeeShop. I couldn't get the action to work, but I did follow her step by step directions in the tutorial and then tweaked it to my liking. Basically a Polaroid transfer is a way to transfer a picture taken on Polaroid film onto another surface such as fabric or vintage paper. You can read more about it here.

The picture is of the Bass Harbor Lighthouse (or Bass Harbor Head Light), part of Acadia National Park. I will talk more about that area soon and will have many more pics of the lighthouse!

Weigh In: Fill in the blank:

1. I am sick of ______
2. This summer I still want to___________
3. If I hear about _______ one more time on the news I will puke.
4. I miss ___________

TGIF everyone!

**P.S. I typed this at 11:30PM last night while monitoring a game of flashlight tag...If you were here early this morning (Kate and Marlene) please excuse the spelling mistake on the Polaroid. I noticed it once I had coffee into my system. ;0)

Geocaching in Maine

We never seek things for themselves -- what we seek is the very seeking of things.
~Blaise Pascal

Life: Those of you who follow me on Facebook may have read one of my updates about getting a postcard from a convicted murderer (twice), who, it just so happens, is serving a life sentence in a Florida jail. I felt the need to explain how that came about...

Most of you already know that I belong to Postcrossing, a free website community of people from hundreds of countries, that exchange postcards around the world. One day I was sent an address from Postcrossing to which I was supposed to send a postcard. The address included the initials UCI, which I assumed at the time, was some sort of university. University of.... This was not a far off assumption, at least in my experience, because many college students participate in this program. Anyway, I read the man's profile that I was sending the card to and nothing seemed amiss. He seemed like a regular guy. In his profile he said if people were to include their return address on the card, he would be happy to send a postcard back. Again, this is not unusual as many people say this and they do send cards back in reply. It is a way to get more postcards and sometimes a good way to start a pen-pal relationship. So, I wrote a nice note, included my address, and sent the card off not thinking twice about it.

A few days later (the card was only going to Florida) I received a message from the man saying he had received the postcard and that a card was on the way back to me. Nothing seemed out to the ordinary. When Postcrossers register a postcard, they often include a thank you note in with the registration.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks later...

I get the mail and see a postcard in with bills and junk mail. I am excited to see from who and from where the postcard was sent, so I flip over the postcard only to find a picture of a bald middle-aged man in a prison uniform with prison cell bars behind him. My heart sank. I thought, "What the heck is this?" I turned the postcard over and read the back. In the note the man said that he was born in Ohio, but has been in prison for 46 years in Florida. He asked me to check out his story and gave me a web address. He said it was nice to hear from me and wishes I would write back again. *shiver*

I immediately felt sick. This must have been the postcard that I had addressed to an UCI address. I checked out this man's website and was astonished to find he is a convicted car thief, and murder (twice.) Yes. He killed two people. In. Separate. Incidents. Both, he claims, were in self-defence while in jail. All the court documents were on his website. I then googled "UCI" and found out it stood for Union Correctional Institute. Not some University. Holy Sick Stomach, Batman.

After getting past my wave of nausea, I became angry. I was so mad that Posctcrossing apparently has no system in place to make sure prisoners are not a part of the program and communicating with Postcrossing participants. So, I wrote to Postcrossing, telling them of my experience, but I have not heard back from them.

At first I thought about quitting postcrossing all together. But then I realized my security is ultimately on my shoulders, so I am much more careful about checking abbreviations before sending any postcards. I don't include my return address either. I don't want one person to spoil the wonderful feeling my kids and I get when we receive a postcard in the mail.

So, if you Postcross, please be aware of suspicious addresses. If something seems amiss, contact Postcrossing or at the very least, do not send a postcard to that address. I know I won't anymore!

About the Pictures: These were taken in Maine on the first day we arrived. We had slept in the car all night long (well, Brian didn't as he drove the whole way without stopping to sleep) and so we aren't looking our best. We couldn't check into the cottage until 3:30pm, so we decided to try some geocaching while we were waiting.

