Podcasts about cadillac mountain

Journey with Johnny Mac to the rugged coast of Maine, where granite mountains rise dramatically from the sea. Discover Acadia National Park's unique character as the first place in America to see the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain, explore historic carriage roads built by the Rockefeller family, and find hidden coves along the park's dramatic shoreline. Get insider tips on the best lobster shacks, scenic hiking trails, and how to experience "the quiet side" of Mount Desert Island like a local. From thundering ocean waves to peaceful forest paths, Acadia proves that sometimes the most profound wilderness experiences come in compact packages.

In this episode, the FAQ is: “What is air travel like these days, and what is different? Today's Destination is Acadia National Park Today's Mistake- My own car crash in parking garage   Travel Advice:  Travel pillows FOR SLEEPING on planes   FAQ: “What is air travel like these days, and what is different?   AARP is offering some airline travel tips that may answer this question. First, some facts. In 2019, the FAA reported 146 cases of bad behavior on planes, but in 2021, that number grew to more than 1,000. That was out of nearly 6,000 cases of unruly passengers.  Airplane etiquette is more important because we are all hyper-aware of those around us. Some people get to the airport these days, forgetting basic kindness. The first rule of respectful travel is to accept the rules: Observe mask mandates, boarding processes, and carry-on restrictions. Beyond that, there are steps you can take to make travel a little more pleasant for everyone and avoid conflict. Here are five tips: Don't hog the overhead bins Greet your flight attendant Prepare yourself ahead of time. Don't escalate a conflict. Don't bring stinky food on board. Source: https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/transportation/info-2022/flying-etiquette.html?intcmp=DC-TRV-MAIN-BB Destination: Acadia National Park, Maine Woodland Rocky beaches and Granite Peaks mark Acadia. It's a good destination for a Solo Traveler or with a friend. ALL seasons have something to offer. At 4 million visits a year, it's one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States. Visitors can explore 27 miles of historic motor roads, hike 158 miles of trails, and explore 45 miles of carriage roads. A shuttle service runs through the park from late June through late October, so you don't need a car during those times. The weather is temperate due to the ocean climate, and it rains often. You may also see morning fog in the summer.    What is significant about the geography at Acadia National Park?    The highest point on the United States East Coast is Cadillac Mountain. You will find Wildlife such as moose, bears, seabirds, and Wales. You are close to Bar Harbor, where restaurants, shops, and entertainment are popular after your visit. You will like the smell of the salty air as you walk through the national park and along the streets of Bar Harbor. My favorite time of year is the fall, when the Fall colors are magnificent. I had trouble finding a hotel nearby on Columbus Day weekend. I had to drive quite a ways to find a hotel when I didn't make reservations that week.  Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island's largest community, is a five‐hour drive from Boston and 50 miles from Bangor International Airport. It is the second largest on the eastern seaboard behind Long Island. https://www.visitbarharbor.com/ The springtime is lovely and cool. Do not expect to be in a very hot area this time of year. It is a bit of a drive to get there, but it's worth it. I suggest flying to Boston and driving 5 hours, or about 50 miles from Bangor, Maine. https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/faqs.htm https://acadiamagic.com/   https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm   https://acadiamagic.com/schoodic/map.htm   Today's Travel Advice-Travel neck pillows reviewed.  Neck pillows are foam,  some with straps around the headrest, to help you sleep on the plane. I did a TWITTER POLL to discover your favorites.  TRTL pillow won.         It has a cushioned foam section that you can adjust to be anywhere around your neck, whether you like to fall asleep forward or to the side. The next favorite is the launch of the Trtl Plus. The new version has adjustable neck support, allowing Goldilocks-style comfort and the fabric wrap is vented with a breathable mesh.  https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/travel-accessories/best-travel-pillows   Connect with Dr Travelbest Website Drmarytravelbest.com Mary Beth on Twitter Dr. Mary Travelbest Twitter  Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram  

S11:E3 – Being blown off course by a hurricane lead to some exciting adventures for Jamin and Hilarie and their dog, Maggie, as they experienced fall in New England. They eat “a medium amount of good pizza” in Scranton, PA before exploring all that Northampton, MA has to offer. Once the storm subsides, they are able to make their way to Maine and discover what all the fuss around Acadia National Park is all about. Maggie got to experience all the puppy-friendly trails, and Hilarie and Jamin did a thrill-seeking hike on the ladder trails. Cadillac Mountain and Bar Harbor also played their part in this adventure for the Travel FOMO crew, and Acadia became Jamin's favorite national park. For more context, check out the video that accompanies this podcast (S11:E3 Acadia + Bar Harbor | Dog-Friendly Favorites

CLICK HERE! To send us a message! Ask us a Question or just let us know what you think!Can a vacation change your life? Join us as Steve recounts his breathtaking trip to Bar Harbor, Maine, a journey filled with stunning landscapes, hearty local cuisine, and thrilling adventures. From the awe-inspiring views atop Cadillac Mountain to the invigorating hikes like the Precipice Trail, Steve's tales capture the essence of this beautiful destination. He also shares mouth-watering details about local culinary delights such as fresh lobster and blueberry pancakes, while offering practical tips for future travelers. Whether you're planning your next getaway or just love hearing travel stories, this segment has something for every wanderlust-filled heart.Shifting gears, we dive into the latest in sports, technology, and food industry news. We offer you an insider's look at the playoff runs of the Knicks and Rangers, the emerging potential of the Timberwolves and Mavericks, and the challenges ahead for the Celtics. Our discussion then transitions to the fascinating world of AI chatbots and their growing influence on social media. In a surprising turn, we dissect the financial blunders leading to Red Lobster's bankruptcy. Finally, we explore the heated rivalry between PGA and LIV Golf, along with a deep dive into the history of the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club. Don't miss our insights into Westchester County's restaurant scene, with promises of future reviews of the newest hotspots.Sponsored by Premium Botanicals Premium Botanicals is the maker of Herbal Spectrum a line of full spectrum Hemp based CBD products.

