New England

Road Trip 2015 started the same way things got going in 2014, by heading NORTH!

After a day of driving in atrocious weather, I made a quick stop in New London, CT for nostalgia's sake and ran into some old friends. And then it was out to Cape Cod, seemingly stopping at every whaling museum in Massachusetts. A fan of all things nautical, I enjoyed strolling through New Bedford, imagining myself in the opening chapters of Moby Dick.

Nantucket's whaling museum was the best in my opinion. New Bedford had a larger collection but those Quakers seem to have a knack for better organization and presentation. Beautiful scrimshaw and an impressive array of hideously efficient medieval-looking weaponry used to kill and chop up whales. The most memorable tale is one of the poor sap, often a small boy, that was lowered inside a hole in the whale's head to haul out the spermaceti oil with a bucket (cue nauseous puking sounds). The things we do for oil, but I guess some things never change...

Thar' she blows! Nantucket Whaling Museum

Scrimshaw, Nantucket Whaling Museum

At the end of Cape Cod is the beautifully restored Race Point Life Saving Station, a precursor to the US Coast Guard. 

The whole Kearns clan met up in Acadia National Park, a throwback vacation in tribute to one of my favorite trips from my high school days. Things are never the same, and Acadia was no exception. Cruise ships now anchor in Bar Harbor and the mountains are just a little smaller than the towering behemoths I remembered when I was 12. But it was a blast.

Dad and I were able to erase a longstanding asterisk on the summit of Champlain Mountain. We had wanted to hike it on our previous family trip but were weathered off. I'm glad we waited all these years later - the views of the Atlantic Coast were incredible, the Gulf of Maine full of colorful lobster buoys.

Steep trails! 

Champlain Mountain

And my sister, who wasn't quite up for epic long hikes back in the day, became my new stalwart adventure partner. We kayaked for loons, enjoyed some great views from the tops of the highest peaks in the park, and spent a morning rock climbing in one of the most impressive settings of my life - the sea cliffs of Otter Point!

Loon, 2 o'clock

Sargent Mountain

The Great Chimney, Otter Cliffs

Rapping down the Yellow Wall, Otter Cliffs

Yellow Wall, Otter Cliffs

We all headed our separate ways - Mom and Dad back to West Virginia. Chel off to Baltimore and her summer vacation from teaching. And I continued north to Nova Scotia, just in time for Canada Day!

Family hike up the Beehive.