On Tenting

This year we managed to camp at or visit four campgrounds.

We are still in search of our "perfect" campground. We know, though, that it doesn't exist. So we are looking for something close to perfect. All the sites in my following reviews do not have water or power at them and ranged from $17-75 a night.

Walking out to the dock at Mt. Blue

Mt Blue State Park:

I would recommend this camground to tenters. There are a lot of dirt paths for bikes, free hot showers, and lots of places for kids to play. All the fire pits have grills for cooking.  I love, love, love the water of Webb Lake (the lake the campground is on) it is shallow and perfect for kids. There is also a very recent playground near the lake and boat docks. It is not, however, from what I observed very easy to get RV's and campers into the sites.

Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals
Shallow Beach
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower
Cooking Fire Pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites

Jumping into the pool at Papoose Pond

Papoose Pond -we went as visitors, we had friends camping there

Jason didn't like the "feel" of the campground. He called it "City Camping". There was arcades, a dance floor, carousel  restaurant  mini-golf, volley ball court, several playgrounds, store, free movie once a week, plus lots of other things. If you like all of those extras than this place is perfect! The price is high, $75 a night for no water or power. They have lots of different types of site, I am intrigued by the kitchen sites.

Playground - multiple!
Affordable Boat Rentals  -didn't think to ask so I don't know
Shallow Beach - didn't go down to the beach so I don't know
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower - not sure if they were free or not
Cooking Fire Pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites

Walking beside the river at Evergreens

Evergreens Campground -stayed overnight twice as guests of Jason's parents in a pair of campers

We were so unimpressed with this campground. It is a sportsmen campground. Lots of ATV's, fishermen, hunters, and no place for the little guy to safely play.

Playground 
Affordable Boat Rentals  -didn't think to ask so I don't know
Shallow Beach - it was on the river
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower
Cooking Fire Pit - had a pit but no grill to cook on
Shade - too much shade
Sun
Dog Friendly - for a price! $5.00!
Camping Atmosphere .. it seemed more like a hunting camp than a family camp
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites

Our site at Hadley's Point

Hadley's Point Campground

I was so very disappointed that they closed their pool down after Labor Day. We would have gone swimming even though it was a little chilly. In a heated pool what does it matter? There was a lot of RV's, mostly RV's. Most of the tent sites accommodated RV's so the sites were small. We stayed in the tenting only area, the back site by the road. Our site was large, but every other site was tiny and very close to their neighbor. It was off the beaten path of the traffic, but close enough to Acadia and Bar Harbor that we were able to find lots of things to do. Also, we were able to hike down to the point at low tide and play in the rocks

Awesome Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals  
Shallow Beach - no beach
Grassy Areas at Beach -no beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach  -no beach
Free Shower - $.50 for 7 minutes which was enough time.
Cooking Fire Pit - had a pit but no grill to cook on
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy
Spacious Tent Site - ours was, but the rest were not.
Pool - closes down after Labor Day
Space Between Sites

Blog Roll Review - Peppermint Mocha Mama

~*~*~

For the next few Mondays I am reviewing a few

of my most favorite blogs.

These blogs inspire, encourage, entertain,

and hold me in their thrall.

I recommend you brew some coffee or tea,

or get a tall glass of water

because once to start reading, you won't want to stop.

~*~

Peppermint Mocha Mama is written by Amy. She is a Stay at Home: knitter, seamstress, chef, chauffeur, Mom. She writes about her daughters, her husband, her dog, her life as a Stay at Home Mom, knitting tips, a few family recipes, a bit of sewing, and of course there are pictures of her knitting.

I love what she has to say about herself on her About Me Page: "Her whole goal during this crazy life is to meet some wonderful yarnaholics and shutterbugs, learn a trick or two along the way and perhaps share some of her creations or limited knowledge with the rest of the world."*

I first ran across Amy during Blog Week 2011. I was Googling the tag for Day 1 and this is the blog post that caught my eye. The title reached out and grabbed me and then the first few sentences had me hooked because I could have said them about myself,  "I am a tactile knitter.  I must feel the yarn before I can commit to using it.  It doesn't matter how beautiful the colorway or perfectly it might work, if it doesn't feel good then I won't use it." *  I had to read more!


Amy is both entertaining and encouraging. She makes me laugh and assures me I'm not alone. Quite often she will say what I'm thinking or have thought before. I like that she shares daily, because I know at least once a day I can read something from one of my favorite blogs (it's depressing to log on and find out no one has written anything!) Sometimes she writes just a paragraph, sometimes several, and sometimes with a theme or direction like: Learn Your Knitting ABC's, Tuesday Tunes, and Sunday Snaps. I love learning about her daughters through some of their ups and downs. She honest in her writing and always remains hopeful even when things look a little dreary. 


I keep reading because she is funny, witty, sassy, and feels like a long time friend. You should read because it is good to sit and relax with a friend every once and awhile. 

*quotes and photos used by permission

Blog Review - MommyCoddle

~*~*~

For the next few Mondays I am reviewing a few 

of my most favorite blogs.

These blogs inspire, encourage, entertain, 

and hold me in their thrall.

I recommend you brew some coffee or tea, 

or get a tall glass of water

because once to start reading, you won't want to stop.

~*~

MommyCoddle is written by Molly a: Stay at Home, home-schooler, seamstress, farmer, chef, toddler chaser, knitter, crafter, animal tender, Mom. She shares about homeschooling, recipes, glimpses of her childhood, adventures her daughters take, the little animal kingdom she maintains, and about farm life.