www.atravelpath.com   00:00 Introduction  02:30 How Long Should Someone Stay in Newfoundland? 03:15 When is the Best Time of Year to Visit Newfoundland? 04:30 What is Transportation Like in Newfoundland? 08:00 Lodging 09:15 How Are the Roads? 010:30 Activities 11:30 Nightlife 12:15 Sunrise, Sunset, and Stargazing 14:00 Nova Scotia 16:00 Cost 17:15 Cell Phone Service 19:30 Food Scene 20:15 What Are Three Things to Pack to Newfoundland? 21:15 Two Complaints About Newfoundland? 22:30 Crowds 23:00 One Thing You Can't Leave Without Doing   It was great to have Phil and Stacy back on the podcast. Today they shared their extensive 3 week trip to Newfoundland and shared everything they learned. They also discussed a few things they would do differently to enhance their trip. Learn all about: ·        How to handle internet when you travel to another country ·        Saving time by taking different ferries ·        Sunrise and sunset locations And More! 3, 2, 1 Countdown Segment: 3 Things You Need to Bring to Newfoundland? ·        Dietary restriction supplies (green powder, etc.) ·        Medication ·        Dress for all seasons no matter when you visit 2 Complaints or Things to Be Prepared For: ·        Cost of fuel ·        How big the island is, planning can be tricky 1 Thing You CAN'T Leave Newfoundland Without Doing: ·        Whale-Watching, and the history at Cape Spear and Gander   Find Phil and Stacy At: ·        https://todayissomeday.net/ ·        https://www.youtube.com/c/YouMetheRV ·        https://www.instagram.com/todayissomeday_travel/ ·        https://www.facebook.com/todayissomeday   Charity: ·        https://todayissomeday.net/military-charities ·        https://give.ourhfotusa.org/fundraiser/3882334   Phil and Stacy's Newfoundland Video Playlist: ·        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaXzEjyw7uU&list=PLmOdcNUX3OG3GITb433ZEM96MTMIclQ8z   To Do ·        Gros Morne National Park: https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/destinations/gros-morne ·        Twillingate Icebergs: https://twillingate.com/to-see-do/iceberg-whales/ ·        Whale Watching: https://www.gatheralls.com/ ·        Cape Spear Lighthouse: https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/destinations/cape-spear ·        Article on Gander: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/newfoundland-labrador-9-11-anniversary ·        Saint John's: https://www.stjohns.ca/en/recreation-culture/visit-st-johns.aspx ·        Checklist for Crossing Into Canada: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/checklist-aidememoire-eng.html ·        Internet: https://www.starlink.com/   Nova Scotia: ·        River Rafting: https://shubieriverwranglers.ca/ ·        Bay of Fundy: https://www.bayoffundy.com/      Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/gently-comes-tomorrow License code: JNNG98EA42W634JP     #newfoundland #newfoundlandcanada   *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.     Transcript: Tyler: Phil and Stacy, welcome back to the travel tips segment of the Travel Path Podcast. Thanks for having us.   Phil: Yep, pleasure to be here.   Stacy: Thank you.   Tyler: So, for those of you who missed it, we had Phil and Stacy on. They're from "Today is Someday" on YouTube. They talked about everything from checklist preparation, maintenance procedures, and more checklists, and just everything RV life. They're full-time RVers. Today, in our travel tips, we're talking about one particular destination. So, Phil and Stacy, where are we talking about today?   Stacy: We're talking about Newfoundland.   Hope: Awesome. Now, how much time have you guys spent in Newfoundland?   Phil: Not long enough. We were there for about three weeks in Newfoundland.   Hope: Okay. And why is this place so special? Why are we talking about Newfoundland today?   Stacy: We absolutely fell in love with it when we were there. It's beautiful, it's historic, it is so unique, and just the feeling you get when you're there because it's kind of untouched in many areas of the island. So, we actually loved it there.   Stacy: Yeah, we soon found that "The Rock," as the locals call it, had so much to offer. We soon realized that there was no way we were going to be able to see it in the amount of time we had allotted. And as big as Newfoundland is, there wasn't a lot of people in and around the national park and just in general. It wasn't until you got to some of the bigger cities that you started to come into contact with a lot more folks, so it was wide open, at least it felt that way at first.   Hope: Very good. Now, to get that full Newfoundland experience, how long do you think someone should plan their trip for?   Phil: I think at a minimum four to six weeks. What we quickly discovered and what most people don't realize is Newfoundland is about the size of Texas, so there is a lot of land and a lot of driving to get from one side to the other of the island. So, if you want to take your time and experience everything it has to offer, I definitely would recommend at least four to six weeks. I think if we'd had another couple of weeks, we would have been able to check a lot more things off our list.   Hope: And what time of the year did you go to Newfoundland, or what time would you suggest is one of the best to go?   Stacy: We were there in the summer. But the optimal, if you're RVing, the best time to go is June through August. It's the mild climates, it's when it's nice and warm. But I gotta tell you, a lot of people go to Newfoundland in the wintertime because they have snowmobiling and a big ski season there too. So, if you want to fly in and not take the RV, that's another option for you. They get about 16 feet of snow a year.   Phil: 16 feet.   Stacy: I'm sorry, 16 feet, a lot of winter activities there as well.   Hope: Well, that's good. It's always nice when you find a destination that you can kind of go all year round because it gives you a lot of different possibilities, especially with your schedule. And also, you can go back at a different time of the year and experience something totally different.   Phil: Absolutely.   Hope: Now, you mentioned, you know, you could, of course, fly in. So, how does transportation work? You obviously took your RV in, but if someone was going to plan a trip to Newfoundland, maybe they're not RVing, how would you suggest they get there?   Stacy: So, if they're flying in, St. John's has an airport, so they can definitely fly into St. John's. And it's a great place to rent a car to see the rest of the island. And they have a ton of Airbnbs, hotels, and cabins throughout the island, so it's a great way to travel around and see all the different regions. Now, if you're taking the RV, you will need to, of course, cross the border into Canada, so you'll need a passport for that, and then take the ferry. So, definitely make sure you plan ahead for that because the ferry does fill up. And one thing to know, this is what we did wrong, so definitely learn from my mistake. There are two ferries, and they're on opposite sides of the island. So, I recommend taking one ferry into Newfoundland and taking the other ferry out of Newfoundland. One of the ferries is a little bit longer, but what that will do is that will enable you to see more and drive way less because it's going to take you two to three days to get back to your original ferry port where you can spend that time exploring and just hop on the ferry on the basically other side of the island instead.   Phil: Yeah, the highway that runs through Newfoundland, the main highway, it's not a loop. So, it's kind of out and back if you're coming in and out of the same terminal that we did. So, we went from Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques on an eight-hour ferry and then we took three weeks to drive through Newfoundland. But if we had done the research a little bit better, we would have seen that the road doesn't come all the way back around. We would have planned to take the ferry out of St. John's, and that's a 16-hour ferry, is it?   Stacy: It's at least 12. I know it's much longer. It's much longer. So, but you can get cabins on the ferry. There's cabins for pets, there's kennels, and there's cabins that are pet-friendly. So, there are a lot of options on the ferries.   Tyler: Sounds like a cruise ship.   Phil: It's pretty good size.   Stacy: It's a pretty good size. So, definitely a lot of space for and they pack them in. But you have to remember, too, those ferries are where they get a lot of their goods and services. So, all the big rigs get on there for all their shipping to come onto the island. So, the ferries are pretty large.   Phil: Yeah, so big rigs and you have a Class A motorhome, so there really was no size requirement.   Stacy: No, not at all. You pay per the size. So, however long you are is the amount that you pay for the ferry.   Hope: And once you're on that ferry, are you able to access your rig, or do you have to, like, park it and then go up?   Stacy: Yeah, once you're on and away from the parking area, you cannot go back.   Phil: Yeah, that's the only downfall.   Stacy: Yeah, you have to stay above, either in your cabin. There's a restaurant, store, there's plenty of places to hang out up there. But for safety, they don't let you back down with the vehicles.   Hope: That's good to know, though. And I think that's a really good tip about planning to take one ferry out and the other one back,    just so you don't waste that time and that gas too, just driving around the island on especially roads you've already seen.   Stacy: And the big thing is most people only make this trip once in their life. Most people don't go back and repeat this trip. So, I think making the most of your time is really important.     Hope: Yeah, absolutely. So, once you get to Newfoundland, you've taken the ferry, we've talked about the transportation. How about lodging? So, you obviously had your camper. Where'd you stay?   Phil: We stayed all over. It is very RV friendly, and as a matter of fact, if you have a smaller RV like a van or small Class B, you can pretty much pull over and park anywhere there's a spot. We read a lot about that. There's free parking lots or pull-offs or wherever you find, you can stay. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything quite big enough for our size. We're 35 feet, and all the spaces we found were for smaller sizes. But there were plenty of campgrounds for us, and we winged it most of the time because we didn't really have too many reservations. You know, we weren't really sure how long we would spend in each area. So, we were able to get last-minute spots all over the island. And we were not the biggest motorhome over there. We did see a bunch of 45-footers over there as well. So, I mean, we saw a ton of vans, a ton of truck campers because they could get a little further out into the mountains, pull off on the side of the road in those spots. So, yeah, any size rig will do perfectly.   Hope: Now, I imagine you probably parked your camper, and then throughout your day, you took your car and you went and explored. For someone that's driving, maybe like a Class C or a Class B van that doesn't have that pull-behind car, are the roads good for everyone being able to get where they need to be?   Stacy: Well, everyone can get where they need to be, but as far as the roads being good, the roads over there are a little, well, they could, let's just say, they need a little work. The island does not have a lot of money to work on the roads, frankly. And it gets really cold, and with the snow, it tears them up every year. So, we were joking that the roads were worse than the trip up to Alaska. But that being said, there's plenty of parking just about everywhere we went. We saw Class Bs, we saw people driving their RVs that didn't have a tow car. So, there definitely is space for you to make that your tow car and to explore the island.   Phil: Yeah, in fact, we saw more Class Cs and Bs up there than we did anything else, actually.   Hope: Very cool. And then as far as activities, obviously, you can drive around. There's tons of scenery, I'm sure there's beautiful hiking. You know, we know you can do some skiing in the winter. But for the time that you went, what type of activities did you do, or did you see other people doing during the day?   Stacy: There's so much, and it's so varied. So, everything from their national park, they have a unique national park, their Gros Morne National Park. You can go to Twillingate, which they're known for iceberg seeing, seeing the icebergs float by. They have, of course, a ton of historic lighthouses. And then one of Phil's favorite things was the whale watching.   Phil: Yeah, taking a boat tour out and saying, I mean, we're literally 10, 15 yards away from whales on our trip. So, for me, that was a highlight of the trip.   Stacy: Yeah, and then we also explored Gander, which is a really unique town. Gander is the town that accepted all the planes for 9/11 when they were all grounded. It was like 32, was it 32 aircraft or 36 aircraft?   Phil: Yeah, it was really cool to go through Gander and learn more about that and how they really everything they did on 9/11 to help all the passengers on those planes.   Hope: And then what about at night? What did you guys like to do once the sun went down?   Stacy: Well, honestly, most places we were at when the sun went down, the town rolled up its welcome mat, and they were all in bed. So, the only place I would say that that's not the case was Gander. That's a larger town. And then St. John's, so St. John's has a huge active bar scene and music scene. So, there's a ton of restaurants and a ton of nightlife. I say a ton, it's not a huge town, but for the island, it's one of their largest towns. So, yeah, and in fact, we didn't mind going to bed early while we were there because we got up early the next morning and we went to the coast and we caught the sunrise.   Phil: Yeah, and then, you know, early bird catches the worm. If you were there at the right time, you would also see whales passing through off the coast. So, that was pretty neat to do.   Hope: Any specific spots you saw sunrise, or just anywhere on the coast you went?   Stacy: It was at the Cape Spear Lighthouse. It's actually one of the most easterly points. So, we pretty much saw the sunrise before everyone else in not only Canada but in the US.   Tyler: Yeah, I think I've read that Cape Spear and Cadillac Mountain, like different times of the year, those two alternate from being the easternmost or where the sunlight hits first in the morning.   Stacy: Yeah, and that's pretty cool.   Hope: Yeah, so I know you said you went to Signal Hill because you woke up so early, but did you see any awesome sunsets or any really cool stargazing?   Stacy: Yes, as a matter of fact, especially over by the national park because it is a dark sky, so there's plenty of stargazing. And of course, it's a very unpopulated island. There are many segments of the island where you'll drive for a while before you see people or towns. So the fact that there's no smog and all that regular city stuff, it really made for a beautiful night sky.   Hope: Wow, that's awesome. Definitely somewhere we'll have to get one day, sooner rather than later. You're definitely selling it.   Phil: Definitely, we're on it. Definitely recommend it, yeah, highly recommend it. I mean, Signal Hill is where we went in St. John to catch a sunset, and we caught a sunrise from there. So, it's so crazy, the amount of history on that island, from World War I to the Vikings. They have the original Viking settlement there. So, if you're going to Newfoundland, you have to stop in Nova Scotia. We did a river rafting on the Bay of Fundy.   Phil: Yeah, it was on the Shubie River. We went out and we rode the tide in. So, literally, we're out there following the water in these rib boats, and the water was only in part of the river deep enough for the boats to get to, and everywhere was sandbars all along there. And at high noon that day, yeah, the Bay of Fundy, the tide came back in, and it was so much water coming back through that river that we caught the waves, and we were up and down. I mean, it was an amazing day. It's one of the highest tides in the world. So, it was so much fun. We actually went into Canada via Maine, into Cape Breton, then into Nova Scotia, and then over to Newfoundland. And then when we came back from Newfoundland, we went all the way through Nova Scotia, jumped on the ferry from there, and came back into Maine.   Hope: So, you can take a quick little ferry. It's much faster. It's like a three-hour ferry ride from Maine to Nova Scotia, and it wasn't that expensive. So, check it out. It might be something you're interested in doing because that also saved us like three days of driving all the way back. Just cut across.   Hope: Perfect. Very good. So, a lot of fun, lots of helpful tips. So just switching over to cost a little bit, how expensive or affordable is it to go to Newfoundland, do you think?   Stacy: I think the most expensive part really is the ferry. And that's based on the length of your RV and your tow car. And we rented a cabin and paid for the ferry. It was around $800 round trip. So, it's not too bad considering.   Hope: Oh, that was on the eight-hour trip.   Stacy: Yeah. So, it obviously, that's a big expense for some people. And the other big expense RV-wise would be the fuel costs. Fuel is a lot more expensive there because, again, they have to ship it in. You're paying in the Canadian dollar. So, I think cost-wise, those are your two biggest ones. But camping fees are pretty inexpensive. You can find some... they don't call them state parks, they call them, I forget what they call them, but their state parks and their national parks are really inexpensive, as well as some of the private campgrounds we stayed at. So, those will be your biggest two expenses. But I think overall, it was amazing. It was really worth every penny.   Hope: Perfect. Definitely sounds like it. And then how was your cell service or your internet service there?   Phil: Well, great question. So once we got across the Canadian border and we entered through Maine, our T-Mobile stopped. It's like somebody flipped a switch. So, what we relied on while we were there was our Starlink. And we used our Starlink heavily. Now, we did have to change our plan from a residential plan to... I don't even know what they call it now, it's a mobile global plan, like internal. They forced us to change our plan while we were there, but it was an easy switch online. And that's what saved us while we were there, as far as internet goes.   Stacy: Yeah. And with our cell phones, we also had to switch over to international for our cell phones. And almost everybody has it now, it's Canada and Mexico.   Hope: Absolutely. And then, how about food? Anything you enjoyed there that you want to mention?   Phil: I don't think we have anything specific. I did try a mooseburger and wasn't a fan, not a fan.   Tyler: Not a fan?   Phil: I had two because we were there, and we tried moose soup.   Phil: Yeah, Phil doesn't venture out much when it comes to foods.   Stacy: There's a ton of seafood, like fresh-caught that morning. You're going to find it all over the island, and it is amazing. They do have some of their own specialties, and I forget the names of some of them. They had like a cod al'grian or something.   Phil: Oh, yeah.   Stacy: They do cook sometimes pretty heavy, as far as cheese and fat. So, I was... After three weeks, it was good to get more vegetables. Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of veggies over there because they have to ship everything in. So, we were definitely deficient in our veggies while we were there. But we love eating local and trying out their signature dishes. So, it was interesting while we were there.   Hope: Awesome. Well, it sounds great. Just bring your green powder with you.   Stacy: Yes, because you can't cross the border with all your fresh veggies. They don't allow you to. So, just kind of keep that in the back of your mind.   Phil: Yeah. They have an extensive checklist online when you're crossing into Canada. So, make sure you don't get caught with those because you won't have them very long, that's for sure.   Phil: Yeah. You won't.   Hope: That's good. And we'll have to link that checklist down below in the show notes. So, just anyone crossing the border in general has that information.   Stacy: That's perfect.   Tyler: Great. Well, we'll transition to the 3-2-1 countdown, the final three questions of the podcast. So, when you're going to Newfoundland or Newfoundland, however the locals pronounce it, what are three things you're packing?   Stacy: All right. So, definitely, if you have any special dietary needs, you need to bring those. And hopefully, your dietary needs can cross the border because items they have to choose from at most of the grocery stores are going to be mom and pop. So, it's going to be hard to get what you normally eat. And then, of course, your medications, depending on how long you're going to be there, because if you run out, you won't be able to just have them called in and pick up. So, those are the two biggest things. And then, I think the last thing would be definitely dress for all climates, all seasons while you're there. Even though we were there for the summer, there were days where the weather would change and it was wet and it was freezing. So, make sure you're not just prepared for summer. You have all the layers and everything you need while you're there.   Tyler: Good points. As far as two complaints or things people wish they prepared more for, what would those be?   Phil: I think fuel.   Stacy: Fuel, yeah. I would say...   Phil: And it's surprisingly how much that is because, again, they have to ship it over there, and you have to do fuzzy math while you're at the pump. We deal in gallons; they deal in liters. So, if you're trying to stay within a budget and do the math and the comparison, it could be there for days trying to figure that out. And another thing with the fuel is make sure if you're passing a station, you fill up because gas stations, especially for diesel, were few and far between. So, you definitely don't want to get stuck in a situation where you need gas and there's nothing close by.   Stacy: Yeah. And then, the last thing, I think, is just people. We kind of mentioned it earlier that people don't realize how big it is. So, when you're planning to make sure you realize how big the island is. I mean, it would be like trying to visit all of Texas, going from Dallas to Galveston to Big Bend, Austin, and trying to plan all that in just a couple of weeks. It's near impossible to do all that. So, just kind of keep that in mind.   Tyler: Great. How are the crowds? I know you went in the summertime; that's probably peak season. But you were able to get campgrounds last minute?   Stacy: We never really felt like it was crowded anywhere. Obviously, St. John is their biggest city. But even that, we got right into one of their really nice, big campgrounds without a problem. So, I never felt like it was crowded. And there were... I mean, there were crowds doing the sightseeing stuff, the tours, the whale watching. There were quite a few boats out. But that was again centered around the big city. And we got into all of those. There was never a time where we wanted to do something and we couldn't because it was all booked up.   Tyler: Great. Yeah, perfect. Okay, our last question, guys. You talked about a lot of things to do today. But what is one thing you cannot leave Newfoundland without doing?   Phil: For me, it was whale watching by far. Getting on that whale watching tour, seeing the different birds and the puffins. They're low-flying to the water, and they were everywhere out there. But not only seeing one type of whale, but we saw two or three different species of whales while we were out there. And the one came up really close to the boat with her calf. For me, that was the highlight.   Stacy: Yeah, it was really great. I think more for me, it would be more the historic stuff. The lighthouses... I know Phil hates history, so Signal Hill, learning about Gander. So, all the history stuff that we were able to hit up, I really loved all of that.   Tyler: Perfect. Well, sounds like there's a little bit for everything in Newfoundland. So, thank you for sharing. I think this definitely provided a lot of people their itinerary, some tips and tricks for visiting. A lot of helpful tips with cost and traveling. So, yeah, thank you guys again for coming on. And if you haven't listened to part one, again, we talked about how they got started in their full-time adventures. They talked about everything from their checklist, everything they do to travel safely and securely. And one more time, Phil and Stacy, where can our audience find out more about you guys?   Stacy: On our YouTube channel today issome todayisSunday and also our website and blog todayissunday.net.   Tyler: Perfect all right Phil and Stacy thanks again.   Phil: Thank you so much this was fun.  

