Mainely Vacation

After a few months of recruiting duty, Brandon and I both decided that only way he was going to get to take leave (vacation) would be if we had a baby. Since that was out of the question, we just came to terms that he would be working every weekday for the next three years. How depressing. Then comes my knight in shining armor, Brandon's new bose, who basically told all of the guys in the office that they must take leave this summer. We were toying with the idea of catching a military flight to Europe, since the Air Force Reserve Base nearby has flights out there a couple of times a week. However, reality set in and we didn't have the time to wait in case a flight was cancelled, which happens a lot. So, off to Maine it was!

Since we don't plan on returning to live in Massachusetts once we are done with Recruiting Duty, we wanted to travel around New England and visit places we probably would never have visited otherwise. This is going to sound a little nuts, but I like to scroll the map on my iphone to find new cities, parks, lakes etc. and then google them to see if they are interesting. That is how I stumbled upon Acadia National Park. It bordered the ocean, so I thought it couldn't be that bad. Plus it was national park, so I could a stamp in my National Parks Passport (nerdy, I know!). AND military families get in FREE to National Parks! How cool is that? We made arrangements to stay in the cute little town, Bar Harbor, right outside of the park. We even got to bring Brawley along! Bringing your dog places can be a little tricky, but Bar Harbor is so dog-friendly. We could bring Brawley in the hotel, restaurants and even on a harbor cruise ride! It was awesome. 

The drive to Maine is about 7-8 hours long, so we stopped halfway and spent the night in Salisbury, Massachusetts. It's right on the water, but a little trashy. It was still really nice to be close to the sea and feel that ocean breeze on my face. I always took the beach for granted in San Diego, but never again. Now I long to see the ocean. 

The next day, we finished the last leg of our trip just in time to see the sunset! The water was so still and peaceful. The way the colors of the sky reflected off the water was just beautiful. The water was wicked cold, but we saw an old man jump in and go for swim! 

In the morning, we woke up before dawn to drive up to Cadillac Mountain. It is one of the first places in the United States that the sun reaches each morning! Fun fact. It was a little cold on the top of the mountain and there were a ton of people, but the sunrise was gorgeous. I was so thankful that it was not cloudy, so we could see it. 

For the rest of our trip, we ate a loads of lobster, hiked,went on scenic drives, laid out by the pool and went in the jacuzzi! It was really fun. We even stayed an extra night because there was so much to do there. I think next time, we will have to stay even longer. Although Brandon was on leave, he was still answering phone calls and texts. It was a little annoying, but he was very nervous about a kid that was getting ready to ship out to boot camp. Once that was all taken care of, he was finally able to relax and enjoy himself. 

Here's some more pictures from our trip:

We drove all the way home in one day! It was a little tiring, but I think we are used to driving long distances, so it wasn't that bad. I was happy to be home, but definitely could have stayed another day or two. Brandon only used 6 days of leave and I am pretty sure has like 30 days or close to. I am hoping we can go on vacation more than once a year. That would be very, very nice.