She writes on her blog: "But no matter what the topic I may be writing about, I hope you'll find a little inspiration, camaraderie and encouragement as I share honest bits of my every day life and capture it here, as a family field guide, of sorts."*


I find this to be true as she shares about some of her farming adventures. One of my favorites posts is titled "I Carried a Broom"  In the post she talks about foxes: "You'd think I'd be desensitized by now, but I seriously HATE the sound of these foxes. They send chills down my neck and make me want to revert back to my thunder-storm-panicked childhood with hands clamped over my ears and covers pulled up to my eyeballs. [...] So I did the only brave thing a farm girl could do. I woke up Dan." Later in the post she recalls the bravery of her mother, who chased something away in the night with a broom one night when she was a child, and then finishes with: "I like to think that if necessary, I could step up and have that kind of bravery. But for now, if Dan's available, I'll gladly default to him." 


This is one of my favorite posts because of the imagery she lends in her writing. I can imagine myself in bed listening to the fox and worrying about chickens and kittens. I can see myself waking up my husband to go see what was going on and how it would disrupt the rest of the nights sleep for everyone. I also know that I too could "Carry a Broom" when needed to protect my family.


Molly is a delightful writer and I often get lost for hours reading old posts (she's been writing on her blog for a long time!) as I get to know the cast of characters in her life.


Molly inspires me to slow down and enjoy the slow life; she encourages me to sit, pause, and watch my son play. She challenges me to be a more careful in the kitchen from the time where she decided to not go to the grocery store for a whole week. She has taught me that I can be Mom, Farmer, Knitter, Teacher, and Wife and do it all well (maybe not well every day, but most days). 


Recently I tried her Iced Tea for the Over 13 Crowd it was everything she said it would be: easy, refreshing, tasty, and it didn't heat up my kitchen during our hot week last week. 

I continue to read because her words jump off the "page" and hold my attention. Her posts are never dull and her photography always pops. Check her out when you have a few moments. Or, better yet, brew a cup of coffee or get a large glass of water, get comfortable and spend a little time with Molly.

*quotes and photos used with permission

Blog Review - Inspired

~*~*~

For the next few Mondays I am reviewing a few of my most favorite blogs.

These blogs inspire, encourage, entertain, and hold me in their thrall.

I recommend you brew some coffee or tea, or get a tall glass of water

because once to start reading, you won't want to stop.

~*~

 Inspired is written by Melissa: "Wife. Mama. Naturally living life to the fullest through simplicity."*

She is a Stay at Home: knitter, seamstress, cloth diaper, baby wearer, chef, baby chaser, Mom. She writes about being a Mom, crafting, knitting, sewing, cooking, and about what inspires her. 

She says on her blog: "I'm inspired by the blogs I read, to do more blogging myself."* and "Living simply is important to me, and unnecessary clutter is my nemesis."* I think those two lines sum up her blog in a nutshell. I can see echoes of other blogs in her writing with WIP-Wednesday and {This Moment}-Fridays which are seen all across the web in blogs all across the wold. I also can see that she lives her life simply through the photos she takes and the moments she shares about her and her family. 

Melissa inspired me to make a few changes in my own life. 

Mostly: cloth diapers.

When I was ten my Mom had a baby and she used cloth diapers. I was appalled by the potential of not only sticking my little brother with a safety pin, but then dunking the dirty diaper in the toilet to remove the solids! Ugh! Disgusting! Then, a few months later my cousin (a much older cousin) had a baby and she did cloth diapers, but she had made her own To me (being at the wise old age of um, 10) they didn't look like they worked well.

Fast forward 19 years (give or take). I come across the blog of my "Wedding Buddy" (we got married on the same day of the same year and we have some of the same friends) and she is preparing for the birth of her first child. In her preparations she is knitting and sewing up a storm, to make covers for cloth diapering.

Cloth diapers? How backwards of her! What is she thinking?

Then I got to thinking about it. About the cost of putting disposables on any child I might have. The cost to the environment and to my wallet. When I really got to thinking about it, it made sense to me. We are now, proudly, a cloth diapering family mostly due to the encouragement of Melissa and her blog.

I continue to read her blog because she challenges my way of thinking and pushes me to do more for my environment. I know that she and her family are just "regular" people doing the best they can with what God has given them. I know that if they can do it, then so can we.

If you have been thinking about cloth diapering, stop by her blog and read everything she has written on Cloth Diapers (check it out under her label cloud) to see how far cloth diapering has come in 20 years (believe me, they are not your mothers cloth!).

If you too would like to be encouraged and challenged to live life more simply, then stop by her blog and read, read, read. I promise you will not be disappointed.

*quotes and photos used with permission

Blog Roll Review

I often wonder, when I visit another person's blog, why they follow the blogs that they follow. Many bloggers have long lists of blogs they read, but I'm curious: Why? Why those ones? Are they friends? Did they stumble upon them one day, added them to their list, and then gave them no further thought?

I decided that I will give a review of each of the blogs I faithfully follow. The few blogs that I am anxious to see new posts from and wait impatiently for them to write more! I will be telling you, my reader, how I found them, why I follow them, if I know them personally, and why I think you should read them.

There are seven blogs total that I would call my favorites. There are dozens that I follow, but these special seven are on my must read list. I could do one a day, but I think that is too quick. I will write one a week for the next seven weeks starting Monday, June 6th. The first one is Inspired written by Melissa.

Check back next Monday to read the review!