As someone whose love for the outdoors and desire to protect it for generations to come is evident, Kevin Schneider (Acadia Superintendent) gives us the inside scoop on the going-ons in Acadia National Park, from exciting housing projects, to his favorite places to ski within the park, to the various programs enabling people to spend time in Acadia (kids, teachers, etc), to the trails that were built during the late 1800s Rusticator Era, this is not an episode to miss! Acadia National Park is located in Maine, with stunning woodlands lined up against rocky beaches, glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain (the highest point on the U.S East Coast) and famous diners with mouth watering blueberry pancakes in its gateway community of Bar Harbor. Episode Specific Links: Feeling inspired by the ways Friends of Acadia supports Acadia (their official non-profit partner)? Visit Friends of Acadia's website to learn more & donate, ensuring Acadia continues to be a place of beauty and solitude for generations to come. You can follow Who Runs This Park on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, can email us at info@whorunsthispark.com or check us out online at whorunsthispark.com. Who Runs This Park is hosted and produced by Maddie Pellman, with music by Danielle Bees.

"Wake up, kids!" We were in this campground - 3:30 in the morning. You ask, "What were you doing to your kids?" Well, I had planned a trip up Cadillac Mountain. I had been told this was the first place you could see the sunrise on the East Coast. I wanted to see this. I thought this would be a great adventure for my wife and my kids. Well, they weren't as enthused as I was, especially when I woke them up at 3:30. Oh, but I thought ahead. I bought donuts the night before, so when they woke up I stuffed a donut in each mouth so they wouldn't wake up the campground. Then we started my well-planned adventure up Cadillac Mountain. We wound our way up to the top, and there on the eastern horizon, in that chilly early morning air, we were rewarded with an unforgettable view of the clouds! Oh, I had listened to the weather forecast. They promised me sun. I had a family insurrection on my hands. We never did see the sun that morning. I had made my plans. I went to a lot of effort. I got to the top of my mountain, and this is not what I thought I would find there. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Disappointment Mountain." Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 6:32. Jesus has been talking about clothes, and food, and earthly possessions. And He continues by saying, "The pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I think Jesus is sort of talking about two mountains you can climb. One I call Earth Stuff Mountain. Then He describes what I would call Kingdom Mountain, which is "seeking first the kingdom of God." Even if you're a follower of Jesus, unless you make a conscious, courageous choice to climb Kingdom Mountain with your life, you'll probably spend your best years and your best energy on Mount Earth Stuff. I remember this seminar where I was teaching years ago about Peaceful Living in a Stressful World. A man in his 30s was there, and he was very successful in business. He told me he'd come that day to find out how to be more successful. At the end of it he walked out in tears. He told me, "All these years I've been climbing the wrong mountain. And I want the rest of my life to be in the service of the Lord." It could be you've been climbing the wrong mountain too. Maybe you love Jesus, but you're really living mostly for earth stuff, for earth security, for earth significance. You have all your plans together, like when I tried to go up Cadillac Mountain. You've worked hard; you're getting to the top. But when you get to the top you say, "Wait a minute! Why am I so empty? This isn't the view I expected." It's called Disappointment Mountain. The Bible says God planted eternity in the hearts of men. So, we're built for eternal things. Earth stuff won't do it. We need something that lasts forever. You know, Jesus stands there to challenge your daily value system. Not your official beliefs, but your real decision-making value system. Would you let Him loosen your grip on all you've accumulated? Would you let Him change what you're aiming your best efforts at so it is compatible with your hunger for something eternal in your heart? The Bible says in the words of Jesus, as He asks this disturbing question, "What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" I wonder if that could be the pursuit you're on; the path you're on. You've gained so much. You've done well. You've fulfilled some of your dreams. But, it's the wrong mountain. Even if you get to the top you will not find what you're looking for. Because you were "created by Jesus and for Jesus" the Bible says. He says it's too high a price to pay to lose your soul and your eternity to think that somehow what you've got is going to be enough, even your religion. See, He came and died on a cross to remove the sin that keeps us across the Grand Canyon from the God who made us. And He would love to bring you together with Him today so you can finally have the end of a life that has been searching but not finding. Our website is about how to begin your relationship with Him. Would you take a few minutes and check it out - it's ANewStory.com. Because I can tell you, the view at the top of Mount Kingdom is all that your soul has longed for and all that your heart has been looking for.

Andee and Tyler from Act.ion_plan are back to join us for our Travel Tips segment of the podcast, and today's topic is Acadia National Park in Maine! Tune in to hear about a few hiking trails and the campground they stayed at in Acadia, as well as a few other things to do nearby! Thunder Hole note: All websites still say to go 2 hours before high tide. Like we mentioned, we went there two hours before, as well as a few other times throughout the day, and never got to see it at is fullest. Andee and Tyler mentioned it looked to be ¾ to low tide. Perhaps the best time to see it is the posted sign, 2 hours before high tide, but it just doesn't always thunder? Links: Schoodic Woods Campground - Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Coastal Hikes - Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Recreation.gov - Camping, Cabins, RVs, Permits, Passes & More Govee - Making Your Life Smarter Cadillac Mountain - Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Hike Bar Island Trail (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) L.L.Bean Flagship Store - Freeport, ME 04032 (llbean.com) Roosevelt Campobello International Park   *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   all right so Andy and Tyler welcome back thank you for giving us all the details on your travel and how you got there in episode one so today we're going to be talking about one specific location that you guys have really enjoyed so where are we talking about oh we're gonna talk about a kadia national park and that's in Maine right that is in Maine yep towards the I guess it's towards the middle yeah southern side so what makes a kbso special for you guys well this year when we went was actually our first year going that was our go last year when we for our first year of travels but we had a couple mishaps and so we never got to work our way up there so this year when we made it it was like the huzzah we did it perfect now for someone who likes to do what type of activities you got kind of a mix of activi is up there so it's a national park there's a lot of hiking um it's near the ocean so there's water sports although it's might be a little cold for that um there's the seashore so there's um stuff to do on the seashore um you can cross across into an island at low tide and then it's also a historic town that um has a lot of history from people that would go up there to escape the heat during the summer months so uh there's all sorts of activities it's it's got shopping too for people who want to do that it's kind of a destination Town nice now to get the full ay experience how long do you think somebody should plan to stay there we stayed a week um I would say probably too because there was a lot um to do in the first night day um it rained so there wasn't much that we could do for like the hiking um uh we stayed at one of the campgrounds in the National Park uh it's called scoic n some Campground I think and they actually um certain times they have a shuttle that takes you actually to like the downtown area nice now you guys have a bigger rig so you were probably unhooking and driving your truck everywhere right was it pretty like you needed a car to get everywhere right yeah cuz I remember when we went to aadia there's some of those mountains you feel like you're really climbing up them for a while yeah we did um the Cadillac Mountain and you can drive up there or you can hike up there we drove and then hiked that that was a neat drive up to Cadillac Mountain yeah we went up to Cadillac Mountain for um Sunrise one morning and that was beautiful yeah we'll have to try that do that next time we go up there we missed it that's just a reason to get back there right exactly yeah Cadillac Mountain that's it's the first glimpse of Sunrise when you're on the East Coast that's the first that you're up I forget the altitude but that's like the first place the Sun hits on the East Coast oh yeah I didn't know that think when we were up there we watched the sunrise at Cadillac Mountain we did a bunch of stuff in the park and then we came back and watched the sunset from the same location it was pretty neat yeah oh well yeah what time of year did you guys go we actually went for the 4th of July um I was very very looking at a camp spot I think like I think like a couple days before and then we stay for a few days after the 4th of July so we got to see like the F they do like this huge firework like Extravaganza and everything too um down in Bar Harbor wow very cool now I guess probably in July a lot of those water sports were um still pretty active oh yeah because I think when we went we went in November so it was um very chilly a lot of things were closed um so we kind of had the town to oursel and it wasn't overly crowded which was nice but we did see a lot of areas for like kaying and bike rentals but they were obviously all shut down in the winter um that would have been really fun to experience in the summertime the beauty of visiting Acadia in November I think they closed the last week in October but the beauty of visiting in November is it's empty but at the same time like Bar Harbor shuts down so there was like we went to one restaurant like the entire time when we were in Bar Harbor yeah it was packed when they were there it was all sorts of activity I imagine how was that the four I imagine it's probably the most crowded it gets the summertime the 4th of July weekend how was maneuvering that Campground the summer parking how was that so the campground we stayed at was across from Bar Harbor so it was not super busy it's on the other side there's another Island over there so it was what a 30 minute drive to Bar Harbor 30 40 yeah 30 30 something like that um so our Campground is not super busy yeah um very peaceful over there getting into Bar Harbor though you probably get up early if you want to get there for the crowd uh we went we went hiking on the uh I think it's just called The Beach Walk yeah which is a Scenic walk that uh people used to do back in the day and so um we got up early and walked that in the morning and it was very yeah we got to walk the dogs and they were all excited because they got to go out and do a little hike with us yeah so is it pretty dog friendly in aadia did you find um with some spots yes there was other places that um said said like no dogs allowed and it like on recreation.gov is where I found like a lot of the different things and they said don't bring your dog like almost but but there was some that most to the National Park is dog friendly yeah and then going in the summertime I'm sure I know in that first episode you touched on the app goie you downloaded in the summertime having a dog if you're doing a trail where they're not dog friendly having that temperature sensor where you can get notified on your phone the temperature and the RV I'm sure you used that when you were in aadia yeah we're pretty comfortable with how we manage the dogs we usually have full hups so we leave the AC on and then we check them every couple hours um through the gooby and um through the through the ring uh cameras so um they're fine we we don't usually take the dogs to a lot of our activities we usually um do separate activities just for them so we'll take them to the forest or whatever we'll take them for walks and then we'll go do our thing so they do sit in in the the motor home for most of our travels yeah on their own little Adventure cool so what about um like once the sun goes down and it's later what was there to do at night um there's the whole down down near Bar Harbor area that you can go and and shop and eat and there's a little bit of nightlife I wasn't expecting it for there to be honest because it seems like the town that like everyone just wants to go shopping and then eating and then that's about it but there was a couple places that you can go at night when we went to Bar Harbor and ATI was actually before we got our van so we just we drove we stayed in a hotel and um we stayed the far Harbor Inn which was beautiful and they had an awesome restaurant they had a really good spa for anybody that you know wants a little bit of TLC and relaxation when they're there definitely check that out but the hiking and all the different Trails were pretty awesome as well yeah any of your favorite Trails or anywhere that you went there that you um really enjoyed we like that beachwalk yeah the beachwalk was fun Cadillac Mountain which we already talked about um there's the um Island that you can cross over to at low tide speaking of low tide I think when we went there was um what was that area where when it was really low and the waves came in a Thunder Hole Thunder Hole oh we we did see that that's on the beach I remember Thunder Hole it the sign that it tells you I think it tells you to go at a certain time at high tide or two hours before high tide I think it's wrong now because we drove around that loop I think four or five times trying to hit it at the right time we never saw it when it was like blasting you know way up did do you remember like what time frame like in relation to high tie that was by chance or was it just we got lucky we I think we got lucky we get lucky a lot Andy's extremely luy so oh yeah it was early morning it was like seven to 8 o'clock in the morning because reles high low time there's a another group and they're like oh it's actually going like if I had to guess based on where the tide was I would guess it was close to low tide I probably was not the peak low tide but it was probably 3/4 of the way through low tide that's just a guess though based on what the tide looked like I have no idea what it was looked at like at low tide though so yeah it's one of those things you want to manage your expectations cuz you know you see videos of it looks amazing but if you get there at the wrong time it's like it doesn't really look like too much we were there I think we saw it was blasting pretty high but it wasn't you know what we had seen before on videos but the first time we went there I don't think it was even making a noise yeah it was pretty unimpressive we probably should explain for people who aren't familiar Thunder Hole it's almost like an underwater cave right the way the tide comes in it like it sucks the water and it just blasts it makes like a thunderous sound that's how I remember video of it too yeah yeah you walk down in and there's a little cave and like yeah it's pretty Co it's definitely something you want to check out if you go to um aadia for sure so as far as um I know we've talked about there's a lot of different restaurants and options but anything favorite wise for breakfast lunch or dinner yeah if you're in a kadia you definitely want to do Lobster there's a little lobster shop that we went to kind of Cool vibe if you're able to think of it I'll I'll keep it in this podcast and I'll put a link in the description so people can check it out there we go we can we'll send it to you afterwards they'll find it yeah definitely not a shortage of good food and I think too like if you're driving through New England towards Acadia put um I don't know if you guys did this but we stopped in um Portland Maine first and that actually we did too you did too and then while you're making that drive up north we passed or we actually stopped at the LL Bean I don't know if it was the headquarters but they have a huge outlet and if you're looking to get hiking gear or anything LL Bean they have everything you possibly need you can make a stop there on your way to a to Acadia look out for the L Bean shop and then enjoy aadia Bar Harbor nice yeah and if you want to drive farther north you can hit that Canadian border which is a really neat area up there yeah very true that's not far you keep going the Eastern Eastern most point um they got a lot of cool towns you can cross over into Canada it's very neat area you can go to the Roosevelt uh park that's up there and see all the history of all the New Yorkers that used to go up there to vacation and they have a whole museum on the the Canadian US relations and all that kind of stuff it's a lot of fun yeah that and there's a bunch of ligh houses up there too yep lot of ligh houses oh perfect so bring your passports if you want to extend your uh extend your T your travels and just go into the or even just to do a day trip it the day trips were totally worth going too and don't let the Border agents actually they'll ask you all sorts of random questions but they just they just talk tough that's a good tip don't get intimidated yeah pretty much here for the ligh houses right cool so we're going to segment into the 3 two one countdown of final three questions of the podcast so what are three things to do in or around aadia that you would recommend doing definitely the cic mountain yep Cadillac would be number one hiking and driving would you have a I mean obviously hiking takes a bit longer but yeah I mean if you like hiking then go for it um the driving and then doing the hike afterwards was yeah you get to the top and there's some little little hiking you can do up there it is we hiked around the top too and it's neat it's it's just a huge Boulder is what it seems like you're walking I I forget how far we walked but it was a really neat and we'll overlay some photos we took when we were doing that if you're watching this on YouTube but it is a neat hike yeah around the top and beautiful view of the harbor yeah yeah Bar Harbor yep the porcupine Islands you can look out and see beachwalk I would do um there's a little there's a little Beach area next to the beachwalk at the beginning of it um that's kind of cool you could check out in a little Cove uh you cross over to the island that would be something fun to do and if anybody had two complaints or things that they wish they had prepared for what would they be about aadia or the Bar Harbor area it's okay if it rains you can still do things yeah might might be really rainy I like how you flip that into a positive but it's still fun just to do something like just get a rain jacket get an umbrella like you could still walk around yeah be prepared with the rain Jack when we were main the entire time we were Maine it was raining so um be prepared to have rain yeah the the other complaints would be that it's a tourist town there's going to be lots of people there you know it's it caters to the healthy so be prepared to spend some money and lobster will be expensive too so unless you want to just hike you know if you want to enjoy the the night life just be prepared that it is a tourist town all right one last question what is one thing you simply cannot leave a Cadia National Park without doing getting Lobster how yeah probably Lobster I think it was worth it then it was worth the you have to do main lobster that's yeah what are the the lobster with the B what was that the roll can't leave without getting lobster roll at least once gotta are you guys hot lobster roll or cold lobster roll people I like both I don't know I think I only had cold but I feel like cot would be better yeah I like hot yeah on the like y Lobster soup's pretty good too Lobster Lobster bis yeah so we'll link that restaurant you guys went to like I mentioned before and yeah Andy and Tyler thank you guys for coming on the show again look at the first episode we watched and where can my audience find out more about you guys um just Instagram follow us on Instagram hit up Andy she'll talk to you perfect and that's Instagram action plan act. iore plan Andy and Tyler thank you guys for coming on thank you thank you guys

