Weekend Camping: Cold Temperatures & Full Hearts

This last weekend Rob and I went to Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island for some cool, crisp-aired hiking and camping.  Prior to this little excursion we'd never actually gone camping just the two of us, so this was long overdue.

I've also been under a lot of stress lately, both with work and personal issues. We're coming up on a lot of future plans and possible changes, and as you probably could guess I don't do very well with the unknown.  Suffice it to say a little getaway completely sans cell reception was needed.

We gathered up all of our camping gear, including 40-degree sleeping bags and Robbie's Army poncho liner, as the temperatures were due to reach 45 or lower, and headed out with our favorite traveling companion.  I thought it was appropriate that my favorite song to listen to when driving with Rob ("Far Side of Nowhere" by Social Distortion) was the first song to play on shuffle.  And yes, Rob still has his first-generation iPod mini from circa 2005.

We stopped at a rest top on the highway for some lunch and relaxation, and finally we were on our way to the MDI.  We visited one of the many campfire stands to prepare for the fire at our campsite.

Once we settled in at our campsite, we drove to the national park for some hiking.  Typically Acadia is positively packed with tourists, so we expected to wade through groups of people to get to the top of some of the mountains.  To our very happy surprise, we saw nary a soul and had the whole trail and summit to ourselves.  Rob, who has endured my camera attacks for years, finally took over the photographic duties and captured some extremely awkward pictures of me.

I really enjoy hiking with Robbie and getting to enjoy Maine's most beautiful season.  Acadia National Park is one of the spots in Maine that all tourists visit but that not as many Mainers have ever seen. 

 

 

After our hike we drove to Bar Harbor to pick up some gluten-free pizza* and returned to our campsite for dinner and quality time.

Once it got dark we finally curled up under one sleeping bag (and on top of another), and under Rob's warm army poncho, to watch Mystery Science Theater 3000 on my iPad.  I didn't bring my camera into the tent with us but let me assure you, it was a lovely little scene.  Sadly I didn't get a ton of sleep because side-sleeping and camping don't really mix, and it was approximately 40 degrees outside of our warm little sleeping bag bubble.  Also sadly, Cypress didn't get a ton of sleep because she was completely confused as to what, exactly, was going on.

In the morning Robbie made me yummy gluten-free chocolate chip pancakes.

All in all it was an absolutely lovely weekend.  I can't put into words how much I enjoy these quiet moments with my husband where it's only us and our gorgeous little beastie.  I'm always reminded of just how awesome my husband and I are together and how excited I am to share this life with him after being apart for so long.

If you made it through this insanely high-photo post, my kudos to you.

*We basically only got pizza so that we could do the following.  If any of you can catch the reference I am making in this series (read left-right), you will win 10,000 blog points.  Also, if any of you can make me a GIF of it WITH WORDS, you'll win something cool.