Day 10, Day 11, and HOME

Day 10: Lake Erie

It was nice sleeping in a bed! The camper is...cozy. We were grateful for an uneventful return through New York. We got to the Sandusky, OH area in the evening: too late for the African Safari (because why wouldn't there be one in Ohio?), so we found an actual beach and had dinner before catching the sunset. Great food at the Crow's Nest, right down the road from the East Harbor campground!

Lake Erie - still smiling

A wall of shells and stuff.

Random turkey vulture

Crow's Nest for dinner

Pretty cool sunset.

Today's Lessons:

1. I don't know if it was just our location but Erie was GROSS. Dead fish, dead fish parts - I was not about to dig looking for shells.

2. East Harbor State Park is huge, has a great area for camping, but it is a little misleading on being near the lake - it was just a hiking trail along an inlet with no beach area. However, the end of the park did have a beach, but see #1. 

3. Cool island areas that I would like to explore near Port Clinton, OH, but wow do the dead fish make me want to reconsider exploring. Certainly beach walking.

Today's Miles: 586

Day 11: Lake Michigan

The final stretch back home with a stop at the Indiana Sand Dunes to ensure all of the Great Lakes were visited on this trip.

Today's Lessons:

1. When the bathroom floor is wet, don't assume it was just cleaned; it might be because your toilet is leaking. You'll find out when you flush. 

2. Hardly any shells in the dune area, but a TON of cool polished rocks.

3. Second time I've been to the dunes, and this part was much cooler. 

Today's Miles: 431

Final Thoughts:

Total trip miles: just shy of 4,000

All 5 Great Lakes

2 National Parks

The Scamp: There are some definite pros and cons. Pro: with the amount of rain we encountered, not having a tent to set up/take down in the rain or deal with trying to dry a wet tent was fantastic - especially with how much we were moving around and how hard it was raining some nights. Con: no bathroom in the scamp means I still have to go out in the rain to go. Pro: extra storage so the vehicle is less cluttered. Con: bumpy roads mean it looks like a tornado every time we travel from place to place. Pro: no air mattress. Con: Having to climb over Dan to get out of bed. Pro: easy set up/take down. Con: gas mileage. Pro: Pretty sure I did't do any driving on this road trip because Dan didn't trust me with the scamp or the truck lol. Con: trying to do quick stops/gas/food/parking with a trailer. Or any city driving. 

Married road trip: I think I can say this is my first official one with no children on board. It is also my first road trip in which I did 0 driving, which, yes, made me twitch. So, we didn't kill each other: win #1. Nobody is filing for divorce: win #2.  I am definitely used to having complete control of the music, which means the same song on repeat at the top of my lungs for hours, blasting whatever playlist fits my current mood, hours of My Favorite Murder, and the occasional audiobook were not things I experienced on this trip. An adjustment for sure, but not a bad one. 

That being said: tell me your husband has not seen Final Destination 2 without telling me he's never seen Final Destination 2:

It was nice removing ourselves from the hustle and bustle of work, school, and kids and enjoy much needed time together. 

I do miss traveling with the kids though. A lot.

But: next summer we will be headed to Hawaii: our final state. Looking forward to it!!! It will also be right after the twins graduate 😩 Not sure I'm ready for that yet.

As always, if you are still reading, I hope you enjoyed the ride, and maybe got a laugh or two out of it.

Adventure is out there! 🎈

Day 8 and Day 9

Day 8 - Acadia:

Acadia! By far one of my favorite National Parks that I have been to. We had a whale watching tour booked for the afternoon, so the morning was spent doing essentials- like showering and laundry Hadley's Point Campground - charges 50c for 7 minutes of a shower. At least the showers looked newer? We had planned on going to bike the Carriage Roads around Jordan Pond, but we were not going to have enough time once we were done.

But hey, there was a winery across the road from the campground so… 

Bar Harbor Cellars

We headed into town and stopped at the store to grab some food for the tour, and as we did, the tour got cancelled due to incoming inclement weather. 🫤

That is the second time I have been out here and the tour got cancelled. Might be a sign, or might be 3rd time is the charm? Let's hope so! I was looking forward to coast to coast whale sightings this summer! (The boss and I saw blue whales on our San Diego conference/adventure - amazing!).

Stopped by the beach on our way through the park - different during the day than it was for our stargazing attempt:

Sand Beach

Since the tour was cancelled - we went riding on the carriage trails. I haven't been on a bike in awhile, and it showed. Very cool and different way to see some of the park that we would not have seen otherwise - the carriage roads are for walking, biking, or horses only. We did the 8ish miles around Jordan Pond. Some great views on the roads!

Bubbles

Jordan Pond

My face when I think I'm done with uphill biking.