We left Maryland with temperatures in the 80's and were shocked to get out of the car in Maine to a 60 degree, damp, misty day. All of our clothes were buried in the car, so Brian graciously dug through his clothes, which were within reach, and let us wear his warm gear. That is why Ty and Ladybug are in oversize shirts.

This series of images was documenting our first geocache. For those of you who don't know what geocaching is, check this out. It basically is a glorified combination of hide and seek and treasure hunting with high tech gadgets ;0) We followed our GPS to the Wendell Gilley Museum where we hunted for a good 10 minutes before finding this large cache. The kids were excited (well, as excited as they could be being tired, wet, and cold) to figure out what was involved with geocaching. Brian signed the log book for us (we are the NineAcresCrew), the kids dug through the cache to see what treasures were there, and then we carefully replaced the cache back into its place for others to find. It was a fun and addicting experience. Tomorrow I will put up pictures of our second cache experience, which took us to a lighthouse!

Weigh In: What is your opinion? Should prisoners be allowed to participate in public postcard/letter writing forums such as Postcrossing?

Wordless Wednesday- The Snail

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.

~Charles Spurgeon

Happy Wednesday everyone ;0)

The Fog is Rising

Let us go in; the fog is rising.
~Emily Dickinson

Life: Well, life is getting back to normal here at Nine Acres. Ladybug is in horseback riding camp this week, which allows me some alone time with Ty. I think today we may go to lunch and stop in at the fish store to replace the fish that died while we were on vacation. I get such little time alone with him, it is precious when I can get it. He is a completely different child when he is by himself...he doesn't feel the need to compete for attention and be silly. Life is good without the bickering.

I am still recovering from vacation. The mountain of laundry that I had rivals Cadillac Mountain in Maine. I did manage to knock most of it out yesterday, but as it goes with laundry, it continues to multiply by the minute.

About the Pictures: After arriving in Maine at just about lunch time, we decided to grab something to eat at near the cottage at the local working fishing dock. Ladybug and Ty both had a chance to hold a lobster for the first time, thanks to the kind lady behind the counter at the restaurant. Neither of them ordered a lobster, though. I don't think they could handle killing one for their stomach's sake.

The day we arrived, the weather was dismal. It was very cold (compared to Maryland) and misty and foggy. It reminded me so much of San Francisco's weather. You could see the fog just lying on the water, heavy as a blanket. It was eerie and mysterious. The bells and horns of lighthouses and boats could be heard in the distance adding to the atmosphere. It reminded me of a Scooby Doo episode. Everything is so damp there that green moss grows along the trees, the buildings, the ground, and the walkways. I had no idea it was so wet there. I can say, the green is magnificent, though, as you can see by the moss on decks and pylons.

It is not easy to photograph fog. The water particles in the air reflect back the light and make a good exposure difficult. I do a lot of chimping (checking the picture on the LCD screen on the back of the camera) to see if I have the exposure correct. This is a great time to use your exposure bracketing option on your camera to make sure you have all your options covered.

Weigh In: Do you prefer a damp, moist climate or a dry and arid climate?

Finally, A Few Picutres Edited!

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.
~George Washington Carver

Life: Well, we are back from Maine and what a trip it was! Brian decided that he prefers to drive through the night instead of all day long, so we left Friday night at about 9pm instead of Saturday morning. It was a good thing we did because it took us 14 hours to get there. We didn't realize it until later, but the "avoid toll roads" option was checked off in the GPS so it took us some very country, backwoods roads once we arrived in the Vermont/New Hampshire area. Looking back, it was a blessing because just as day was breaking, we came through some very small towns which were so quaint and lovely.

We also had the opportunity to see a live moose along the side of the road in a marshy area. It was the only moose we saw all trip and had we not had the GPS mistake, we would have missed it. So, the extra hour and a half trip turned out to be a blessing.

