Around Quebec City--St. Anne de Beaupre and I'lle d'Orleans

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre

While the carful of kids are living large at Grandma's house, we are spending a long weekend in quaint Quebec City. After a great walking tour of the old Quebec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and dinner at an authentic sugar shack, we head outside of Quebec to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre.

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre anchors this village 20 minutes east of Quebec City on the St. Lawrence River in the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains.  This basilica is known as a shrine for miracles with over half a million visitors each year.

The basilica ceiling

The basilica's history started in 1658 when a farmer donated two acres for a chapel; when a worker was cured of his ailment, the legend began. On the inside of the basilica, there are crutches and walkers attached the pillars as a testament of its healing powers.

We take a thorough tour of the basilica, completed in 1946 after stops in construction for the Depression and WW2. The interior of the basilica is incredibly light, not the usual dark, somber interior that most of the cathedrals have across Europe.

The tour continues downstairs to the Immaculate Conception Chapel where the walls are decorated with delightful little mosaics of flowers and animals. This is a popular shrine and the chapel is full of candles lit by the faithful.


We have a few minutes to explore and I take the opportunity to visit the bookstore and get some holy water that is blessed on site by a priest. I would like to sprinkle some on my boys before important school days.

We continue our tour and head over to the Ile d'Orleans by crossing the Pont de l'Ille d'Orleans over the St. Lawrence River; built in 1935, it's the last suspension bridge across the river headed north. Ile d'Orleans is a great day trip destination outside of Quebec City for adults with vineyards and tasting rooms, it's a foodie paradise.

Our first stop is the Vignoble Ste-Patronille, a vineyard and winery overlooking the Montmorency Falls (located at 1A Chemin du Bout de I'lle, open daily May through October). They offer tours and a tasting room along with a food truck with an attached terrace, it's a spectacular location to enjoy the day.

Our next stop, le Delices de l'Ille d'Orleans is another jewel with its private tasting room and owner guided tour--they have been making jams, jellies, mustards, vinegar and syrups since 1998 (Located at 1735 Chemin Royal). After our tasting, we load up on some items that you don't see back in the States, like carrot confit and terrines.

After sampling for the last couple of hours, we need to walk it off so we head over to the Montmorency Falls for a tour. You have to pay for parking and there are a couple of options for getting to the top of the falls. We choose a round-trip cable car ticket to get to the suspension bridge and restaurant but you can take the stairs.


After exiting the cable car, we walk across the bridge to experience the power of the falls that are almost 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls. This is another popular spot with tourists but should not be missed (located at 2490 Ave Royale, open 8:30 to 7:30 during the summer months).

After our hike around the falls we are hungry again, the Manoir Montmorency offers lunch in their dining room from 11:30 to 3. They feature an upscale menu in their traditional dining rooms but there are more casual options outside.

It has been a great day exploring the area around Quebec City but we need to head back to our hotel, Chateau Frontenac, for dinner. We are foodies remember. Before we fly back to Texas, we need to pick up some souvenirs for the carful of kids.

Though this our first trip to Quebec City, I hope it is not our last. It's a great destination for those who love Europe but don't have the time for a transatlantic crossing.

Quebec City has all the history, culture and great food of France without the blow-smoke-in-your-face attitude. The French-Canadians love to share their jewel of a city to Americans and this is a great destination for a couple's weekend away or introducing your own carful of kids to international travel.

Walking Old Quebec City

While the carful of kids are staying with their grandparents, we are exploring Old Quebec City in Canada. In the province of Quebec, this namesake city is the best example of a fortified walled European city in North America, earning it a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

We wake up and enjoy breakfast at our hotel, Chateau Frontenac, before meeting a local tour guide for a walking tour of Old Quebec. We walk down the Dufferin Terrace to Parc des Gouverners with the Wolfe-Montcalm Monument.

As we continue to stroll the streets of Old Quebec, we pass the Maison Jacquet, the oldest house in Quebec from 1677. Passing the Place d'Armes, we walk down Rue du Tresor, artists alley, on our way to Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral and Seminary.

