Cronkite Family Cronicles: No More Car Trips!!!

Maine or Bust!
Well - Bust.
That should have been the sign on our vehicle for our Maine trip. I think we used up all the good riding behaviour on Florida because Maine, not so much. It was a very long 17hrs to Nana's. That's right - 17hrs with a 2 hr stop in N.H. at Joanna's house. We had traffic, construction and then a major accident delay just hours from Joanna's. When we pulled in my folks house at 8pm we just opened the doors and let them run - literally. But it was worth it. We had GORGEOUS weather - high 70's, low 80's, no humidity. Windows open at night with a low 50's breeze coming in. I do miss that.

We started the trip with 2 days at the lake. My sister had rented a camp (i.e. small home) on a lake 15mins from town. The boys had a blast with their cousins. Ben learned to kayak very quickly and pretty much stayed in the boat the rest of the weekend. I'm looking forward to taking him out now that we are home.

Daddy showing him how to do it.

On his own - what a view!!!

L.L. Bean life jacket model

Don't forget the middle child!

After two days of relaxing it was back in the car for the 2hr drive north to visit Sam's grandfather in Presque Isle. We had a great day with him. We first drove to Ft. Fairfield - sooo beautiful. For those non-Mainers, PI and Ft. Fairfield are both right on the Canadian border. We had awesome views into Canada. I wish I would have pulled over to take a picture, but then I'd be an out-of-stater :-) A quick visit at the cemetery scored a playground about 1/2mile down on the river. So we sat in the shade while the kids played. Then off to lunch where the local mom's group was meeting and had a bounce house, etc and offered use to the boys while we waited for our food. Very nice.

We spent the rest of the week relaxing, hanging at my sisters, visiting our local grandparents and enjoy the weather. Friday we headed to Joanna's to spend the night and started the long drive home Saturday morning. I'm glad to say we are done travelling for this summer!

Here are a few family photos. I took most of the pictures on my SLR camera, so none of Sam and I or other grandparents. I'll get them digitized and post them later.

Nana and Papa