Massachusetts- Minutemen, Caterpillars, and Snap Boogie

We had a wide variety of experiences in Massachusetts. One of our favorite stops was Minutemen National Historical Park. We always watch the videos shown at the National Park visitor centers as it gives you a real feel for the park and what makes it so special. When it's a battlefield or monument, it tells the important story of the people who lived, fought and died here. The Minutemen Park has THE BEST film presentation and live presentation I've ever seen. You know you're in for something special when you enter a theater that looks like this. Usually it's just a white room with chairs and a screen. As the lights grew dim, a man walks into the doorway of the cabin. Only he's not real. He's being projected onto the doorway. 

He begins telling us the story of the Revoutionary War and we easily follow along on the map above as tiny LEDs light the path of the Colonists and the British troops. A video to his left shows a reenactment of some of the action.

After the kids earned their junior ranger badges, we were invited to watch a musket shooting demonstration. We walked thru a house that was originally built in 1775 (though their have been some improvements over time) before gathering on the front lawn. 

A ranger dressed in typical clothing for the period spent the next hour in the midday heat explaining so many aspects of a minuteman's life. England required every male age 16-60 to participate in the military. Most of them, called the militia, would train 4 times a year and be prepared when called for duty. The minutemen were the first responders. These paid positions trained 4 times a week and were required to have their guns with them and ready every minute of every day. His talk ended with a bang as he demonstrated shooting the musket.

Another fun event was a falcon fest put on by Mass Audubon. Not only did we get up close to a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird on earth, but we were introduced to a super cool organization called the Caterpillar Lab. 

The Caterpillar Lab set up a table with tree branches in water. At first glance, that's all you see. But once you look closely, you can find a large, brightly colored caterpillar crawling along the leaves. Look even closer and you'll find smaller, more camouflaged caterpillars. Soon you'll discover five maybe even ten on one single branch!

Journey held a Hickory Horned Devil!

We learned that the Hickory Horned Devil will constrict and shorten it's body then leave behind it's outerbits in preparation for pupation. Here you can see the stages.

This caterpillar uses pine needles to disguise itself!

In downtown Boston we walked around Quincy Market and stood where the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre took place.

We watched as "Snap Boogie", known for his time on NBC's America's Got Talent, danced, popped, and then jumped over a group of people. He is very funny and super entertaining! If you ever have the chance to watch him perform live, do it! You can watch him online at www.beautyinthestreets.com.

We walked thru the New England Holocaust Memorial, which consists of six illuminated glass and granite towers, representing the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, as well as the six main death camps. Smoke rises from the ground as an eerie reminder of many who spent their last moments in gas chambers.

"Remember" is engraved in both English and Hebrew on the sidewalk.

Seven digit numbers are etched in the glass walls of the memorial, numbers that would have been tattooed on the arms of the Jews that were killed.

We walked around Arnold Arboretum and found a buckeye tree! 

We spent time with Daddy's friend who lives in the outskirts of Boston. We helped them collect eggs from their chickens before walking downtown for dinner. Afterwards there was a festival going on and we were treated with a tremendous fireworks display in the river right in front of us. We've never been so close to fireworks before!
Of course we chose to spend a couple hours at the Boston Children's Museum. Asher and Journey loved it.

This fun green screen put them right into an episode of a cartoon.

Five days in Boston was not enough, but it was time to move on.

Acadia National Park {Maine}

For years we've looked forward to experiencing Acadia National Park. It's larger than I expected, and quite spread out. You definitely need to plan out your activities as it can take an hour or longer to drive between different sections of the park. This map shows the park boundaries in green.

Early one morning I set out to join a birdwalk in a different section of the park. The fog was just beginning to lift and some of the scenery was breathtaking. I had to stop multiple times for photos.

Climbing Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the Eastern Coast was the highlight of our time in the park. We hiked the North trail, a 4.5 mile fairly steep climb over rocks, boulders and granite slabs. The views begin rewarding us just 10 minutes into the hike.

Cairns aren't allowed in the park. They are considered graffiti. This sign is warning visitors.

 I could tell some of the people coming off the mountain were concerned about our kids traveling this tough hike, but they don't know what our kids are capable of. Journey decided to lead the hike. It was difficult to keep up with her as she forged ahead.

The trail gets hard to follow on the rocks, so she had to look for small blue indicators to remain on the trail. I was so impressed with her hiking, I told her she was my little mountain goat. Daddy has likened my abilities to a mountain goat before. She was delighted when I said I'm going to call you "Little G" and I'm "Big G" (for goat). She got a real kick out of our nicknames. After a while the guys decided they needed nicknames as well and chose, "Big R" and "Little R". It became a little confusing at this point (and later at bedtime- "Goodnight Big G, Goodnight little R, Goodnight Big R").

Finally at the top, and the cloud cover was completely obscuring the view. Oh well. It was still an amazing hike.

The next morning brought all day heavy fog with misting. After spending time in the Sieur de Monte nature center, we walked the nearby trails before heading into Bar Harbor for lunch.

Bar Harbor is a fun area with shops and restaurants lining the streets. The street ends right before the water, which gives an odd view when a ship comes into the harbor.

Lunch at The Travelin' Lobster. The kids sat at the bar and watched them boil our food right in front of us. It was delicious!

I must say this park is a difficult one to navigate. First of all, the major road thru the park, Park Loop Rd is mostly one way, cell signals were not available thru much of the park. Signage and the map from the visitor center are poor for navigation. I would definitely recommend downloading maps before arriving.

In the campground I spotted a couple Golden-winged warblers, rare for the area, and such a gorgeous, amazing sight. A short trail from our campsite took us took this fantastic overlook spot.

One day we drove out to the MDI section of the park to hike the Wonderland Trail to the shore to explore the tide pools. We found live fiddler crabs, whelks and a mussel, and quite a few very large dead crabs and mussels along with some lobster claws. It was interesting, but we were also hoping for a sea star.

A visit to Sand Beach.