The sun was shining! I slept in pretty late today, and was a bit cranky when I got going. Everyone was up already and heading out the door and I was still trying to wipe sleep from my eyes. I opted to just stay back with Craig. We took our time getting up but got to enjoy the sun in the back yard.

We broke out our chairs and sat on the deck. I snapped quite a few photos of the house and the yard; very glad they mowed yesterday. We relaxed, read our books, listened to music and then a cool ocean breeze came in and we retreated in doors.

It got cool enough to start up the fireplace again, and we set up in the living room with the view of the yard.

Kerry, Marty and Kathy came back from their hike later on and said they saw dolphins jumping in the water but didn’t have a camera able to snap any pics. I wish I had been more awake in the morning to go.

We all set about cleaning up and getting ourselves ready to go the next day. We managed to eat many more good foods since we had bought abundantly.

Later in the day Craig and Kerry finally got to work on music. Craig had written several songs that had guitar pieces. They recorded for several hours. I’m looking forward to hearing the final results.

Thursday was the one day with a guaranteed window of sun. We decided to head down as a group to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. Our first stop was to Bar Harbor Bike Shop to rent Kerry a bike. My CR-V was fully loaded for the day, 2 kayaks and 3 bikes.

We headed over to Eagle Lake to ride the shore side and then up to Bubble Pond. There were signs and warnings of wash outs. For comparison, we’ve been coming here this same week of June for about 4-5 years now. Two years ago, the streams were so bone dry it looked like it hadn’t rained in many weeks. This year the gravel from the carriage trails was washed all through the woods. In one spot the water was rushing so loudly and going over the banks and through the trees. The trail for the most part was in good shape.

I was happy to be able to bike without stopping up the hill to the Bubbles. This had been a spot that I used to have to walk. Although when we crossed the road and started over a steep short incline for a bridge, my thighs were burning. We rode out to our usual spot and snapped some pics.

We rode back to the car, making a few more picture stops. I’d love to come back here someday and be able to just ride through 8-14 miles of trails in a day and consider that a good workout.

After our ride we headed up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain to eat our lunch. I got to see a sight I had never seen; fog rolling over the islands. We were above the clouds and looking down on the bay. I managed to get sunburned on my shoulders, but I don’t mind, it was so nice to see the sun for just a few minutes.

We tried to go to Hadlock Pond to bike and kayak but we weren’t sure if kayaks were allowed. The biking parking lot was full. So we headed back to Eagle Lake for kayaking and biking, but the waters were too choppy since the wind had picked up significantly. We headed up to Jordan Pond, the parking lots there were all full as well. I hadn’t seen Acadia this packed ever. Not sure if gas prices being lower got everyone out on the go again.

Kerry, Kathy and Marty took another bike ride along the Jordan Pond trails. Craig and I napped in the car.

The sun was really shining and we all commented on this is how summer should be. Not this rainy dreary constant gray we’ve been having.

We headed back to Bar Harbor to drop off Kerry’s bike rental and then grab a light dinner. We went to the Cottage Street Bakery and had delicious lobster raviolis. I made a stop at one store trying to get more gifts for people.

A quiet ride back to our place and we all slept very well.

Wednesday the weather finally let up. We all took advantage of the satellite dish getting some coverage and hopped on the internets to catch up on life.

Kerry, Craig and I explored the peninsula we’re staying on via bike. The mosquitos kept us moving briskly. If I went too slow on hills, they’d be right there ready to eat me. The temp had gone up a bit too and the air was very humid.

After freshening up we headed down to Ellsworth for some shopping. Cadillac Mountain sports again, to get new tires for my bike and some clothes for Kerry. We also stopped at Shirley’s Yarn and Things where I picked up some gifts for friends.

It was fun driving around just the three of us, we hadn’t done that since probably around 1997.

Today was our 9th anniversary. Looking forward to many, many more years.

Tuesday was spent indoors dodging the rain. It torrentially poured many times during the day. We tried to use the internet, but due to the heavy low clouds the satellite wasn’t getting through.

I read, I knitted, I napped.

