cariboumaine.net
We drove five and a half hours north Saturday morning to a place called Caribou. Our neighbor gave us a strange look as we told him where we were on our way to. "Why are going there?" he questioned, "There's nothing up there!" But for us we had a purpose and that's all that mattered.
Carey Medical Center is an enrichment sight for Darrel's clinical rotation. It is a possibility that he may spend two months there. If so, we wanted to check it out and see what it was like.
The first thing is that the ward makes ALL the difference. We spend a lot of time at church and with church members. So, in going to Caribou we chose to go over the weekend so that we could attend church. Good choice on our part. It was great! The kids loved it and we enjoyed it as well. The people were very friendly and outgoing. People introduced themselves to us and made us feel very welcomed. I walked away feeling uplifted and fulfilled. Always a good thing. Daryl was disappointed that we had to leave because next week they are giving out seeds in Primary. She was heart broken. She asked, "Can we send Daddy back to school so we can stay here a little longer?"
Second, thanks to our friends for having us over for dinner. We had a great time. Great food, great company and a great memory. I love making new friends and getting to know people. We discovered some cool connections of people we both know. It really is a small world in the Latter-Day Saint culture. I am always amazed at how you can be anywhere and somehow meet someone that you know or meet someone that knows someone who knows you!
In addition to a fun time with our friends and church, the selling point for the kids was where we chose to stay. We lodged in a little two bedroom cabin that had
BUNK BEDS! After the first night Corey exclaimed, "Mommy, I love Caribou!"
This morning he asked, "Mommy, when are we going back to the cabin with the bunk beds?"
cariboucabins.net
I have bunk beds on my list of "Things to Acquire after Graduate School" but, I was starting to debate whether or not I really wanted them. After seeing their excitement I know that one day, their wish to have bunk beds will come true. It was so fun watching them climb up, climb down and play games together from the top and bottom bunks. You would have thought we had an amusement park or a playground inside the cabin!
We traveled to Fort Kent Sunday afternoon. Wikipedia:
Fort Kent is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,233 at the 2000 census. Fort Kent is home to an Olympic biathlete training center, an annual CAN-AM dogsled race, and the Fort Kent Blockhouse, built in reaction to the Aroostook War and in modern times designated a national historic site. Principal industries include agriculture (particularly potatoes and forestry) and textiles. Fort Kent is the northern terminus of U.S. 1 and the ending point of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. It is also home to a battle which took place in the Aroostook War or the bloodless war which took place in the 1800s.
The town is economically and culturally linked to the Canadian towns of Clair and Saint-François-de-Madawaska, both in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, directly across the St. John River. Most children on the Canadian side attend French-speaking school while their American counterparts are taught mainly in English.
Sixty-two percent of the residents of Fort Kent are habitual speakers of French. The variety of French spoken in Fort Kent and most of the St. John River Valley closely resembles the French spoken in Quebec and New Brunswick. It is referred to as "Valley French" or "Brayon". Many residents also have American-Canadian dual citizenship.
We also discovered Northern Maine Medical Center, another hospital that we can add to our list of possibilities. Since most people speak French, it doesn't look as if Darrel and I will get to use our Spanish very much but if we were to move there, I bet we would attempt to learn a little French.
The entire drive from Caribou to Fort Kent was inviting. Now, if you are not one for authentic WIL-DER-NESS, you probably will not agree and that's okay. Sorry I do not have any pictures to illustrate my points. I currently have no camera and am not sure when one will grace our presence again. I'm thinking 2012? But that's another post for another day Note: Wish List: Camera.
Cross Lake
eaglelaketown.org
So... it was a great trip. The kids did great in the truck to and from. Our only true drawback was when we stopped in Bangor for a bite to eat on the way home. Spencer threw up in the restaurant. So far, no trip is complete without Spencer throwing up all his food contents after a meal when we have eaten out. With Spencer's food allergies the bottom line is - we can't eat out. EVER. There's nothing like watching your two-year old up chuck his food and then look utterly miserable afterwards because 1: it's not fun to throw up and 2: you were hungry before and now you are still hungry but have no desire to eat. It's so easy to stop and get a bite to eat somewhere unless your child has a milk, egg and soy allergy. Then it's easy to get sick and better to just eat at home even if it means eating cereal for five and a half hours on the road. Once again another post for another day Note: Spencer's Food Allergy - Quest to Eating Safe Foods.
We'll see when we visit the "Frozen North" again.
Until then,
au revoir!
