Nova and I got up with the Yatzecks and went to Cadillac Mountain with timed-entry “sunrise” passes that we secured on Wednesday.  It was a competitive race to get a ticket and they sell out within seconds when they become available at 10am.  At this spot you can be one of the first people in the United States to see the sunrise.  We also got a ticket for the less coveted sunset time slot.  Sunrise and sunset on top of the same mountain!

Sunrise was at 4:49 on the mountain so we got up at 3:15 am, left here at 3:30 am, drove to the parking lot on top of the mountain, arriving at 4:00 am.  VERRRRY EARLY.  When I tried to wake Nova up at 3:15 she said, “actually, I want to just sleep instead” and I said, “nope you have to come!”.  We are using the “every kid in a park” pass under Nova’s and Katy’s names so at least one of them has to be in the car when we do anything that involves entering the park. Once she got up I think she was glad she came. 

It was little chilly on the mountain but the breeze coming off the ocean actually felt like it was *trying* to be warmish.  This was the sky at about 4:00 am.

4:15ish

4:30ish

4:45ish

While I waited, I used the Merlin app to identify the bird songs I was hearing and found out there were eastern bluebirds, eastern towhees and more nearby.  The birds were very active like they usually are at sunrise.

I was also curious about the name Cadillac Mountain, wondering if it was brand placement or something.  Turns out both Cadillac Mountain and Cadillac cars were named after the same guy, an explorer and adventurer who “founded Detroit”. 

Nova was getting tired of waiting and laid down.

5:00ish…wait wasn’t sunrise at 4:49?  Yes.  But there was a dense bank of clouds blocking it.

Nova fell asleep waiting.  The rest of us wondered if we should wait until the sun rose over the cloud bank or leave.  It might be another hour and we were all tired and chilly.

5:05

We decided to leave but then there was a change behind the clouds.  Here it comes at 5:10am!

The pictures don’t capture it completely but it was pretty and there was a beautiful reflection on the water.

Back at the campsite, Nova and I went back to bed.  Eventually we were all awake and had eaten breakfast.  Then, it was time to take a walk over to the ranger station at the entrance of the campground to turn in their booklets and get sworn in as Junior Rangers of Acadia. 

We ate ramen for lunch and the kids played some running and chasing games outside until it was time to go out for our kayak adventure. 

We have enough space for 3-4 kayakers at once so first, Esme, Katy and I went out in one kayak and Lily in the other.  It was hard going and when we got back we figured out why!  We were backwards in the kayak so our rudder was on the wrong end.  Doh!  I didn’t get pictures of us but I think Melissa did, so check her blog. 

We paddled Jordan Pond where we could see the Bubbles peaks.  Joey helped us get in the kayaks.  Katy was a bit nervous but I think she enjoyed it in the end.  We didn’t go too far and when we got back, Melissa, Joey and I went out.  We kayaked almost all the way to the foot of the south Bubble.  After lots of hikes (leg day) today was arm day.

Esme took some pictures of us kayaking.

When Joe got back from a walk, he, Joey and Lily went out for a spin.  We put the kayaks back up on the car and went back to the campsite after stopping for gas, ice and a lobster roll to share.

We made spaghetti and leftovers for dinner and then rushed to pack up what we could before the rain started.  The camper fridge died yesterday, the water pump is hanging in there but the overhead lights died almost the very first day. It wasn’t a problem the first two days because we went right to bed after going in the camper.  With rain hitting around 7pm tonight, we dug out a battery operated lantern for a bit of light.  The girls went on iPads which we have been charging up on our battery pack or the Yatzecks battery.  We attempted some s’mores without much success in the rain with umbrellas. 

Along with the early morning and the rain, we skipped our sunset reservation on Cadillac Mountain and most of us were tucked into bed by 8pm.  Tomorrow we have a 5+ hour drive to Massachusetts.