Maine, Part I: Tawney Cottage
Last week we were on vacation in Maine with Nanna and P-Pa and it was a splendid adventure. Everything about it was fun--the road trip up, the house, the hiking, the food, the ocean, even the ride back. Its over, but its fun to look back on it. Here is a shot of Isaac in the big window at Tawney Cottage:
We arrived at Tawney Cottage after a brief and awesome stop in Freeport Maine (complete with LL Bean world HQ and a great knife shop). This is the third time Isaac had been to Tawney Cottage, but the first time he could really come and go as he pleased. The first time he was just learning to walk doing the Frankenstein thing, the second time he was still leery of steps, but this time it was all out all the time.
The house is not really a cottage. It is pretty massive and a wonderfully designed place. There are tons of nooks and crannies for Isaac to sneak around in and he loved it. He would hide things in various spots and then, right before bed, remember where they are. Many a minute was spent looking for a moose or a stuffed lobster.
He was also fascinated by the number of windows, and frankly so was I. The shot above is taken in a bay window in the master bedroom. It overlooks Southwest Harbor and the sight of fog peeling off the shore as the sun rises is impressive. Isaac and spent a few minutes here each day planning our attack, which usually meant hiking or kayak riding or both.
The house has access to the ocean and a small kayak. Isaac and I have ridden in it before and this time we were able to do some real exploring. We paddled over to the marina and checked out some positively enormous boats (120' sail boats and 200' yatchs). We also managed to ride out to the ocean current as it first comes into the harbor. Its hard to imagine, but in a kayak with a kid on your lap that's hard to overcome. Isaac turned to me and asked me "Daddy, why aren't we going forward anymore." I explained about the current and he was totally tuned in (thanks, in part, to the EAC scene in Finding Nemo). We also patrolled an inlet and found jellies. I was able to pick them up on the paddle and Isaac was thrilled to see them up close.
All in all Tawney Cottage rocked. It got Isaac's seal of approval.
We arrived at Tawney Cottage after a brief and awesome stop in Freeport Maine (complete with LL Bean world HQ and a great knife shop). This is the third time Isaac had been to Tawney Cottage, but the first time he could really come and go as he pleased. The first time he was just learning to walk doing the Frankenstein thing, the second time he was still leery of steps, but this time it was all out all the time.
The house is not really a cottage. It is pretty massive and a wonderfully designed place. There are tons of nooks and crannies for Isaac to sneak around in and he loved it. He would hide things in various spots and then, right before bed, remember where they are. Many a minute was spent looking for a moose or a stuffed lobster.
He was also fascinated by the number of windows, and frankly so was I. The shot above is taken in a bay window in the master bedroom. It overlooks Southwest Harbor and the sight of fog peeling off the shore as the sun rises is impressive. Isaac and spent a few minutes here each day planning our attack, which usually meant hiking or kayak riding or both.
The house has access to the ocean and a small kayak. Isaac and I have ridden in it before and this time we were able to do some real exploring. We paddled over to the marina and checked out some positively enormous boats (120' sail boats and 200' yatchs). We also managed to ride out to the ocean current as it first comes into the harbor. Its hard to imagine, but in a kayak with a kid on your lap that's hard to overcome. Isaac turned to me and asked me "Daddy, why aren't we going forward anymore." I explained about the current and he was totally tuned in (thanks, in part, to the EAC scene in Finding Nemo). We also patrolled an inlet and found jellies. I was able to pick them up on the paddle and Isaac was thrilled to see them up close.
All in all Tawney Cottage rocked. It got Isaac's seal of approval.