We pass City Hall, the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the first Anglican cathedral built outside of Britain in 1804, and Ursuline Chapel. Then our tour guide stops to show us the cannonball stuck in the tree.

We continue on to the Ramparts of Quebec, the fortified wall that surrounds part of Old Quebec. We pass through the St. Louis Gate, a National Historic site of Canada, and the old horse troughs used for water.

The Hotel Du Parliament, home to the provincial assembly, is next on the walking tour then we proceed down the Grand Allee. Along the way, we have to stop for a quick sample of the signature dish of Quebec--Poutine, French Fries with a brown gravy and cheese curds on top.

We walk down the L'Escalier du Casse Cou or Breakneck Stairs to continue our tour in Lower Town Quebec. At the bottom of the stairs is Rue du Petit Champlain. It is a pedestrian walkway with quaint shops on both sides--it should not be missed.


On to the Place Royale, the original marketplace of the colony of New France, it is another quaint area not to be missed. We continue to the Maison Lambert Dumont for the trompe l'oeil mural depicting early settlers.

We have to say goodbye to our tour guide and board AML Louis-Jolliet for a lunch time tour. The riverboat departs from the Chouinard Pier and cruises north on the St. Lawrence River while we enjoy a lunch buffet. The tour takes us pass the Montmorency Falls to the Ile d'Orleans Bridge before heading back.

After disembarking from the riverboat, we head back to Rue du Petit Champlain for some shopping. Then we find the lower terminal of the Funiculaire, the cable car linking the lower and upper parts of Quebec, and ride it back to our hotel.

We have to get to our dinner reservations at le Chemin du Roy, a traditional sugar shack, located in a maple forest. We are learning all about maple syrup from the tree to the candy with a traditional Quebecois meal and music to finish off the experience.

If it seems like we eat all the time, we do. My traveling companion and husband is a trained chef.

Up Next: Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre, Ile d'Orleans and the Montmorency Falls

Quebec City--like Europe only closer

Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City

My travel muse has smiled on us and we are headed off on long weekend without the carful of kids. Yes. There is NO car and NO kids--just my husband and myself on a long weekend of great food and sightseeing in picturesque Quebec City, Canada.

The carful of kids are at the most magical of places--it is full of candy, unlimited cartoons and a pair of facilitators that love them in spite of their tantrums and sibling war. It is Grandma and Grandpa's house and I don't need to know what happens there when I'm not there to witness it.

My husband loves to travel as much as I do and we love visiting new places; Quebec City is one of the few places we haven't been to before. We can't wait, it has a reputation for being the most European-like city in North America and we absolutely love Europe.

We leave out of Austin-Bergstrom Airport early and arrive in the afternoon at Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City. The airport is on the smaller size so it does take a bit of time to clear customs but we are on the bus and headed to the old city soon enough.

UNESCO World Heritage Monument

More so than the more modern Montreal, Quebecers also speak French. You will hear a Bonjour, Hello! to say hello and to determine your language of choice. But unlike the French, Quebecers love to share their language so if you are brave and speak just a little bit of French, use it.

We are in for a treat, we are staying at the Chateau Frontenac, a National Historic Site of Canada and one of the most photographed hotels in the world because it's perched on top of the hill in Old Quebec. Opened in 1893, it was built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to lure tourists to travel across Canada; today it is managed by Fairmont Hotels.

Old Quebec is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was founded by the French explorer Samuel Champlain in 1608 after he discovered Port Royal, Acadia, now Nova Scotia. Champlain explored the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes region and governed New France until his death; he is considered the Father of this area.

Champlain established and built the Saint-Louis Fort and  the Ramparts of Quebec starting in 1620. The fortified walls are still intact and also a National Historic Site of Canada.

After we check into our room at the Chateau Frontenac, we head out for a walk around the hotel, Old Quebec is a great walking city. Outside the hotel doors along the Dufferin Terrace is the Saint-Louis Forts and Chateaux National Historic Site (open daily in the summer from 10 to 6, $3.90 CAN/adults, $1.90 CAN/youth).

