Drive to Minneapolis-St Paul

Got my mobile office set up the night before, and we set out on our latest adventure. We stopped in Eau Claire, WI. at The Growler Guys for "Linner" around 4:00. This Growler Guys location came complete with the guy drinking at the bar loudly talking about his DUI court case. I had a pepperoni flatbread, Deb had a Philly cheese steak sub, and I had a porter to drink. Best way to describe everything we had is "meh". We got our bellies filled and moved on to finish the trip. 

We stayed at a Springhill Suites and because we ate Linner, just went for ice cream/frozen yogurt at Pop Culture. That was slightly better than "meh". Hotel was also "meh".  All in all, I guess you can say the day was "Meh", that's fine as it was a work/travel day.

Last day-we just drove, and drove, and drove home

When we left in the morning we hadn not decided if we were going to split the ride home into 2 dqys or not. Basically it depended on how we felt. We decided to go all the way home. 966 miles and we got home at 2:30 AM. It would have been sooner but we stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Ohio for dinner, just so we had something besides candy and chips in our systems.

Oh, one last thing, when we got home someone decided they wanted ice made in the morning, so they filled the ice maker with water. Unfortunately the drain plug was never put back in so basically she poured alot of water right on the wood floor. So we had to move the fridge and clean up the floor in the middle of the night after traveling all day. Vacation's over! Total trip mileage: 2920 miles

Mt. Washington and Champney Falls hike

We knew we wanted to go to the top of Mt. Washington, where the highest wind ever was recorded (231 mph). For some reason the toll to drive up is $45 per car PLUS $20 per adult passenger. $65 seems like a lot of money to drive up a dangerous, potentially fog shrouded road. So we decided on the cog railway, which is actually much more expensive, but a lot easier and they have a guide narrating the ride. So at least it seemed like we were getting something for our money other than a near death experience. The thing about Mt. Washington is the signs brag it has the worst weather in the world, and when we got to the summit, sure enough it was enveloped in clouds and really windy. The woman in the gift shop said they get 60 clear days a year. So you spend money to get up there with a slim chance you will get the full views of 5 states and Quebec. What you usually get is shown here:

It is really windy up there and the clouds would break a bit occasionally and everyone would scramble to see/ take a picture of the views like this:

Notice how bright and sunny it is? Also notice everyone is wearing coats and stuff? It was around 90 at the base of the railway and I think around 50 with howling 40 mph winds at the summit. It was really cool to be up there, not sure it's worth the cost though. Felt like gouging to me, but of course we all paid, so more power to them, I guess. After that we had a late lunch at Muddy Moose in Conway, which was a good meal at a nice place. We then tried to see Diana's baths which are nice waterfalls, but they have a tiny parking lot and we could not get a spot, so we moved on to Cathedral Ledge, which is the next turn. We went to the trailhead and tried to hike the trail, but it wasn't marked at all from what we could tell and their were several paths you could take. After going down one and ending up heading back towards the parking lot, in 94 degree heat, we decided "F this" and got back in the nice A/C in the car. We did see the big granite slab that people climb though (think a mini version of El Capitan in Yosemite). We decided to drive the Kancamangus Scenic Byway which follows the Swift River through the White Mountains National Forest. It is a nice ride and we pulled off at one point, threw on our water shoes and waded in the river for a bit, just to cool off and check out the view. After our river wading, we hopped back in the car to continue on the byway and eventually head to dinner and our hotel in Concord. That was the plan anyway. But after driving for about 15 minutes we saw a sign for Champney Falls. The signs said it was a 1.4 mile hike each way. It had cooled off some by this point (it was almost 6 by now) and we wanted to see a waterfall, so in we went. The whole 1.4 mile thing turned out to be a lie, as that was the distance to where you could keep straight for a trail to the mountain top or turn left to see the falls. Getting to the top of the falls turned out to be another 1/3rd mile, basically walking up steps the whole time. But the views are nice.