We stopped for breakfast Saturday morning at this little tiny restaurant in Vermont. It was so strange to be in a small diner with all of these locals who were quite curious with us. I am assuming they don't get too many travelers there on the small back roads, so we attracted some stares. I am quite sure they had not seen too many Ford Flex's before. Most of them were in beat up pick-up trucks and even though we are really just good ole' folks ourselves, I am sure those people thought, "Huh, look at those city slickers." It was quite amusing and the food was really great.

We arrived at our cottage in Maine at about 12:30 pm. More of the story tomorrow.

About the pictures: These pictures were taken out the front windshield of the Daisy. No, I was not driving ;0) Daylight was breaking through the rain clouds and the streaks of light were fighting their way to the ground. I used a very high ISO so I could set a high shutter speed to compensate for the movement of the car in the dim light. Second picture converted to b/w with a slight yellowish/orange overlay for toning.

Weigh In: What is the one piece of news (your personal news or world news) that I missed while on vacation that I need to know! I feel so out of the loop!

The Long Road Home

So here I sit in Daisy now a little more than half way home, blogging from my Blackberry. Thank God for technology or I would be bored out of my mind. I can't read in the car, but so far texting and blogging aren't an issue.

We are currently in Connecticut and still have about 6 more hours to go. We just stopped for linner (lunch-dinner) at Friendly's and got the kids all sugared up for the rest of the trip. What were we thinking?

So far we have seen some interesting things:
1. A huge hillside where people where zorbing or sphereing. They look like humans in a gigantic hamster ball. The people get in this clear plastic rubbery ball and roll down the hill. My personal name for it is "puking in a hamster ball and then rolling in it."

2. Santa in a silver sleigh, or so said the guy's license plate. When we passed him, sure enough, he did look like Santa, white beard and all. He must be headed south for his mid year get away before the Christmas rush because he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

3. What I presume was a "working girl" in Daisy Dukes showing at least 3 inches ABoVE her butt cheek line leaving nothing to the imagination. Oh and to complete the look she had spike heels and black/blonde streaks in her hair. She had the look of a user...the sores on her face and a drawn, expressionless face. Where did I see her? Friendly's. Yeah, real kid friendly. She was with her muscle bound boyfriend or pimp.

We should arrive home about 10pm tonight. I can not wait to sleep in my own bed!

Daisy has held up so far on the way home, but I am sad to report she got hit by a large rock and now has a crack in the windshield. *sigh* We will get her all fixed up ASAP.

Over and out from Daisy and Tracey. The next post should be from Maryland!

xoxo
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Rainy Day in Maine

Our last day here in Maine is a very wet one. The rain is consistent and cold and blowing. Flood watches are in effect. Do we let that stop us? No!

We decided to go out to breakfast to Jordan's restaurant for blueberry pancakes. Jordans quickly became our favorite breakfast spot in Bar Harbor. Then off to the Oceanarium and Lobster Hatchery. Here we learned a lot about the lobster industry from a retired lobster man.

Then we went into the lobster hatchery where they help millions of lobsters hatch and grow to stage 4 lobsters before being released back into the ocean. Stage 4 lobsters are still very tiny, only about 12mm long, but are fully developed with swimmerettes and claws. It takes about 5-7 years for a lobster to grow to the legal size of 1lb.

After the hatchery we went to the touch tank where we could hold starfish, spider crabs, horseshoe crabs, moon snails, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, and some other kind of monstrous slimy snail. I have pics from the regular camera, but not from my Blackberry.

We then headed up the street to the Atlantic Brewing Company. Ty has discovered their blueberry soda and they give free tours with beer sampling afterwards. We had fresh brewed rootbeer floats at the bar before heading back to the cottage for a rest. Tonight we are going to see a lumberjack show...more on that later.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Daisy is Back, Biking, and Sea Caves

Sorry about last night's post was only pictures. I had a long post ready to go and the computer did something wonky. I was exhausted and everyone else was already in bed so I gave up.

