I started posting these "view through my lens" posts to help recap each month as seen through the lends of my iPhone to help keep random snapshots saved and easy to find. They are, by far, my favorite posts to write and look back on, as I am able to relive each memory from the month.
Hanging out at the summit of Beehive Trail with the family!
We also all got together and hiked Mt. Washington for the second time mid September on the most beautiful day!
I tried my hand at a delicious marinara sauce that was shared with me. The secret... butter!
All I did was blanch a ton of tomatoes, cut an onion in fourths, and 5 tablespoons of butter.
There are turkey's everywhere here! There were a handful of these little buggers hanging out in our driveway the other day when I got home - so much wildlife!
...and what's a post without a snapshot of this little biscuit! Her favorite place in the house is the loft, which L and I lovingly refer to as the man-cy cave (Macy Cat + Man Cave).
Mount Washington, round two! Last year, my mom, dad and I spent the most beautiful day in October hiking up Boot Spurr trail to the summit of Mount Washington over Columbus day weekend. This year, (almost) the whole gang was able to go, so we spent the third weekend in September doing just that! We ended up staying at the Joe Dodge located at Pinkham Notch lot the night before in hopes of getting an earlier start than we did last year. The lodge was very cozy and accommodating for our party of 7, complete with a room full of a games, a library and a little living room. We enjoyed their buffet feast Friday night, and again early Saturday for our breakfast!
We spent a good hour in the visitor's center Friday night staring at the huge 3D map of Mount Washington trying to decide what the best route would be. We eventually decided on the steepest route, Huntington Ravine!
Being the super hikers that we are, we successfully did not bring a map and did feel a little unprepared when hikers hiking the same trail passed us with helmets and ropes? Naturally, we had neither of those.
It was very steep! BUT, it is very "possible" if you are a mediocre hiker. All seven of us survived and we are by no means experts. It was best described to us as "similar to Precipice without the rungs and ladders."
We once again hit the weather jackpot on this one! Known as the most dangerous small mountain because of the drastic weather changes, we scored a beautiful clear day with comfortable temperatures. A little chilly at the summit (as expected), but nothing a fleece and rain jacket couldn't handle.
Staring at Wildcat mountain the entire hike up wasn't too bad either! The pictures from that linked post give you a good idea as to what we climbed this trip up.
We successfully made it to the summit 5 hours later, noshed on our amazing lunches that The cafeteria at the visior's center prepared for us, and then hiked Lion's Head down. All in all a great time! AND this time, we got back just before the sun went down, unlike last time! #greatsuccess
...and because making little vlogs of our adventures is my new favorite thing, I leave you with 6 exciting minutes from our hike!
A couple months ago I began aching for a camping trip to try out some of our new gear, roast up some s'mores, feast on some pudgie pies and spend some time with family. We hadn't been camping in a loooong time, and living in the middle of the city with no vehicle or space to store gear didn't make it any easier. When my parents made plans to go camping as a family in Acadia National Park over Labor Day weekend, I nearly jumped out of my skin in excitement! Everyday I would tell L how excited I was to not only go camping, but also spend some time on breathtaking Mount Desert Island! We spent a good chunk of time there two years ago for my grandparents 50th anniversary and it was nothing short of a great time! I don't have as many pictures as last time, however I did compile a handful of short clips from our trip into a fun little vlog which I have put at the bottom of this post!
First and foremost... the car. L and I forgot how convenient it is to have a vehicle to throw all of our gear in and travel. After packing all of our "stuff" into totes and traveling via trains and ubers for so long, this is truly a treat. We are still adding to our camping collection, however I can say that these clear weathertight containers from the container store are a favorite! We don't go anywhere these days without one of these in the trunk... just in case we come across an adventure of some nature, you never know!
We ended up staying in a cute campground right outside of Acadia and right on the shore of Somes Sound, Somes Sound View Campground.
We glamped in two side by side cabins (Starfish and Barnacle) at Somes Sound View Campground which could sleep four people each, perfect for our party of eight! We finagled our parking spaces and moved our tables in-between the two cabins so that we could spend even MORE time together. The place was booked for the weekend (as expected) and offered great creature features! A quarry that you could take a little boat on, a heated pool, docks, etc.!
We played one of our favorite group games, telestrations, a mix of pictionary and telephone... just imagine the fun! I am proud to say that we successfully mastered a lighting setup by tying a rope from a tree to our car and hanging two Luci lights above our game playing table! #greatsuccess
We did get our butts up wicked early to witness the infamous sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. There's nothing quite like being one of the first (along with the other 400 people on Cadillac) in the country to watch the sunrise. Parking was insane, as anticipated, so as a helpful hint to you if you ever go, do not park on the side of the road. Don't do it... you will never be able to turn your vehicle around... find a spot in one of the two lots.
We unfortunately didn't have enough time to hike the very steep Precipice trail, however we did play on another crowd favorite, Beehive trail... another fun but steep trail with rungs and ladders.
The gang!
One of my favorite parts of camping is the campfire food. We got serious about our pudgie pies and s'mores this year. One of my favorites being a cinnamon graham cracker, marshmallow, chocolate and nutella pudgie pie.
We can't go to MDI without paying a visit to our favorite soup kitchen, Common Good. Located in Southwest Harbor (they recently moved in town), Common Good is where you can get the most delicious popover and oatmeal breakfast on Mount Desert Island for whatever price feels right. Hopefully when you visit you are feeling generous, as that helps provide for people who may not be able to afford as much. They have a plethora of different jams and butters, as well as hot beverages, milk and juice. It is the perfect buffet of food for such a GREAT cause!
We had such a wonderful time in Acadia and an even better time with the family. Looking forward to next year!
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