Thankfully I had a change of clothes in the car because between the biking and the humidity, I was a hot mess, quite literally. We met Hayden for dinner at The Parrilla, which was a recommendation from the winery staff. This was Hayden's birthday dinner, and he approved. He also tried oysters for the first time and he loved them I struggled to watch because oh my do I have texture issues with food, and oysters are at the top of that list. We walked around Bar Harbor after and of course stopped in the bookstore for books and puzzles - part of Hayden's birthday present. 

But because rain was in the forecast, again, we called it a night and headed back to the camper for some cribbage and a movie. 

Today's Lessons:

1. Anyone who says "it's just like riding a bike" has not done the Carriage Roads after 2 years of not being on a bike.

2. Ibuprofen is officially the pregaming party of my 40's. And biofreeze might be the after party. My body is older than brain likes to think it is.

3. After watching the ebikes fly past us while I was gasping for air on my way uphill, I am reconsidering my bike choices. 

Today's Miles: 42, 50 including the trail. 

Day 9: Acadia and back to NY

Met the birthday boy (no longer a teenager, so birthday man?) for breakfast with a friend of his. This Way Cafe - the food was so good. So, so good. There was also some great artwork and small libraries scattered throughout the restaurant. Hayden picked out our hike for today, and we made the hour(ish) drive to Schoodic Peninsula to sit by the waves, then hike for a few miles.

The weather did not cooperate for the views at the peninsula or on the summit, but the hike was beautifully mossy. 

New summit for Hayden!

On our way out I spotted dolphins! And apparently a sea lion! Perfect way to end our time in Acadia.

Not a great picture, but there were 2 of them - super cool.

And then we departed to may our way back to Wisconsin, leaving Hayden to celebrate without the adultier adults cramping his style.

Today's Lessons:

1. I am out of shape, especially for someone who enjoys hiking these trails.

2. Schoodic is really 3 trails in one loop, and it is in fact uphill both ways. 

3. No matter how old he gets, it is still hard to leave him. 

Today's Miles: 550 plus trails - about 2 more miles that felt like 5.

The rest of the day was spent driving as far as we could make it (near Albany), then getting a hotel room and ordering food at midnight. 

Up next: Lake Erie and Lake Michigan on the journey back home. 

🎈

Day 5, Day 6, and Day 7

 Day 5: Cooperstown, NY

Nolan's team had opening ceremonies at the Cooperstown Dreams park followed by skills tests, but then no game until 7p. So, wine tour? Don't mind if I do...

The night game was rained out, after 4 innings played in the rain and being up by 10 going into the 5th. Frustrating. 

Found a Kaia!

Today's Lessons:

1. Wine slushies are a thing. A good thing. A dangerously good thing.

2. Do not try to make any life decisions after having wine slushies.

3. Cooperstown is interesting. Kids stay in the barracks with the coaches, they all eat together, etc. Very team-oriented, less family-oriented. Kids seem to be enjoying it, despite the rain.

4. When they say opening ceremonies start at 9:30am they really mean 11am but come at 9:30 so you can just sit really closely together and sweat while you wait. 

Today's Miles: 35

Day 6: Headed to Bar Harbor…

We got up to go watch Nolan's team finish their rainout from the night before (WIN), and then watch the next game (not a win). 

After saying our goodbye's we packed up and hit the road to go to Bar Harbor. A long drive ahead of us today turned into a longer drive when the battery light came on.

So this happened.

And then this.

But, Dan put a new alternator in the truck and we were on our way. Always an adventure...

Worth the trouble when this is my view at the end of the day:

YAY Hayden!!

Today's Lessons:

1. Signs that say passenger cars only do not include passenger cars that are towing a Scamp.

2. A car issue was bound to happen sometime on one of these trips - so very fortunate to have Dan so he could put in a new alternator in less than 2 hrs.

3. Let me tell you about the cost of an alternator from the store... ouch.

Today's Miles: 545

Day 7: HAYDEN! And Acadia!

We were able to meet Hayden for breakfast before he had to work... and he paid! Mr $$.

Because it was a beautiful day, we decided to go exploring on the other side of the park. We started at Ship Harbor...and then wandered via the coastline over to another trail: Wonderland. Tidepooling finds:

Dan's amazing find!

We then stopped by the lighthouse for a photo op:

And headed to Jordan Pond House so Hayden could make us dinner. Delicious!!

A fat porcupine on the road when we headed out.

We met Hayden after work for snacks and then Dan and I wandered around downtown Bar Harbor for a bit before heading to Sandy Beach to try and stargaze. 

It didn't quite go as planned, but it was still very relaxing. And then very cold. 

Today's Lessons:

1. When wandering with Dan, bring water. 

2. And sunscreen.

3. So glad I got to see my kid in his element today! Very proud of him 🥰

Today's Miles: 125 - just around the park!

🎈