The tour starts under the boardwalk and you walk through the excavations of the old forts and chateaux that were the official fortifications and residences for the French colony until it was conquered by the British in 1759. This is a quick tour and a great introduction to the history of Old Quebec.

After returning to the boardwalk, we walk by the statue of Champlain and the UNESCO World Heritage Monument on our way to visit the Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral.  We dart down the Artists Alley, or Rue du Tresor, looking for a souvenir.

Notre-Dame 

Holy Door

Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic basilica that has been on this site since 1664 and is the oldest parish outside of Mexico in North America. It has been destroyed by fire twice and in celebration of its 350th year, it installed and opened a Holy Door.

Notre-Dame's Holy Door is the first one outside of Europe but closed in December 2014 and will remain closed until 2025. Notre-Dame is a National Historic Site of Canada and is free and open to the public during daylight hours.

We decide to walk back a different route to the Chateau Frontenac enjoying the centuries old stone buildings along the cobblestone streets covered with  flowerpots dripping with color.

After an amazing dinner at the hotel, we decide to walk along the Dufferin Terrace to look at the lights of the city and share an ice cream cone. A fabulous end to our first day in Quebec City.

Up next: a guided walking tour of Old Quebec

Raising Travelers, not Tourists

 Wild Blueberry Land was closed

The carful of kids drove over 7,000 miles this past summer to get to the eastern edge of North America. Along the way we lost a SUV and nearly all of our electronic devices but we didn't lose our sense of adventure or our will to continue.

Years ago, I vowed to drive my kids through the lower 48 to experience the vastness of our country in a way you can't experience by popping into places. So far the carful of kids have driven to 43 states and four Canadian provinces.

I am a traveler and I have been a traveler for years; I have a packed bag sitting in the corner of our room just waiting for the next trip. Because I value the time I spend with my kids on the road exploring and seeing new things, I spend weeks planning and organizing our trips.

We spend the summer passively learning without any pressure and that is fun--Really. The carful of kids spend less time bickering and complaining when we are on the road and that is music to a mother's ears.

The traveling we do has been great for all my kids but especially for my struggling student. Reading and writing is a constant battle with him but now he's coming into his own with social studies and science because I can relate those subjects to our travels.

This trip was our most ambitious to date and was full of great moments. I especially liked stopping at the Maid of the Mist in Niagara, the Bay of Fundy, Acadia National Park and the Statue of Liberty--those were epic moments for me.

If I had the trip to do over again, I would spend one less day in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, and  visit Halifax, Nova Scotia, instead. I would have entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park from the south entrance and explored that area and not driven the whole park.

Due to the hurricane, our whale watching trip on the tall ship was cancelled, which was disappointing. I wanted to see some puffins in the wild and we really tried to get to Newfoundland Island and Labrador--maybe another trip.

I would have skipped Montreal and visited Quebec City instead, the obvious reason is they stole my car. Besides that, Quebec City has more to offer in the way of history and it's the North American city that feels most like a European city.

So as I wrap up my recap of the carful of kids' travels, I'm looking forward to our next trip. It is in the final stages of planning and I getting that giddy feeling from excitement.

If you are looking for ideas for your own road trips, reach out, I love researching and exploring new places. I encourage all families to travel to places that excite them.

Note on replacing our stolen stuff. Thanks to our insurance and more importantly our replacement insurance, we have replaced all of the stolen items. We have even upgraded the merchandise too. Of course, I think we might have a flag on our policy now.

Until next time, safe travels.

Lady Liberty for Lunch

The carful of kids are in the shadow of the New York City Skyline waiting for the ferry to arrive so we can meet Lady Liberty after spending a day walking the Freedom Trail in Boston. We are finishing up a three-week road trip that took us from Central Texas to Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes and along the eastern seaboard.

We are skipping New York City because we only have one day and it's a stand-alone trip. That and my boys, aged six and ten, are a tad too young to enjoy it. I am definitely not ready to do what it would take to keep my boys from wandering off.

