Acadia part 3- the park without horses

Although my original goal had been a major horse back holiday- that wasn't in the cards for us this year- so were were able to do quite a bit of exploring of the park with the kids. It was a holiday weekend, so much of the "touristy" stuff was a zoo. So we skipped a lot of that part of the park and we just let them spend quite a bit of time exploring the rocky coastline Acadia and our New England region is so known for.
We spend one whole morning climbing rocks and playing in tide pools- it was really amazing- the weather was so nice- warm and sunny but not too hot- the kids had such a good time exploring! The pool above was the most spectacular colors- from orange and red and yellow to blue and green- Billy really wanted to find some crabs but after we searched for days we never were able to find him any. I guess that's a sport better suited to beaches down here-

We went to various spots and either hiked down or scampered along the rocks. Bill was quite jealous of the beautiful sailboats we saw all along the coast. Each of the harbors had many ships sailing and moored- the days were sunny and beautiful. You could certainly see Bill yearning to be out to sea!

We went to a few different beaches while we were there- the ocean beaches were certainly their favorite- the lake we went to was quite windy and the weather had turned a bit cooler. The rocky coast makes for a different beach then the ones down near us- we did go to one sand beach but for the most part they are pebble beaches with big rocks to climb and explore. We hiked, and went to a public garden which was beautiful. It really was a good time for everyone- in hind sight it was probably the perfect mix of horse time and family time for a vacation with the kids. Around the campsite we had fun with the horses and doing all the traditional camp stuff- roasting marshmallows and hot dogs and we had the kids bikes so they road all over the site. Billy spent a lot of time practicing without training wheels- and although it was too much to "ride" the trails he will be whizzing along soon!

We had a great time, and everyone votes that we make it a yearly tradition. I can't wait to get back up there- it was so nice and we all had such a good time! Having the National park so close (it was just over a 4 hour drive with the truck and trailer) we really should take more advantage of it! Camping is something we always say we "do" but we don't actually get out too often- so it was nice to have the tent up and the camp stove out. Bill and I slept in the goose neck, which was nice and really made me appreciate our trailer! The kids were all well behaved and although Billy had one too many s'mores and wound up with a sick stomach we all had a blast! My Dad is really fun for the kids- he likes all they outdoors stuff so it was perfect to have them their as part of our Acadia adventure.

Bill and my Dad biked up one mountain to watch the sun rise one morning, and we did one climb with the horses- so the kids were able to get up high enough to get a sense of what Mount Dessert Island really is all about. The park has so much to offer and the equine facility was so nice I know we will be headed back soon!