Dry Run

Brett and I are getting very excited about our upcoming family trip to
Maine. This will be the first time the entire Newton family will be
together at the Maine house in almost 20 years. Our vacations to Maine are
full of family traditions like lobster feasts, popovers and tea at Jordan
Pond House, blueberry picking, lobster feasts, after dinner ice cream,
giant sub, lobster feasts, mini golf at Pirates Cove, Vokes driving range,
lobster feasts, watching the Persiades meteor shower, driving to the top of
Cadillac mountain, trips to Bar Harbor, lobster feasts, shopping, and tons
of other favorite traditions (if you can't tell, I'm very excited about
lobster feasts). But one of my favorite activities to do in Maine is
taking our hiking trips.

We are fortunate to live very close to Mount Desert Island which is where
Acadia National Park is located. There are a TON of awesome hiking trails
available that range from a leisurely stroll on a flat trail to a 'jaunty'
hike up steep mountains, to rock scrambles and hikes with rungs and
ladders. The last time we were in Maine two years ago, we initiated Woody
into the family hiking experience and this year we will introduce Will to
our hiking adventures.

To facilitate our family hiking adventure, I had picked up a frame baby
backpack at a consignment sale. We decided that Woody needed to share the
load and my brother Mike got Woody a doggie backpack for Christmas so he
can carry his own water, treats, and whatnot. Hauling around a 17 pound
baby is a bit different than carrying a bit of water and snacks so we
decided to take a hiking dry run through the trails in our neighborhood.

We loaded Brett up with Will in the frame backpack, I suited Woody up with
his backpack, and I threw on another backpack with some extra weight and we
hit the trails. Will loved it - he was occupied by the exciting and
everchanging scenery and Woody seemed to be excited to have a 'job' to do.
It was a good thing we did a test run though because we worked out some
kinks in the baby backpack and Woody now knows he can't squeeze through
tight spaces with the backpack on. Otherwise everything went great and
with an hour and a few miles of hiking under our belt, I know that we will
be able to hit the Maine trails with confidence.