A Little Spring in our Steps

 A quick getaway weekend to Maine with the kids.  Time to connect...

...slow down and just enjoy time together. 

A walk around Mackworth Island State Park just a short walk from our house in Falmouth. 

Took the ferry from Portland to Peak's Island.  Had some fun tooling around on golf carts and exploring Battery Steele.  

Remembering times we would go "crabbing" off the Footbridge in Ogunquit. 

I love it when the kids remember these times from their childhood.  It's not always about the

big stuff - sometimes it's those little things....  

Slowing our pace during a walk out to Little John Island's beach 

A beautiful spot to explore and connect and reminds us... 

            ...to always keep a little spring in your step!

enjoy,

k

Exploring the Outer Banks ...from tip to tale

A visit to the Outer Banks gave us much to explore...

First landed in Kill Devil Hills for some time to relax and enjoy the warmth and energy from the ocean.  

Slowing our pace down to go exploring as we made our way south to Pea Island in Salvo.

 The Wright Brothers Museum was awe inspiring - showing us where we started in flight exploration!

A push and on your way...

Taking the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke

After an hours journey Jim was at the ready...

Lighthouses dotted our route along Highway 12.  Bodie Island Lighthouse in Nags Head has been helping to guide boats since 1848.  

Sunset and cocktails in Hatteras on a beautiful evening.  

Corolla Park holds on to the history from their elite hunting club dating back to the 1920's.  

You can just imagine some of the tales that have been shared over the years.... 

enjoy,

k

Lovin' the vibe....

 A recent getaway to the Cape during their "quieter" season.  Jim and I haven't ventured to Cape Cod for many years - too many crowds have kept it off our radar.  But, I must say after Labor Day it becomes quite a pleasant environ to go exploring. 

We planned on utilizing the Cape Cod Rail Trail for our adventures and we were impressed by the ease of getting around and "popping" off the trail to go exploring  

One tip we received from our Airbnb host was to go visit the "little French pastry shop" in Wellfleet.  I did a quick "google" search when we reached the end of the rail trail to find it was a few hundred yards up the road.  Not something we would have found without our hosts' friendly nudge.  If my backpack wasn't so small and the weather had been cooler I would have bought many more delights - so in hind sight probably a good thing circumstances were as they were!  

Just enough room in my pack for our baguette to add to our picnic lunch for later 

then back to our bikes and on our way.  

Of course, we sat and enjoyed a croissant with other visitors before going on our way. 

So many "cut-offs" from the trail would bring us out to fun locales that filled our day. 

 

This spot beckoned us to return for sunset and we were not disappointed.  

This stop was another tip from our host. 

Catching the seals feeding as the fisherman 

came back into Chatham.

We arrived a bit late and the seals were napping

but that moonrise...

Spectacular!

The next part of our adventuring was a trip out to Nantucket Island.  The ferry out of Hyannis was an easy transition to Nantucket greeting us with all the charm that this small island possesses.   

I loved the vibe of the island.  Again, we ventured after Labor Day crowds had dispersed.  

Once again we were utilizing their bike trails on the island for our mode of transportation.  Slightly less detailed as on Cape Cod - but delightful just the same.  

A quick pit stop at Bartlett's Farm for some picnic provisions and back in the saddle to see the sights.  

The beaches ~  sparsely populated... the waters still warm

...and the surf up with the combo of storms off shore and a full moon.

Seals were popping their heads up at every beach we visited

Seals = Sharks ?

Must admit always in my mind 

keeps me in closer to shore!

Tuna 

....it's what's for dinner! 

Strolling through downtown 

...venturing through the little blocks of streets

marveling at the stones

throughout downtown.

Our Airbnb was once again a perfect choice for us,

just outside of town with our lovely host 

who has been living on Nantucket for 37 years.

She mentioned she would have coffee for us in the 

morning as she would be off for work early.

...much to our surprise we had a beautiful breakfast laid out for us 

before we headed out for the day.

Kindness and appreciation 

The island is small and easily navigated by using the bike trail and side streets.  

We had fun exploring and taking in the warm, sea breeze.

If you're thinking of visiting and get put-off by the crowds.  

Do go past Labor Day 

as we were

you will be pleasantly

surprised and taken... 

with Nantucket's charm

enjoy,

k

Summertime Adventuring ~ Maine

Once again summertime adventuring brought us along Mid Maine coast.  

 The more we explore the coast of Maine - the more we love what we find! 

Our first trip was a visit to Cousins Island and Chebeague Island - just off from Yarmouth.  

Staying on Cousins Island was a treat.  A small island over the bridge from Yarmouth only a hop and a skip north of Portland.  This low-key island that was great for exploring on our bicycles.  Yes, we've gotten to "that" age where we'll eat dinner fairly early - but after dinner we'll hop on our bicycles and head out to watch the sunset from one of the vantage points along the island shoreline.   This particular spot had a few to choose from!

Up and at 'em the next morning we hopped on the ferry over to Chebeague Island.  A quick 15 minute ferry ride - without having to deal with the cluster that is Portland.  Don't get me wrong I enjoy Portland - but I also enjoy getting away from all the hustle and bustle that the summer tourists bring.   

Chebeague Island was an absolute treat!  About 6 or so miles long with a North Road and a South Road.  I had brought a map with us but none of the streets were marked.  As we biked down North road we'd stop to look at our map - had we gone by three or four streets?  Don't really remember - okay let's go down this street and see what we find.  So many of those "side streets" would bring us to a beautiful little beach with no one in sight.  We came to this particular spot at low tide.  You could walk from Chebeague Island to Little Chebeague.  Keep in mind you don't linger too long or you'll end up waiting many hours for the next tide to get back! 

Pretty much everywhere we rode opened up to a lovely spot along the shore.  Each time we stopped along N/S Road a passerby would wave and ask if we needed help with directions.  Just made us love this place even more.  

Back on Cousins Island our ride towards sunset brought us to Little John Beach Preserve.  What a lovely network of trails and rocky beaches - with a killer view towards Harpswell as the sun began to set.

A little further down the road was Sandy Point beach.  Great spot for an early evening swim before biking back to our house.  

Our next outing was a stay on Bailey Island ~ a stone's throw from lands end.  A lovely 1940's oceanfront cottage to celebrate August birthdays with family.  Bailey Island is a small island accessed from Brunswick and Harpswell.  Driving through the quaint town of Brunswick ~ we traveled over a couple of bridges taking us through Orr's Island and then on to Bailey Island.  

The sunrise from our cottage was a lovely way to great each day.  

Even Jordon had fun exploring, taking her first "taste" of the ocean.  By the time we finished off the evening by the campfire this little gal was snoring!  

The cribstone bridge built in the 1920's was a sight to see and explore from our kayaks.  A slower pace that gave us time to breath in the salt air and enjoy the great outdoors together! 

enjoy,

k