I lived in NYC for two years when I was a flight attendant and I am not comfortable using public transportation to get my carful of kids in and around the city--which is necessary to get the full NY experience. So we will come back another time and explore it for a week, there is so much to see and I can't wait to share it with them.

Though I lived in NYC, I have never visited the Statue of Liberty myself, so I am just as excited as the kids. We are departing from Liberty State Park in New Jersey, because of the convenience. There is ample parking and it is easier to get to from the interstate and the New Jersey Turnpike.

We spent the night in New Haven, Connecticut, after driving in from Boston and used the Tappen Zee Bridge to cross the Hudson River to get to New Jersey. NYC traffic is a bear so the carful of kids skirt the city, driving north to avoid the majority of it. It seems to have worked, we are almost on-time for our 1 p.m. ferry reservation.

The carful of kids are mesmerized by the Manhattan skyline as we wait for the ferry. It is amazing to see for the first time. My 11 year-old daughter looks over to lower Manhattan with a look I know. She is dying to get there; she will love the city when she gets to the city--just like me.

The ferry that departs Liberty State Park in New Jersey stops at Ellis Island first and doesn't stop on the way back from the Statue of Liberty. We don't have time for the Ellis Island tour so we will have to come back another time, it will give us a chance to visit the other national parks of NYC like Governors Island.

Me and my girl on the ferry

The carful of kids fight the bash, brazen New Jersey crowd and jockey our way onto the top level of the ferry. We didn't drive all this way to sit down below without a view. The Statue of Liberty does not disappoint, she is magnificent and the crowd can't get enough pictures of her.

The Statue of Liberty is a national park and therefore the carful of kids will be earning a Junior Ranger Badge. We check in at the Information Center to get our booklets after we arrive on Liberty Island.

I was able to secure tickets to the pedestal when I realized we had time in our itinerary to visit the Statue of Liberty ($18/adults, $9/kids 4 to 12, ferry included). Visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is an all-day activity, it's a very popular destination and even with advance tickets you will have to wait in long lines for security and the ferry.

If you secure tickets to the pedestal or crown level you will have to pass through an additional security checkpoint. You will not be allowed to bring ANYTHING with you, except a small camera and medication. I rent a locker for $2 for the backpack, purse and everything in my husband's pockets--keys and pens are prohibited too.

After clearing the additional security checkpoint, the carful of kids head to the elevators but there is a line so we take the stairs instead. After 215 steps, we arrive at the top of the pedestal for an epic view.

Along the way, we see the framework and giant nuts and screws that Gustave Eiffel was hired to design. The carful of kids take a few minutes to absorb the view before heading back downstairs to the Liberty Island Museum for a history lesson.

The Statue of Liberty is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an enduring symbol of freedom worldwide. In 1865 Edouard de Laboulage first proposed it as a gift from France to the US for its Centennial.

Artist Frederic Bartholdi was commissioned to sculpt the Statue of Liberty; Laboulage and Bartholdi both agreed that Bedloe's Island was to be the home of the statue. Bedloe's Island had a long history as quarantine station and in 1814, it became Fort Wood--complete with 12 pointed-star shaped building.

In 1876, the Statue's hand holding the torch was displayed in Philadelphia for the Centennial Exposition. Fundraising continued in both countries to complete the project.

In 1879, Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel was hired as the engineer after the first engineer died. He designed a structure to hold the weight and height of the statue and to withstand the winds of the New York Harbor.

In 1881, Richard Morris Hunt(architect of the Biltmore Estate) was commissioned to design the pedestal. Morris designed a pedestal that is half the height of the statue with poured 20-foot thick concrete walls and a granite block facade.

Also in 1881, the first copper plate was riveted and the statue started to take shape in Paris. The Statue of Liberty was completed and gifted to the US on July 4, 1884, in Paris. In 1886, she was reconstructed and placed on her pedestal with her dedication on October 28 of that year.