Today we spent the morning going to pick up Daisy from the Ford dealership in Bangor, ME. We think she is fixed, but will take her to our dealership when we get home. It was an hour and 15 minute drive there and then the same back. So, that trek took the whole morning.

When we got back, we loaded up the bikes and headed to the Carriage trails at Acadia NP. I am not a great biker, but the views were so worth the hills. Just stunning!

After biking, we went to Schooner Head where there is a sea cave. You can see the cave entrance in the picture behind Ladybug. At low tide you can get in the cave and see sea anemones in the tide pools that are left behind. Brian found two starfish. It was so amazingly cool.

Tonight Brian took the kids fishing while I organized things around here and enjoyed my own company.

As things are winding down, I am looking forward to heading home. I love it here, but I miss my own stuff. We have one more full day here and then we will leave first thing Saturday morning.

Hugs to all...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Walking on the Sea Floor

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunrises and Breakdowns

Well, today started out to be a wonderful day...up at 4AM to watch the sunrise from on top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia NP (picture 1) and then an early breakfast at Jordan's restaurant in Bar Harbor (picture 2). After that, we decided to do one of, if no the most, difficult hikes in Acadia...the Beehive. All started well until we got to the open cliffs where metal rods stick out from the rocks to assist you in climbing up to the next cliff. No railings, no safeguards, no nothing.

Um, yeah...no. I don't do sheer drops and cliffs. I don't do needing to cling to metal rods to stay on the mountain. I am scared of heights and get physically ill (dizzy and nauseated) when confronted with large vertical drops. So, I found a small cove and huddled in the corner of the rock while Brian and Ty went on without Ladybug and I. Brian wanted to stay with me because he knew I was scared to death, but I insisted he go. He really wanted to do the hike and I didn't want to be the reason why he didn't accomplish it. He and Ty did it and I was very proud of them. Of course, they had to come back down, get Ladybug and I, and help us down the cliffs we did manage to get up on.

Next, swimming for the kids at Acadia's sand beach area, which they had been dying to do. The weather was not great beach weather, but the kids didn't mind. They got in despite the water temperature being only 57 degrees (picture 3) and the skies foggy and gray. Brian and I relaxed on the rocks (covered in beach towels...it was COLD!) and watch the kids have a blast. I have to say that the weather here reminds me a bit of San Francisco...lots of fog and chilly weather.

After that we went to lunch and then back to Acadia for some more geocaching. Actually, Acadia NP doesn't not allow private geocaching in the park, so they set up an "Earthcaching" program where visitors can use the GPS, maps, and clues to find different stations at the park. Some stations require a hike and some do not. I won't say too much about the actual process here because I don't want to give anything away to others who may want to try it, but I am proud to say we completed the whole thing in 3/4 of a day. We pretended we were on the show, "The Amazing Race', and went as fast as we could towards the end so we could finish today. It was a blast. And you can't beat the exercise it gives.

As we were preparing for an early-ish dinner and an early bedtime (we were up at 4AM if I haven't already mentioned that ;0), Daisy, my beautiful, sweet brand new Ford Flex broke down on the side of the street. ~I just heard all of you *gasp* out there~

That's right. Something is wrong with Daisy. We were about 1.5 miles from the cottage, pulling out of a parking lot when all the sudden the wheels felt like they wouldn't turn and this horrible grinding noise ensued. At first Brian thought he ran over something, so he immediately stopped, jumped out of the car, and checked under the wheels...nothing.

He got back in thinking it was a fluke, put it in drive and gingerly stepped on the gas pedal...a few feet and GRINDDD! Crap. This was not good. Long and stressful story short, Daisy is now an hour away at a Ford Dealership getting checked out and we are now car-less on the island. Hopefully we will get a rental today and find out what is wrong with the car today. Keep your fingers crossed!

Today we will be trying to find a rental car and taking a whale watching boat trip. I hope it goes well on both ends. My stomach is upset over the car and now I have to add possible seasickness to that. Again, keep your fingers crossed I don't leave my lunch in the Atlantic today.