I woke up pretty early this morning. Craig and I chatted for a while, I did some work on the computer, and then went back to sleep at 7:30. Then I didn’t wake up again until 10am.

Marty made everyone waffles and we debated on what to do with the day. I was still under the impression all I needed was my bike levers and I’d be able to fix my bike tire issue. We headed down to Ellsworth and Cadillac Mountain Sports to pick up bike tools. I ended up getting a few other goodies for my bike while in there.

Afterwards we picked up 5 lobsters for dinner and a few other errand items. On our way back home we stopped at the Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park. It’s a beautiful loop road that runs around the peninsula. Surprising to me was that my inlaws had never been here and Craig and I had been twice. The weather was still iffy, but we decided to explore.

The rain held off long enough for us to get out of the car at several spots and snap photos. I had forgotten how beautiful it is, even on an overcast day. We headed back to our home for the week and prepared to cook up lobster.

Dinner was hard shell lobsters, potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and for desert, more no pudge brownies and ice cream. We ate very well tonight.

The big downer for my night was that I went to take the tire off my bike, but had to clean it first. When I cleaned it, I saw the burst and rip through the sidewall of the tire. This sucks because I now have to make another stop at the bike shop and buy a whole new tire. In the meantime I’ll be riding Craig’s bike around.

The weather this past June has been like living in Seattle. Ironically I just finished all four of the Twilight novels and Forks, WA weather sounded a bit cozy with all the gray days. Having now lived a month of primarily rainy days, I don’t think I could do it.

We took it easy Sunday and had breakfast together. Then headed out to see where some friends of my inlaws live, on the next peninsula over. Next stop was the grocery store to stock up on food and wine. We picked up 5 bottles of wine.

Lunch was at Joshy’s Place, which is a local favorite. It’s a road side stand that makes lobster and clam rolls and just about anything else you can grill up. We had to eat intermittently with the sprinkles of rain.

Afternoon naps were in order. I read, Craig slept, Marty read, Kerry and Kathy worked out. Later we played a game of Scrabble. I almost won, but Kathy made a big come back and kicked all our butts with a triple word score.

In the evening we had a BBQ and then cranked the tunes. My inlaws recently downloaded ABBA’s Gold album, and Kathy just started dancing. Kerry was dancing with her, and Craig and I kept the tunes coming. We had Prince, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Bee Gees and more going. There were some memorable photos.

Saturday morning we opted to sleep in a bit, rather than our usual 4:30-5:00am departure. I was a bit cranky at first, but things got better. We had a few stops to make, the first being Freeport. In Freeport, we met up with my family. The usual stores of L.L.Bean and Cool-As-A-Moose were visited.

Side note: On the way up, I heard this poof sound, but very loud. Craig thought it was in the song, and I was suspicious. At one of the stops to fill up on gas, I noticed the front tire of my bike the rim strip was hanging out. The tube had exploded and took the rim strip with it. So while in Freeport, I also made a visit to National Bike and Ski to get rim strip.

In Freeport, we also ate at Morrison’s Maine Chowder House. I had a delicious lobster roll and cup of seafood chowder. It’s a tiny little place but great food.

Our next stop was to visit my Aunt and Uncle at their camp in the Augusta area. I hadn’t seen them in 2 years, and previously had been at their home in the Virginias. It’s been in their family for years but my parents had never made the trip up there.

I’m so glad we made the stop. We chatted, caught up and enjoyed the beautiful view from their porch. We were reminded of how much we had in common and how much nicer it would be to see each other more often. The time flew by, we had only planned to stop for an hour or so, but 3 hours later we realized we had to get going.

We departed into pouring rain and the last leg of our journey. We’ve rented a different house this year and it is everything we thought it would be and more. The internet is being supplied via satellite and is a bit spotty but the house has so many nooks and crannies and a place for everyone.

Ah… vacation.

Audio visual performance created for the Ars Electronica museum in Linz, Austria. 1085 LED controllable windows, read more about it here.

lights on from thesystemis on Vimeo.

This is my freaking life.