Avoiding the crowds

We decided to sleep in this morning to celebrate the first “real” day of our vacation. Sooke has a slightly different interpretation of what sleeping in means, as by 7am he was trying his best to rouse us so he could explore his new yard. With our earlier than planned start, we still took it easy and hung around the cabin for most of the morning, enjoying a delicious breakfast of eggs and sausage thanks to Sara’s efforts.



View from the cabin

By 10:30 we were out on the road and decided to hit the visitor center at Acadia National Park first, so we could pick up maps and other orientation materials. Not surprisingly the visitor’s center was packed with the Labor Day weekend crowds, so we decided to leave the park’s main loop road for later this week, when the crowds have hopefully subsided. Having been here once before, we remembered that there is a lesser visited half of the island (which we never got to explore), so we decided this would be a good place to beat the crowds.

As it was nearing noon, we decided to stop in Bar Harbor first to grab some food. As we drove into the downtown where we were greeted by the sight of a looming cruise ship and throngs of passengers descending on the little town. We skipped food and made a beeline out of town and toward our planned refuge on the south and west part of Mount Desert Island. En route we grabbed some sandwiches at Subway. While this may sound mundane, it was quite significant as it ended Sara’s almost 10 year avoidance of Subway (which is an entirely different story).

We found a quiet picnic shelter at the Pretty Marsh picnic area where we ate and let the dogs explore. To say Sooke was very wound up today would be an understatement. He was very excited and quite a handful, as Bear showed him the ropes of wilderness exploration (with us being dragged down the rocky mountainside behind them). After herding them back to the car we set out and found some nearly deserted unpaved fire roads through the park’s backcountry. We made our way to the interior side of Seal Cove Pond where Sooke and Bear both took quick swims. We then hiked along the mountainous shoreline, while Sara took pictures.

We wrapped up our trip around the island stopping at the Seawall Picnic area where Sooke got his first glimpse (and taste) of the ocean. He and Bear had fun sampling the assorted kelp littering the rocky shore and wading into the surf. By the drive back to the cabin, the boys were thoroughly exhausted!



Sooke at the seashore

-- Post From Shawn's iPhone

Location:Blue Hill Point, Bar Harbor, ME United States

We have arrived!

Last night we stayed at the Ethan Allen hotel, and yes it is THAT Ethan Allan. We knew this because it was right next door to the EA headquarters and showroom. It was also apparently HQ for utility crews repairing damage from Hurricane Irene, as there were at least 3 dozen bucket trucks in the hotel parking lot. The hotel once was very nice, you could tell, but a little dated. Still it was first class for a pet friendly hotel. Sooke did very well and both dogs entertained themselves and us by playing with their reflections in the mirror of the closet door.

This morning, we proceeded to drive a lot.

We stopped for lunch in York Maine, where we found these to be too tempting to pass up, even if they will last us all week.


We pulled into our destination just after five this afternoon, which means that we made great time. Hardly any traffic to speak of for labor day weekend. It was pleasantly surprising to see some early fall color on the way up.

We were all a little tuckered out when we got here.


After unloading the car, we went into Bar Harbor to pick up some groceries. Now for a good night's rest and a schedule-free tomorrow.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Blue Hill Point Cottage, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States

And...we're off!

All our bags are packed; we're ready to go…

The dogs are standing here, beside the door…

They can’t wait to …
get on the road again…

Just can’t wait to get back on the road again...





​​Ok, mixed metaphors? But yes, the four of us are on the way to Maine! We are getting a jump on the trip leaving this afternoon and hoping to at least make it past New York City. Hopefully, the rest of the world isn’t doing the same thing. Curiosity the cat is bachin' it with Uncle Dan back at the homestead. Bear is well traveled, but this will be Sooke’s first real road trip. He has been to see family in South Carolina, so he knows all about being in a car for a really long time. But this will be his first hotel experience. He has his bed and his favorite toys packed…he’ll be fine....



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:On the road...

Hiking!!!

Today is a slow day at the conference, so I made plans to meet up with my high school friend Pete and do some hiking. Pete and I lost touch briefly after high school during which time we chose almost identical career paths and now get to reunite at most places where microbial ecologists congregate. I met up with Pete and his former labmates Stephan and Tim, as well as Tim's friend Elyse. We set out in Pete's rental car for points northward.




Our destination was the Boulder River Wilderness in Mt. Baker National Forest. After about an hour of driving we arrived at our destination. We hiked into the river valley, it was woody and remote and quiet. We climbed down to get closeups of hidden waterfalls, ran into some strange Germans, and also a friendly guy carrying a gun. In all we hiked about 7 miles and had a good time. It was great to get back out on the trail and catchup with Pete.

First day wrap-up

After making our way to the hotel, Eric, Jacques, and I walked to the Pike Place Market where I tried Dungeness crab cakes. As you may know I am an afficianado of crab cakes, but most of my experience has been with the east coast blue crab versions. These crab cakes are delicious, but very different with a variety of vegetables and spices mixed in.

After a cup of coffee we went to the opening session of the conference and reception, before making our way to dinner with Lisa, Andy, Ellis and several others at the Daily Grill. The food was really good and the company was excellent! :-)


-- Post From Shawn's iPhone

Location:Seattle, WA

ISME 2010

After a VERY short night of sleep, I left the house about 5:30 en route to one of my favorite cities: Seattle.

I'm here for the 13th meeting of the international society for microbial ecology (ISME). It promises to be a good meeting and I am excited to get a chance to catchup with many friends!

Shawn

-- Post From Shawn's iPhone

Location:Seattle, WA

Bon Voyage

I now sit in seat 19A looking out the window at partially cloudy skies. Earlier we spent a tense fifteen minutes using the Wii balance board to weigh our luggage and shift items around to keep everything under the 50 pound limit. As always we go back with more stuff than we came with. In the end we were forced to wear our jeans and hiking boots to just squeeze by the weight limit. We also sadly said our goodbyes to Emily, who has been a great travel companion, DJ, and expert guest blogger for the final leg of our trip. [NAG: She really needs to start her music blog soon] :-P

In all we drove over 3000 miles in Neo (many of those on narrow, windy roads). We saw 5 National Parks, 8 National Forests, and 2 National Monuments. We both went to Montana for the first time and I also had my first experiences in Idaho and Wyoming. Along the way we encountered bison, pronghorn, elk, deer, grizzly bears, black bears, coyotes, many birds and small mammals, a ring-tail (monkey), and some awesome microbial mats. Most importantly we got to spend some quality time with family and some really good friends!




Now back to our day to day lives for a while. We can't wait to see Bear, Sooke, and Curiosity!



- Posted by Shawn from our iPad

Location:Somewhere over Arizona