a long winter weekend trip

Cross-country skiing at Sunday River

You haven't heard much from me for a week because we just took a mini-vacation up to Maine for the winter school holiday!  I regret that I took NO photos... I just don't think about it, especially when it's so cold out. Actually Maine has had a pretty warm winter like the rest of the States this year. We stayed in Freeport at the Applewood Inn where we could also take Elle. It was right next to the LL Bean store and close to their Outdoor Activity Center where we went Snow-shoeing on Friday night with a small group and two guides. We wore headlights and trekked out onto the snowy fields and through the pine woods. We turned off our lights and it was completely silent but the little light of the moon let us see across the field. We looked for stars and took in the beautiful surroundings. I am definitely doing that again!

On Saturday we drove a couple hours inland to Sunday River Mountain where we took cross-country skiing lessons and then went out on their beautiful trails. We all loved it and it was great to see the kids enjoying being outside in the winter and having fun learning a new sport. I love sports that don't require teams or scores, but that challenge you and that you can do the rest of your life. This is something I want to give the kids so that they can have these skills and memories when they are adults. I loved it as a kid and though I don't play basketball anymore on a team, I can cross-country ski and do snow-shoeing whenever there's snow on the ground!

On Sunday we drove North to Camden, Maine and ate some yummy chowder at Cappy's Chowder House for lunch. Then we drove around and saw the sights before going back to Freeport. We left on Monday, sorry to say good-bye to the State that we've grown to love so much. This was Craig's birthday present as we are celebrating his birthday tomorrow! So I have to get to the grocery so I can bake a cake and cook a yummy meal for him!