During the 1980s after a hundred years of standing tall, the Statue of Liberty underwent a major restoration and her torch was replaced with a gold-leaf one. The original is on display in the museum.

Getting our Junior Ranger Badges

The carful of kids walk through the museum learning as much as possible while on vacation. The boys even look up her nose for boogers--sorry Lady Liberty.

The carful of kids explore the entire complex, filling out the Junior Ranger booklets before we are ready to call it a day. We take our oath, grab our badges before jumping on the ferry back to New Jersey.

We still want to stop by Rutgers University's RU Hungry? food trailer, famous for their fat sandwich, as featured on the Travel Channel. And we have to drive 400 miles to get to Virginia; the carful of kids need to get home.

Know before you go. Tickets purchased ahead of time are a must for the Statue of Liberty experience.  The carful of kids wanted to make it to the crown but those tickets need to be reserved six months in advance for busy weekends and school vacations.

Up next: Road Trip Wrap-Up

Boston's Freedom Trail in One Day

The carful of kids are in Boston for one day and we intend to make the most of it by walking the Freedom Trail. Boston is steeped in US history that school-aged kids will actually remember and use during the year--we're snapping kid selfies for school projects along the way because teachers love them.

The carful of kids were most recently in Bar Harbor, Maine, at Acadia National Park for a postcard perfect day that ended with lobster--can't get any better than that. We drove into the night and walked into our hotel in Boston's Back Bay at 1 a.m--powered by Dunkin' Donut's coffee and Mom.

I had sticker shock when I saw the Boston hotel rates so I waited and scored a room in a great location within walking distance of all the sights a couple of days before we arrived with a hotel consolidator. When you are road tripping through a major city, you have a car that needs to be parked and that's not cheap.

But when our car was stolen from a paid parking lot in Montreal, Canada, you can't be too careful. Our hotel has an attached garage with a 24-hour self-park rate so we could check out of our room and leave the car to walk the Freedom Trail and take public transportation back. It's expensive but beats trying to find a spot on the street in Boston.

After a Sorry, No to the carful of kids when they beg for room service, we load up the SUV, grab some donuts and head to the Boston Common, where our trek begins. The Freedom Trail is two and a half miles long, a pleasant walk for adults but a little harder for our six-year-old, but there are plenty of places to rest and eat along the way.

The Swan Boats

On our way to the park we stop at Trinity Church, designed by Henry Richardson, it was finished in 1877. It is a National Historic Landmark and one of the ten most significant buildings in the US by the AIA (American Institute of Architects).

Moving along, our next stop is the Public Garden for the Swan Boats, a Boston tradition since 1877 when Robert Paget launched his first swan boat. This is a must for any visitor and the carful of kids get in line for the first boat at 10 a.m. ($3.00 adults/$2.00 kids 2-15).

Across the street from the Swan Boats is the Boston Common, the oldest park in the US that dates back to 1634. Originally used as a cow pasture until 1830, then as a British Army camp during the Revolutionary War--today it is the official start of the Boston Freedom Trail.

There are several tour companies offering guided tours but we are winging it with the official Freedom Trail app. It is also a National Park and the NPS arranges guided tours too. The carful of kids will be earning a Junior Ranger Badge, the booklets are available at the visitors center on the first floor of Faneuil Hall (open year round from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

The carful of kids find the red line in the sidewalk that will guide us through Downtown Boston and start walking; our first official stop is the Massachusetts State House. Finished in 1798 but it didn't get its distinctive gold dome until many years later, it is still the home to the Massachusetts Commonwealth government and tours can be scheduled in advance Monday through Friday.

After walking past the Park Street Church, we find our first graveyard, Granary Burying Ground, where Paul Revere and John Hancock are buried. It was established in 1660 and has 2,300 gravestones including some with a soul effigy, a creepy little skull with wings. The kids love it--who knew.

The King's Chapel and the King's Chapel Burying Ground are the next stops before the carful of kids check out the Boston Latin School. Founded in 1635, it is the oldest public school in the US and Benjamin Franklin is its most notable dropout.

