How quickly 7 days rushes by! We are definitely sorry to see the end of this week.
The aim was to spend our first leg relatively isolated without any ‘must do’ attractions, so that we could collectively de-stress from the city. And we succeeded.
We have spent valuable time reconnecting with each other, ditching the electronics (well not entirely, but at least for the most part) and just spending quality time in general. We spent every day in the lake; either swimming, fishing, canoeing or just hanging out. Amelie partly overcame her fear of swimming with lake fish, Ana rediscovered fishing and a certain lack of squeamishness for baiting the hook with worms. Both basically insisted on sleeping in the tent every night by themselves which is impressive given how remote we are, the complete lack of light, and the many critters they know surround around us.
We chartered a gracefully ageing DeHavilland DHC-2 seaplane to fly over Moosehead Lake – a first for everyone. Such a beautiful way to travel and a great (and historic) way to appreciate the vastness of the North Woods of Maine; made up of 3.5 million acres of forestland and dotted with many of the 3400 lakes across the State. We searched vainly for Moose, but to no avail. Whilst there are apparently 3 Moose for every person here, they remained incognito for us, despite a uncivilized early start to try and spot some! Unperturbed, our girls have coined a new plural for these iconic animals – “Meese”.
After some Daddy encouragement (more or less threats), we also hiked to the summit of Borehead Mountain which was a real challenge – 4 miles of tough climb up to 1947 feet, a sudden thunderstorm and some hair-raising clambering at the summit. But spectacular views! The girls were amazing especially given the difficulty level, and were on both an adrenaline and achievement high. After a particularly nerve-wracking section, the iPad generation’s metaphor:
Amelie: It’s so intense
Ana: Yeah, it’s just like you’re playing a video game!
We are now off to Vermont, a quick stopover in northern New York State’s Finger Lakes, then a few days in Ohio en-route to the Midwest!
Tottlers On The Road 