I will update on Facebook as I find things out about the car.

Thanks for reading all of my vacation ramblings! Starting to miss all of your blogs~

xoxo,

Me

Sea Kayaking and Bar Harbor

I am one hundred percent exhausted. I totally should not be typing this right now as I may nod off in the middle of it. It was another event filled day here in Maine.

This morning we headed out to Maine State Kayaking tours for our four hour sea adventure. I have never been kayaking in a sea kayak before and only maybe once in a freshwater kayak. I didn't even know what the difference was between the two. (I found out today that a sea kayak has a rutter you can control with you feet to guard against the chop and the tide pushing you off course.) I had no idea what to expect, and I was a bit nervous, but I am always up for some adventure.

We ended up going on a 6 mile paddle along the Maine Harbor coastline. It was exhausting, but rewarding. We saw loons, bald eagles, and most excitingly, harbor seals. Several harbor seals came within about 50 feet of the kayak Ladybug and I were paddling. Certainly it was a once in a lifetime event. We had one of those waterproof throw away cameras with us, so we will have some pics eventually, but we don't have any yet.

After coming back to the cottage to change, we headed out to Bar Harbor to have an early dinner. All that exercise gave us a hearty appetite. I opted to get the surf and turf and had the best fillet with lobster ever! I even wore the bib! After dinner, we walked around the town of Bar Harbor, which is just breathtakingly beautiful. I can't wait to show you the evening and sunset pictures I got tonight. We shopped in the little shops (Ladybug was trying on goofy glasses) and moseyed through the crowds of people.

We were going to make it an early night because we were all tired and we are planning on getting up at 4AM to see the sunrise at Cadillac mountain. But, we started to see the sunset on the western part of the Bar Harbor and just couldn't leave. I took pictures and the kids skipped stones until the last of the sun went behind the mountain. Finally, we arrived back at the cottage at about 10PM, showered and now all are asleep except for me. ;0)

So, off to bed now...gotta be the first people in America to see the sun rise in the east tomorrow. Did you know that the coast of Maine is the first location in the US to see the rising sun? Gotta do that to say you've done it!

Sending "Wish you were here" love from the Pine Tree State! (I think I read somewhere that Maine is called that)

xoxo

Day 2- Acadia National Park

Today we had amazing weather to explore Acadia National Park. Every turn and every vista was better than the next. I can not wait to get home and edit my pictures. They are going to be awesome!

The morning started by going to breakfast in Bar Harbor. We had the most amazing blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins. I have always known that Maine was known for its blueberries, but holy cow! Ty's new favorite drink is blueberry soda which is brewed right in Bar Harbor. When we went hiking in Acadia today, we came across tons and tons of blueberry bushes everywhere. They grow like weeds up here. It truly is amazing! We would pick handfuls and just pop them into our mouths. I couldn't get over it!

But, I digress...

After breakfast, we headed to the park. We had no real agenda, so we stopped at the Visitor's Center, got a map, and decided to just start driving around to see what was what. Well, we didn't get very far. At every turn there was something new to explore and something amazing to see. We took our time stopping and checking out all there is to do. Some of the highlights from today were:

1. Getting to see a live Peregrine falcon flying above the cliffs. They are the fastest animal in the world (they can fly up to 200 mph). The park had a nesting pair this year and 2 fledglings have recently left the nest. They had powerful telescopes set up so we could see the nesting sight. The babies are out flying now, so we didn't see any in the nest, but we did see one of the young ones flying around the cliffs. It was a beautiful sight to see.

2. Walking around the beach which was located in an alcove surrounded by the most amazing cliffs. We will go back there this week to swim...we were not prepared today.

3. Going to Jordan Pond (in above picture). What a beautiful sight! The two hills in the background are called The Bubbles. We ended up hiking the North Bubble later in the day and the views were just amazing.

4. Hiking The North Bubble.

5. Going to the top of Cadillac Mountain and taking in the almost 360 degree views of Mount Desert Island. Words can not describe. Hopefully my pictures will do it justice!