Ben Franklin at the Boston Latin School

The carful of kids walk past the Old Corner Bookstore, the oldest commercial building in Boston, that was built in 1718 before finding our next stop.

The Old South Meeting House was built in 1729 and was the largest building in Colonial Boston. The carful of kids walk in ($6/adults $1/kids 6 to 18, open 9:30 to 5:00, spring to fall) to get an in-depth history lesson of the Boston Tea Party.

Writing with a quill at Old State House

The Old State House was built in 1713 to house the Colonial government and is the site for several important events in Colonial history. The Declaration of Independence was read from its balcony for the first time in 1776. Today, it houses a great interactive tour for kids ($10/adults, free/kids under 18, open 9:30 to 5:15, spring to fall).

Outside the steps of the Old State House is the site of the Boston Massacre. Where on March 5, 1770, five Colonists were killed by British soldiers after a confrontation.

Getting crepes outside Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall is the next important site on the Freedom Trail, it has been a busy marketplace since 1741. It has been named the "cradle of liberty" and there are historical talks every 30 minutes from 9:30 to 4:30. This is where Colonists protested against the Sugar and the Stamp Acts. It is operated by the NPS, there's a visitors center and it's free to enter.

Paul Revere Statute outside Old North Church

The Faneuil Hall Marketplace is behind Faneuil Hall and it's packed with tourists, street performers and food carts. It's hard to pull the carful of kids away and get back on the red line walking towards our next stop.

The Paul Revere House ($3.50/adults, $1/kids, open 9:30 to 5:15, spring to fall) was built in 1680, but purchased by Paul Revere in 1770 and this is where he lived at the time of his fabled ride. He shared this house with his mother, his wife and nine of his 16 children--eight from each of his two wives. The Paul Revere House is an interesting look into the domestic life of Colonial Boston and is a must for school-age kids.

The Old North Church opened its door in 1723 but was immortalized when two Sons of Liberty put a couple of lanterns in the steeple on April 18, 1775, signaling the advancement of the British Redcoats. It is open 9 to 6 from spring to fall.

The carful of kids are tired but we still want to see a couple of sights. It is a mile to the USS Constitution so we catch a cab and drive by the Copp's Hill Burying Ground.

The USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, was commissioned in
1797 and earned its nickname during the War of 1812. It is still an active warship with the US Navy and the tours are lead by sailors.

The USS Constitution is to enter dry dock in April 2015 for a three-year restoration project but will be open for tours. The carful of kids enjoy the tour and love the hammocks and cannons on deck.

Below deck

Know before you go--security is tight at the USS Constitution, be prepared for long lines to get through the airport style checkpoint. You will be required to show identification too. It requires a couple of hours to clear security and tour the boat on a busy day.

The carful of kids turn in their booklets at the USS Constitution for our Boston National Historical Park Junior Ranger Badges. It is has been a full day of history for the carful of kids and a great refresher for me.

Harvard

The carful of kids are famished but we want to visit Harvard so we grab a cab and head over to Cambridge. We have dinner plans with our old babysitter, now college student, to sample some pizza.

The carful of kids walk through the Harvard campus on our way to Pinocchio's Pizza, one of Mark Zuckerberg's haunts in his college days. We grab some plates of square pizza and head to Winthrop Square.

After a pizza picnic, the carful of kids stroll through MIT on our way to our first subway experience together. It is after hours so the T won't be crowded but I'm still a little nervous herding my carful of small-town kids onto a train.

After a good look at the T map, I find the station closest to our car, get a CharlieCard for each one of us at the self-serve kiosk, swipe all the cards and get the kids through the turnstile; then we wait for the train. Once inside, I have to remind the kids to hold on, just to be ignored. I hide my smile when the kids trip over each other looking to grab onto something when the train lurches forward.

We get off at our stop and I have to admit, I'm a little relieved--we did it. Sure it would have been easier, faster and a little cheaper to take a cab but now the carful of kids have been on a subway and that is a valuable experience for later in life.

