Tuesday in Acadia

We started our day by heading to Thunder Hole. The national parks book describes it as a "cleft in the rocks, named for the roars produced when air, trapped and squeezed by incoming surf, explodes out of a cavern."

We were told by a Ranger that most people don't actually hear the thunder sound since it is unpredictable and only happens around half tide or during a storm. We were lucky. When we arrived we heard the thunder! It was really cool. We all loved watching the waves comes in and crash against the rock.

I also loved watching the water recede. Thousands of little waterfalls form on the rocks. I tried to capture it all, but my pictures don't do it justice.

After watching and listening to the waves we ventured down the coast a little to some more tide pools. Actually Chad, Tanner, Kaden and Trevor checked out the tide pools while Devon, Austin and I watched from above.

We had some beautiful views from this spot. I love the ship out in the ocean (we saw it a lot during the week)!

You had to climb down some steep rocks to get to the tide pools and I wanted to take it slow with Devon and Austin. While we were up on the rocks watching the boys, I had Devon take a picture of Austin and me. I was very impressed - he's took a great shot!

We did finally make our way down the rocks a bit to meet up with Chad and the boys as they were heading back from the tide pools. Chad spotted a rock wall and he challenged Trevor to climb it. Of course, Trevor was up for the challenge followed by Tanner and Kaden.

Austin was heading over to the wall, when I broke the news to him that he wouldn't be able to try. He wasn't very happy at first, but he quickly found something else to hold his attention!

Once everyone had scaled the rock wall we headed back to car and made the decision to head for Sand Beach.

Sand Beach is one of the only sand beaches in Maine. The weather was still a little chilly and we all knew the water would be cold, but the beach looked so inviting that we were all excited! We stopped off at the store and got some lunch stuff and then went to the beach for a picnic.

On the way to the beach Chad challenged the boys to get in the chilly water. Usually Chad is willing to take the challenge with the boys, but this time he passed. The first boy to accept the challenge was Kaden. He showed no fear, he was definitely getting in the water!

The morning had been a little overcast, but by the time we got to Sand Beach the clouds were starting to clear and the sun was out. It was beautiful! The perfect time to be at the beach. The boys quickly got their swim suits on and we headed towards the water. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves.

Kaden stayed true to his promise to get wet and immediately headed for the water. Trevor and Tanner were close behind.

The rest of us started with lunch. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, and chips.

Once we got out the food we became very popular - with the birds that is. There were several seagulls at the beach and they all wanted a piece of our lunch. Austin thought they were cool and he kept calling the birds "Migeons"! We kept telling him they were called seagulls, but he wouldn't believe us. It was pretty funny!

Devon had fun with the seagulls. He kept trying to chase them all over. He liked to yell at them. He actually got pretty close to the birds once or twice, but they always seemed to get away from him. It was all a big game to Devon and he had a ball! He had the happiest smile on his face while he was chasing the birds!

I was impressed that all of the boys got into the water. Kaden was the first to get completely wet. It is amazing to me that kids can handle such bitting cold water and still go back for more. Kaden had a blast! He was all smiles the entire afternoon.

Trevor was the only other one to get completely wet. He ducked under the water only minutes after Kaden. Just like Kaden, Trevor was all smiles. He loved running in and out of the water.

Tanner had a lot of fun running in and out of the water as well, but he didn't want to get all wet. He did get wet up to his chest, but that was as far as he wanted to go. After playing around in the water he worked on building a sandcastle with his brothers.

Devon started out a bit slow. He liked to sit at the edge of the water and let the waves wash over he feet. After a couple of waves he would move in a little more until he was wet up to his shirt. Then he got up and ran in and out of the waves. He didn't get completely wet, but he had a ball in the water.

When Austin went down to the water it took him by surprise. I think it took his breath away! He wasn't quite prepared for how cold the water would be.

It took him a little while, but he did eventually get in the water with Chad. The two of them waded out a little and then Chad swung Austin in and out of the water. He loved it!

Afterwards I got to play frisbee with Austin. We had a lot of fun! He made me laugh. I kept trying to show him how to throw the frisbee, but he kept reverting back to his way of throwing, which often resulted in the frisbee being thrown way to the side or behind him!

I only got my feet wet, but that was fine with me. I was content to watch the waves roll onto the beach. I love the way the waves form and then crash onto themselves. It is beautiful!

We had a wonderful time at the beach. It was a great way to spend the afternoon! The boys getting into the freezing ocean water inspired others to try. Some were successful while others failed. We saw one guy that was trying to convince himself to go in, but was holding back. Chad told Kaden and Trevor to run right past the guy and jump in the water. They, of course, ran right in and made the guy feel a little sheepish!