Acadia: day 4

Tuesday was our big day in the park. The weather had been perfect thus far, but today it rained on and off. It was not about to spoil our fun though. We drove to Sand Beach, which was much too cold to swim in (the warmest it gets in the summer is 55 degrees - no thanks!). We hiked along it to Great Head, which had an initial steep climb and then a gentler trail.

 Phoebe and Bruce are pretty good climbers. Bruce is quick, and Phoebe likes to take her time.

 These are the faces they make when I ask them to smile now.

 We made it to the top, then Scott and Bruce headed down the shore and hiked to Thunder Hole.

 Phoebe and I hiked back to the car and met them there.

Thunder Hole is best appreciated with a movie rather than a still picture. It's a little pocket in the rock that traps air and makes a loud thunder-like noise when the waves come in. Bruce watched it for almost a half-hour, announcing when a big wave was coming.

 We made sandwiches for lunch before heading to our next destination. Our poor car was/is not only filthy from all the sand/dirt/rocks/soot, but now has one working lock. The driver's side door ate Scott's key: it got stuck in the lock and wouldn't come out. We spent an hour on Tuesday picnicking by a car dealership while they attempted to get the key out. They couldn't do it, so they sawed off the key for us and took out the whole lock cylinder. We spent the rest of the trip using my key, opening the passenger door, and climbing through the car unlocking the rest of the doors. Awesome.

 After our hike, we drove to Otter Point. Phoebe fell asleep in the car again, so the boys hiked to the Otter Cliffs while Phoebe and I hung out on the shore.

 When she falls asleep, nothing wakes her for at least an hour. She was completely limp until we pulled up to the Jordan Pond House.

We hiked a little on the carriage trails there, but the kids were pretty tired. We headed to the Jordan Pond House restaurant for a snack, which is famous for its popovers and outdoor dining. I tried a popover while Scott and the kids ordered desserts. We agreed that the hot chocolate should be more famous than the popovers; even on a warm day, it was so good.

 We headed down the lawn...

 ...to Jordan Pond. We hopped around on the rocks and found a few fish.

We ended our day at the Bass Harbor Head Light and with a stop at the Ship Harbor trail.

The trail led to some really colorful tidal pools. Phoebe made a friend on the trail, another three-year-old girl from Massachusetts, and they hiked with each other for more than a half-mile. They called each other "my best friend," and "my hiking partner."