Sam's Week and Saturday Running

Sam's been having a great time with my parents so far this week. I am sure there are more photos in existence but in the meantime, here are a few highlights 😃

Looks like fun to me!!

This morning, I headed out a little before 7:00 am for a run out into the Cathance. I thought I'd go early to beat the heat but in doing so, I got all the humidity 😂😆 69 degrees, 94% humidity and a dew point in the high 60s = one soggy Sparkplug! Saw three deer, one snowshoe hare, one frog, and sadly a number of deerflies too but they weren't terrible. With all the rain we've had the past week, the river is flowing nicely again which is always good to see, and found a few patches of ripe blueberries along the powerlines in the last stretch. Lots of slick roots and bog bridges from the rain and humidity too, but really, it was a pretty nice morning to be out. Came home soaked but happy to have gotten the miles in and have my legs feeling good! (10.1 miles)

Catch Up

This week has been busy! We got home late on Sunday night. Thankfully we didn't have to get Sam out of the house early on Monday morning as she was hanging out for the day with my parents while we went to work, but we still had to get her all packed up and ready to head to NC and there were piles of laundry and lots of camping stuff to put away. Tuesday morning, I got up early and ran on the cart paths. It was a cool, damp morning with lots of fog and rising mist. (6. 0 miles)

Then we all left the house around 7:30 am, Sam and my parents for a 9 hour drive and Ryan and I to work. After work, Ryan joined me at the Tedford annual meeting and then we went out for dinner and drinks at Frontier to celebrate! Cheers! 🍷🍸

Wednesday morning, I ran out on the powerlines in search of wood lilies and blueberries. A bit too early for both but you never know, and indeed, I did find a few patches of ripe berries. Yum! Lots of sheep laurel blooming, sweet smelling hay-scented ferns and birdsong. (5.4 miles)

After work, I finally got the tent, tent fly and pop-up tent set up out front and dried out. Yup, they'd been sitting still wet and in their bags in the back of my car for a few days. What can I say, we've been busy! Oops! 😁

Thursday was finally a quiet, but rainy, evening and after a yummy meal of tacos, we watched the first of The Hobbit movies. Fun!

This morning, I did a few errands and then met up with Val at Brad at 9:30 am for a run. She had a lot of miles on her legs from the past few days, so we kept it nice and mellow, which was perfectly fine with me and which was just as well given the warm, heavy humidity in the air. It was great to catch up with Val as we ran along and I was happy to have my legs feel good. After, we went for a nice lunch and then I got the grocery shopping and cleaning done. And now, we are watching the 2nd Hobbit movie :) A good Friday indeed! (7.6 miles)

Southwest Harbor Weekend Fun

We had a great time up in Southwest Harbor for the weekend and it was so nice to have Mom and Dad join us! We tried to pack as much as we could into each day and I think we succeeded as we were certainly all tired out by the time we got home on Sunday night! 😂😉

Saturday morning, Ryan met up with Jenn for a long run around the island, and Sam and I joined Mom and Dad for breakfast at the Claremont - yum! - and such a beautiful spot 💗

After breakfast, we headed over to Jordan Pond to get in a short hike before we met up with Ryan.

After some time exploring the shoreline of Jordan Pond, we headed down the Jordan Stream Trail to the Cobblestone Bridge, built in 1917 and the oldest of Rockerfeller's carriage road bridges. The Jordan Stream Trail was a nice meander and we took the carriage road back to make a little loop for the morning. (1.8 miles walked)

After lunch at Eat a Pita - delish! - we headed over for a leisurely walk through Asticou Gardens. Some of the azaleas had already bloomed but there was more than enough color to go around. Such a beautiful spot! 🌸 (0.8 miles walked)

Jenn had told Ryan that Thula Gardens was another nice walk, so we decided we would check that out too! We took the long way up, which featured some neat stone steps and nice views out into the Harbor before reaching the actual confines of the garden. (1.1 miles walked)

And then we finished off the day with dinner at Beal's as the rain came down. The perfect end to a great day!

It rained overnight but we stayed nice and cozy and dry in the tent. I woke up early to heavy fog and headed out around 5:30 am to run a loop over St. Sauveur, Valley Peak and Acadia Mountains. The summits were clouded in and the roots were slippery, but the sheep laurel was blooming and I had the whole place to myself ;) The fog and clouds did begin to lift as I was climbing Acadia so I got a bit of a view on the way up before things clouded over again at the summit. My legs felt a bit heavy throughout but looking at the run on Strava after the fact showed that I wasn't running much slower than I have on that loop in the past, so while I didn't feel all shiny happy people on the run itself, it's still nice to know that recovery seems to be coming along. (7.5 miles)

I got back to find Ryan and Sam still sleeping and after a morning fire and a few sparklers, we packed up the damp tent, got the car packed and met my parents over at the Flying Mountain trailhead. One of the best things about Acadia is the bang for your buck, and Flying Mountain is a great example! A short steep scramble up through the woods and you arrive out on rocky ledges with a gorgeous view out into Somes Sound and beyond. And even better, the skies were clearing and the day was warming up!

We hiked down to the beach at the end of the Man o' War road, and Sam scrambled around on the rocks, took off her shoes to feel the water and we all took in the view along with noting a number of jellyfish washed up on the beach! A nice respite before finishing up our walk. (1.7 miles walked)

Once again, we headed to Eat a Pita - seriously, so good! - and then decided to head over to hike the Ships Harbor loop before we headed home. Despite the fact that Mom and Dad's cellphone took a dive into one of the tide pools (not good!), we had a lovely walk! (1.7 miles walked)

John's new spot for his tiny home was just down the road, so we swung in to say hi and check it out. Beautiful location and nice to catch up, even if just briefly!

We didn't end up getting home until 7:00 pm, but it was worth it. Such a great weekend, and we sure do love Acadia 💗