Summer Trip to Maine

Since we pretty much have to stay away from other people all summer, we decided to take our big summer vacation to.... Todd's sister and brother-in-law's cabin in Maine!  First, let me tell you... we NEVER have a bad time in Maine!  But, last summer we were in Russia, and Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, among many other great countries.  And this summer, our only trip was a 2 hour drive to Maine!  Talk about different times.

We decided to stop at UNH, Todd's alma mater for a picnic lunch on the Thompson Hall Lawn.



I ordered some subs from JP's Grill when we were driving up and Todd ran in to pick them up while we waited in the car.

And then we went to the Thompson Hall Lawn, spread out my favorite picnic blanket from my favorite Scottish friends Pamela and Magnus and we had a feast!



Family selfie in front of Thompson Hall.



We walked around the campus for a little bit and then wound up back in front of Thompson Hall and we took pics in front of the UNH sign that sits in front of the doors.  Maybe one of these kiddos is a future alum?

 And then we continued on to Mousam Lake - and Natalie took this picture as we crossed into Maine.  Breakfast in Massachusetts, lunch in New Hampshire, dinner in Maine!  

Of course, as soon as we got there and got unpacked, we immediately went out in the pontoon boat!

The lake was pretty calm and there weren't a whole lot of people out (it was Friday so that accounted for some of it.)  

Grant was totally ready to go swimming, wearing his goggles on his forehead.

After a quick trip around the lake, we went back to do a little swimming off the dock.  They lowered the level of the lake last winter to work on the nearby dam, so everyone cleaned out the areas around their docks and put in sand.  The muck that used to be there was gross and creepy (and still exists farther out.)

Grant was so funny.  He saw the kayak and decided he wanted to try kayaking.  So he went over to the rack that's next to the shed and got the kayak down all by himself (it's a wonder he didn't hurt himself.)  Then he just hopped in and started kayaking!

I still couldn't believe he just went out and did this.  He did really well and never turned over!

The only downside of the new sandy beach and rocks are that there are some leeches in that area now, which Natalie found out the hard way.  

Of course, we had to get in a few good games of cornhole.  Me and Natalie vs. Todd and Grant.  Natalie was pretty good at it.

Grant though? Not so much. We celebrated when he finally got a beanbag on the board.

After grilling out a yummy dinner, Gordie set up the fire in the pit for some s'mores.

Ahhh, a relaxing end to a beautiful day on the lake.  Goodnight, Moon!

We woke up and everyone had a big breakfast before we went out in the pontoon boat again.  The kids have been begging to go tubing so here we go!

Grant's hair!

Having fun trying to hang on.

Uncle Gordie taking the kids for a ride around Mousam Lake.

Natalie up on her knees on the tube.

Grant said, "Wait, if you can do it, so can I!"

It was a beautiful, warm day on the lake - and there really weren't too many people out.  Probably because people aren't traveling too much right now.

AIRBORNE!

I liked Natalie's face - sheer joy! Or maybe she's screaming?  (No way, she loves this!)

Ha ha, Natalie fell off!  Hands up!

Finally the kids were tired, so we towed them back to the house to drop off the tube before we headed back out on the lake.

Route 109 separates upper Mousam Lake from lower Mousam Lake and it's a TIGHT fit here. 

We wore Grantie out tubing and he just laid his head on my shoulder to take a quick snooze.  Boats do that to me, too. I'm so comfortable and relaxed that I can fall right asleep.

We cruised all the way up to the most northern part of the lake where we decided we were hot and needed to jump into the lake to cool off.

Cooling off in the water gets a big thumbs up from Grant!

Oh you thought since we no longer lived in Europe he would stop doing this?

Bailey's in bathing suits with beers and their babies on a boat in a breeze.

On our way back, we had a planking challenge between Grant and Natalie, right before Helen decided she was going to throw her work phone, credit card and driver license overboard. 😬

Well, there's no retrieving the phone, so we might as well head back under the bridge.  It's so low that everyone can touch!

Still raising the roof even though we've exited the bridge!

We spent much of the rest of the afternoon lounging around in the water off the dock.

Grant did a bit more kayaking, even towing his dad on a tube behind him.

Natalie also tried some kayaking.  Please don't run over your brother, Natalie.

Not quite as confident as Grant, but I'm proud of her for trying!

Then there was the MOST EPIC game of Jenga EVER!  While tall Nauni had to squat to make her moves, Natalie had to eventually get on a chair to put her blocks on top.

It was a family battle between Natalie, Helen and Lauren!  Impressive squats, Helen!

This is where it got dicey for Nat because she was having trouble putting the block on top.  Shorty!

We had another fabulous fire going that evening-  Grant might be dancing here?

I ran down to the dock to get a nice quiet evening pic of the lake.

Meanwhile, Uncle Gordie, Nauni and Natalie were jamming out with some sparklers!

We were fortunate to get THREE great days of weather so of course, on Sunday we had to head out in the Supra!

Here we go!

The Supra isn't as tall as the pontoon boat, so no one could touch the bridge!

This girl is happy on a boat.

Some things NEVER change.  Grant always loved driving Uncle Gordie's boat, or Uncle Dave's boat, or Pop Pop's boat.  He still loves it!

We were disappointed with the crowds at Blueberry Island, which we renamed Covid Island... so we passed on a visit this year.

Of course, there was more lounging in tubes off the dock and a big bonfire after dinner (baked Ziti made by Lulu!)

Uncle Gordie and Grant having deep conversations about geography and history. (I'm not even kidding!)

Our last evening provided us with a beautiful Shapleigh, Maine sunset!

Grant always gives s'mores a thumbs up!  (Note to self, more chocolate and graham crackers next year!)

All good things must come to an end and on Monday morning, we had to head back to Massachusetts.  We had a blast at Mousam Lake and we won't let it be five years before we visit again!

Until next time, Mousam Lake!