It's late and the sun has set as the carful of kids straggle up to our SUV, two seconds and they're asleep but I still have to drive to Connecticut. Coffee?

Up next: The Statue of Liberty.

Acadia National Park

The carful of kids are in Maine to explore Acadia National Park on our way home from a three week road trip. We started in Central Texas and drove to the Atlantic Maritimes in Canada and now we are headed back south.

Maine and Acadia National Park have been on my list for years; it's a long way from home, just over 2200 miles away but worth the trip. The carful of kids have one day in Acadia and it is not enough but we are going to see as much as possible.

The Bar Harbor area is a popular summer getaway and the hotel prices reflect that, so we stayed in Bangor, Maine, instead. It is an easy drive to the park especially if you start early.

Acadia National Park is packed in the summer months and traffic can be a problem. Acadia offers free transportation from Bar Harbor to the park and within the park itself, thanks to LLBean. We have discovered this is a good way to tour the most popular national parks.


Hopping on the Island Explorer at Hulls Cove Visitors Center, our first stop is the Sieur de Monts Nature Center for a Junior Ranger Activity--these activities are Park Ranger-led and the schedule of events is located in the park newspaper. The carful of kids enjoy learning about the animals and plants of the park while I look over the park newspaper I got at the visitors center.

It's inching towards lunchtime and the carful of kids love the beach, good thing there is one just up Park Loop Road. I have a towel to sit on, water bottles, sandwich fixing in the backpack.

Sand Beach, in Acadia National Park, has plenty of space to spread out even on a busy day. But beware, the Atlantic Ocean is freezing, mid-fifties even in the height of summer.

I start making sandwiches as the kids head to the water to chase waves and before I have slapped the bread together my oldest son is in the water thigh-high. Geez. Well, I'm not the one who will be walking around the rest of the afternoon in wet shorts.

Sand Beach has bathrooms, changing rooms and an area to wash the sand off your feet. This is a great place to spend the day in a beach chair with a good book but the carful of kids don't like to sit so we wash off our feet and head to the bus stop for our next destination, Thunder Hole.

Thunder Hole is a natural inlet and when a wave hits it just right, you get a big boom. There is also an opportunity to get wet when the waves crash against the rocks and splash onlookers. Thunder Hole also has a small, seasonal hut filled with souvenirs and cold drinks. The carful of kids find a local blueberry soda and refill the water bottles before getting on the bus again.

We heard there are blueberry bushes at Jordon Pond House and my middle son wants to pick some blueberries. We drove from Texas because he did a project on Maine and wanted to see it and the blueberries.

Jordan Pond House is a restaurant that has been serving popovers and tea since the 1890s when Nellie McIntire started the tradition. It is a lovely area with outdoor tables on a expansive lawn next to Jordan Pond and the Bubbles, the mountains nearby. Reservations are recommended if you plan to eat.

There are also several hiking trails in this area, the carful of kids take the Jordan Pond Nature Trail for a better look at the Bubbles. After a quick hike the carful of kids find the blueberry bushes and start darting along the tiny foot paths among the knee-high bushes looking for tiny blueberries. My son finds one and looks to each side before popping it into his mouth.

The carful of kids need to turn in their Junior Ranger Booklets to get our Junior Ranger Patches so we hop aboard the bus back to the Hulls Cove Visitors Center before they close. With minutes to spare, the carful of kids take our oath to protect our public lands.

We're hungry and it is Maine, so the carful of kids are on a quest for lobster. Right outside Acadia National Park is Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, serving up lobster since 1956. You walk into the building and pick out your lobster, they throw them all into a numbered bag and take them outside.

A line of wood-fired cookers filled with fresh seawater awaits--minutes later, the best lobster in the world is ready to eat. We eat fresh lobster several times a year at home since it is a favorite of mine but I have never had lobster like this before, perfection.


After eating lobster, clams, corn and a pound of melted butter, we finish off dinner with blueberry pie. The carful of kids have a reservation in Boston to get to and that is 275 miles away.

Up Next: Boston in a Day