Day 2, mid-afternoon

After a decent night's sleep (surprise, surprise) we all awoke refreshed and ready for the day. After an RV breaky of fruity pebbles and clementines, we made our way to Acadia. We stopped at the visitor's center (had to walk 52 steps to get to it) paid our entrance fee ($20 for a week) and learned about the cairns, small man-made rock formations to assist the hikers.

Our goal was to hike the Beehive Mountain trail, a 542 feet incline. There were 2 ways to get to the top - an arduous back-of-the mountain hike complete with rocks, rocks and more rocks, that the girls took (Izzy included) and a very steep, fear-factor front-of-the-mountain hike that required the use of metal ladders and rungs - which the boys took. We reunited at the top to admire the vista, fog and all.

Afterwards, tired and hungry we went to a restaurant for lobster rolls, chowder and Maine's finest chicken fingers. Michael did a stellar job of directing Evan out of the parking lot.

Now we are back at the KOA where the kids are biking around recruiting others for a kickball game. We plan on cooking out tonight and putting to test all of the camping equipment we so diligently packed.

Aside from the family with the blow-up palm tree decorations, it is a surprisingly one-with-nature, biking (not Harley), hiking and low-key kind of crowd. With the Western Bay of Mt. Desert Narrows in full-view, a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge, and 3 happy kids floating in and out of our "home," I am pleasantly surprised at how nice this is. (And for all of you who voted me most likely to cry first, ha, it was Izzy.) I did, however, refer to Evan as an a------ when at one point the refrigerator door swung open mid-drive and the hommus fell out. He expressed frustration that the door was not closed properly and hence, the name-calling. But it's all good, tho I did have to explain to Sophie that what I called Daddy actually wasn't very nice.

Thanks to Liz for all of the good tips - if only we had read the list before we left because citronella candles would've been great! As would pegs for hanging. But hey, there's always Wal-Mart (which we haven't really seen).

The mosquitos are loving Sophie - along with a mouth full of missing teeth, she now has welts on her face, proof of her sweetness.

-G