Wednesday, October 24

Golly Pete! I just can't seem to keep up with it all! We've been all about the children's Halloween party around here: ordering supplies, coordinating getting everything done, getting head-counts via email, etc. It looks like we're going to have about 65 kids at the party. A terrific response, but way more kids than I thought. So, I had to go back and order more of everything for the party. Plus, Tim and I have been trying to figure out what we're going to be for the adult party. I think we've finally settled on Gandalf and Galadriel from LOTR (even though they're not really a pair). The kids' costumes have all come in and all fit, thank goodness!! They're going to be so cute!
We've done so much since my last post! And I still haven't filled in the details of our trip Columbus Day weekend. Ok, here goes a quick rundown.

Columbus Day Weekend Trip

We left on Saturday after the kids got out of Saturday Music School and drove up to Bethel, ME. It is in the northern section of the Appalacian mountain range. The AT actually crosses over the road where we were hiking! There was a message board for hikers, and one of the notices there informed hikers that the last day to ferry across the river was that weekend.

We stayed in a country inn called the Sudbury Inn. It was very nice!! We ate dinner at the Pub there in the inn and enjoyed live music while we ate.

Our room had a whirlpool tub, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed! We put a little shampoo in the water and turned on the jets, and there were suds everywhere!!

On Sunday, we got up and drove to Sunday River Ski Resort where they were having a fall festival. There were games for the kids, a craft show, and free ski lift rides up the mountain. Rachel and David both got knit hats to help them keep warm this winter, but they came in handy on the chair lift ride too. It was quite chilly up at the top! We rode up as high as we could go and then walked around a little. David got his first chance to "teetee" on a tree while up top. He thought it was really cool. Ah, boys and their simple pleasures. You just gotta love 'em!

We also visited a covered bridge that day.

It's called Artist Bridge because it is so picturesque. Jamie picked up a friend down at the creek - a large rock which he named "Milkshake". Yes, he brought home a Maine river rock as his souvenier. Then we went for a very nice hike out to a waterfall. Jamie and Rachel had a terrific time exploring the rocks. Tim and I just loved being out in the woods! The leaves are turning here, there is lots of color, but not quite peak. Still, quite beautiful!

On Monday, we took the Mount Washington auto road tour. It's a driving tour up to the peak of Mt Washington, known for having the world's worst weather. And it did!! The day was cold, windy, and cloudy. At the peak, we had no visibility! I would say it was about 50ft. We still enjoyed going to the top and having hot chocolate to get warm. There is a weather observation station up top and a museum too. We did see a few nice views on the way up and down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, there was a museum of all the modes of transporation used to travel the road (stage coach, woody, cars, and vans). Jamie also got to do a climb on a rock wall there. He made it all the way to the top and rang the bell while we all cheered him on!

On Tuesday, we tried to go do a corn maze, but it was closed. Then we tried to go to the Sabbaday Shaker village, but it too was closed. So, we drove over to the coast to see the ocean. We went to the little town of Old Orchard Beach where almost everything had closed for the season the day before. It looked a lot like Gulf Shores or Panama City, but a ghost town version. We did find a spot to eat that stays open year round. It was really interesting to see that the seaside towns in Maine really do roll up the sidewalks after the first of October. After that, we decided we'd just better head home. It was a good trip all in all, even if the last day was a little strange.