Road Trip 2009 - Part One

Donna and I have missed Maine. True, I have been there every month for work, but that is not the Maine we miss. We miss the ocean views, sound of the birds, sit on the rocks, lobster Maine. So, this year we decided we would make the yearly family vacation, all about Maine. And, we added a twist. We'd bring the camper. True American style family vacation.

For those that don't know, Maine is a long way off from Rochester. And, once you reach her borders, good bet you are still a long way off from where it is you are heading. We trained Gavin and Isabelle for the trip with a few practice car rides earlier this summer. Five hours to Howe Caverns. Eight hours to Boston. Think of it as similar to what NASA puts astronauts through before heading to the moon. So, After much planning, and an insane amount of packing, we hitched up our wagon (er...camper) and headed off on our ten day family memory maker bright and early Saturday morning. Destination for day one, Old Orchard Beach, ME.

After making years of trips past Old Orchard Beach, and the marvels of modern technology, I had carefully calculated that it should take us eight hours to get to Old Orchard. I have a few suggested add-ons for MapQuest. In their Directions Options box, they should include check boxes for Two Kids in Car, Pulling Camper, Torrential Downpours, high winds, and then let you calculate the estimated trip time. Gavin and Isabelle gave Donna and I quite a training session during day one of our Family Memory trip, and we now factor all arrival times as ETA +2hrs to predict our actual arrival time.

After a nothing but pleasurable ten hour ride, with two perfect angels in the back seat, we arrived at Paradise Park Campground in Old Orchard Beach, ME. The clerk at the check in desk knew us by name. Not because we had been there before, but simply because we were the last to arrive, and the only name left on the list. Either way, it was a nice welcome. Since we were only staying the night, we made a quick set up of camp, and headed into town.

Every wondered how to turn whine, into WOW!! in one easy step? Take two very overtired kids, and walk them onto the pier at Old Orchard. Old Orchard Beach, in addition to being a very rare, all white sand beach in the state of Maine, is the Coney Island of Maine. Trapped in time, it is a pier and boardwalk covered with more neon light coated excitement than any child could ever handle in one evening. We promptly dropped our first vacation $50 on ride tickets, and we all let loose laughing and smiling. A worthy way to celebrate our accomplishment of making it to Maine in one day, and one piece.

We enjoyed the Fun House.

Donna and Gavin rode the roller coaster.

Izzy and I kicked butt on the bumper cars.

There were Tea Cups...

And Truck Rides...

And Whales, oh my!
Then, it was back a quick walk back to the camper as we all chattered away about our favorite parts of the night. No one mentioning how exhausted we were, or how long it had taken to get here. We were here, and our fun in Maine had just started.