We are tired but a happy tired that comes from a great day of exploration and hiking.

Tomorrow we will be off on a new adventure. We will be taking a 4 hour sea kayaking wildlife tour of the island. I am a bit, okay, a lot, nervous about kayaking in the ocean, but I am sure it will be fun. I won't have pics because I obviously won't be taking my Blackberry or my good camera out with me in a kayak, but I do have a disposable camera that is waterproof. I know I won't be satisfied with the pictures, but at least it will preserve some memories for us.

Thanks to everyone for all the awesome comments while following my adventures. I know I can't make it to your blogs this week and for you to check in anyway to see mine makes my heart smile. You all rock. Have I ever told you all that?!?

Day One in Maine

We had a great first day here in Maine. We had to wait to get into the cottage, so we decided to eat lunch and then go geocaching. It was cold, wet, misty, and foggy, but we didn't let that stop us!

We ate lunch right on a working fishing pier where you could see all of the boats in the harbor. It is hard to remember that people go out in this beautiful place every day to make a living. I wonder what they think of us tourists. Southwest Harbor is not extremely touristy. It is a working fishing community about 10 minutes from Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor. We are only about 5 minutes from Acadia National Park.

After lunch, we went geocaching. We found our first cache at a bird museum and it got us hooked! We still had time, so we tried a virtual cache on Mount Desert Island. Our job was to find the year the bell was cast at the beautiful lighthouse. This is where I took the pictures. We found the bell and the date so we stayed and explored. I can not wait to show you the real pictures I took from here!

After geocaching, we walked around the small town and then headed back to check into the cottage. We unloaded, got settled, went to dinner and then grocery shopped for the week. It was an early night as we were all exhausted. Poor Brian did not sleep for over 24 hours!

Today we will head over to Acadia to do some hiking. Miss you all! Hope everything is going well at Blogfest!

We Are On Our Way!

Well we are well on our way to Maine. We left last night at about 9pm. Brian decided he would rather drive through the night.

Right now we are in Maine about 3 hours from our destination of Southwest Harbor. We have seen our first moose and I am happy to report that everyone was awake at the time. Brian almost hit a coyote but was able to miss it at the last minute. We can't have anything happening to Daisy!

We stopped in Vermont at about 6am for breakfast and caused quite a stir in the sleepy little town. *gasp* There are strangers in town with some kind of baby blue hearse looking car! The breakfast rocked. Ladybug had her first taste of real Vermont maple syrup. I am sorry to say I buy the cheap imitation stuff at home. Her pancakes were filled with fresh mountain blueberries. Yum!

I will update more later.

xoxo

Swimming

No man drowns if he perseveres in praying to God, and can swim.

~Russian Proverb

Life: This is my last post before mobile blogging from our vacation! Woot! Wish us Godspeed! Nothing much to report other than lots of packing! See ya on the road!

About the pictures: The first picture shows the view from the pool we belong to. The pool has been operating since the 1920's and is spring fed. For all of you city folks, that means the water that goes into the pool is from a spring...straight from the ground. In other words, it is as cold as a witch's tit! The kids don't mind, though. At least the country kids don't. They don't know any better...the suburban kids that come to visit complain all the time that it is freezing!

The rest of the images, I am sure you know, show my kids being silly. On most of the images I ran an action called Golden Vintage by CoffeeShop and then tweaked to my liking. Thanks to Kate for cluing me in to this great site!

All of the images were taken in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania with the LensBaby lens. The LensBaby rocks with the semi-abstract distortion it gives. The blur is awesome too. I am having more and more fun with it! For those who don't know, the LensBaby is a very unusual lens...to move the focus point, you actually have to bend the lens. You also have to insert your own apertures into the lens, so it is a bit time consuming, but tons of fun! And no, they didn't pay me to say that!

Weigh In: Please send some loving, safe travel thoughts my family's way and I will catch you on the other side! Stay tuned for some mobile posting!