Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Our trip to Maine this year was a whirlwind week of activity and fun. The weather was really very nice: seventies and up to the low 80's on one day, which made both hiking and water play comfortable. After last year's constant drizzle and high's in the low 60's, it was quite welcome.

This was Emery's first trip by plane and she did great. Alastair, by this point, is a seasoned pro and he was quite proud to carry his own backpack with his entertainment through the airport. The trip out was tough: we left the house by 4 am and arrived at our cabin around 9:30pm, but the kids did great. The trip back was easier with the four hour drive on the front end, but our homecoming was a disappointment, as the air conditioner was on the fritz (house at 93 degrees!) and both freezers in our garage had lost power and thawed.

My brother was at camp at the same time for the first time in many years and it was really cool to hang out. Alastair adores his uncle and as it turns out, Emery was a big fan too.

One day when the weather wasn't great we went down country to shop in North Conway, NH. The drive is beautiful and the tax free outlet shopping is too. On the way back, we visited the train museum in Gorham. The museum is a tiny old train station and a long line of trains that you can climb up and explore.

We took the opportunity to take some pictures, and although Alastair was feeling spectacularly uninterested in the effort, I got a few decent ones anyway.

My next trick was telling Alastair that I wanted a picture of Emery by herself later in the week. I hope this approach will work for awhile because he seemed happy just to be included. Child psychology!

Rangeley Lake.

Rather that include 75 activity pictures in the body of this post, I am attaching a slide show with all the daily details of our trip. It was a really nice break and is tough being back in Houston with a full year between us and our next Maine trip.