Hello Everyone! Hubby and I are back from our vacation. We are rested, rejuvenated, and I am excited to get back to quilting. I’m sure Freddy missed me while I was gone and I bet he’s ready to get back to work too. 🙂
I took my computer with me but never took it out of the case or turned it on. Mike asked me about it a couple of times (even he thought it was odd), but I really felt the need to unplug for a while. I think I only posted 2 pics on Instagram, and I don’t remember even checking in on Facebook. It felt so good to take a break.
Today I’m going to share some pictures I took on our trip and I’ll warn you now – only two of them are quilting related. I guess that’s what happens when a person takes a break.
We traveled to Maine and stayed in a small, like really tiny, town on the coast called Winter Harbor. It is about an hour by car or ferry from Bar Harbor which is much more populated and a tourist attraction. We rented a house close to the water and we loved staying in such a quiet, slow-paced town.
The scenery along the coast is absolutely stunning. Words really can’t describe the beauty that greets your eyes everywhere you look.
We spent a lot of time hiking around Acadia National Park. One of the highlights was going up Cadillac Mountain and seeing the harbor and the town of Bar Harbor from such a high point. Breathtaking!
Standing on Cadillac Mountain with a view of the four porcupine islands and the town of Bar Harbor
One thing we found fascinating was how low tide/high tide changed the landscape of the harbor. We were told that Frenchman Bay (the bay where both Bar Harbor and Winter Harbor are located) has one of the biggest changing tides along the coast. There is a sandbar that runs from Bar Harbor to Bar Island. At high tide there is anywhere from 10 to 15 feet of water over it. At low tide, the water is so low that people can drive a car on the sandbar or bike or walk. We walked across it one day, and it was so fun to see all the little kids with their nets playing in the tide pools. We were repeatedly warned to pay attention to the tide so we wouldn’t get stuck on Bar Island. If you got stuck, there would be a nine hour wait before the bar would be passable again. Or, a water taxi would come rescue you for $150. We made sure we were back in town before that tide came up!
The sandbar between Bar Harbor and Bar Island. I was amazed at how dry it was – the water just seemed to disappear! In a couple of hours this will all be under water again.
I only visited two quilt shops while we were away. Shocking, right? I even surprised myself… The first shop we stopped in was right in Bar Harbor. It’s a cute little shop called Fabricate. I picked up their Row by Row kit which depicts the landscape of Maine.
The second shop we visited was Sewing by the Sea. This shop is jam packed full, and I could have spent all day poking around in all the nooks and crannies. I was really good – I only bought 3 yards of fabric and a panel, but I could’ve bought so much more.
The highlight of our trip was the whale watching tour we went on. Absolutely worth every penny and every minute! We saw so many whales! I was flabbergasted – I totally didn’t expect to see all that we did. We were blessed to see two humpbacks soar out of the water, side by side, and make a huge splash when they landed. Not 50 yards from our boat! At first I was trying to get everything on video, but then I put down my camera. I decided it would be a better experience for me to actually see these magnificent creatures instead of trying to watch them through the lens of a camera. I’m so happy I did that – it made the trip so much better for me.
Here is one of the few shots I did take:
So that’s enough about this amazing trip, and it’s my crush for this week’s Main Crush Monday. Now it’s your turn and I’d love to see what all of you are working on. I’ve got some catching up to do, and am excited to read about your projects. You can link up any blog post, Instagram or Flickr pic – here’s how:
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Looks like an amazing experience. Glad you had a great time.
I could have used the same title for my blog update. 🙂 I’m glad you had such a marvelous vacation and watched the whales in real life. Maine looks amazing!
So glad that you got to unplug and decompress. You are so right. Sometimes we are so focussed on taking pictures that we forget to enjoy the beauty in the moment. I can totally relate to not even turning the computer on 🙂
What a beautiful way to unplugged! I unplugged several times this summer but sadly didn’t have the scenery you had. Maine looks beautiful and hopefully one day will have a chance to visit. Welcome back to Blogland!
Maine is just stunning, isn’t it. I am so glad you enjoyed it and unplugged. I don’t as we come here regularly, but island time does feel different and there are many fewer obligations here than in Portland. My former co-worker and good friend shops and loves Sewing by the Sea. There is a small store near Portland related to it, but I have yet to make my way there. Congrats on a great vaca!
Thanks for sharing your holiday. 🙂 It sounds and looks lovely and I’m glad that you are properly rested.
Glad you had such a good vacation and ‘went dark’ too. It can be so reenergizing. L’Acadie as we refer to it in Canada, is on my bucket list, the Canadian part of it. So cool that you were in the park where Kitty photographed the quits for the QP which I read about on Aurifil’s blog! Gorgeous photos, thank you!
Welcome back! What a wonderful trip you had! The whale watching sounds totally amazing. I’m impressed that you didn’t even turn on your computer. But I’m excited to see what things you cook up next!
What a lovely trip you took! I wish I could have fit in your suitcase and tagged along. It looks so beautiful there!
Thanks for the linky party!
Beautiful trip! Welcome home now;)
So fun to see a little peek of your visit to Maine, and so glad you enjoyed every minute! Cadillac Mountain was one of our favorites too. So cool that you were able to do some whale watching. We had hoped to, but it didn’t work out. Welcome home!
I loved reading this post…I can hear the enjoyment in your words! My kind of break too. Your country is so beautiful!
I’m so glad you had such a great trip, Beth! Acadia is on our bucket list of places to visit and spend time, too. Welcome home. 🙂
Gorgeous photos! It’s always hard coming back to ‘real life’ after a vacation, isn’t it?! There is nothing like disconnecting from every day life…it’s almost a relief not to have a computer or a phone in our face every spare moment! Welcome back!
I loved hearing about your trip and the info about the sand bar. Someday we’ll explore that area. Glad to hear it provided the rest you needed!
Hi Beth,
I experienced many of the same things, jammed packed into one day. Cadillac Mountain and Acadia National Park are just beautiful beyond words, but I missed the sand bar. That sounds really cool! Winter Harbor and your place and the water sounds just heavenly, and I can hear in your words how relaxing and enjoyable it was. {{Hugs}} I think it was JUST what you needed. ~smile~ Roseanne
Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. We can all use some unplugging time, it really does give us the break we need but sometimes don’t really realize we need it.
Sounds like a great relaxing trip Beth and a good idea to stay off the social media.
we are leaving on our trip later this morning and I want to try to almost unplug from the world. I know I won’t but the intention right now is to only blog 2 or 3 times a week instead of every day, I wonder if I can do it. You have wonderful photos and although I intend to not blog often I will still try to read blogs for my enjoyment when I have a connection
Arcadia National park is beautiful, as is Maine. We did a similar trip in 2015 and enjoyed every minute of it. Like you, we stayed in one of the smaller fishing communities, it was so nice. Hope you’ve had a chance to unpack and get settled back in your sewing room.
Welcome back! These are wonderful photos, Beth! Sounds amazing. I am not surprised you didn’t want to use your computer. So glad you had a great time.
-Soma