Burnt Island: best field trip ever

At the parent curriculum night at the beginning of fifth grade, the teacher told us that the kids have the opportunity to go on an overnight field trip at the end of the year to Burnt Island.  I was sold immediately and started collecting possibilities of how much fun that would be. 

Fast forward through Ella's fifth grade school year: countless friendship dramas, gaining confidence that showed out in the world, a blur of gymnastics practices and meets, becoming a bold and skilled skier, becoming a bold and skilled preteen, getting a hand-me-down iPhone (wi-fi connected only) and losing it around every corner by perfecting the use of sarcasm and a well-placed eye roll and suddenly it was time to board the ferry to Burnt Island. 

Ella and I would be tenting so I hauled all of our backpacking and camping gear out and got to work. Sandi said, "Have you ever put the tent up by yourself?" When we camp Sandi does the gear and I do the food and clothes and supplies. So the night before the trip, while Sandi was at work, the girls and I put the tent up in the living room. 

It is actually really challenging to put a tent up in a small living room. 

Maya said, "Are you sure I should be helping you? Because you know I am not going to be there when you actually have to do it?" Like we were going to be on Survivor or something. 

Ella filled the backpack with only half her stuff in it and said, "It doesn't all fit, Mom." I  took it all out and said, "Watch and learn, El." I rolled and smooshed into ever corner of the backpack. When it came time to shove her pillow and stuffed animal in there (both of which were contraband and we were told if you bring them, don't show them) I said, "You might want to look away. This won't be pretty for poor Daisy..."

Ella's young and energetic teacher (who ironically went on this very trip as a fifth grader himself) was a total rockstar making sure these kids had a safe framework that allowed them freedom to learn and explore. There were 27 students, 15 parent chaperones and 2 teachers. Talk about a robust adult to student ratio! As soon as the kids got off the bus he had them move around and then randomly get in a line and sound off, beginning with the number 1 and going up to 27. Periodically, as we would transition between activities, he would have them sound off to make sure everyone was accounted for.

I love stealing ideas from teachers. This summer I will be on the beach and say, "Sound off!" Maya will say, "One!" and Ella will roll her eyes at me.

Most of you who know me know that sometimes I struggle with having my primary identity being that of "Mom" and all the pedestrian parts of shuffling and shlepping and laundry and groceries and cleaning that go with it. I work hard to nourish my brain cells and feed myself outside of my mom role so I can be a successful and (mostly) present mom to our girls.

And then there are trips like this where I spend nearly every second in wonder and appreciation that I get to be mostly a mom, a mom who can spend 2 whole days and an overnight with my daughter on an amazing trip. It is way better than any paycheck I could receive. I am acutely aware of it when I have a dear friend and a wife who would ache to go on this trip but have to work.

So I just kept repeating the mantra: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." In between texts to the various parents who I kept sending photos to of their kids having the time of their lives.


I was the parent rep for both Bella and Skyler:

Burnt Island is a 5 acre island off the coast of Boothbay. It has a small ferry to it and can be easily accessed by kayak. 

The island is beautiful and enchanting and so alive with history. The keeper of the island, Elaine Jones, is one of the most dynamic women I have ever met. She knows every last wrinkle there is to be known about the history of the light, the ocean and creatures, the maritime history of the region and the long line of lighthouse keepers and their families. She is an excellent storyteller and I could sit and listen to her for hours. 

When Sandi and I had kids we mostly gave up backpacking. I think we have been once in the past 12 years. I love this picture because Ella is wearing my backpack that she hauled around herself! Feels like coming full circle.

 Tent status: we were able to put the tent up. Even without Maya. However, the fly was touching the tent which it shouldn't and can lead to a wet interior if it rains. I tried (for about 2 minutes) to problem solve that but was unsuccessful.

Not surprisingly, when I selected by tenting spot by its proximity to the bathroom, I failed to realize that I had set up it adjacent to the only grave on the island. For real.

We put the tent up and 5 seconds later Ella said, "I think I want to sleep in the bunk house with my friends."

And just like that I was camping alone on Burnt Island. In a tent that was improperly set up for the rain we, of course, had. No big deal. Everything was damp but no rain fell inside. I was quite pleased to wake up in the morning and find that my almost 40 year old body could still sleep on the ground in the damp and move just fine.

