Learning To Expect the Unexpected

Day 6

Let me start by saying the air mattress we purchased was a good investment. If it wouldn’t have been for one of our heaters going out during the night, I think we would have slept pretty good.

In case you were wondering how low temperatures get at the beginning of June in the northeast: 42 degrees!!! It was a chilly night but we survived. We packed up the next morning and made our way towards Rockport, Massachusetts.

We ate lunch at Halibut Point State Park and then walked a portion of the trail towards the ocean. The trails were in good condition (decent enough for a stroller) and the hike wasn’t too strenuous. We only packed Everett’s stroller this year. Carter and Jackson have graduated to full time walkers! I’m not sure they are as excited as we are about that.

We continued to drive North and passed quickly from New Hampshire into Maine. We will see much more of New Hampshire in the coming weeks.

We made one other stop before heading to our campsite in Maine. Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine. If this is a sign of things to come, we can’t wait to see what else Maine has to offer!!

After peeling ourselves away from the beautiful scenery, we arrived at the Cedar Haven Family Campground around 7:30pm. By 8:30pm we had the tent up and were mostly settled in. Darkness was fast approaching and temperatures were dipping low. We got the boys into the tent with only the final preparations still to be made.

One of the last things on our to-do list was inflate our new air mattress. I ran the extension cord into the tent, plugged it up and pressed the ON switch.

Nothing happened.

I went back to the receptical and checked for a reset button. There was none. I plugged the cord into the other outlet, went back into the tent, pressed the ON switch and still nothing.

Luckily for us, we are the only ones using a tent campsite right now so we basically have the place to ourselves. I ran the cord to our neighboring site, plugged it in, went back to the tent, pressed the ON switch and………nothing!

This is when a sense of panic starts to set in. What if we can’t get power tonight? We’re going to freeze in that tent. We’ll have to sleep on the ground.

I noticed another site across the street and thought my extension cords might reach. We ran the cord over there, plugged it in, pressed the ON switch and, you guessed it, nothing.

At this point I walked to the main office and found an emergency number to call. I spoke with one of the owners of the campground, who is currently out of town, and she didn’t know why there was no power. She suggested we move our tent to another site that did have power.

Moving our tent at this point would be a monumental task. Everything is inside, it’s already staked down and it’s dark outside.

I noticed one other site just up the hill that might work. There was actually power at this one and it took every single inch of our 100 feet of extension cords to make it work. As I was attempting to make it reach I could hear Shannon and the boys in the tent praying that the cords would be long enough. Hallelujah they were!!!

Day 7

After last night’s shenanigans we slept in a bit. We had a full day ahead of us but we needed a relaxed start to our morning.

Our first stop of the day was at Cape Elizabeth to see the lighthouse. The boys had an absolute blast here because they got to climb on rocks. I’m pretty sure if you asked what their favorite thing was today they would say climbing on rocks. Boys will be boys!!

Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse – Video

If you take the time to research popular/scenic places to visit in Maine, the Portland Head Lighthouse is usually one of the first things you will find.  Believe me when I say this, there is a reason it finds its’ way onto most everyone’s list of things to see in Maine. Wow!!

Portland Head Lighthouse – Video

After a quick picnic lunch and naps in the car it was time for more sightseeing. Next up was Popham Beach State Park. They charge a per-person fee to get into the park. It was $16 for our family. The friendly guy at the gate didn’t charge us for our two 5 year olds.

We found this place to be quite unique. Apparently we came at a good time because we were able to walk all the way to Fox Island which is only accessible during low tide. It was a neat experience and we actually climbed all the way to the summit of the island.

It wasn’t really a summit. I’ve just always wanted to say I climbed to the summit of something.

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Fox Island Summit, Popham Beach – Video

Another area we heard good things about was Boothbay Harbor. We made the hour drive from Popham and arrived in Boothbay around 6pm. We walked the streets and went into a shop or two before finding a place for dinner.

With a recommendation from a local, we ate at Kaler’s restaurant. It had a nice family friendly atmosphere and the food was delicious.

Shannon and I have been saying we wanted to try some Maine lobster. Neither of us has ever had lobster before so we figured why not start in Maine. We ordered a hot lobster roll and it was fantastic. Maybe we won’t wait another 30 years before trying it again. Honestly, I would say there’s a decent chance we’ll have it again before the trip is over.

After our meal it was time to head back to the campground. Here’s hoping for a stress-free night!!