Our original plan had been to embark on our 12-hour trek very early Thursday morning. Sometime during the day Wednesday, I mentioned to Mick that I wasn't likely to sleep much between 8 and 11 that night, so I could start driving then and we could pull over at a rest stop to sleep as needed - that would give us a head start on our drive. The more we thought about it, the better it sounded! So we got home from our last round of errands that afternoon and Mick took a quick nap while the boys and I got the car ready and sampled the snacks.
Then we loaded up, and off we went! Mick drove for the first leg. Departure time about 5 pm. We stopped for dinner at McDonald's in Whitney Point. French fries and a smoothie were the biggest hit with the back seat crew.
After dinner, Maynar grabbed the atlas to assist with navigation.
We tied the boys' sippie cups so that they hopefully wouldn't get chucked, and Maynar also got a chance with the grown-up cup. (Modygg did great in the car too, but he's rear-facing and thus harder to photograph.)
Hit Massachusetts before sundown. We stopped at a McDonald's for some more of those fries-and-smoothie goodness. Maynar gave a very warm "bye" to the rest stop as we pulled out!
I drove from Massachusetts into Maine, Mick took the mid-Maine leg while I dozed, and then I finished up. The sky began to lighten around 3 am as we approached Houlton, and we finally landed in Caribou about 5 am Thursday morning. Not surprisingly, our hotel room wasn't quite ready yet, so we drove to Thomas Park in New Sweden.
(You wouldn't be able to guess from the pictures which Cringle had 20 minutes of sleep, and which had slept a good portion of the 12-hour drive.)
The view from Thomas Park.
The park has lovely trails which we enjoyed while Mick tried to catch a quick nap.
We managed to squeeze in a real estate appointment in Wallagrass and even made an appearance at the street festival in Caribou before turning in for the night.
TV!
Maynar hopped in and out of the pack-and-play at will.
Breakfast the next morning at McDonald's.
Maynar handled his orange juice very carefully ...
... clearly worthy of applause! :)
At our second real estate appointment on West Road, the boys found a bucket full of rainwater while Papa took a second pass through the house with the realtor.
Modygg's overalls were soaked!
Then we went for a walk to the top of the hill - lots of apple trees and blueberry bushes, moose sign, and a beautiful view! Modygg kindly dropped his sippie cup somewhere en route as a souvenir for future archaeologists.
That night's supper was round 2 of pizza! (There were two pizza shops in town, so naturally we had to compare from one night to the next. This one was our favourite.)
Saturday morning, off to the Midsommar Festival in New Sweden (after a much-needed nap in the car while Papa drove and the grown-ups talked).
Then to our final real estate appointment for this trip.
No one was occupying the home, so the realtor invited us to spend some time on the property.
The older two inspected the premises.
Then, back to the hotel and Maynar NAPPED. Since Modygg showed no interest in napping, he and I went outside and waited for pictures of Everly (which finally came, huzzah!) :).
Saturday night we got yet another meat pizza to compare (it was our second-favourite of the three), and Sunday morning we got packed up. Modygg bolted straight out the hotel room door (far left) to inspect the premises.
Maynar loved the blankets! and often seemed disappointed that he actually had to sit in his car seat rather than lie across the seat with the blanket as we drove.
Fortunately, we remembered to pack Modygg.
He really didn't like crawling on the concrete with his bare knees!
Back in Thomas Park, there was an outdoor church service Sunday morning (the most kid-friendly venue I can think of).
We nabbed a spot in the back. Papa and Modygg and our new friend Rob (to the right) actually paid attention to some of the service ...
... while Maynar and I, our new friend Abigail, and Rob and Abigail's girls explored the woods.
Then, back south we headed!
Satisfied to be on our way home. :)
