Hostess with the mostest!

An amazing Maine morning at the lake.

Our perfect lakeside home.

Hammock and I became good friends.

Ellen Buus is the hostess with the mostest! 


Maine has been on at the top of my list of places to visit for a couple of years now. Always seeming to be on the exact opposite corner of Maine, making a trip there didn't seem the easiest thing to do... until Ellen Buus. 


Ellen is a great colleague. She works at our sister camp in CT, coordinating their hundreds of volunteers annually. She's amazing. During one of our conferences Ellen told us about how she always goes to a lakehouse in Maine. Not only did she invite us to join her, she said she would be the hostess with the mostest - and she was. 


Ellen coordinated everything to be the perfect trip. Lucky trip-goers? Bryan, a California colleague of mine, and Lindsay, a CT colleague of Ellen. All of us - great travel partners and friends. 


We journeyed to Hartland, ME. Well, let me take a step back. Actually, Bryan and I were in California and booked on flights to fly in to CT and Boston at the exact time that Hurricane Irene was arriving. Ellen kept us posted on the hurricanes progress and encouraged us to get earlier flights so we could "hunker" down for the hurricane in CT so as soon as Irene passed we could hit the road to Maine. Instead of flying out on Saturday night as planned, at 5:30 pm on Friday Bryan and I were re-booked for flights at 10:30 that evening. The hurricane had nothing on us!


So, Ellen invited us for the hurricane and it was awesome. I'm sure that if we didn't get there before the hurricane we wouldn't have gotten there at all. 


Now, back to Hartland, ME. When we arrived at "camp" (that's what they call the cabins on the lake!) we were all SO excited. The cabin we were staying in was absolutely perfect for us. So cute and cozy, right on the lake, quiet, surrounded by trees. Awesome cabin + good friends = perfection.


Our cabin was on Great Moose Lake. Ellen has been going to the lake since she was a little girl and was so happy to share the lake with us. For 2 days we kayaked, napped, jumped in the lake to cool off, watched the sun rise and set and discovered sun trajectory theories never before understood. We listened to good music, played bartering card games, read, cooked, enjoyed delicious drinks, sun-bathed, laughed, and truly relaxed. Amazing.


After a few days on the lake, Ellen took us to Acadia National Park. We had a limited amount of time in the park, but with Ellen as our tourguide, we were able to conquer it all. She arranged our campgrounds, planned our days to see all the best spots plus eat our meals at the best restaurants. We watched the sunset from Cadillac Mountain, kayaked the sound, drove around the park loop, camped, sat around the campfire, ate popovers and lobster stew, biked the carriage roads, and hiked (accidentally) both bubbles.


Ellen and I were fortunate to return to the cabin for another 3 days and were joined by good friends Lindsay S. and Blaine. For three more days we kayaked, napped, read, cooked, bbq'ed, enjoyed time with Ed and Hazel, laughed, and had so much fun.


The best parts of this trip?


Ellen loves the lake and I loved that she was so happy to share the lake with us. She showed us her family's camp, told us stories, and wanted us to enjoy the lake as much as she's been able to enjoy the lake over the years.


Food! Ellen took us to eat at all the best food places. We enjoyed seafood baskets and blueberry pie at Haraseeket Lunch and Lobster . She coached us to be lobster eating champions at Thurston's. She introduced us to popovers and lobster stew at The Jordan Pond House.


Enjoying the ride...Ellen planned every aspect of our trip. She reserved the cabin on the lake, reserved our campground, recommended activities that we would all enjoy, showed us all of the best spots. We literally were on board for the best ride and our job was to simply enjoy it all. 

Rest and relaxation. After all of us working really hard throughout the summer, to have time and place to rest and relax is the exactly what we NEED. We need to sleep, we need to relax, we need to be away. Ellen provided us the most perfect way to for us to take care of ourselves. And that, in and of itself, is a priceless gift. 

Time. Ellen gave us time. Being at the lake, enjoying Acadia, experiencing the great outdoor adventures... through it all we were able to spend time together. We shared stories, we laughed a lot, we created so many memories. 

And even when days seem to get long nowadays, I remember Maine. 

I am so thankful for Ellen and for giving all of us such an incredible vacation. This was an experiences I know I could have never created on my own. Because of Ellen's generosity, I was able to enjoy the vacation of a lifetime with such good friends in a place that I've been dreaming of visiting for a long time.

Thanks, Ellen. You are the hostest with the mostest!

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse