We spent a week on Toddy Pond with Jim, Pam, Vance, Gabe, Maddy, Eric and Stone. We picked up Eric at noon after his Drivers’ Ed class and met BillieJo and Stone at the Canjoharie Thruway exit. Kathryn drove 5 hours to Portsmouth where we spent the night. We had an excellent lobster bisque at Warrens in Kittery for dinner. The next morning we drove the remaining 3.5 hours to Toddy Pond. Eric and Stone immediately began to fish and then go swimming.

Wednesday was overcast and raining so we went to the Chicken Barn, LL Bean Outlet Store, lunch at Jordan’s Snack Bar and picked up 9 lobster for dinner, Eric and Stone cooked the lobster. The Big Chicken Barn is packed with books and periodicals.

Friday Kathryn, Jim, Eric and Stone went deep sea fishing and caught mackerel and pollock. The boat captured over 300 fish which were filleted and handed out. On the return trip they pulled lobster traps yielding 28 lobster. Kathryn, Eric and Stone each won a lobster.

Saturday Kathryn, Jim H., Eric and Stone climbed the Precipice trail in Acadia National Park. Adventurous hikers will hike a 2.3-mile trek with 1,073 feet of total elevation gain – half of that comes in 0.3 miles as one navigates steep switchbacks, metal ladders and iron rungs up the east face of Champlain Mountain. Endangered peregrine falcons nest and raise their young on the mountain in spring and summer, and the park closes the trail from March 15 to Aug. 15 to protect them.

Sunday evening the crew went to dinner at Castine’s where Stone had a BBQ chicken doused in “I-dare-you-sauce”. Then the kids and Jim went home for movie night while the rest of gang paddled double kayaks at night time and observed constellations, shooting stars and bio-luminous algae. Monday we swam and went kayaking and we drove home on Tuesday.