Tag Archives: Mercedes Sprinter

Forty Years . . . and Climbing

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We hit the road for two weeks recently to celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary. You can read about our first stop at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in the previous post, Northbound!

That night, we parked in our son’s driveway in Winterport, Maine, before heading down to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park the next day. It was a rainy drive over the bridge onto Mt. Desert Island. We drove to Bar Harbor and walked around a bit in the drizzle before checking in for a night at the Bar Harbor KOA campground.

It rained overnight, and the van rocked most of the night in the strong wind gusts. I kept waking up wondering if the next gust would tip us right over! In the morning, we drove through the fog toward Blackwoods Campground. It was early and check-in time wasn’t until noon, so we pulled over at Seal Harbor Beach to stretch our legs.

With a little more time on our hands, and as the fog lifted, we found Canon Brook Trail just down the road from the entrance to Blackwoods.

We checked in to our Blackwoods site a little after noon and found the Cadillac Mountain trailhead that starts inside the park.

We planned to do a sunrise hike the next day, on our anniversary. Starting inside the park would add 0.7 miles to the hike in each direction. So, in the end, we decided to skip the extra part at the beginning and drive out to Route 3 where hikers park along the edge of the road to do the South Ridge Trail.

We went to bed at 8pm and set our alarm for 2:45am. We actually woke before the alarm, dressed quickly, ate a breakfast snack, and drove out to the road. We weren’t the first vehicle there, nor the last. After donning our backpack, camera vest, and headlamps, we started our Garmin watches at 3:20am to record the climb.

Hiking in the dark is an experience like no other. I thought I’d be totally stressed out by the possibility of running into a bear. But the concentration it took to keep up with someone whose legs are a lot longer than mine, while making sure we could find the blue trail markers ahead of us, left no room for imaginary bears.

At times, we could see headlamp-light from other hikers in the distance, behind us and ahead. We ran into a couple of pairs of hikers who were struggling like we were to find the trail in certain places and we managed to help each other along the way. There were only a couple of extra-challenging spots but the two-hour, 3.5-mile climb was a good workout. The sky began to turn red before we reached the summit and I was worried we’d miss the sunrise.

But we made it to the top with time to spare. As we neared the summit, we could see headlights from cars that were driving up the mountain road. The parking lot was almost full and people had chosen their spots along the rocky summit to view the sunrise. We found a spot and waited, using the time to eat our second breakfast.

After the sunrise, I overheard a young couple nearby wishing each other a ‘happy anniversary.’ I had to say something. Turns out they were celebrating their first anniversary! When we told them we were celebrating our fortieth, they wanted to know our secret. We offered some wisdom, but really, as anyone knows who’s been married for a long time, love is a day by day decision.

The hike back down felt like we were on a whole new mountain. We could see where we were going and we could take in the view that had been hidden from us in the dark.

We took it easy for the rest of the day. The ocean was just down a short path and across the Park Loop Road. The rocks were warm and the water’s calming rhythm was mesmerizing. We even caught a glimpse of a few birds along the way.

Early risers get sleepy pretty early in the evening, so bedtime came soon after an early anniversary dinner at Galyn’s in downtown Bar Harbor. And that gave us a chance to dream of the next adventure to come. 🙂

A Bit of Birding Heaven…

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In case you missed it, we hit the road in the middle of March and headed to Florida in our van. You can read about it here: A Week Or So On The Road.

On our last day in Naples, Florida, we visited Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, one of my favorite spots in that city. I’ve been there in March before and found it full of wildlife. But this time there were fewer large birds, no visible alligators, and most of the smaller birds were well-hidden. I did manage to see a white-eyed vireo for the first time, though, so I can add that to my lifer list. 🙂

That night we met up with our North Carolina friends, Cathy and Don, who were in Florida visiting their sons.

We snagged a campsite near theirs at Magnolia Park Campground, about twenty miles northwest of Orlando. To our delight, we were greeted by their resident peafowl (peacocks and peahens).

In the morning, while Mark went for a run, I tagged along with Cathy and Don on a wildlife drive near Lake Apopka. It did NOT disappoint!

I’m guessing that’s enough about birds for one blog post! I’ll leave you to scroll through again if you haven’t gotten your fill or to finish here and patiently wait for more news of our adventures! Until next time… peace. 🙂

Timing Is Everything

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I’ve said it before (ask my kids) and I’ll say it again (and again): timing is everything!

My husband is retiring — gradually. He plans to work one less day per week in each quarter of 2022. By the end of this year, he should only be working one day a week. But you know how plans go. Work has been crazy and his stress level is rising.

Our retirement plan is to travel around the country in a converted van, visiting National Parks, breweries, wild life sanctuaries, and (if my husband has his way) a few Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives. We bit the bullet at the end of last year and bought a Mercedes Sprinter. Titan Vans in Colorado has been hard at work fitting it with a bed and other amenities. It was supposed to be finished at the end of April. But, since nothing is safe from supply chain woes these days, they’ve been waiting for a single part of a suspension upgrade kit to come in.

Meanwhile, my chorus spent the last few months preparing for our annual regional competition. I say “annual”, but the event was unfortunately cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID concerns. It’s back on this year. But many choruses, including the one I belong to, voted to compete virtually. We planned to record and submit a video package. We set the recording date for May 5. Because of the supply chain issue with the van part, I was able to participate in the video. Timing.

On top of this, one of our adult children is experiencing one of those major life-events that makes you feel like the world is tipping sideways and out of control. This is the second such event in their life in the past six months. I’m glad my husband and I aren’t on the road just yet. Timing.

On another front, my mother has been settling — very slowly — into her new assisted living situation since February. I check on her several times a week to make sure the staff is really doing all that we agreed they’d do. Let’s just say it’s been a learning experience for all involved. My father should be returning from his Florida living at the end of May to join her and also to keep an eye on all the assistance she’s supposed to be getting. That’ll make it easier for me to step back a bit as my husband and I set out on our adventures. Timing.

Spring is in the air and that means gardening and yard work. The strawberries, peas, potatoes, beets, spinach, kale, and lettuce are all coming up already. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to plant them before we head out to pick up our van. Now to get some netting around the blueberry bushes.Timing.

And we just got word from Titan Vans. The part came in. Timing!