Maine, Mustaches & Mosquitos.

Today is Day 8, which means as of tomorrow, our trip is half over. Wahh.

So, as you may have seen... We achieved all our lobster goals by ordering twin lobsters. I must say, it was quite appalling and I will never eat a whole lobster again in my life.

There was just a lot of cracking, and oozing, and discharging for one dish. When I am eating, I do not want any of my food having a discharge. Sick-a-relly.

So, we are now Livin' La Vida Lesson Learned and, in the future, plan to opt for the chowder, and politely pass on the opportunity to open up the exoskeleton of our dinner.

What did not disappoint, on the other hand, was bathing. It felt so good to have all six heads (and tails) scrupulously cleaned. We trimmed nails, washed clothes and flip flops. It was a little sad to discover that my legs were not as tan as I thought, just dirty. After the hotel, we got right back into the filth of our camping groove.

We explored downtown Portland, Maine (not nearly as radical as our visit to Portland, Oregon last summer... Rick and Christine were sorely missed.) After Portland, we went to Mackworth Island which is an adorable little island, heavily wooded, with a narrow beach... but, the best part is a clearing in the woods with dozens of tiny fairy houses built by little visitors. Annalee and Marlie got right to work building intricate fairy houses, complete with desk lamps made of acorn tops, and leafy bed covers. Harper got right to work laying a stick across his upper lip and pretending it was a huge mustache. And London waited until we had hiked to the point on the island that was furthest from the car (and the diaper bag), then got to work on filling her drawers. It was a beautiful day though and a nice, easy hike. For the two oldest girls, it was definitely a favorite activity.

Our campsite last night was not at all what we expected. The website boasted of waterfront campsites which would be a clam-digging free-for-all. In actuality, it was a wild mosquito refuge, in the deep woods of a trailer-park, with a dash of thunderstorms during set-up time. If I was still in my twenties, this might be a time when I complained. Fortunately for all of us, my new maturity transcends such trivial challenges.

If I were in my twenties, I might also complain about our GPS, which has led us astray, more than once. But, not thirty year old, fabulous me. This me says "well, at least we know where that supermarket isn't!" (Insert polite, closed-mouthed church smile here, while making a hmm sound.)

But, we managed to stay dry, get ice cream to celebrate Annalee's and London's half birthdays, and get a decent night's sleep. This morning we visited the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Me. We saw lots of interesting things, and climbed aboard a real ship, as well as a pirate ship playground.

We are on our way to Acadia National Park, which will be our home for the next three nights. As for ATATT, Tom is feeling overwhelmed by the question "how is the trip going?" So, out of respect for the hardships of newfound celebdom, I will give the fans a little something to hold them over and just say that he is a safe driver, a willing tent putter-upper and his head, specifically, is a mosquito magnet.

So for Day 8, we are taking the scenic drive along the rocky coast of Maine, while we sip hot coffee and all the kids are silent with sleep... even in my twenties I couldn't complain.