In this week's episode of the Venue RX Podcast, our host Jonathan Aymin interviews Alex Gold, a venue owner in Center Point, Texas. They discuss Alex's unique wedding venue, Elm Pass Woods, which features an outdoor festival vibe and Scandinavian teepees. Alex shares her journey of how she got into the wedding industry, starting with her own wedding and then realizing the potential for her venue to be a business. They talk about the challenges and successes of running a wedding venue, including the impact of COVID-19. Alex also emphasizes the importance of transparency in pricing and the use of a CRM system for effective venue management. She concludes by sharing her favorite part of owning a wedding venue, which is being a part of couples' joyous celebrations. About Our Guest: Mike and Alex had been dating for a solid five years after meeting at Crossfit. And in 2018, on one of their yearly trips to Maine to visit his dad, he proposed to her at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. He had been planning it for months, and she had no idea – even her parents were waiting at the top of the hike to congratulate them! Shortly after getting engaged, she stumbled across a photo of a giant-hat tipi wedding in the UK while exploring Pinterest. It was completely different than anything she had ever seen before, and she was hooked. Being outdoorsy folk, it wasn't hard to convince Michael, and so their theme was decided – a whimsy-filled festival with giant-hat Tipis!! They also knew their three dogs needed to have a part in their nuptials. After some research, they quickly realized there weren't any venues in their area (or in the US!) offering the wedding festival they were envisioning without having to hire out every single element. So, they set to work, putting their own together from scratch. After 10 months of getting their 20-acre slice of Hill Country heaven ready for “Haws Wedfest,” and with tons of encouragement from family and friends, they decided to bring the festival vibes to other couples... at Elm Pass Woods! Find Them Here:  Tel: 210-912-9320  Email: alex@elmpasswoods.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elmpasswoods/  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ElmPassWoodsWeddings/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElmPassWoodsWeddingFestivals  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClrK-wnq1YaIaJCKx6JLj0w  Address: 280 Elm Pass Rd E, Center Point, TX 78010

Chelsea's trip to Maine. What do you collect while traveling? New York is the state with the most expensive taste. Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain. Rude house guests. Travel collections. Cars are expensive. Peanut cheese.

Chelsea's back! Porch pirate. Fact. Chelsea's trip to Maine. What do you collect while traveling? New York is the state with the most expensive taste. Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain. Rude house guests. Travel collections. Cars are expensive. Peanut cheese. Sean's new side hustle. Houses are changing. Mercury is in retrograde.

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program. This month: This episode features two distinct stories about Gouldsboro, Maine: STORY 1: Gouldsboro, a working waterfront community at a crossroads Today's show features the second episode of this year's From the Sea Up podcast series focused on Maine's working waterfront towns. We'll be headed to Gouldsboro, A historic fishing town with over 50 miles of coastline. In 2020, the Norwegian-backed company American Aquafarms proposed putting two closed-pen salmon farms, totaling 120-acres, in Frenchman Bay between Gouldsboro and Bar Harbor. Although American Aquafarm's initial application for an aquaculture lease was terminated by the Maine Department of Marine Resources in the spring of 2022, a question about the future of Maine's waters took hold in many rural coastal communities. In this episode, From the Sea Up producers visit South Gouldsboro, a small and active working waterfront with stunning views of Cadillac Mountain and the proposed lease site. With perspectives from a seaweed farmer and cultivator, Sarah Redmond, as well as Jerry Potter, a longtime lobsterman, and Sebastian Belle from the Maine Aquaculture Association, this episode explores the identity and needs of one working waterfront community, and asks the question: What kind of working waterfront do people want to see here in the future? And what role does aquaculture play in that future? This story is brought to you by our radio storytelling friend Galen Koch, whose podcast series, From the Sea Up, has been featured on Coastal Conversations before. Galen brings the past and present together to help us make sense of Maine's complicated future. This is the second in a working waterfront series we will keep sharing over the next few months. STORY 2: Gouldsboro: a legacy of sardines You heard the narrator in our first story talk about American Aquafarms' purchase of the Maine Fair Trade lobster processing facility in the Gouldsboro village of Prospect Harbor. While American Aquafarms' intention is to someday convert the lobster processing operation into a salmon processing facility and hatchery, this plant was in the business of packing sardines for nearly 100 years. As the era of Maine's sardine industry was coming to an end in the later part of the 20th century, and sardine packing plants were closing one by one up and down the Maine coast, the Stinson's Sardine Cannery was the very last hold out. It's final owner, Bumble Bee Foods, shuttered the sardine operation for good in 2010, making it not only the last sardine cannery in Maine, but the very last sardine cannery in the whole of the United States. In 2011, the year after the sardine plant closed, oral historians from “Oral History and Folklife Research, Inc” sought to honor and document the Stinson Sardine Factory legacy by interviewing a number of former employees. In our second story today, we share some clips from two of these interviews with women who worked as sardine packers. Guest/s: STORY 1 Sarah Redmond, Springtide Seaweed Jerry Potter, lobsterman Sebastian Belle, Maine Aquaculture Association STORY 2 We'll hear a short clip from the interview with Arlene Hartford, followed by a slightly longer clip from the interview with Lela Anderson. Both women were interviewed by Keith Ludden in 2011 and the full collection is available here Other credits: STORY 1 From the Sea Up is made possible by the Fund for Maine Islands through a partnership between Island Institute, College of the Atlantic, Maine Sea Grant, and the First Coast. Click here to hear past episodes and for more information STORY 2 Thanks to the folks at “Oral History and Folklife Research, Inc” for permission to air these clips. You can access their full collections here. And thanks also to production assistant Camden Hunt, for helping edit the audio clips for this segment of today's show. If you want to hear more about sardines, check out the Coastal Conversations for our August 28, 2020 episode called “Stories of the Sardine Industry” which features these clips and many more About the host: Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation's since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland's Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio. The post Coastal Conversations 1/27/23: Gouldsboro, Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program. This month: This episode features two distinct stories about Gouldsboro, Maine: STORY 1: Gouldsboro, a working waterfront community at a crossroads Today's show features the second episode of this year's From the Sea Up podcast series focused on Maine's working waterfront towns. We'll be headed to Gouldsboro, A historic fishing town with over 50 miles of coastline. In 2020, the Norwegian-backed company American Aquafarms proposed putting two closed-pen salmon farms, totaling 120-acres, in Frenchman Bay between Gouldsboro and Bar Harbor. Although American Aquafarm's initial application for an aquaculture lease was terminated by the Maine Department of Marine Resources in the spring of 2022, a question about the future of Maine's waters took hold in many rural coastal communities. In this episode, From the Sea Up producers visit South Gouldsboro, a small and active working waterfront with stunning views of Cadillac Mountain and the proposed lease site. With perspectives from a seaweed farmer and cultivator, Sarah Redmond, as well as Jerry Potter, a longtime lobsterman, and Sebastian Belle from the Maine Aquaculture Association, this episode explores the identity and needs of one working waterfront community, and asks the question: What kind of working waterfront do people want to see here in the future? And what role does aquaculture play in that future? This story is brought to you by our radio storytelling friend Galen Koch, whose podcast series, From the Sea Up, has been featured on Coastal Conversations before. Galen brings the past and present together to help us make sense of Maine's complicated future. This is the second in a working waterfront series we will keep sharing over the next few months. STORY 2: Gouldsboro: a legacy of sardines You heard the narrator in our first story talk about American Aquafarms' purchase of the Maine Fair Trade lobster processing facility in the Gouldsboro village of Prospect Harbor. While American Aquafarms' intention is to someday convert the lobster processing operation into a salmon processing facility and hatchery, this plant was in the business of packing sardines for nearly 100 years. As the era of Maine's sardine industry was coming to an end in the later part of the 20th century, and sardine packing plants were closing one by one up and down the Maine coast, the Stinson's Sardine Cannery was the very last hold out. It's final owner, Bumble Bee Foods, shuttered the sardine operation for good in 2010, making it not only the last sardine cannery in Maine, but the very last sardine cannery in the whole of the United States. In 2011, the year after the sardine plant closed, oral historians from “Oral History and Folklife Research, Inc” sought to honor and document the Stinson Sardine Factory legacy by interviewing a number of former employees. In our second story today, we share some clips from two of these interviews with women who worked as sardine packers. Guest/s: STORY 1 Sarah Redmond, Springtide Seaweed Jerry Potter, lobsterman Sebastian Belle, Maine Aquaculture Association STORY 2 We'll hear a short clip from the interview with Arlene Hartford, followed by a slightly longer clip from the interview with Lela Anderson. Both women were interviewed by Keith Ludden in 2011 and the full collection is available here Other credits: STORY 1 From the Sea Up is made possible by the Fund for Maine Islands through a partnership between Island Institute, College of the Atlantic, Maine Sea Grant, and the First Coast. Click here to hear past episodes and for more information STORY 2 Thanks to the folks at “Oral History and Folklife Research, Inc” for permission to air these clips. You can access their full collections here. And thanks also to production assistant Camden Hunt, for helping edit the audio clips for this segment of today's show. If you want to hear more about sardines, check out the Coastal Conversations for our August 28, 2020 episode called “Stories of the Sardine Industry” which features these clips and many more About the host: Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation's since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland's Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio. The post Coastal Conversations 1/27/23: Gouldsboro, Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

This Day in Maine for Tuesday, December 13th, 2022.

A historic fishing town with over 50 miles of coastline, Gouldsboro has been at the center of a divisive controversy for the past two years. In 2020, the Norwegian-backed company American Aquafarms proposed putting two closed-pen salmon farms, totaling 120-acres, in Frenchman Bay between Gouldsboro and Bar Harbor. That proposal prompted a flurry of opposition from organizations, fishermen, and residents throughout the region. Although American Aquafarm's initial application for an aquaculture lease was denied by the Maine Department of Marine Resources in the spring of 2022, a question about the future of Maine's waters took hold in many rural coastal communities. In this episode, we visit South Gouldsboro, a small and active working waterfront with stunning views of Cadillac Mountain and the proposed lease site. With perspectives from a seaweed farmer and cultivator, Sarah Redmond, and Jerry Potter, a longtime lobsterman, this episode explores the identity and needs of one working community along Gouldsboro's expansive coast. As pressures from outside interests build in rural Maine, we ask the question: What kind of working waterfront do we want to see here in the future?

In this special "Homecoming" episode of Matt & Michele Outdoors, Matt highlights stories spending his Summer's growing up at his familes 170 year old homestead near Acadia National Park as well as inside tips for the best places you know about - and some off the beaten path - for an exceptional visit to coastal Downeast Maine.For general information, reservations and car passes to Acadia National Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htmFor "Scoodic Woods" Camping information: https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/schoodic-woods-campground.htmFor Cadillac Mountain summit road vehicle registration:https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/vehicle_reservations.htmFor visiting Bar Harbor, Maine:https://www.visitbarharbor.com/For visiting Winter Harbor, Maine:https://winterharbortown.com/Recommendation: We strongly suggest purchasing your Acadia National Park Car Passes Online, in advance. Note: You must print out and display your pass in your car. There are may areas without cel service, so accessing infomation on, or purchasing via, your phone on site is not realistic.  Taking this extra step ahead of time will save you a LOT of time, avoiding long car lines, or technical issues.Title Sponsors of MMO:Angler Magazine: https://coastalanglermag.com/great-smoky-mountains/ Prestie Subaru: https://www.prestigesubaru.com/Sunrift Adventures: https://sunrift.com/ Show Sponsor: Explore Wilkesboro, NCVisit https://www.wilkescountytourism.com/ for more information.

