MAINE {our last day}

Day 1 here

Day 2 here

Day 3 here

Here we are at our last day of our trip- yes it's a bit crazy to make 4 blog posts out of a 4 night trip, but there was just too much going on each day to try to cram more than one day into a post! So I'll be wrapping up our final day today, and then tomorrow I'll be sharing what we learned from our first travel experience with two kiddos in tow.

Day 4

Because we dealt with some rain on our third day, we knew we wanted to fit as much in as possible on our last day. So we decided we'd start the day off bright and early (or dark and early) and make our way to the top of Cadillac Mountain for the sunrise.

I got up at 3:30, had some coffee and got myself ready (i.e. threw my hair in a pony tail and tossed on some workout clothes), then Matt got up at 4:00 and we got our bags ready for the day. There are so many bags when you travel with small kids! We planned to see the sunrise, go on a hike, eat breakfast in town, and then go on a bike ride before heading back to the room for lunch and naps. We had a full morning ahead of us and we couldn't wait!

Bless these babies of ours!

It was pretty chilly at the top of the mountain, so Matt ran back to the car to grab the warmer clothes we packed for the kids (in one of the bags, hah), while we snapped some early morning selfies :)

A behind-the-scenes shot of the wardrobe change as the sun rises in the background.

One of our favorite moments from the trip! Please note that Ryan is wrapped in a hotel bath towel and Natalie is wrapped in her carseat sun cover. BUT, we made it for the sunrise and everyone is looking at the camera.

This morning there was a high fog alert, but we were so high up on the mountain that we were above all of the fog. Behind us in this picture was a bed of fog and clouds covering the sky below us. It was really so cool to see.

After the sunrise, we drove to a hiking spot that led us to a famous landmark called Bubble Rock. This is the hike that Ryan got to do all by himself. He was so proud!

When the sweet guy saw this big hill of more stairs he said he wanted to go in his backpack for a little bit. And then turned and smiled his smile at me. :)

At the top! Now you can see how foggy it really was that morning. The downside was that we couldn't really take in the views once we made it to Bubble Rock, but Ryan was so excited to find the rock and know that he had made it to the top that all of the focus was on him finishing his first hike.

Ryan and Matt trying to push the rock over :)

Ryan standing with the Bubble Rock sign

Back down we go!

While I fed Natalie, Matt turned on some worship music and Ryan occupied himself in Natalie's seat, looking at himself in the mirror with a plastic bowl on his head. This lasted a good 10-15 minutes.

Ready to head to breakfast!

Both kids fell asleep on our drive down the mountain, so Matt and I found our way to a beach/lake called Echo Lake that the locals consider the best place to swim. We were really hoping to swim here as a family, but the weather was just to chilly that morning. But now we know where it is if we ever go back!

Breakfast at Jordan's!

This little lady was passed around to the servers who wanted to hold her and talk to her and Ryan. They kept saying how fashionable our kids were- which was hilarious to us- I think it's because we were so dressed down in our workout clothes while our kids looked like they were ready for Sunday service. 

Bike ride time!

Sweet guy- this is what he did when I asked if he could smile with his lips together.

We rode bikes for a little over an hour. Natalie slept in the wrap and Ryan helped drive Matt's bike. ;)

On the bus back to the bike rental shop after our ride

We made it back to our room, ate lunch, got Ryan and Natalie down for a nap, and then I realized I left my phone on the shuttle- shoot! Thanks to the Find my iPhone app, we could see where it was, so Matt drove back to get it before heading out for another hike while the kids napped.

Such incredible views!

That night, we went to dinner at Side Street Cafe. Oh my WORD that food. SO good.

Running down the path of our hotel before hopping in the stroller to head to dinner- and Ryan has his backpack in tow. :)

Natalie's face! Girlfriend got her mama's expressions

Waiting for our food to arrive

Lobster roll, lobster mac & cheese, and a brisket burrito for us all to share (we almost got a lobster burrito and thought maybe that'd be a bit too much lobster). Oh that FOOD! I want to eat it all again right now.

Heading home, Ryan wanted to get his "friends" out of his backpack and we overheard him talking to them saying, "Daniel Tiger and Prince Wednesday, I wanna watch you at my house." Then he said it again substituting "house" with the name of our street. I think the sweet buddy was starting to miss home!

Please excuse our getting-ready mess, but I had to sneak this picture. As we were getting ready to go for one last evening swim, Ryan went to lay by Natalie to tell her what we were about to do. Matt and I were getting our bags ready and we could hear him talking to her. Sweet buddy!

That night, we got the kids down, packed up our things, enjoyed the hot tub on our patio one last time, and then geared up for the day of travel ahead of us.

Sunrise the next morning- man I miss those views!

My little crew looking tired and ready (or not ready, hah) for the drive and flight ahead!

Waiting to board the plane

Sound asleep the minute we got in the car to drive home!

What a trip. We are so glad we got to experience Maine and make some great memories with our kiddos. We were so impressed with how well Ryan and Natalie held it together through the busy days and travel. They were troopers!

Tomorrow, I'm going to share what we learned from this trip- what we did well and would try again, and what we would plan differently in the future. See you then!