Maine Maple Sunday

A tradition in Maine since 1983, Maine Maple Sunday occurs on the 4^th Sunday in March. Around 95 Sugar houses around the state open their doors to the public to sell Maine made maple syrup and to educate the public about the art of making Maple Syrup. I decided this year that I would take the kids to Auger Hill Farm in Marshfield, Maine for Maple Sunday. It is about a 2 hour ride traveling North on Rt 1 through Down East, Maine. We traveled through some great rural towns including Cherryfield, Milbridge, Harrington, Columbia Falls and Jonesboro before arriving in Marshfield. It was a beautiful day for the ride and thankfully the kids tolerated it well. The owner of Auger Hill Farm, Walter Getchell has been producing Maple syrup for the last 70 years. He has a stunning location high on a hill looking out to some beautiful mountains and fields full of blueberry barrens. We really enjoyed seeing the Sugar House in action and in addition they had an educational video about the history of Maple Sugar and also how it is produced. Of course, the kids favorite part was the vanilla ice cream with maple syrup on it!! We left Auger Hill Farm with a pint of yummy Maple Syrup and a package of maple covered peanuts and a new found knowledge for the kids about the origin of maple syrup. With a quick stop on the way home to  beautiful Schoodic Point to watch the waves crashing over the rocks, It was a wonderful family day.

Flying a kite

I don't know about the rest of you parents but winter is finally taking it's toll on me. By my own choosing, I live in a location in this country that is still in the grips of winter. I look out my window and am still looking at 4 ft snow banks and temperatures in it's teens. As I speak to the rest of my team here at SpecialGlobe down in Atlanta, they are planting gardens, sunning on their decks and wearing shorts!! UGH!! I choose to live on Mt Desert Island because it is truly one of the most beautiful locations in the world. We are constantly being written up by the top travel news sources for best beaches, most beautiful Islands and top summer destinations. It is striking in all of it's natural beauty. Home to Acadia National Park, we see 2.43 million visitors per year, most in the summer.

We woke yesterday to another day of poor weather. Rain this time, at least not snow. The kids and I have been staring at the same 4 walls of our home for what seems like forever. We have all been sick in various stages over the last 6 weeks, as have many families this winter. We decided to ignore the weather and get out and get some air. We packed our kite and headed down to Sand Beach in Acadia National Park. In the summer this beach is full of tourist but yesterday we had it all to ourselves. Due to the weather the seas were quite rough and in the mist it reminded me again of the raw beauty of this place that we call home. It was a perfect day to fly the kite. The kids and I enjoyed spending a few hours running around, digging in the sand and searching for treasures. It seemed to renew and rejuvenate all of our spirits and remind us that warmer days are not far away and the crocus will soon be in bloom.

Eliza's Trip to Rhode Island

One of the things that is incredibly special to me as a mom is my daughter Eliza's ability to finally put thoughts and feelings together and communicate those to me and the world around her. It has opened up her experiences and her ability to communicate with her teachers, her friends and even strangers, much to my chagrin. As I had said in an earlier post, the doctor's had told me when she was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at the age of one that she would never speak so to hear her voice and her thoughts are a complete blessing that I am thankful for each and every day!!

At school, Eliza has recently taken to writing stories about her favorite things and experiences in her own words so I thought that I would share her latest story with all of you. It is a story about a recent trip that Eliza, Henry and I took on the spur of the moment.

Eliza's Trip to Rhode Island

" Over vacation Eliza was sick. Mom was sick. Henry was sick. On Thursday Mom felt better. Eliza felt better. Henry felt better, too. They packed their luggage. They took their swimming stuff and clothes. They got in the car. Mom drove. Eliza rode in the back seat. Henry rode in the back seat. Mom drove and drove and drove. It was a long trip. They stopped in Newport, Rhode Island at a hotel with a big swimming pool. "Mom watch out!! Mom, Shark! Run! ". After swimming, Eliza took mom to the restaurant at the hotel. They had cheese pizza. It was yummy. They slept at the hotel for two nights. It was a perfect trip."

On the evening that we returned from this trip Eliza looked to me as I was putting her to sleep and said "Thank you so much Mommy for taking me" I know how much she loves these adventures that we go on and how much she grows through the experiences and it is for that reason that I am so personally passionate about SpecialGlobe being a vehicle of empowerment for these wonderful families out there to travel the globe. 

No trip will ever be 100% perfect for any family but it's funny how that works because inevitably we always forget the bad times on a trip and focus our memories on the very best.