Southwest Harbor Weekend, Part II

I got up this morning bright and early and headed out for my run. My plan was to run the same route that Ryan had run, which was about 3 miles of road followed by a loop up and over Beech Mountain and back. It was sunny and humid, even at 6:15 in the morning. I took the roads easy, and then enjoyed running the nice mellow start of the West Ridge Trail as it wandered along the lake. Once the trail hit the rock ledges and began to climb in earnest, I hiked. There was no running to be done.

Summit selfie. A little sweaty :-)

Beech Mountain firetower

Summit vista

After a short stop at the summit, I headed down. The trail down was pretty runnable and I felt good, until I hit a trail junction and against my first reaction, followed the sign that read to Beech Mountain Parking. Seemed logical, as I hadn't noticed another other marked parking area on the map. It was a pretty trail, winding through deep woods and bit fern-covered boulders, but it put me out in a parking lot that well, wasn't the one I wanted. I pulled out the map at that point, and realized, oh shit, I've totally gone the wrong way. I confirmed with a couple who had just pulled up to walk their dog, and then called Ryan to tell him I was going to be a while... He immediately said he'd pick me up. I felt badly and told him I could just do the extra miles, but he insisted, so I ran back the way I came, and headed down the trail the correct way, until I hit the road and they found me there. Oops. So, word to the wise (or unwise), despite all my years of hiking and trail running, I have a horrible sense of direction. Never follow me on a trail I don't know expecting me to go the right way ;) Ha. Well, got in a good 7.5 miles/1:30 of running/hiking at least to start the day!

After a yummy breakfast, we packed up and then headed out. Ryan ran the roads, while Sam and I drove to our destination for the day - Ships Harbor Nature Trail, a nice flat 1.5 mile figure-eight through the forest and along the water. Very pretty. But damn! It was hot! Especially in the sun when there wasn't a breeze. Phew! Still, we had a good walk, and Sam did great, especially given that she was very tired from all the activity yesterday!  

Ship Harbor Nature Trail

Sam loves her Camelbak :-)

Another sip (and another potty break coming up too ;0 )

Beautiful view

Snack time in the shade

We stopped for lunch at a yummy sandwich spot in town before heading back home. A fun weekend away for sure! And Sam was good and tired out :-)

Lunchtime!

Southwest Harbor Weekend, Part 1

I'm helping out at the gallery again this summer so as an extra thank you K&C booked us a weekend stay at the Claremont, a fancy, old-time hotel in Southwest Harbor, for the weekend. We arrived late in the evening on Friday night, just in time to take in the sunset across the bay. Beautiful.

Fancy pants :-)

Beautiful sunset

On the dock

Taking in the view

Being goofy out on the dock

Family portrait at sunset

Ryan would say the two problems with the hotel were lack of air conditioning and the funny shower/tub. 

WTF? How are you supposed to take a shower with this? No curtain, plus the shower head was only about 4 feet off the ground...

But otherwise, it was a beautiful spot, and we had  "suite" with a small alcove room for Sam. She was happy to have her own space, and wanted us to stay there for "infinity" :-)

Saturday morning dawned, and another beautiful day. Ryan headed out for a run in the morning and then joined us for breakfast. After fueling up, we headed over to Flying Point Mountain for a hike. This little mountain affords a good view for little effort, but the effort is still a lot for a 4-year old :-) The1.5 mile loop took us 2 hours total, including many snack stops and stops to pick up nature treasures. We also took a stop at the beach at the bottom of the mountain before returning on the flat dirt road to the parking lot.

Sam, headed up Flying Point Mountain

On the stairs

Up

Rocks and roots

Up toward the summit

Flying Point Mountain

At the summit

Down at the beach

Flat wide dirt road on the way back

Sam, psyched to be done ;)

Then we drove out to Seawall and walked on the rocks and looked in the tide pools, before heading over to Bass Head Light, where we took a short walk in the woods and out onto the red cliffs.

On the rocks at Seawall

Edge of the ocean

Sam and Mommy

Out at Bass Harbor Light

Quintessential Acadia shoreline

Climbing down to the cliffs

For dinner, we walked down the street to Beal's Lobster Pound, where Ryan and Sam split a pound of steamers and a lobster. Sam also ate an ear of corn. I got fried scallops. Yum. Perfect summer evening for an outside dinner.

Happy girl

Beautiful Day

Today was too beautiful a day to waste on a short run, so since I had time after my half day of work, I headed over to Bowdoin and ran out through the Commons and Pennelville to Simpson's Point. I was surprised at how warm it was out, especially as I ran through the pitch pine forest in the Commons, but once I got out into the fields at Pennelville, there was a nice breeze. The fields were a sea of green grasses, yellow buttercups, white daisies and purple cow vetch. A few swallows, red winged blackbirds, and of course, the Bobolinks, flitted about. White fluffy clouds hung in the blue sky above, and the air was sweet with the smell of the white tea roses, blooming in the sand along the roadside. Along the second pond back in the Commons, I saw a few little turtles sunning themselves on logs at the pond's edge, and what I am pretty sure was a Green Heron, taking off from the shallows, its back slate gray and legs a bright yellowy-orange. Neat.

The legs felt decent, if a little tired toward the end of the run, but it was lovely to be out on a sunny day, running to the ocean. Got in 9.25 in 1:25.

Going with the Flow

I haven't been running too much since TARC but really, things have been feeling pretty good so I'm just going with the flow, trying to find that balance of doing enough to keep sane but not so much that it comes back to haunt me. Got out this morning for a mellow 4 miles. Not much else to report.

Speaking of balance, this is an awesome quote:

"Also, because people often ask me how I balance work, family, and running. Balance??? That sounds so calm and pleasant! It's more like juggling chainsaws! Basically, just make sure you don't mishandle one so badly that you cut off your hand, otherwise, I figure whatever technique gets you by is just fine." - Pam Smith

I am not at her level in any way, but I find this quote to be oh so appropriate. Life as a working mother runner is one big crazy juggling act, indeed.

Yesterday

Got out yesterday morning for a mellow 3 miler around the block. Tried to keep the pace slow. I know I'm still recovering from TARC even if I've been feeling good, so it's hard to hold back on these short runs. Had intended to run this morning too, but realized I should probably keep this a low mileage week this week too, so decided to sleep in a bit more instead. Of course, Ronnie the cat had other ideas and really wanted me to get up and feed him breakfast :-)

Weekend Fun

This weekend was chock full of activity! The weather was perfect, Sam ran her first race and did awesome, we hiked, we went to the beach, Morgan and Kristen camped with us on Saturday night which was really cool, we roasted marshmallows, stayed up too late and just plain had a lot of fun. Wish we could do this every day!

Here are some of the highlights from the weekend, in no particular order:

Beautiful day 

Sam and I on the rocks at dusk

Playground fun

Family portrait

A walk in the woods

Puffy clouds

Sam on the beach

Bobolink

Sam and Daddy

The cousins

Having fun

Blue sky, yellow buttercups, white clouds

Marshmallows, yum!

Cutie pie

Yummy smores! ;)

Fire!

At the shore

So happy to be hanging out together

The girls

Roasting marshmallows

New sleeping bag!

Gorgeous sunset

Us

Glorious colors