Libraries!

Can you collect libraries? I'm definitely giving it a shot. I spent much of the summer hanging out in the Abbot Memorial Library in Dexter (They have cats! Seriously, how could I not love it?), and I think I've found a library in every little town I've visited over the past two and a half months. (The Bangor library is gorgeous, btdubs.) So it's my last official weekend in Maine, and I decided that I needed to get out of base camp, which is why I'm sitting in the Peavey Library in Eastport, the easternmost city in the United States.

I can't seem to break out of my work schedule, because I woke up this morning at quarter 'til six, two hours before my alarm was supposed to go off. And when I say "woke up," I mean, slowly crawled to consciousness, realized it wasn't even five-thirty in the morning, and tried to go back to sleep but barely lasted for fifteen minutes because it was so cold. One thing about August in Maine - the nights are getting cold!

I'm camping in Cobscook, so I just headed out to Lubec (the easternmost point in the US) for the morning to do some hiking and check out the lighthouse. After hiking a bit around Cobscook, I'm exploring Easport and thinking about eating pizza for the first time in over a month. (Whoa . . .)

This coming week is our last work week. We're still putting in stone steps at Gulf Hagas, and let me tell you - rocks are heavy! Then we take down base camp on Thursday and 'graduate' on Friday. After that I'm a free woman! I'm trying to make plans for my week between work and school, but all I can come up with are going to Kennywood and the driving range. . . . I'll have to work on that.

Sorry for not updating in a while. There hasn't been much to say! Hopefully I'll have lots of good pictures soon!

Vacation!

Sleeping in a bed is a good feeling. It's not something I realize that I miss when I'm in a sleeping bag and a tent, but, if asked, I would probably take the bed over the sleeping bag, especially in a torrential downpour. I'm in Bar Harbor with my family for the 'weekend,' and every morning, I wake up diagonal across the bed. I always manage to stay on my sleeping pad when I'm in my tent, but the mattress seems to be just too big. Too much room!

It's been fun being out on the town and hitting the sights. It was rainy yesterday, so, after lunch (and a shower for me), we went to the Whale Museum in downtown Bar Harbor. We did some shopping and then went back to the hotel to play some cards in the bar, where I had my first legal drink. It was a . . . Bluberri pink lemonade? I'm not actually sure what was in it, but it was . . . interesting.

It was a gorgeous day today! Sunny, low 70s. We had breakfast at this cute little restaurant, where I had chocolate chip pancakes. Yum! We explored the BH shops a bit more before going on a lighthouse/harbor boat tour, which was fun for a number of reasons. I didn't get sick on the boat! The tour guide was funny and he was from near Pittsburgh. We've gotten stopped at least three times in the past few days because of our PGH college sweatshirts, and the general consensus is that Pittsburgh is awesome. :) We're all set to go kayaking tomorrow. I'm super excited for that. Being on the sea is definitely a worthwhile experience.

As for work, I have to be back tomorrow night to get everything packed. We leave again on Saturday for our second week on the Hunt trail, on Katahdin. Last week, we fixed up some extra things. We'll be doing stone steps for the next two weeks. We have plans to stay an extra day one week so we can hike to the summit. I'm not the best or most experienced hiker, but I'm really looking forward to that. I don't want to spend three weeks working halfway up the mountain and never experience what it's like to make it to the top. I can't wait for the view!

We also have plans for an ice cream competition! There's an AT cafe in a nearby town that serves fourteen scoops of ice cream, one for each state. We've already split up into three teams of two. The goal is to finish. If more than one team finishes, then it's fastest time. We've been "training" for weeks, eating seconds and thirds at dinner in the name of this competition. I think the gaps between appetites are starting to decrease, and it's going to be a close contest. The biggest thing I'm worried about is brain freeze!

I have more pictures to share! I'll try to get some up soon.