I forgot to mention our parenting milestone: we allowed Che to pick out his own sneakers even though they were hideous and uber-commercial (blinking lights, huge pictures of Toy Story characters, etc., etc.). We went to the store and I picked out some lovely neutral sneakers that would match anything, including Che's dapper hat that he picked out. Che, however, spotted some Toy Story awful white shoes that light up when he walks. I pleaded, I begged, I cajoled, and coaxed, and I failed to persuade him to choose the brown and tan sneakers. He walked out of the store very happy to have light-up-when-he-walks Toy Story sneakers. I then used my parenting wiles and decided to turn this into a win for me. I explained that the shoes only light up when he walks and therefore he must walk on all of our hikes so that they light up and show us the right way to go. It worked!! He is hiking like a pro this trip and even went on TWO hikes today and made it to the very end of last one before he had to be picked up for a bit.
Today, after enjoying an amazing breakfast at our B and B of baked bananas with oatmeal topping, a delicious vegetable frittata (Cesar loved it, surprisingly), and a cinnamon puff, we headed to Camden Hills State Park and took a hike around Mount Battie. From the top of Mt. Battie we could see all of Camden and islands out in Penobscot Bay. We could see our inn and the boats heading in and out of the harbor. It was an absolutely beautiful view. Because there was so much sun, and I stink at taking pictures, the pictures do not do it justice. It truly was a breathtaking view. Che then wanted to go climb the steep and winding stairs up the "castle" and of course I threw up in my mouth like five times as he raced up the stairs with hardly a rail at all and then clambered up to the top of the castle and began to climb up the short stone wall protecting him from sudden death if he were to fall, with of course his shoes lighting the way! He then decided he wanted to be the leader and explore some of the trails. We had to race to keep up with him as he went running, climbing, and skidding down rocks. We found some wild blueberries (at least I hope that's what they were) and helped ourselves and enjoyed the views. The rocks with the pine trees and ocean in the background made the spot spectacular.
After that hike went so well, we decided to try another one at Beach Nut Hill Nature Preserve. It is a hike around blueberry bushes up on a hill overlooking the water with an interesting stone cottage at the top with a sod roof. There were wild flowers all over the hill and, similar to the last hike, the view was magnificent. The stone house was very cool too--literally--the stones were very cool to the touch even though it was quite warm out today and the sun was blazing. The kids ran around the house until we had to force them to leave to go get some lunch.
Tonight there are fireworks in the harbor, so we will be there to see how Maine does Independence Day! Then tomorrow we are heading out early to go hike in Acadia National Park.
(FYI: If you click on the pictures you can see them enlarged.)
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