"You ever hear of why it always takes forever to drive places in Maine?" It's cause they spend so much time doing Mainetenance on the roads. Ok, wasn't my best...but neither is the thought of turning 30. Unfortunately, I can limit my bad dad jokes but cannot control turning the big 3-0. At exactly 12:32 this morning (as my mom still calls me on the dot each birthday), I had officially been in this world for 30 years. Thankfully, I learned a long time ago to control what I can control and live every day to its fullest. That is exactly what we did today.
We woke up in Conway, New Hampshire and hit the ground running in what feels like our slowly dying Ford focus. Though it has been a great car and very economical on the gas, there have been times where we raised a few eyebrows accelerating. Regardless, we passed Poland, Norway and ended up in Naples. However, these weren't the European hubs you are accustomed to hearing about. Instead, these were all towns in the absolutely gorgeous "Lakes Region" of Maine.
We arrived at "Naples Seaplane Adventures" on a blustery, cloudy, typical normal Maine morning. Alyssa's research for this surprise birthday adventure got us in touch with Mike, a native Ohioan who relocated to Maine 12 years ago to fly seaplanes. For those of you who don't know, a seaplane is a plane that has pontoons on it making it able to land and take off on water. So there we were, on Long Lake in Naples, ME ready for our morning tour with some raised eyebrows about the weather. After being reassured by Mike and caffeinated by the local Naples coffee house, we hopped in the Cessna 180. I found it somewhat interesting that my 30 year old butt was in a 30 year old airplane. After a few quick engine checks in the middle of the lake, we were airborne.
We opted for the 25 mile ride, a ride that took us in a figure eight pattern around the Lakes region. Mike proceeded to tell us about the many Maine summer camps in the area, some costing over $15,000 to send a child for a summer. I was listening intently, but all I could think about was "Heavyweights" and "The Parent Trap". Regardless, we turned our attention to trying to spot a moose and were unsuccessful. The tour was a blast, landing on water is a trip, and we were both in awe the entire flight.
Float plane over, we headed east. And by east, I mean literally as far east as any human can possibly go in the United States of America...Quoddy Head State Park in Lebec, Maine. After heading up I-95, cutting towards the coast in Bangor (shoutout to Julie the Cat Gaffney), we rested for lunch in Machias, ME...overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, 281 miles from where we started the day, a beautiful red and white striped lighthouse beautifully greeted us to the Bay of Fundy. The quintessential coastal Maine postcard glimmered in the sunlight as the glassy North Atlantic Ocean watched nearby. Tides in this area fluctuate almost 48 feet, so the ocean current stays swift and powerful all the time, as evident by the nearby whirlpool that is the largest in the Western Hemisphere. There are millions of people in this country and for about 10 minutes today, I can officially say that there was no person further east in the entire USA than me. That, I believe, is really cool.
From far and wide, Canada was staring at us from across the bay, and we just had to make one of those "just because" detours. Our true patriot love crossed the border in Lebec, ME, past a Canada customs agent who was standing on guard for thee, and onto Campollindo Island in New Brunswick. Our first stop was at Roosevelt International park, a park frequently visited by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his family. In fact, his cottages still remain, and we were able to take a nice little self-guided tour through the largest of them. The island's best feature was a gorgeous rocky beach with the most beautiful polished rocks you could imagine. I see flat polished rocks and I see the perfect example to show off my rock skipping skills...skills that Alyssa clearly doesn't have. In fact, it was kind of sad. After a couple of hours, we headed back into the States, and waved back to the Canada customs agent, who, along with God, was still keeping his land glorious and free. 
Finally, after 383 total miles driven on the day, we finally reached our final destination of Bar Harbor, Maine, home to Acadia National Park. We celebrated with dinner and ice cream at one of Maine's local ice cream parlors. I opted for the butterbeer and banana molasses ice cream while Alyssa chose the Grapefruit and Cucumber-lime sorbet. Odd flavors, but remarkable good taste from Mt. Desert Ice Cream in Bar Harbor, ME.
Another day, another year, another adventure. I keep getting older and the days ahead keep getting shorter. The first dreaded birthday couldn't have gone any better and I have a lot of people to thank for that. Thank you to all my friends and family for taking time out of their day to make me feel special. Thank you to my parents for making this whole being alive thing possible. And thank you to my amazing wife, whose thoughtfulness and selflessness has no limits. I love you all!
--KT
30 by 30 continued
21. Toronto Blue Jays (August 6, 2015)
- Blue Jays beat the Twins 9-3
- When sitting right behind the Blue Jays dugout, the CN Tower appears as if it is coming out of the stadium.
- Edwin Encarnacion hit a HR and walked the parrot (his signature celebration)
- Parked directly under the stadium (thought this was odd)
- There is a hotel in CF of this stadium.
- By myself
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (August 7, 2015)
- Pirates beat the Dodgers 5-4
- Gerrit Cole vs. Clayton Kershaw
- Baseball game televised on ESPN
- with John Higgins
- drove to Pittsburgh in the middle of the night from Toronto, Canada (5 hour drive).
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