Sara graduated from her fellowship almost two weeks ago. She has now graduated three times in the last seven years, but this is the last one. A “real” job awaits in Baltimore this September. But before then, we will get to enjoy a very rare family summer off. That started this week.

If you don’t know where Swans Island, Maine is, don’t feel bad. I lived in Maine for a year when Sara first started medical school and almost nobody I worked with had heard of it. And those guys lived in Maine most of their lives. Swans sits six miles off the Maine coast, in the middle of the frigid North Atlantic ocean. About a half hour from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, Swans is a little out of the way but once you get there, it is paradise. Getting there is easier said then done.

The house on Swans is owned by Sara’s father. He bought the land decades ago, and built the house just over twenty years ago. The trip from Bethesda can take close to 14 hours by car. We thought our trip from Rhode Island should take about half that long. Long road trips are fine by me, but the tricky part about making the trip to Swans is the last hurtle. The ferry. Leaving the mainland just a handful of times a day, and never later than 5:15pm, your entire trip has to be planned around  making the ferry across. The alternative? Trying to find a last minute hotel room during the summer in Bar Harbor. Not good.

My first ever trip to Swans was back in 1995. Sara and I had been dating for just over a year. She left with her family for three weeks as she always did in August. As lovesick teenagers, we decided that I had to visit while she was gone. We couldn’t possibly not see each other for twenty days! I ended up getting there by way of an overnight Amtrak to Boston from DC (10 hours). A bus ride from Boston to Bangor (4-5 hours). Sara and her mom (Sara couldn’t drive yet!) picked me up at the bus terminal in Bangor for the final two hours to Swans. An epic trip that resulted in me sleeping for the first 14 hours of my stay in the house.

As we try to set the world record for most 9+ hour road trips with an infant, we braced for a long trip to Swans this week. There are many advantanges to having a house on an island. Peace and quiet is probably at the top of the list. A true relaxing vacation is easy to achieve. The downside? Packing. We are serial over-packers to begin with, but when you factor in trying to bring enough food for a month, you almost need two cars. There is one “general store” on the island but it’s very expensive and tends to only really carry the bare essentials. Going off island for just a grocery trip is something to try and avoid.

We packed the car as full as any car I’ve ever driven. Tons of groceries, baby stuff, dog stuff, and clothes for the adults. Also booze. The island is dry, so it is the ultimate BYOB. If you don’t think my case of Pacifico beer didn’t have a good seat, you are kidding yourself! We packed the car on Tuesday night and finished with the cooler of perishable items in the morning. To the surprise of all of us, we got up and on the road by the target time of 6:30am.

Our first stop heading north was in Newton, Massachusetts. Slow traffic and a fussy baby made getting breakfast at McDonald’s a no brainer. Once we escaped the rush hour of the Boston suburbs, the rest of the drive was fairly routine. 95 North is WAY better than 95 South! As we are cruising through southern Maine, Sara makes a realization. Despite the fact that we packed almost everything we owned into the car, we forgot one very important item. The baby carrier. When you plan on hiking and taking long walks for a month on bumpy roads, that thing is essential. And it was left in our other car. Thanks to the technology of the iPhone, we find a Toys R Us in Bangor that sells Baby Bjorns. Hooray!

The final stretch from Bangor to Bass Harbor is on two lane roads and slows you down through small towns. This is the most stressful part of the drive because the ferry is just waiting for you. Taunting you to make a mistake and ruin your trip. We had a reservation on the 5:15pm ferry. Each ferry takes 4 reservations, the other 10-12 car spots are first come, first serve. So while we were guaranteed a trip across at 5:15, the problem now was, it was 3pm. Yes, we were AHEAD of schedule. We were able to get in line and make the 3:45 ferry instead. Getting 90 minutes of our lives back in the process. This is a first for us on our many trips up to Swans. It’s a little like showing up to the Bay Brige expecting to sit at the toll for an hour or so, only to be waved through a secret lane that gets you over instead. A true victory. We must be getting better at these road trips.

So we are in Maine for about a month. This is the island where Sara learned how to crawl, so maybe Cam can follow in his mother’s footsteps, or handsteps, I guess? More soon, meanwhile enjoy our daily view!