It is hard to describe how much fun this trip was. It was so well planned and executed that it was incredibly education while also being a total blast. The only complaint? It went by way too fast.

 Elaine Jones is responsible for acquiring enough funding to build the Burnt Island Educational Center, complete with a dining room, kitchen and flush toilets as well as a bunk house upstairs.

Soon it was to the beach to dig up sand worms for fishing. The green crabs were just a bonus. 

Turns out Bella was a little more freaked out by the sea life than Ella or Skyler. 

Who doesn't love a tidal pool and all the creatures therein?

We did a GPS hike (like geocaching but rather than exchanging trinkets the kids traced symbols to prove they had been at the locations they were supposed to be at) that concluded with solving a bit of Burnt Island trivia to get the location of their final treasure (a bag of Skittles).

The kids learned a bit about lobstering and painted their own buoys.

The last day we did a very cool Amazing-race inspired hunt all over the island using compass navigation skills and decoding. They were split into teams of 4 and made their own flags representing each team member by their coded name. 

While the kids were learning compass skills to use in the race I decided it would be a good time to hike back to the bathroom. As I was making my way back to the group, a cluster of parents were walking along with Elaine. I thought I would make myself useful and join these parents that were clearly on a mission. Turns out they were going to be in charge of the stations the kids would be visiting. Sounds good. Then Elaine says, "Is there anyone who wants to volunteer to float in the ocean in a survival suit so the kids can try to rescue you? You would be in the ocean for about an hour." 

Come again? 

Now I can be overly ambitious from time to time. But there are some things I just know I cannot do. Floating in the water, in the ocean, for an hour is definitely one of those. Swimming in a lake is sometimes one of those. I have an unexplainable, deep seated fear of my legs dangling in the water where fish and turtles and monsters could bite off my toes. I make myself do it but it isn't without some light hyperventilation, a lot of self-talk and a some true grit that I swim in a body of water with creatures in it.

 Thankfully a very hearty dad was excited for the post and I was positioned on land (and near the coffee and the bathroom as luck would have it!). The kids had to decipher a "man overboard" code and find the right location to try to save the dad! It was the coolest. 

Later, when this activity was all done I heard the teacher say a thank you to the parents who had volunteered for the "adventurous" posts. I realized that, while I would have totally volunteered for it anyway, I had found myself in the adventurous group quite by accident when I emerged from the bathroom. Turns out having a small bladder could get you into trouble if you aren't careful.

Hands down my favorite activity of all was going up into the lighthouse at night. As Ella's teacher said: most people never get to go up in a working lighthouse and if they do it almost would never be at night. It was the coolest experience to think about these lighthouse keepers, back before GPS and satellite and charts, climbing these narrow spiral stairs and keeping the light aglow for all the mariners of yesterday. The stories Elaine told us about the elements the keepers would have to brave during storms to keep ice off the glass so it could be seen by the sea gave me goose bumps. They would have to go out onto the tiny deck with its flimsy railing during hurricanes to maintain that light. 

The light, a one inch bulb, looks enormous as it refracts through the glass. The windows of the lighthouse are red so when the light flashes every 6 seconds, it flashes red to the sea which indicates a specific message to the mariners (I think to take the island on the port side to slide safely into the harbor but don't quote me on that). 

I practically had to be dragged from the island I loved it there so much.

Back on the mainland, we got to visit the Maine State Aquarium for a bit before boarding the bus. We saw both baby lobsters (c'mon...how cute are they?) as well as a 17 pound lobster they estimate to be 30-40 years old.

The girls were really wowed by the touch tanks and specifically the shark tank. Okay, I was really wowed too. 

It has been a bumpy year, no doubt about it. But I look at this growing girl with such love and appreciation that I get to be her mother on this journey. Even if she would rather sleep with her friends in the bunkhouse than in a tent with her super fun mom. 

It's all good. 

summer in the rear view

It has been a crazy, fun summer.  It has also been a crazy fun summer.  Regardless of the punctuation,  this summer has flown by in a blur of high energy sunny days spent near water (partnered with all the insidious packing and unpacking that goes along with such fun), playing with the people we love and squeezing every last drop of the brevity and splendor that is summer in Maine. 

(Warning: you about to be inundated with photos.  I apologize and have no valid excuse except that I didn't keep up with blogging at all this summer and I should get some credit for whittling it down from the nearly 1300 photos that were taken.) 