Dr. Travelbest helps women travel solo. Get her latest book series on Amazon.  In this episode:  What is air travel like these days and what is different? Today's Destination is: Acadia National Park Today's Mistake: My own car crash in parking garage Travel Advice:  Travel pillows FOR SLEEPING on planes FAQ: What is air travel like these days and what is different? In 2019, there were 146 FAA cases of bad behavior on planes, but in 2021, that number grew to more than 1000 cases. That was out of nearly 6,000 cases of unruly passengers.  Airplane etiquette is more important these days because we are all hyper aware of those around us.   In 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration investigated 146 cases of bad behavior; in 2021 it initiated investigations into 1,081 incidents, out of a total of 5,981 reports of unruly passengers last year. Some people get to the airport these days, forgetting basic kindness. The first rule of respectful travel is to accept the rules: Observe mask mandates, boarding processes and carry-on restrictions. Beyond that, there are steps you can take to make travel a little more pleasant for everyone and avoid conflict. Here are five tips: Don't hog the overhead bins Greet your flight attendant Prepare yourself ahead of time. Don't escalate a conflict. Don't bring stinky food on board. Source: https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/transportation/info-2022/flying-etiquette.html?intcmp=DC-TRV-MAIN-BB   Destination: Acadia National Park, Maine   Acadia is marked by Woodland Rocky beaches and Granite Peaks. It's a good destination for a Solo Traveler or with a friend. ALL seasons have something to offer. What is significant about the geography at Acadia National Park?    The highest point in the United States East Coast is Cadillac Mountain.  https://www.visitbarharbor.com/ https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/faqs.htm https://acadiamagic.com/   https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm   https://acadiamagic.com/schoodic/map.htm Today's Mistake- My own car crash in parking garage   Today's Travel Advice-Travel neck pillows reviewed.    https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/travel-accessories/best-travel-pillows   Connect with Dr Travelbest Website Drmarytravelbest.com Mary Beth on Twitter Dr. Mary Travelbest Twitter  Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram

So as to not rush these episodes, I decided to put in a placeholder episode. As I type this, it's 8:57 PM on Wednesday evening, and we're three days into our vacation to Acadia NP. It's been incredible. My plan is to create two episodes in the next two weeks (one replacing this placeholder episode) to share information about Acadia and our trip that can help you plan future trips to Acadia and other National Parks. I'm no pro (this is our second NP), but it's amazing what you can learn in such short time. Bed is calling. Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain is calling (wakeup time 3:15ish).

Luke shares a great story about Cadillac Mountain, we talk Bo Burnham, Sparks and Tig Notaro. In this weeks exit interview, Simon sees too much.

