Coast of Maine Part I

David had his official last day of work the end of July and we headed straight out of town for our long awaited bucket list item - kayaking in Maine's Acadia National Park. 

The drive was long, so we spent the night in Boston and took the time to visit the Boston Temple. Carmen and David did baptisms and I did some initiatories. 

Once we arrived at the house, we became mesmerized by it. The place designed to be like a light house. The whole house had never ending places to discover, both inside and out.

And we had our own little private beach. It was too rocky to swim there, but still super fun to explore. And we discovered a new favorite pass time, hunting for sea glass. 

David cooked us a delicious breakfast every morning on that super cool stovetop. 

That's our house up there on the cliff side and I'm standing down at the little beach. It was low tide so you can really see how rocky it was here. 

Our first adventure after exploring the house was Barred Island Preserve. This was where I immediately fell in love with Maine. It's the perfect combination of coast line and gorgeous dense forest. And on this hike we got to experience both at the same time. 

Barred Island is only accessible during low tide when you can cross over on this tidal bar. But you have to pay attention to the tide or else you can quickly become trapped on the island as the water comes back in. 

We played here for several hours searching for shells, hunting through the rocks, watching the boats sail by and sunning ourselves on the rocks. Even though it is August, the water was way too cold to swim in. Up to our knees was about as brave as we ever got here. 

After speaking with the locals, we decided we needed to visit Lily Pond. And I'm so glad we did, because this place became a family favorite and I think will always hold a special spot in our family memories. It was quiet and serene and beautiful and the water was warm.

Aliza was the bravest and jumped in first...off a big rock. 

Once she deemed it okay, we all jumped in! The water was so clear and warm and inviting. 

Plus, how can you not fall in love with all those lily pads?! 

 After our first day of adventures the kids climbed the stairs up the "lighthouse" to their bedrooms.