2001 Acadia, Maine, and New Brunswick

The highlight of our year, once again, was our trip to visit Tim’s Dad and Toni who found a fun camping destination for the summer. This year we headed in the opposite direction that we are accustomed to -- East. In our holiday photo you see us taking in the beautiful blue Atlantic surf as it hits the rocky shoreline in Acadia National Park, Maine. We did some biking, hiking, ate lobster and sang with Elvis!! Yes, even Tim, Dick, & Erik got up on stage to sing “All Shook Up”. But Toni was the real lucky one…she got Elvis’ scarf. We could smell his cologne for the rest of the trip!

Next we headed north to tour Canada’s Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Nova Scotia. In the Province of New Brunswick we witnessed the major tides in the Bay of Fundy National Park. We enjoyed running on the sandy beaches at PEI National Park. At Cape Breton National Park, Nova Scotia we went on the most spectacular whale-watching cruise ever. We were in a small Zodiac boat traveling in the midst of a pod of 40 – 50 pilot whales. At first we were a little apprehensive, but it was so spectacular to see these whales and their babies gracefully traveling about 1.5 miles off shore…and within 3-5 feet of our boat. Tim and Erik even claim one of the whales brushed up along side of the boat. This was an experience we will remember for a long time. The wildlife on this trip did not compare to last years’ trip to Alaska, but this whale experience was pretty cool. We did see a few large bald eagles along the shoreline, a large bull moose on a nature trail, some starfish, and other interesting birds that dove down into the water like torpedoes. The Acadian history of Scottish and French settlers and the lighthouses and towns by the sea also made the trip very interesting.

The highlights of the trip for the boys were: throwing rocks in water any chance they could get, looking at the live starfish, the whales, and the boys great photo shoot of their racecars and whale figurines displayed on the many picnic tables and in the van. Mom had very different plans for the disposable cameras that she gave to the boys for the trip!

The time we spent in the van from Appleton to Maine and back was far from a highlight. We did take a short stop at Niagara Falls on the way, and to the Sault St. Marie Locks on the way back, but 4300 miles traveling in the van for a week and a half can be very trying with a 4 and 6 year-old.