Snowshoes and seashells

The view from "A Port in the Storm" bookstore in Somesville.


Hank snowshoeing in the backyard

On Sand Beach in Acadia National Park

A great view near Bass Harbor

Sand Beach in Acadia

I had never heard of snowshoes until I moved to Maine - I think I had seen them in the LL Bean catalog but never imagined I would see a pair in person or wear them. Well, Hank received his first pair of snowshoes from Grandma & Grandpa and he LOVES them. He looks so funny out there in the snow, but I'm telling you, those things really do work. Mike and I are both headed to the big LL Bean store (or as Mike refers to it, "Mecca") this spring to get some for ourselves when they go on sale. Today Mike and Hank trudged through the woods behind our house and walked on the snowmobile trail. Mike sank into the snow with his boots but Hank glided over the top with the help of his trusty snowshoes. Later this afternoon I took him to the community pool for open swim and to work on "the rules of the pool." He started his swimming lessons there last week and was a little, ahem, out of control. He was just too excited about the slide, the kickboards, the other kids, etc. and did not listen to the teachers at all. There are 8 kids in his class and 2 high school girls are the teachers, and they are WAY too nice to him. Hopefully they'll toughen up a little bit, because at this rate he is not going to learn anything.







On Saturday we took a daytrip to Acadia National Park. It took about 40 minutes to get from our house to Bar Harbor, although I'm sure this summer with the tourist traffic it will take a lot longer. Although a lot of the park and restaurants/shops in Bar Harbor were closed for the season, it was a great time to visit because we could find our way around without all the traffic and congestion. Let me tell you, that place is stunning. I can only imagine what it looks like in the summer and fall, because even in the dead of winter it was majestic. The pictures don't really do it justice, but I'll post them anyway. I look forward to many more visits there and I'm excited to hike the carriage roads, apparently there are some kid and stroller friendly trails to try.

One of the best places we stopped was Somesville, a pretty little village on the "quiet" side of the island. I went into "A Port in the Storm" bookstore and could have stayed all day long. I settled for some postcards and some good conversation with the store owner. I felt like I was in a storybook myself. Georgie and I browsed while Hank and Mike walked around and fed the ducks. It was a great day.