Lobstah & Lighthouses - Our Family Vacation to Maine, pt. 2

We weren't exactly sure how best to use our second day in Maine. Luckily, James' Uncle John recommended we take a road trip down to Rockland. It's a beautiful area with nice restaurants, etc. But more importantly, they have a really cool museum with old cars and airplanes, and there's a nearby lighthouse that you can hike right up to! So - we climbed back into the car and made our way to the coast to explore the Owl's Head Transportation Museum!

It seemed like a pretty random, out-of-the-way place so we were skeptical about the place at first. But it's a really great museum. They got my vote immediately because they had a changing table in the bathroom, and a nice bench over by a large toy train table where I was able to sit and feed Audrey and keep Kaden occupied at the same time! (The travel priorities of a nursing mom... haha.)

 They had several beautifully restored old cars and airplanes to look at. You could even climb up inside of a couple of them! For some reason Kaden had no interest in climbing up inside this old 1925 Ford, but Audrey got her first driving lesson from daddy that day.

Tiny hands on the wheel

Daddy's favorite car in the collection

Model of the original Wright Flier

Kaden's favorite display. This should surprise no one.

Out behind the museum they have a couple of garages where you can watch them working on the vehicles. In the airplane shed, one of the employees let Kaden climb inside this kid-sized little plane. Too cute!

After the museum, we drove out to the tip of the Owl's Head peninsula and hiked up to see the lighthouse. It only took about 5-10 minutes to get out there, but somehow in that short span between the car and our destination, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and the wind really picked up. We were unprepared for that, and so Kaden ended up wearing daddy's beanie, and we were not able to stay as long as I would have liked. That's ok - we still got some beautiful photos and saw some pretty sights!

Kaden and I climbed the extensive steps to the lighthouse while daddy stayed below with a sleeping Audrey. This picture may be my favorite one from the trip. Love that boy!

View from the top

 By the time we returned to the car, it was getting late and we were all a little tired and hangry. Luckily, we found a great restaurant right there in Rockland called The Landings.
It's a seafood restaurant with a beautiful view of the water. (I got steak.) We loved the fact that their kid's menu was taped inside the front cover of a cute children's book about a puffin. That gave our cranky toddler something to do while he waited for his grilled cheese. We were all smiles by the end of the meal.

 I needed to nurse Audrey and give her her evening bottle before we drove home, so daddy took Kaden for a 20 minute walk out on the nearby pier. Kaden couldn't get enough of the windmills across the water. The photo below is HIS favorite picture from the trip and he still requests to see it often. That boy loves anything tall and tower-like!

After that, we made the hour and a half drive back to our hotel in Waterville and were all happy to collapse in bed. It had been a long but fun day full of those things people most enjoy about Maine: history, gorgeous ocean views, light houses, and good seafood. Thanks, Uncle John, for the recommendation!