Maine

The whirlwind continues!

So every year the Murphys have a family reunion in Wells Beach, ME.  However, as all of the cousins have gotten older and jobs have changed etc, beach week has changed too.  And we definitely own our part in that; we missed the whole time when we were traveling cross country.  Unfortunately, with another big trip coming up we just couldn't swing a week in Maine too.  This is a bummer because we not only miss fun Murphy time, we miss traveling with the kids' friends who have been coming with us some summers.  So we tried to combine the best of both worlds - a day with the Murphys on Wells Beach, and a couple days in the Portland area with friends.

Since John is the resident photographer, the only picture I have from beach day is this one taken of the kids and their friends after some serious time boogie boarding.  For ocean water the temp was lovely, and we had a warm-but-not-too-hot sunny day to enjoy it. 

It was really a bummer that we didn't have more time together, and I would definitely plan it differently next time.

We did have a good time in Portland, though.  Our first night there we had Otto Pizza, which is definitely worth going out of your way for.  And, since it is vacation, we had to get ice cream.

Ice cream selfie at Beales!

 Our plan for the next day was to go to Peak's Island.  However, the weather Was Not cooperating.  At all.  So we head up to Grey and checked out the Maine Wildlife Park. 

I SAW A MOOSE.

My new best friend

 Ok yes, it wasn't out in the wild.  But I have literally traveled across this country AND into Canada and have never seen a moose.  FINALLY MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE.

He is currently happily residing in our backyard.

Actually, I saw TWO moose.  Here is my lady moose.

 Just kidding.  The children would not let me kidnap the moose.  And so reluctantly I left my new friends and we saw a whole bunch of other animals too.  Although the pre-teen girls wouldn't admit it even if tortured, we all had a pretty good time and saw some pretty cool animals.

Bear

Albino raccoon

Child humoring me

Another child humoring me

 The afternoon continued with freezing rain, so we knew when we were beat and we went to the movies.  Wonder Woman was even better the second time.  A good dinner at the Great Lost Bear was just what the exhausted children needed to push through til bedtime.

It was a selfie-ful weekend.

The next morning we packed up and head to Palace Playland at Old Orchard Beach.  By the time it opened the sky was clearing, and by the end of our time there it was warm and sunny and beautiful. 

Getting ready to go have some fun

View from the ferris wheel at the end of the day

  The kids had a good time going on many rides, a number of which they hadn't been on before. 

Matterhorn

Riptide (duh)

Trying his hand at the bumper cars

About to swing

Oh, this doesn't look so bad.

AHHHHHHH

My partner on the Ferris Wheel

Neither of them is crazy about heights, clearly

 Best part - no one threw up after a lunch of fried food and followed by lots of spinning.

Chicken fingers, fried clams, fried pickles, fried dough, french fries...you get the picture

 We head home and hit virtually no traffic; a true miracle.  We were home for dinner with Pete, who we had missed a bunch.

A few days at home finishing up some stuff on the bathroom remodel, hiring a morning babysitter for the school year, and packing up for our next trip!  That one is finally feeling real and we're getting super excited.  We're so looking forward to seeing friends we haven't seen in far too long, exploring cities that the kids have never seen, and generally having a good time being together.  Political shenanigans (to keep things family friendly) have really been getting me down and it's hard not to feel hopeless.  I certainly don't have the antidote.  However, we've been finding joy in a lot of places too.  Hope the same for you.