Also here is a pic of the steps that don't count in the distance measurement, apparently:

By the time we got done with the hike and drove to the end of the byway it was after 9 and we still needed dinner. Only problem was the town the byway ended at was tiny and after 9 everything was closed down. So I thought we'd just stop at a truck stop on the highway, as we still had nearly an hour drive. One problem, there is NOTHING on that stretch of I-95. So, dinner was Belvita breakfast biscuits, Sour Cream and Onion chips and mini-Twix. Nutrition at its best! But that happens sometimes when you fly by the seat of your pants. We survived and collapsed into bed at the hotel.

Big Paul Bunyan and Stephen King's house

We started the day in Bangor very slowly and late. We ate brunch at Dysart’s truck stop, which was really good. Bought a blueberry pie there to take home with us. We then drove over to the giant Paul Bunyan statue on Main Street, kind of neat-we like stopping at giant things on our trips. A version of this statue came to life in the movie It part II, so it was fun to watch the clip where it attacks a kid and then see the statues. From there we drove over to Stephen King’s house, although I don’t think anyone lives there now. Interesting decorations on the fence and in the yard. After that we drove into NH, into a town called Gorham, which is near Mt. Washington, where we’re going tomorrow. Drove in North Conway for dinner and called it a night.

Bar Island, Wild Gardens, and Schoodic Peninsula

We got up today and drove into Bar Harbor to walk across the sand bar to Bar Island. You can only do this from 90 minutes before low tide, which was at 9:14, to 90 minutes after or else you’re wading across, as the water covers it up pretty quickly. So, it was interesting to basically be walking along the bottom of the ocean, lots of rocks and mussels littered the area. On the island we hiked over to the ruins of a 1800s house and then on to the summit of the island where we saw really good views of Bar Harbor. We also walked a bit in the wild meadow of Acadia, a peaceful walk through the forest and a meadow. Afterwards we drove into Bar Harbor and got some lunch at Everyday Joe’s-decent sandwiches that didn’t cost a fortune. We then drove about 1 ½ hours to Schoodic Peninsula. Schoodic Peninsula is part of Acadia, even though it is separated by a large bay. It’s very wild and quiet, until you get to the shore, where the waves crash in. I think there was a storm coming in as it was very foggy here and the temp was much cooler than any other part of the area. Pretty cool, rugged area. After all that we drove down to Bangor as the first part of our trek home.

Cadillac Summit drive and Ocean shore hike

Drove up Cadillac Mountain, one of those curvy mountain roads with pull outs for scenic views and some butt clenching turns. It's the highest point on the eastern seaboard, great views of nearby islands and the ocean. Ocean shore hike was our longest yet, 2 miles each way. It was mostly flat and easy, with a lot of places where you can leave the main path to hike over/around rocks to get closer to the ocean. Some really cool views, some also butt clenching if you got close enough to the edge of the cliffs. We saw some crazy people climbing cliffs, including a 10 year old girl. We got right up close to the waves crashing on the rocks. We also stopped by Thunder Hole, where the water rushing in and out of a cave makes a roaring (thunder-like) sound. The end of the hike is at Sand Beach, named this because it is the only sandy beach in the park. The water here is really cold. The best part of this beach is watching the people's reactions when they go into the water, especially the little kids. Nothing like seeing a toddler running in terror from the water for amusement.

nope

still nope

“I hate the Amish”

A day of no hiking to rest our old legs. We did a carriage ride where one of the women said she hates the Amish. Never heard that before. But after hearing how she lives right by them and they let their horses crap right on the street and just leave it, sometimes right in front of her driveway, I see her point, that's pretty rude. Carriage ride was a very relaxed way to see some of the park and hear it's history. Basically John Rockefeller Jr. and some other obscenely rich people donated the land. Rockefeller built all the carriage roads when it was still his property to have places where there were no cars. We also went on a late afternoon "Seals and Fjord" cruise. Where, you guessed it, we saw seals, they were cool, wish the boat had slowed more or even stopped by their island so we could look longer. Also, we learned there's fjords and fjards. A true fjord has a "dead zone" at the bottom where nothing lives. A fjard apparently has a zone where very few things live. Saw a lot of birds and nests. Cool view of a Cormorant drying its wings so it could fly and one big-ass Osprey nest. It was a nice day off from a lot of walking/hiking.