We spent a lot of time at camp this summer.  Sandi's mom built an amazing second camp (dubbed the "bunkhouse" even though it feels more like an actual house) which means there are more creature comforts and space for everyone.

The kids struggled to enjoy it. 

One of the massive thunderstorms we love at camp.

My family made the trip a couple of times this summer as well and it is really such a blessing how well our families get along.

Maya was her usual serious self this summer.

Ella adores her Grampie. 

My beautiful wife. 

Maya also adores her Grampie. 

It turns out our family likes to do a lot of jumping. 

Turns out jumping isn't just for kids.

This is a baby snapping turtle Ella found in a nearby swamp.  After being told she could not take it home as a pet she reluctantly set it free into the lake where now I have to worry about it getting big and biting my toes off.

Even with all that fun, there is work to be done.  (For the record, I think Ella might me the most fashionable fisherman going.)

My family loves to get on Dwight's lobster boat.

Braeden's first fish ever!

Our girl at work on the sea.

Our ever increasingly handsome nephew in his element. 

I never, ever tire of this view.

My favorite picture of the summer of the blondie cousins who look like sisters. 

The girls and I made it up to Lake Moxie to Ange and Matt's family's camp for an overnight while Sandi was working.  It was so chill and relaxed with happy kids, campfire, sweatshirts and games of cribbage.  

I am proud to say I overcame a few of my fears this summer.  I took some more daring tube rides that put my bravery to the test.  I swam in unknown lake water (I am slightly neurotic about what lies beneath murky lake water) because I don't want to be a sissy,  I went skinny dipping IN THE DARK (see above fear for while this was a huge deal), and I jumped off a highish rock near a freezing cold waterfall.

(Thank you Tom for taking these great pictures!)

Brady and I share the same nose-plugging form when we jump from up high.  Although I think he looks much cooler than me. 

Both of the girls were rather daring too!

Ella has really come into herself this summer and before we knew it she said, "I want to try to waterski."  And just like that, she did. 

She said once she got up, she was like, "Now what do I do?!" (This was a total, bubbling up, proud mom moment.)

Then, before you know it the first day of school is mere days away and you are soaking every last drop out of summer.

I said to the kids, "Who is happy that school is starting?!" They gave me this.  (MAYA.)

The last weekend before school starts means the American Folk Festival.  This means too much kettle corn, Ella's favorite pizza of all time, running into practically everyone you know on the Bangor waterfront, a bucket brigade volunteer shift and lots of amazing music.

 (I wrote this blog post for the AFF website as in infomercial about why you should volunteer.  There is always next year!)

Ella and Skyler looking adorable. 

Ella and Maya with Isabella and a giant sleeve of popcorn.

This year, the festival treated us to the amazing Red Trouser show.  These guys are street performers on steroids with a high-energy, comical show with some astounding acrobats.  Our kids, especially Maya, were riveted.  We had to watch it 3 times plus I recorded it and Maya has watched it at home.  I think she is studying for her future.

Here they are doing a head to head balance.  CRAZY.

Henna tatoos for school. 

It is always hard when summer ends.  I get very sentimental about our girls entering a new grade and the fact that they are growing up so fast.  

 I feeling incredibly grateful to be able to play so much with my girls during the summer and to have so many opportunies afforded us for fun and family time.  I ran into a mom at the grocery store who has to work full time in the summer and pack all their family summer fun in on the weekends.  It gave me pause to appreciate that I get to be with the kids all summer, even if it means inordinate amounts of planning and creativity to see two massage clients in a morning, falling behind on all the pedestrian parts of life that need doing and drinking more ice coffee than I have business drinking.

I also feel like I need a giant nap.  Going from a year of homeschool to a packed summer has left me rather exhausted and not knowing which end it up.  I find myself craving some schedule and routine and (shockingly) a day that doesn't involve ice cream.

Which brings me to my next big thing:  Ella is very happily going back to school for fifth grade!

I have a second grader who seems to be growing like Jack's beanstalk and a fifth grader who has nearly the same size foot as me and is within 8 inches of me.  Sigh. 

There.  I have done it.  I have finished my summer blog posts, I have mostly caught up on the neglected household stuff and I have made up for lost time on my bike.  Now my plan is to make a writing schedule and stick with it so I can write the book that I need to write.  Feel free to hold me to it.