God speaks to a suffering Job in a surprising way - He uses his own wisdom in creation to humble Job and cause him to trust God. - Sermon Transcript - Turn in your Bibles to Job 39. We're actually going to do a couple of verses in 38 and on to 39. And as you do, I want to tell you, one of my favorite places on earth is Acadia National Park up in Maine. I've been there many times. It's a long way from here very far north, almost up in Canada. It's a long way north of Boston. It takes a long time to get there, but it is really worth it. It's a spectacular combination of elevation and of rocky shoreline. You know, the Cadillac Mountain is not high. It's not like some of the higher mountains in New England, in the presidential range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, 6,000 feet, Mount Washington. It's not that, but it's just that the elevations, the high places are right on the coast and you can drive right up to some rocky cliffs and just sit there and look out and you can see, as far as the eye can see, you can see ocean on one side and spectacular rocky coast lines. You can see pine forests. There's one place in particular that's my favorite. And we usually went there in October. We love to take October vacations, which we will do the next couple of weeks. And we would go up there when I was living in Massachusetts and New England, we would go up there around Columbus Day, around this time of year, and we'd see the foliage. And it was just so beautiful. And there's one place, it was really quiet where you could go and it didn't seem like anybody knew about it. And I would just sit there. And, and down far below was this beautiful blue lake called Echo Lake. And all of these pine trees were surrounding- all these deciduous trees that were just radiant with the oranges and reds and yellows of fall. And in a certain time, from time to time, you could see birds of prey. I don't know what they were, maybe Peregrine Falcons, or maybe eagles, hawks. All of those are found in Acadia. And you could see them just rising on thermals and they would fly in circles. They would go higher and higher and you could watch them way, way down below you. And they would get higher and higher until they were about eye level with you. And then they would reach a certain height and they'd go right over your heads. You watch the whole thing for free. What a show. And I thought about John Calvin, the Geneva theologian's statement that this world that we live in is a theater of God's glory. It's a theater of God's glory. Everywhere you look, you can see evidence of the glory of God, if you know what to look for. And the chapter we're going to look at today continues that same meditation that we began looking at last week, the evidence of the glory of God and physical creation. And the basic lesson is going to be, and the overall context of the book of Job, is that we should not murmur against God or question a God who can create the things we see in this world. But instead we should trust him with our lives. That natural creation, nature as we look at the inanimate creation in Job 38 and animate creation in Job 39 is ample evidence of the wisdom and power of God. And you should trust him when you're suffering. That's the overall point here. "We should not murmur against God or question a God who can create the things we see in this world. But instead we should trust him with our lives." Now, I believe that the Bible makes better arguments than that. The Job argument is good. The argument in Christ is better. And so that's why we're going to look at today's chapter, Job 39. Job as we've seen, was a righteous man. He was in anguish over cascading sorrows that God sovereignly brought into his life that had devastated his world. And he had been vocal, very vocal about his displeasure with God and what God had done in his life. Job lost all of his wealth and he lost all of his children. And then in the second stage lost all of his health, in wave upon wave of assaults on his life and sorrows. And though he initially praised God very well and did not sin against God in what he said yet, the trials went on longer than he could bear. And they bore down on him and they ground him down. And at some point he begins speaking disrespectfully about God. He portrays God as somehow delighting in crushing his people. And even worse that God has denied Job justice, that what has happened has been unjust. Now Job's friends came into his situation to try to counsel him, but they did a very poor Job. At one point, Job says, "Miserable comforters are you all," Job 16:2. And again, he says, "You are worthless physicians, all of you," Job 13:4. But at the end of this incredible book, God shows up. He descends to speak to his suffering child. He comes down to counsel him and he is not a miserable counselor. In fact, he is a wonderful counselor. And God also comes to Job to heal him, first his soul, and then his body. And God is not a worthless physician. Now God's methodology in his counseling and in his healing is surprising. He does not come as we saw last week in that still small voice, that gentle whisper that he used with Elijah on Mount Horeb. Though, we would've perhaps chosen that. Instead, if he's going to come in a wind, he chooses to come in a whirlwind, in a tornado. God comes huge to Job with a mighty voice and with words to match. And that lines up with the level of trial he chose for Job's life. It was industrial strength. Very strong he came into Job's life. Last time we saw God put Job in his place and also reestablish himself in his own place in Job's mind as the infinitely powerful and perfect God of the universe. And God uses his own achievements in creation, both in the original work of creation, what he made at the beginning, and then in his power and wisdom in both sustaining creation and governing it, running it. And he asked Job some questions to humble him, as we saw last time. "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words, without knowledge?” Job 38:2. Imagine hearing that from God. And then a couple verses later, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me if you understand." Job 38:4. Now God's point in all of this in Job 38 was to expose Job's limitations, as we saw last time. Job is limited. He's limited in time since he has not existed very long compared to God. He's limited in power because God asked, did you do this? Can you do that? He's limited in knowledge because God asked Job, “Tell me if you understand,” “Surely you know.” But God is infinite. He has no such limitations. He is infinite in time for he is eternal. He is infinite in power for he did all of these things of creation effortlessly, effortlessly by the word of his power. He is infinite in wisdom because everything that God made was exquisitely well constructed. And so in all of this in Job 38, he was saying, trust me, and stop trusting in yourself as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." That seems to line up so beautifully with the lessons of Job doesn't it? “Trust in me.” So we saw on Job 38:1-38 God's activity in creating the heavens and the earth, as well as managing the activities of these inanimate objects. So inanimate objects like the earth, the sky, the sea, the wind, the clouds, the weather, the stars, all of these inanimate objects. Basically, I think of it this way. You could look at Job 38 as the establishment of a blank canvas woven thread by thread, stretched out perfectly flat on a wooden frame that he also made expertly, a large blank canvas of inanimate objects, rocks, water, air, light, sun, moon stars, hills, valleys, rivers, oceans, all of these inanimate things, being a blank canvas for his animate creatures to come and dwell in; animals, men to live out unfolding history. And the blank canvas is ready for the master to paint a masterpiece brushstroke by brushstroke. The animals will come in each with their nature and habitats and instincts and populations, and God will manage their life cycles and their interactions in an ecosystem. But higher than that, higher than that is the unfolding of human history. The story of people, of men and women created in the image of God and what they choose to do. God doesn't mention it directly here in Job. He doesn't talk about that unfolding story, but clearly the book of Job does, talks about Job's story and the whole Bible does. And that really is the masterpiece isn't it? That is the painting that God has made on this blank inanimate canvas. The God who made such a magnificent canvas knows how to paint that masterpiece on it with the unfolding of human history. And it culminates in what goes vastly beyond anything the book of Job focuses on, and that is the salvation of sinners by the life, death and resurrection and the second coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. But the point is clear: the God who does all of these things is worthy of our trust. I. God Delights in His Creatures All right, so let's walk through this incredible chapter now. We begin by talking about how God clearly delights in his creatures. Doesn't he? I mean, as you read this, God is so proud of his animals. I mean, he really enjoys his animals. God made everything and he made it all good. And he has delighted in those things that he made ever since he made them. It says in Genesis 1:31, "God saw all that he had made and behold it was very good." And then I like Psalm 104:31 on this very point, "May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works." I mean, I just think Job 39 is God doing that. That's God rejoicing in his works. You know in the heavenly realms at the beginning of this story, God boasted to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” But it seems like in this chapter he's saying, “Have you considered my ostrich?” I mean, of all things, imagine coming to a grieving friend and putting an arm around them as they're broken hearted and saying, “Have you considered the ostrich in the midst of your suffering? Let's talk about the ostrich for a while.” Be like, “Are you out of your mind?” But God isn't out of his mind. He just is counseling Job. And effectively does that. “Have you considered the mountain goat and how she gives birth? Have you considered the wild donkey and the wild ox? Have you pondered the attributes of the horse as it runs?” Let the glory of the Lord endure forever. May the Lord rejoice in his works. You know what he's saying to all of us is, you know, “Your sorrow, your suffering is temporary, but your rejoicing in my works will not be temporary.” We're going to spend eternity celebrating them. So these sufferings are, as Paul will later call them light and momentary. God's delight in his works is not. And so he is going to ponder each of these 10 creatures in order. There are 10. If you start in chapter 38, as I said, there's a couple of animals that he brings in there. And then chapter 39 is all the animals. So I think that chapter division should have been there, but it was what it was, but he begins in chapter 38 with the lion and lioness and then the raven and then chapter 39, eight more; the mountain goat, the doe, the wild donkey, the wild ox, the ostrich, the horse, the hawk and the eagle. So these are the 10 creatures that God brings out kind of one at a time and talks about a little. Believe me, God could say far more about each of them than he does. He just brings in just a little bit of how much he delights in them. And what does he discuss as he brings out each of these creatures one at a time? Well, he discusses and delights in their capabilities and also their limitations. It's going to be fun listening to God talk about how stupid the ostrich is, we'll get to that, but I find it interesting. God created their strengths and their limitations. God created their instincts and their behavior patterns. He decided where they would live, what they would eat, what their population size would be. God oversees everything for his glory and his delight and then he actively manages it. He feeds and governs his creatures. And he starts in chapter 38 with the lion and the lioness. Look at verses 39-40. "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?" And then he goes on to the raven in verse 41, "Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?" So God is declaring that he feeds both of these creatures, both of these species, but they're feeding needs and patterns are very different from each other. Lions hunt their prey, Psalm 104 says, at night they go out and prowl at night and God provides their prey for them in the form of zebras or gazelles or other large animals that they hunt and kill. Adult lionesses eat about 11 pounds of meat a day, while adult lions eat 16 pounds. On the contrary, ravens are scavengers. They have to scavenge about, and they eat a lot of things. They eat almost everything from small mammals to nesting birds, they eat eggs, they eat berries. They even eat carrion. Now the scripture makes it plain, that God feeds all of his creatures every day, Psalm 104:27-28, "These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things." I just want you to picture that. I just want you to picture that in reference to your life, God opening his hand and satisfying you with every good thing. Just know that it is from the hand of God, that all your good things come, vital. God also decides when every creature will be born. And though it's not mentioned in Job 39, it is mentioned in Psalm 104, when they will die, how long they will live. So look at verses 1-4 of chapter 39, "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return." So there's no birth clinic out there available for these animals. There's no midwives, no OBGYN. There's no veterinarians to aid the birth process out in the wild. The mountain goat, the pregnant mountain goat roams up on high as usual in the mountain peaks, scrambles on the rocky slopes of the mountain ranges. She is with young. And when the time comes, she gives birth. That's what happens. And so it also is with the doe. She's about to become a mother, but she has no assistance but from God. God knows how long the fawn must develop within her. And what the right number of months is that have passed. Do you know? I didn't know. Maybe you do know. Maybe you're one of the special people here at FBC that knows how long a fawn must gestate within its mother, six months. All right I will forget that fact. A year from now I won't know. It's like, “Pastor, you told us a year ago. It's six months,” but that's what he says to Job. “You don't know, you don't know, I do, but you don't.” And after the young mountain goat or deer is born, they stay with their mother for about a year. And then, as God says, they leave and they don't come back home. They're no home visits after that, they're done. They thrive in the wilds on their own following innate instincts, that's the word we use for it, and internal programming that God gave them. And they will live on that. God's point to Job here is, “Do you know all these things? Are you watching over them? Do you know what to do? Are you counting the weeks till the time comes?” Now, God does this for every living creature on planet earth, that's mind boggling. For every creature He's doing this. On the contrary, when God decides a creature must die, it dies. Psalm 104:29, "When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust." Or as Jesus said, very plainly in Matthew 10:29: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from the will of your Father." I'm thinking he means dies; that's why it would fall to the ground. So in other words, when it's time for the sparrow, an individual sparrow on planet earth to die, it dies according to the plan of God. He's managing the populations. Then he mentions the wild donkey, verses 5-8, "Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes? I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat. He laughs at the commotion in the town. He does not hear a driver's shout. He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing." Wild donkeys are extremely territorial, more than dogs or horses. Wild donkeys travel long distances in search of the sparse vegetation they need to survive. God assigned their habitat to them and gives them enough food to survive. And it says, he laughs at the noise in the town because he doesn't live there. It has nothing to do with him. That's the point. He's running free. He goes where he wants to go. He has no driver beating him. There's no harness on him. He's not serving the interest of any master. He's a wild donkey and he enjoys his freedom and, “Job, you didn't give it to him. That was my doing. I gave him his freedom.” And then there's the wild ox, verses 9-12, "Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you? Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him? Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?" Well, some animals are domesticated. As the book of James says, when he talks about the tongue, “No man is able to tame the tongue.” He says, all kinds of animals, beasts, creatures have been tamed and are being tamed by man. So man can do that. You can tame them and harness them and use them for purposes. Oxen are definitely among them. They're probably the strongest of all domesticated animals. They're known for their strength. Farmers have used them for millennia to pull the plow and harrow the fields. Proverbs 14:4 says, "Where there are no oxen the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest." Oxen themselves can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, a ton, and they can pull a ton. It's incredible. They're staggeringly powerful. Now, as I said, many oxen are domesticated, but that's quite a process. There's a certain intelligence that goes to getting them to do all of the functions that God talks about here, but the wild oxen won't do it. They're out free. In any case, God made the oxen like he did. It was God that gave them their great strength. It was God that gave them the capability of being domesticated and used. And then it was God that gave to human beings, the ability to domesticate them. God did all of these things. And now we come to my favorite, the ostrich. I mean, what do we even say about the ostrich? I actually think one of the sub themes of the book of Job is how not to counsel people like Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, don't do that. I don't know about the ostrich. I know that God is doing it here; I wouldn't recommend it friends. But here is the ostrich, verses 13-18, "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain." That's my favorite verse, verse 17, "For God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense." That's God saying that. We'll get back to that in a minute. "Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider." Look, I want to start with the ostrich on just how odd looking she is, in my opinion. Maybe some of you think she's beautiful. I'm not thinking that. I think she's odd looking. She's tall and gangly and ugly and gray. Female ostrich's are about six feet tall. Males can get as tall as nine feet. They weigh about 200 to 280 pounds. They are big birds. Her wings strangely do not enable her to fly, but they do give her balance while she runs. God says, and this is interesting, "Her pinions and feathers do not compare with those of the stork." It's like, if you want to talk to me about pinions and feathers, we're going to go to a stork, not the ostrich. But it was God that chose that. God said I gave better pinions and feathers to the stork than I did to the ostrich. Then he zeros in on the foolish behavior of the ostrich with her eggs. Ostrich eggs are the largest on planet earth, six inches long, five inches across weighing as much as three pounds. One place I was reading about them said the ostrich egg is not only the largest egg on earth, it's also the largest single cell on earth. But God says that she lays them on the ground and lets them warm in the sand. He said that's foolish. In God's opinion, that's foolish for her to do because a foot may come along and crush it. God says in verse 17 that, “God did not endow her with wisdom." Now just let your mind mull over that for a while. Why didn't he? He could have. He could have made her really smart. He didn't. And it just shows God's providence. He just measures out capabilities and sets boundaries around them. He knows exactly what he's doing with this. Furthermore, he says concerning the ostrich that she treats her young harshly as if they were not hers, but in another place, God zeros in on the zeal that a mother bear has for her young, extremely protective. Proverbs 17:12 says: "Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly." I like that proverb. But the mother bear is going to be incredibly zealous, angry and raged if you touch any of her cubs. Ostrich couldn't care less. It's like it has nothing to do with her. Or what about a human mother with her nursing infant? God chooses her as a pinnacle example of committed love. Isaiah 49:15, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?" He says, "Though she may forget, I'll never forget you oh Israel." but the ostrich is designed differently by God. God actually seems to insult her for her foolishness, which he effectively gave her. Verses 16-17, "She treats her young harshly as if they were not hers. She cares not that her labor was in vain for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense." But she can run! Verse 18, "Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider." And it's true; ostriches can run in short bursts up to 43 miles an hour. That's unbelievable, 43 miles per hour. Sustained speeds, over long distances, 31 miles an hour. A single ostrich stride can be as much as 16 feet in length. They're covering ground. Now God doesn't say anything directly to Job about him and the ostrich, but it's clear that God is saying, “I made an ostrich. What did you make? Can you make an ostrich? Would you have made an ostrich, if you could have? If you could make one creature, would it be the ostrich? Probably not, but I made her.” And then he moves from that to the horse. The very thing he just mentioned that she laughs at horse and rider, but then he goes to talk about the horse verses 19-25, "Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely rejoicing in his strength and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing. He does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement, he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet, he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry." Whenever I think of God's creation of the horse and these incredible verses, my mind goes back to Secretariat winning the Belmont in 1973. One of my favorite sporting moments in history. It was incredible. I remember watching it and as Secretariat just kept going further and further and further away from all the other horses and the commentator, one of the great calls in the history of sports, Chick Anderson saying that, “Secretariat is running like a tremendous machine", one and a half miles setting a record that still hasn't been even approached. Just the beauty of that chestnut red horse, just moving like a machine. It was just beautiful to watch. I can still see it. I watch it probably once or twice a year; just remembering what that was like. And God speaks to Job of that strength and the courage of the horse in battle utterly fearless, ready to go, pawing the ground, ready to charge, no fear at all, going into the bloody fray, speed astonishing, as the horse eats up the ground on the charge, ground shaking beneath pounding hoofs. And God addresses Job directly this time, "Did you give the horse its strength or its beautiful mane? Did you do that?" And then he finishes with birds of prey, the hawk, and then the eagle verse 26, "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high? He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold. From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar. His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he." I mean hawks are really magnificent creatures, really magnificent, soaring through the air. They're fierce, fierce hunters, swooping down from the heavens at over 150 miles per hour to grab their prey with sharp talons. When they migrate, they fly over a thousand miles from the nesting to the feeding areas. Can you imagine having hawks after you, going after you I mean? What would you do? It's terrifying, but God restrains them, but they have incredible capabilities. And then eagles are even more amazing creatures than hawks are. They're incredibly strong. An eagle is able to pick up and fly with over four times their own body weight. That's strong, up to 35 pounds. As God mentions, an eagle's eyesight is amazing. Human eyeballs have 200,000 cones per millimeter on our retinas. That gives us our precision and seeing. But eagles eyes have five times the density, 1 million cones per square millimeter. So normal eyesight, we have that rating of 20/20, but eagles are 20/5. So what that means is what looks sharp and clear to us at five feet looks just as sharp and clear to eagles at 20 feet. An eagle flight is, if anything, even more amazing riding thermal columns, as I described. They can ascend to higher than 10,000 feet using thermal currents. They can go for a long time without even flapping. And God humbles Job again and through Job, all of us, asking if hawks fly by our wisdom or if eagles soar at our command. No they don't. They do what they do independent of man. We don't do anything in reference with them, but God does. God created them. God sustains them. God governs them. And so Job is completely humbled in all of this while God is being exalted. Look again at all the "do you" passages in Job 39. “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth,” “do you? Do you watch over the deer when they give birth? Do you count the months of their gestation period? Do you know the right times for them to give birth?” Job has to confess total ignorance of these things. “Did you let the wild donkey go free? Was that your decision? Did you decide what his habitat would be? Did you provide some green vegetation for him to eat? No, you didn't. What about the wild ox? Perhaps you might have the knowledge to train and domestic domesticate him, but did you give him his mighty strength? No you didn't. What about the ostrich? Can you make such a strange, foolish, but fast bird? Would you ever come up with such a creature and did you design the horse with its stunning speed and its magnificent mane flowing in the wind? Did you give it its courage? And are you in charge of the hawks flying? Do you know how to design a wing with its feathers and its bones and its tendons and the brain of the hawk to use its tail feathers to stabilize him while he rockets to the earth at 150 miles an hour, blinding speeds. And do you command the eagle to fly and does it obey you?” So we see in all of this God's direct activities, not just with these 10 creatures, these are just representative creatures. He does it with all the creatures, all of them. God made each of them. He sustains them by the word of his power. He gives them their attributes, their abilities. He decided how much strength they would have, how much intelligence they would have, what their lifespans, their populations would be, their native habitats, how they would interact with each other in ecosystems. God programs their instincts. They do not think in reason like human beings, they don't study and learn. They have instincts and they react instinctively to do what God designed them to do. Their parents didn't teach them these things. They're not in deer school or wild donkey school for a while and then they graduate. They just do what they instinctively were created by God to do. And God actively cares for them, feeding them, guiding them, protecting them or giving them over to their prey, as predators. God decides how long they live, when they will die. And he does this, not just with these 10 creatures, but with every creature on planet earth. Now how many are there? I don't know. No one knows. Biologists have recently estimated, this is one of my favorite little stupid moments in my research. Ready? Get ready for some scientific stupidity. Biologists have recently estimated that there are over 8.7 million different species of living creatures on earth, give or take 1.3 million; 8.7 give or take 1.3. I'm a significant figures guy. Where do they come from? Oh, how in the world these scientists have come up with these figures I don't know because these same people say that, get this, 86% of the land species and 91% of the aquatic species have yet to be discovered. 86% have yet to be discovered? Is your mind having a hard time with that? Not 85% have yet to be discovered. All right, let's just say roughly four to five, six million species are known and cataloged and God sustains them all and gave all of them their capabilities and their capacities. And he weaves them all together in a balanced ecosystem that doesn't get out of whack. Like a number of years ago, when some scientists tried to do an independent closed system ecosystem, which they called biosphere two, honoring the earth as biosphere one. And they're trying to think of some closed systems that could function on Mars, let's say. And they put this- they put eight people in a kind of a dome experience, cut off from everything else. So everything was supposedly self-sufficient within it. And there's all these interactive systems and artificial rainforests inside it, a miniature ocean with a coral reef, a mangrove wetland region, a Savannah grassland region, a fog desert, an agricultural region for human farming and a place for the eight humans to live, probably not very big. Despite the best efforts at balancing the oxygen, carbon dioxide, the waste products and the cycles of life and death among its animals, birds, insects, and microbes, no surprise, the whole thing failed miserably and pretty quickly. The oxygen level kept dropping. If I'm one of the eight people in there that's going to be worrisome. The fish died off very quickly. The populations of greenhouse ants and cockroaches exploded. As I've said before, cockroaches seem to do well everywhere. Oddly, the morning glories overgrew the rainforest crowding out all other plants. So all you got left are morning glories, hope you like them. The best thinking of ecologists and scientists and biologists, and over 200 million dollars could not produce a balanced sustaining ecosystem, but God did it. And God didn't just do it once, he did it twice. He did it with the perfect world where everything was beautifully balanced and then he cursed it and still made it function properly. Now that's incredible! The cursed world is still functioning, amazing! And in all of this, we're supposed to see the wisdom of God and the power of God and the love of God. II. God Convicts Job And so he brings the lesson home to Job and he convicts Job. Look at verses 1-2 of chapter 40, "The Lord said to Job: ‘Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!’" And so Job sees the point. As Paul says, in Acts 17:24, "The God who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth." I mean, that's it, isn't it? “The God who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth.” His power and his wisdom and his love are clearly on display in what he has made and such a mighty, wise, loving God can be trusted in whatever he does. Managing your life is small work for God and God doesn't make any mistakes, therefore Job sinned gravely, when he accused God of making mistakes or of wrongdoing and he failed to trust in God. Who does Job think he is? And who do any of us human beings think we are to challenge and question such a God? As Paul said plainly in Romans 9:20, "Who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" God is not accountable to us, a point I'm going to make, God willing, in a few sermons: God isn't accountable to us. And neither does God have to answer for any of his decisions about us. God's track record of awesome creation and skillful management of that creation is impeccable. But Job is answerable to God. Job is accountable to God and God demands an answer from him. And so Job begins his process of repentance. Look at verse 3-5, "Then Job answered the Lord: ‘I am unworthy- how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer- twice, but I will say no more.’" Job felt his deep unworthiness. He knew how sinful it was for him not to trust God in the handling of his life's affairs. He's now disgusted at what he said. He's disgusted at the ignorance it displayed. And he resolved not to speak again in the holy presence of almighty God. He knows that God is perfectly worthy of all praise. And he is ashamed of his complaining and his charging of God with wrongdoing. This is what repentance is. It's turning away from sin to God in a right relationship with God. "His power and his wisdom and his love are clearly on display in what he has made and such a mighty, wise, loving God can be trusted in whatever he does." III. Lessons for Us Today All right, so finally, what are some lessons that we draw for us today? First I wanted to speak to any that may be here that are non-Christians. Nature can tell you, does tell you every day that there is a God and it tells you some of what he's like, some of what he's like. There is overpowering evidence around you every day of the existence of a creator God, a God who made all things, who rules all things and to whom you are accountable. Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and his divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." What does that mean? God's invisible qualities of his wisdom and his power on display in Job 39 in all of these species and what he does for each of them, God puts himself on display. And Paul says that the creation proclaims the existence and nature of God as a mighty king, a loving provider, a wise ruler and the judge of all the earth. And he says in Romans 1:20 that the evidence of your eyes around you leaves you without excuse. You'll have no excuse on judgment day. Now I know that the existence of God, as you look at creation, that the creation doesn't make God's existence logically inescapable; you're checkmated by it. No, you can, there are ways out. Evolution is a way that people have taken out. They look at it and they say, "Oh, what a wonder that all of this came about by evolution?" Yeah, it's pretty amazing that you think that. I remember a National Geographic article on the body's immune system and they called it a miracle of evolution. I was like, help me with that phrase, miracle of evolution. But that's people suppressing the truth and unrighteousness and hardening their hearts against the clear evidence of God in creation. And so it's not logically inescapable that there's a Creator, but on judgment day, you'll find out it was morally inexcusable not to believe in him. Now the greatest evidence though, of God's care for us and God's justice is not found in creation. We can't see in creation evidence of God's justice. We have to see that in history and specifically in his Son, Jesus Christ. And so the New Testament is written (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) giving the biography of Jesus, how he was born of a virgin, how he lived a sinless life, how he taught incredible teachings, such that no one had ever spoken like this man spoke. And how he controlled nature, spoke to the wind and the waves and they obeyed him. How he fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. How he could do all of these things. How he lived a sinless life and how, especially he died an atoning death under the wrath of God, for sinners like you and me. And that was the greatest display of the justice of God there's ever been. God would rather kill his own Son than let sinners like us into heaven without our sins dealt with. But it also shows the love of God. How, in Christ, God has loved us. And finally, in the end friends, I say this to you, my Christian brothers and sisters as well, Christ is God's answer to our suffering. I believe that the arguments of Job 39 are compelling. I think they're strong, but they're just not the best arguments. The best argument of God's compassion for you and your suffering is the death and the resurrection of his own Son, Jesus Christ. Trust in him for the forgiveness of your sins and trust in him also for the management of your life, through all of your sorrows and your sufferings. Close with me in prayer. Excuse me. Father I thank you for your wisdom and creation. There is no God like you. There is no one else like you are the creator, the sustainer of all things. And I thank you that you have woven such wisdom and such love and power in creation. But I thank you that the story of Christ is infinitely greater. And how in the story of Christ, we see the answer to all of our sorrows and our sufferings. That Christ is our sin bearer. He is our substitute and he is also wisely running our lives so that we can trust in him. Help us to do that, to trust in him. In Jesus name. Amen.

