was the view worth it?

This morning we somehow got all the schoolwork completed in record time so we headed down the coast for lunch and a drive up the Mount Battie Auto Road outside of Camden. By the time we pulled into the driveway at 4:30 I was convinced that perhaps we should have just stayed at home and saved myself the aggravation of taking 6 children anywhere in public.

After swinging through the McDonald's and Wasses Hot Dog drivethrus we pulled over in the shade of the parking lot to eat our lunch and piled everyone back in the car. However, I had parked right next to a pile of dog poop and Charlie had managed to step in it and get it smeared on the van floor. I almost lost my lunch right there, but managed to get cleaned up enough to get to the public bathrooms at the boat ramp in town by using every baby wipe I owned. With the windows all down we headed back down Route 1 and pulled off at Camden Hills State Park.





The view from the top was fantastic, tiny white sailboats darting between islands blanketed in pines and spruces with Blue Hill and Mount Desert rising beyond, all topped with puffy clouds floating in a bright blue sky. I took photo after photo of the kids in hope that one would turn out well enough to suffice for our Christmas cards. With no bathroom I sent several of the children into the scrub, but Timmy managed to soak his pants and car seat cover before we made it down to the bottom gate.

After reading Maine Mountain Guide earlier this summer I knew that there was a pretty nature preserve not far away on Fernald's Neck and Will navigated well enough to get us to the tiny parking area. The kids raced ahead and we found Hanging Rock, a huge boulder that was tipped up by the glaciers of long ago. It looks like it could fall over with just a tiny push, but try as Mary could, she could budge the thing.
Of course the kids were goofing around at the water's edge and Maggie got muddy and as she was reaching for the water to rinse off she slipped and kerplash! she was wet up to her waist.

For the third time of the day I was grateful for my emergency stash (housed in an old LEGO bin) of clothes and supplies I keep under one of the seats in the van. As for my poor van, it got stripped of all the nasty clothes and car seat and I scrubbed the carpet with soap and a scrub brush. Between the stale mouse odor and the particularly nasty scent of doggie doo, I'm thinking a trip to the car detailer would be a smart idea.