Typically, when we head to Maine, we set an early departure time but never make it out the door. Knowing that its going to be anywhere from 12 1/2 to 15 hours in the car doesn't always motivate me to get on the road. It is one of those chores that has to be done if you want to get some where (and the price of flying is not an option).

We hit traffic as soon as we got on the road - even though it was well after rush hour on a Wednesday - the D. C. area always seems to have traffic no matter what time of day. In any case, at least the weather was clear and we enjoyed the ride up the east coast.

We really only took one long break which was at a small park along the Palisades Parkway in N.J. and then it was back on the road, stopping only for bathroom breaks and more caffeine. Its road trips like these where you find out how comfortable (or uncomfortable in our case) your seats are. (Next time I buy a car I am going to sit in it for at least an hour before I consider buying it...)

The side affect of a late start is that you are up early for the sunrise - which has become almost a tradition now for us on the last three trips to Maine. We typically roll into Bar Harbor around 4 AM or so, which puts us in perfect position for a run at Cadillac Mountain and the sunrise.

This particular sunrise was pretty darn cold - this was the earliest I had been to Acadia (end of May) and the temps were still in the low 40's with a wind blowing 15 knots or so up the eastern slope. We may have been among the first to arrive but by the time the sun came up, there must have been 30 or so people enjoying the view.

There was a great group of teen age kids all wrapped up in blankets and singing happy birthday to one of their friends. What a great was to celebrate a birthday and for us another week in our favorite place on the planet.

Cheers!

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time passes, which is the very reason that every moment counts. So many things can change in the blink of an eye based on a decision that we make or a lack of judgement by somebody else. Then when such things happen there is the whole adjustment process that we are faced with - and suddenly we are thrown for a loop.

Things that happen are just a part of life and soon become etched in our mind as what was. Byron Katie calls these things "what is". Those little changes in our life that have to be dealt with (almost on a daily basis), which often cause us to take a different tack in life or at least at a minimum change our direction. Something as simple as a phone call can change your perspective on life and how you choose to move forward.

One of the things that I struggle with as I get older is how much time I spend thinking about all of the facets of human society and how one person can be so aware of the rest of the world and yet others are not and think about nothing except self. Perhaps this has to do with the different constructs of the psyche and these folks fall into the class of people that are all about ego and self gratification. In any case, when things happen because of these traits I become puzzled as to how it can be.

Unfortunately for me, I always tend to over analyze situations to try and come up with a rational explanation for why they happen or why people do what they do. I guess at some point, we just have to learn from what happened, otherwise we will spend too much time focused on the past and not where we are now, which is in the current moment.

Love you Tommy, hope you feel better soon.

After several busy months at work (with very limited time for photography) I was finally able to get away from it all for a week and head to Maine. My son Josh joined me on the trip and we spent the week camping, hiking and shooting in the woods of Acadia National Park. Acadia is such a beautiful place and has so much to offer in terms of scenic beauty and things to do.

The camp ground where we stayed served as a great base camp for excursions in southwest harbor and through out the park. We were five minutes away from the Bass Harbor light house, which means that I have literally hundreds of frames of this beautiful spot with various light and sky conditions. This image was made on the first day of our trip in the early afternoon while out scouting.

Cheers!