MaMaLiRZ

We had only just gotten back from South Dakota. I just finished washing and drying our clothes when I looked at the calendar and thought- hum, we have no football on Saturday and Monday. Similar to the thought behind the South Dakota trip, I looked on my spreadsheet for a location that would soon be cold or closed, and a one-off that we could check off the list with a weekend trip. Once again, here I went putting the cart in front of the horse.

Not only is Acadia National Park among the top ten National Parks to visit, perhaps arguably so, but it also takes some forethought to get it right, and time I quickly learned. That tricky little thing called hindsight bit me once again. I’ve truly got to learn to slowdown.

I purchased plane tickets and I found a hotel room both near the Bangor airport and the other as listed, Ellsworth/Bar Harbor. The slash should have been an indicator but my fingers had other thoughts. Next came the acquisition of a rental car–all agencies were sold out at the airport.

No problem I thought, as I looked closer at the National Park, it was making more and more sense to stay in Bar Harbor (remember the slash?) and use the shuttle buses anyway. I can always Uber/Lyft from the airport to the hotel. No problem, right? It is the 21st century. This is still the good ol’USA, no?

Hee haw, we are going to Acadia! Water bottle, stickers and our dog, Munja in tow. We woke up early and off we went to the airport. It was close enough to home and a short period of time that it made sense to park at the airport. Mics, check. Phones, check. Luggage, kids, and dog, all checks. Flights on time, what a perfect day.

The flight was uneventful but arrived a little early giving me time to talk to the lady next to me. She was expertly editing photos the whole flight which didn’t lend itself to small talk, that was at least, until we landed and were sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate to receive us.

She, Nancy we later learned, was a semi-native to the area, staying in Maine for the summers for years with her now deceased husband. She was returning from Washington D.C. where she visited with her daughter and grandson.

She led the conversation through the basics of whether this was our first visit to Maine and what we were doing there. I shared the story about our quest and how we were exploring Acadia for the weekend. Her face lit with excitement on our behalf, and a sort of feminism that I was with my two boys and the dog. However, this was quickly replaced with her overwhelming concern about our lack of a rental car. Which in turn transferred to me and whether or not I had made a major mistake in planning. Kindly, Nancy offered us a ride to the hotel but only after having an extensive conversation with the rental car attendant about whether or not we were realistic to think that we could use a ride-share company to get around Acadia.

As he confirmed my belief, the anxiety that Nancy ignited in the pit of my stomach started to subside. He made multiple recommendations, all of which supported a taxi-style visit through the National Park reassuring Nancy and I of the constant availability of vehicles. With a tip of his hat, we were off with Nancy to find her car and then the hotel.

Perhaps it is the innocence of an older woman or naivety on the part of a middle-aged woman with two kids and a dog, but we settled into a quick trust while also subtly ensuring others knew of our whereabouts and what we were doing. Nancy’s came in the form of a “check in” call with her daughter, mine in the form of a text to my sisters, which read “catching a ride from Bangor, Maine with Nancy R***, jic”. Just so happened she had a piece of mail with her full last name in the trunk as we loaded up our bags my military intelligence potentially playing a vital role.

As Nancy dropped us off she wished us well and we were off. She wouldn’t accept anything in return for her kindness, but I will further say, Thank you Nancy and the best of luck with your return to success in photography! Your eye for natural beauty and reflections in water are exemplary.