This week has a celestial flare as the team recounts the journey of two dads (John Van Rens & Joe Peters) up a mountain to watch the Sun rise on America. So, pack up and get moving early and join us on Cadillac Mountain. Acadia, Maine is home to Acadia National Park (www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm) mark your calendar and make your reservations for a spectacular adventure! - Check out the show's Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/livingmyfestlifepodcast/ - Follow Kelly Collette online! https://www.kellycollettecomedy.com/ - Original Theme music performed and written by Honey Combs and Combo Slice. Stream their album today: https://open.spotify.com/album/4VZ775lbPom1lv3Vmi4KIM?si=YKFkPNWFQDC5zJ3AP4r_zQ&nd=1 - Editing provided by Phil at https://www.instagram.com/micompodre/

Before sunrise on January 1, Conor hiked to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park braving the cold Maine weather to watch the sunrise on the continental United States. This began his odyssey to visit every national park in one year.

This week we dive into Tamara's recent Maine road trip and explore how to get off-the-beaten path in the Downeast Acadia and Maine Highlands regions. ABOUT SAFE TRAVELS KIT Our sponsor this week is Safe Travels Kit. Founded by New York fashion executive and avid globetrotter, Adriana Martone, the Safe Travels Kit is a patent pending, first-to-market travel and airline bedding kit that launched in December 2020. After a horrific experience with a dirty airplane seat, Adriana thought something more needed to be done to create more sanitary, comfortable travel experiences for all. Hence, the Safe Travels Kit brand was born.  Now, when travelers set off on a vacation or business trip, instead of worrying about encountering unsanitary surroundings, they can journey in comfort and serenity, resting on the Safe Travels Kit super-soft seat covers and pillowcases, made from high-tech fabric that prevents germs from penetrating. Each kit costs $39.95 and contains: One lightweight, washable, compact travel pouch (weighs .7 ounces) one seat cover that fits planes (economy and business class seats), trains, and cars; One standard size pillow case (made of the same material as the seat cover); 10 individually wrapped sanitising wipes; and One surgical face mask. How to Get Off-the-Beaten Path in Maine Read Tamara's post on 7 must-try adventures in the Maine Highlands Read Tamara's post on things to do near Acadia National Park Read Tamara's Maine road trip itinerary When visiting Acadia National Park, visit the Schoodic Peninsula and the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park. You will not find the crowds that are on Mount Desert Island. If you do stay in Bar Harbor and visit Acadia National Park to see Cadillac Mountain, you do need reservations to drive up the mountain at sunrise. Tamara stayed in Winter Harbor, which is very close to the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park and you can take a ferry to Bar Harbor. Visiting Schoodic Point is nice at high tide when the waves crash against the rocks. When visiting less touristy towns, be prepared to be flexible and patient when eating out and recognize that many restaurants close by 8pm. Fogtown Brewing in Ellsworth is a great stop at the beginning of the trip. Drive the Schoodic National Scenic Byway east of Ellsworth and stop for KidsQuest interactive learning activities along the way. Renting a cottage or vacation home is a good option for families. Tamara stayed at MainStay Cottages & RV Park in Winter Harbor. You can take a puffin boat tour from Winter Harbor or Milbridge. Many trails in Schoodic are family friendly including the Alder Trail. Make sure to have lunch at Lunch on the Wharf in Corea. The oldest winery in Maine is Bartlett Maine Estate Winery, which is also a distillery. You can take a puffin tour from Milbridge with Robertson's Sea Tours and Adventures. Have a picnic at McClellan Park in Milbridge with great water views. Hazel with Maine Outdoor School leads guided hikes and paddles to help you find new places and learn more about the area. Be prepared for flies, mosquitos and ticks when you are hiking or spending a lot of time outside. You can spray your clothing and gear/shoes before you go outside. Lubec is the easternmost town in the USA and people like to visit West Quoddy head Lighthouse for sunrise. When the border is open you can visit Campobello island where the Roosevelt's summer home was and they have fun events like Tea with Eleanor. You must stop at Monica's Chocolates when in Lubec. Bangor is a nice small city with a vibrant downtown and great history and architecture. The Bangor Historical Society offers walking tours to learn more about the history of the town and the region. The Hollywood Casino Hotel is a good place to stay in Bangor even if you aren't interested in gambling. The Hirundo Wildlife Refuge is located close to Bangor and has good walking and hiking trails, many of which are wheelchair or stroller accessible. You can also borrow canoes or kayaks for free. The Orono Bog Boardwalk is also a nice and easy trail for families Tamara stayed at the New England Outdoor Center (NEOC) on Millinocket Lake, which offers cabins and lodges to rent. At NEOC you can borrow canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards as well as rent fat tire bikes or take a wildlife tour. From Millinocket Lake, drive the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Scenic Byway to the town of Patten. Tamara stayed at Shin Pond Village near Patten, which also offers both cabins and camp or RV sites. Shin Pond Village rents out Polaris side-by-side vehicles and there are hundreds of miles of trails to explore nearby. Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument is a new national monument that is also a Dark Sky Sanctuary. There are not any facilities like a visitor's center or bathrooms, but it is perfect for backcountry camping, hiking, and star gazing. For more information on star parties and events, visit Dark Sky Maine and Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters. Baxter State Park is very popular, especially in the southern entrance. Parking reservations are required for trails that lead to Mt. Katahdin. Sandy Stream pond is very popular early in the morning for moose and wildlife viewing. Driving all the way through the park is on a gravel road and it could take 3-4 hours to drive through the entire park. Shin Pond Village is close to the northern entrance to Baxter State Park. From there, the South Branch Pond area offers many hiking trails and you can also rent canoes. Full Episode Transcript [00:00:00.120] - Kim Tate From Rocky Coasts to Mountain Lakes, today, we're talking about Maine.   [00:00:16.460] - Announcer Welcome to Vacation Mavens, a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suitcase and Tamara from We3Travel.   [00:00:31.700] - Tamara Gruber Today's episode is brought to us by Safe Travels, Kit, Safe Travels Kit is a travel and airline bedding kit that helps travelers create a more sanitary, comfortable travel experience. Now, when travelers set off on a vacation or business trip, instead of worrying about encountering unsanitary surroundings, they can journey in comfort and serenity, resting on the safe travels, super safe seat covers and pillowcases made from high-tech fabric that prevents germs from penetrating. You can purchase one for your upcoming travel safetravels.com or on Amazon or at many airport Brookstone locations.   [00:01:02.750] - Tamara Gruber So, Kim, we've been talking about Safe Travels Kit for a little bit now. And, you know, I was just on this road trip that we're going to talk about on this episode, and it made me think about the number of times that I've rented cars and maybe from, like, budget kind of places. and I've gotten in and be like kind of smells in here, like what's been going on in here. And so I was thinking you could put the seat cover on your rental car probably as well.   [00:01:28.730] - Kim Tate Yeah, of course. I'll never forget that time that we rented a car. And I remember it was pretty stinky, smelly. I don't remember where we were, but for some reason it stayed in my head.   [00:01:38.640] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, we had that. I feel like we took out the like they had they had one of those that room fresheners, like a car freshener, air fresheners. Oh, that's in there. And we took it out and then we realized why it was in there.   [00:01:50.810] - Kim Tate Like, OK, it needs to be here. Yeah. Especially now, you know, I, I saw somebody who's a frequent traveler sharing that he was rented a 2018 vehicle recently at the rental car lot. The rental cars are not many left. So there's getting whatever they can. So now what am I going to get when I go to California?   [00:02:14.750] Yeah, well, I'm bringing I'm packing my Safe Travels Kit, so I will have it for the plane and I'll have another rental car, so and I'll have an extra pillowcase.   [00:02:26.390] - Kim Tate Yeah, that's a long flight for you. You guys might try to, you know, use the time on the plane wisely and   [00:02:32.600] Yeah, I think actually my time on the plane is going to be writing about Maine.   [00:02:37.280] - Kim Tate Oh nice. That's good. Well we will jump right in then and get talking about your trip to Maine, because I was I have to admit, I was so jealous and wished I was there with you, especially because it was a solo trip for you. And I was thinking, man, I could have just flown out there and, you know, spent some time. We could have had our our fun little hiking and, you know, Maine time together.   [00:02:57.380] - Kim Tate But it seems like you had a lot of fun. You were definitely ready to get back to your family, but you were gone for a while. So we're going to jump right in and talk all about your your time exploring, you know, all the rocky coasts and lighthouses all the way to the lakes. And I know you saw a few moose, so we'll talk about that.   [00:03:13.190] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, definitely. I was thinking about you, too, especially since, you know, two summers ago we went to some of these areas, not the same exact area, but similar. And so I was definitely I was missing you and thinking of you. But, yeah, I spent I think it was about twelve days in Maine, which is such a long trip. But the state is so huge, you know, like people tend to think of more of the the Maine beaches, which is kind of like the southern coast.   [00:03:39.620] - Tamara Gruber And then there's the Portland, of course, and then like the mid coast. And then they kind of look at Acadia National Park is super popular. But to go beyond that is, you know, much more off the beaten path. And so I made my way up the Maine coast and maybe we'll talk about that actually in a different episode, because I think if I covered all twelve days, it would be like way too much.   [00:04:01.160] - Tamara Gruber But I was working with two different tourism boards. They had hired me to do a campaign with them because they're trying to say, hey, there is so much more to Maine than just, you know, these parts that people tend to gravitate towards. And so I was working with Downeast Acadia Regional Tourism, which is kind of the region from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, all the way to the the Canadian border along the coast and then the Maine Highlands, which is Bangor, and then up into kind of that Moosehead Lake area that we've been before and Baxter State Park and that, you know, mountains and lakes type of area.   [00:04:38.540] - Tamara Gruber So it's a lot to cover. When I was driving along and meeting and talking to different people, I mean, one thing about traveling by yourself is I become a little bit more extroverted. I mean, there's no one else to talk to you. Right. And it's really nice because you get to, like, make more conversation with locals. And and there were hardly any visitors at the time, which is great. So I was really able to kind of get a sense of the real thing.   [00:05:02.180] - Tamara Gruber But somebody was saying, like just one county in Maine is bigger than Connecticut, I'm sorry, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. So it's like people just don't understand the scale. Like they get calls like, you know, places to stay and things like that. They get called. They're like, well, we're going to do like a day trip to, you know, they'll name a place I like, you realize it's like a five hour drive away, you know?   [00:05:22.230] - Tamara Gruber So, yeah. So it is a really big state. There's a lot to cover. But I think what I did with this road trip was kind of a little bit like the best of both worlds, because everyone loves that quintessential rocky coast with the lighthouses and the lobster and all that. But then, you know, the idea of seeing moose and getting out and hiking and seeing the lakes and the rivers like, you know, that is really appealing too.   [00:05:48.240] - Tamara Gruber And so I feel like for especially for this summer, it's going to be a great trip for people to do because you are trying to be outside still, but you're also trying to get away from people. And we've talked about before the summer is going to be really, you know, it's going to be really busy. Yeah, especially in national parks. And I saw a headline when I was there saying that Acadia is expecting record breaking numbers this summer.   [00:06:12.780] - Tamara Gruber I think that record breaking last summer and they expect to break that again this summer and they are requiring reservations. If you want to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain and see the sunrise there, which is a very popular thing to do. So it's something you where again, like you really have to plan ahead. You don't really expect that as much on the East Coast as much as you might. And like Zion and, you know, some of the other parks where it's a little bit more known that you might need to take like shuttles and reservations and things.   [00:06:40.510] - Tamara Gruber So I really focused on areas outside of that. So I guess I'll just kind of start off with talking about what I what I did on the trip. And I did stay one night in Bar Harbor and that was at a glamping resort that I've just wanted to check out on my own. And that was like before I started this campaign portion of the trip. And so, you know, if you do want to start in Bar Harbor, that's fine.   [00:07:03.840] - Tamara Gruber And I think what Acadia National Park is most well known for is like the town of Bar Harbor and then the part of the park that is on this island called Mount Desert Island. And so that's where you're going to find the popular Cadillac Mountain and Jordan Pond and the Beehive Trail, things like that. But there are actually two other parts of the park in different locations and no one really goes to those. So you can still see some of the really beautiful parts of like why this is a national park without all of those crowds.   [00:07:33.610] - Tamara Gruber And so I stayed in a town called Winter Harbor, which is kind of just across the the bay or, you know, as you would imagine, like, you know, different harbors. And I was maybe five minutes outside of a section of the park that's called this Schoodic section of Acadia National Park, because it's on the Schoodic Peninsula, because if you think about the coast of Maine, it's kind of like all these fingers coming down. There's all these peninsulas coming off of the coast, which is why you have all that great coastline.   [00:08:01.290] - Tamara Gruber And so this is just, you know, right across there is actually right next to where I stayed. You could take a ferry that would bring you over to Bar Harbor, but the area, the Schoodic section of the park was empty. I went on a Friday night, my first time there, a Friday night for sunset. And you think, oh, it's going to be busier. There is no one on the right like the whole time.   [00:08:21.870] - Tamara Gruber I think it's of maybe a 14 mile loop. You know, I should probably look that up, but it's a one way loop through the park with different viewpoints and different trails and things that you can stop at. And the end point is called Schoodic Point. And that's where, especially at high tide, the waves are crashing on the rocky shoreline and the sunset is like, you know, going down right over there. So it's a popular spot to go for sunset.   [00:08:46.530] - Tamara Gruber And I saw, I think, to other people when I was there. Wow. Yeah, it was amazing and great. It's early June, but still it was like Friday. It was a weekend, you know. Yeah. So it was really it was it was quiet. So if you want to kind of get all of that national park ness with your. Yeah. Beautiful coastline and hikes and mountains and all that, without the crowds, you just have to go across over to this peninsula part of it.   [00:09:13.390] - Kim Tate So that's a great tip. I think that's what people need to be looking for, especially I think this is the last year that we'll have a lot of because there's even though international is coming back, people I think are still staying domestic. And so all those people who are eager to travel are all looking. And I've seen Maine coming up quite a bit. It's kind of it's kind of been funny.   [00:09:32.010] - Tamara Gruber So I have to yeah. I think it's you know, maybe people are thinking about alternatives to like the Southwest, knowing it's going to be high and. Yeah, maybe alternatives for some of the the other Western. Well, I think yeah.   [00:09:44.970] - Kim Tate I think people forget that Maine is up there and it offers I mean, it's kind of like they think of New England and they forget about everything else. That's like even upper state New York and, you know, all of that. They kind of forget that there's all that beautiful nature up there.   [00:09:59.130] - Tamara Gruber And yeah. Yeah. And I will say, like, last summer I went to the Adirondacks and granted it was in the middle of summer, but it was you know, things are really crowded like there. You really have to get to trailheads by six a.m. and, you know, expect like you might have trouble parking and all that and. I just don't see that in this part of these parts of Maine that I'm going to talk about, it is, you know, it is further, but if you're flying, you can fly into Bangor and then everything like from Bangor to Acadia is like an hour and 15 minutes.   [00:10:31.880] - Tamara Gruber And then from Bangor up to like where I was on Millinocket Lake. And like some of the Highlands area is, again, like an hour and a half, you know. So it's really. Yeah, you can even use that as a, you know, like a home base and do like a hub and spoke kind of trips you wanted to as well. So it's really and from it is it is up there. But even from Boston, like if you drove highway and not coast, you can get up there in like five hours.   [00:10:59.540] - Tamara Gruber So, you know, it's really not too bad. But again, I will say, though, the one thing to think about is that it is a little bit further out. And so you're not going to find all of the same tourist infrastructure that you find like a little bit further south or in some of the towns like Kennebunkport or Portland or whatever. And just I think everywhere is kind of experiencing a bit of a labor shortage right now.   [00:11:23.480] - Tamara Gruber But they're definitely seeing that in Maine, too, and places trying to get staffed up. And so you see more of, you know, there's, you know, maybe going to be a slower service at some of the restaurants or shorter hours or just the fact that when you're in some of these towns, there might only be two or three options. And what I found is that some of them close early, actually, most of them close early because it's just it's more of a you get up early and go to bed early kind of place than me, which is a night owl.   [00:11:53.360] - Tamara Gruber You know, I think when I was working with the person, the tourism board, I was like, yeah, dinner at around 7:00, you know, sounds good. And she's like, oh, I could tell you're not a morning person. Oh really? I thought that was still kind of early, but I found out, like, I would go, like, try to take sunset pictures and then go have dinner afterwards and no, no, no places close at 8.   [00:12:12.440] - Kim Tate So it's like that's that's surprisingly enough.   [00:12:15.260] - Kim Tate When we were in Rocky Mountain National Park, which is Estes Park is right there, they were the same thing. It was this small mountain town and everything closed to eat. It was so weird. You know, we had trouble sometimes, I mean, because it was the middle peak, July, middle of summer and. Right.   [00:12:29.790] - Tamara Gruber You have a lot of sunlight. You want to be out. Yeah. Stuff.   [00:12:32.060] - Kim Tate Right, exactly. Yeah.   [00:12:33.740] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Well, let me I'll get into my trip a little bit and kind of give some details for people that want to plan some of their own. So my first stop was in the town of Ellsworth, which is kind of right above Bar Harbor, and it's a little downtown that has like some different brewing places. And I went mean, is like big with their craft beer scene. They're known for lobster, but they're also big blueberries. There's certain things you got to try.   [00:12:57.530] - Tamara Gruber So I went to this place called Town Brewing and that they had like an outdoor like food truck and beer garden kind of place. So, you know, it was really cool. And then I drove it was a lot of scenic byway. So I drove this Greek National Scenic Byway down. Like I said, this peninsula to this town of Winter Harbor. And again, you're not going to find the same like hotels and things they're going to find.   [00:13:21.380] - Tamara Gruber And Bar Harbor, there is a couple of inns, there's a couple bed and breakfasts. But if you're going as a family, you're probably better off trying to look for like a cottage rental of some sort. And I definitely saw lots of signs for those. And some of them are gorgeous. So I think that that's probably a better choice. I stayed at a place called Mainstay Cottages and RV Park, and I thought it was going to be kind of like your traditional RV park.   [00:13:46.130] - Tamara Gruber It was not. It was so nice. It was this piece of land right on the water. So your RV sites are like really overlooking the water. But there's only like 10 RV sites. And they were kind of to one side and the other side where cottages and I stayed in what was the original building there, which is a boat house. So it's like, you know, I walked down to the water, up a little ramp to my boat house.   [00:14:07.970] - Tamara Gruber That's like sitting over the water. So amazing, like sunset views. It was just a little like one bedroom cottage, but it had this back deck, the where you could just sit and watch the boats and watch the sunset.   [00:14:21.050] - Kim Tate And yeah, it was I would say that I remember that about Maine having the most amazing sunsets and the stuff you were sharing, it just reinforced that, that it's just amazing the colors that their skies get.   [00:14:34.640] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Especially because a lot of it was kind of dreary when I was there during the day. And then it would surprise me at night. I'm like, yes, thank you. You know, so that was a really nice place to stay, like as a home base, because you literally could walk to the to the ferry that would go to Bar Harbor right there. There was also a little boat tour that went out that did a puffin tour, I think it was called Acadian Puffins.   [00:14:57.560] - Tamara Gruber So you could take a boat tour to go to an island off of a wildlife refuge where they've brought back the North Atlantic puffins. And so I was supposed to do that actually in a different town. And it got canceled because of high seas, but luckily earlier in my trip when I was in Booth Bay Harbor, I was able to do a similar trip.   [00:15:22.500] - Tamara Gruber But the thing about like Booth Bay is a bigger boat, more like a whale watching boat, like multi-tier. And so I have a feeling they don't get quite as close. Like maybe these boats were smaller. But the other thing to worry about is like if it is rough seas and you're on a small boat, you're going to feel it a lot more, you know. So but, you know, that's definitely a neat thing to do because, I mean, I've been fortunate enough to see them in Iceland, but it's a very unique thing to get to do and see.   [00:15:49.890] - Tamara Gruber And I think most people don't realize that puffins are actually really small. They're smaller than seabirds.   [00:15:55.050] - Kim Tate So they're very tiny.   [00:15:56.740] - Tamara Gruber Yes. You really it's hard to get a good view of them. I think people really expect you see the pictures and you're like, oh, that's what I'm going to see. I'm like, no, I had this amazing zoom camera and I could still only get so close. So, you need to bring binoculars.   [00:16:12.420] - Kim Tate Yeah, definitely. I agree with that. We went whale watching in, you know, on the Pacific Coast, surprisingly, and there's a wildlife refuge and they have some puffins and we actually got to see puffins out here. And it was it was kind of crazy because they seem so bright and like when you see them on rocks and in people's photos because they do zoom in, you don't realize how small they are. And you'd have to be really close to be able to even get that clear vision of their beak and all that beautiful coloring they have.   [00:16:40.260] - Kim Tate And so, yeah, I know what you mean by that, but they're so cute. They are. They're adorable.   [00:16:45.150] - Tamara Gruber And we mostly saw them like on the water when I took that trip. But there is a place in this downeast region that you have to book it in advance, but it's like a small boat. And so it depends on the weather. But they'll take some people out to the island and you can stay there and like, stand in the bird blind, you know, like the box where you are kind of covered. You just watch them. So there are if you're really into it, there are things to do like.   [00:17:12.590] - Tamara Gruber But where I stayed, like as I said, I was like five minutes from the entrance to that section of Acadia National Park, there was a place where you could rent kayaks there. There was a place where you could rent bikes because a lot of people just bike into the park and loop that way, which is a great option. So it's definitely a place where you could stay for a few days and just do there's so many different like hiking trails and things to do.   [00:17:36.150] - Tamara Gruber So like, you know, there's some in the park, but then there's all these different, like preserves and the national wildlife preserves, other types of preserves like around. And a lot of them have kids activities like there's this thing called Kids Quest where they're like each place has like different like learning opportunities for kids, like a train station. So this is where we you learn about seaweed, this is where you learn about tides, you know, so there's things like that that you can do if you have younger kids.   [00:18:02.020] - Tamara Gruber Also, you know, I spent pretty much like my first day really exploring the park. And I did a hike, like up to the top of a mountain. And the hikes there are not super long. I mean, you can do kind of a longer ridge, not real ridge, but, you know, you could do like a longer one. But most of the hikes are not too long and not too steep. I did come down one that was like a little bit steeper and not as clearly marked.   [00:18:28.140] - Tamara Gruber But I think for families, if you could do like this Alder Trail and I will put this all in the post that will be published by the time this episode comes out. So, like, everybody can see the details. But I also somebody told me that at low tide you can walk out to this little island that's off the coast of the park and sometimes the harbor seals will hang out there. So I checked to see like what time low tide was going to be.   [00:18:52.530] - Tamara Gruber And I made sure I went before, like, the actual low tide, you know, so I would have time to be there and get back before, you know, the water would start coming back in. Unfortunately, I didn't see any seals, but like that, you know, that was a neat kind of thing. Like you're walking on the ocean floor kind of thing. Yeah. And then just you did the loop, went out to see the waves crashing and, you know, so it's just it's pretty.   [00:19:15.390] - Tamara Gruber If you like a rocky coast, you will definitely get your fill.   [00:19:20.130] - Kim Tate Yeah, that sounds amazing. I'm impressed with Maine even from my one trip. I think it's really a place if you're if you're looking for like a relaxing, outdoorsy, just kind of laid back vacation. I think Maine is definitely a good place to look for that.   [00:19:34.410] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. And like I said, there's a lot of, like, little charming things like one of the I think that day I left the park and I went to have a late lunch that someone told me about. Again, some of these things like you need like a local will tell you that because they're not very well promoted or, you know, talked about even within the park, there's a place that was called like Ravens Nest. And it's not even on the list, like it's not even on the park map.   [00:20:01.320] - Tamara Gruber But like all the locals will tell you, oh, you got to go to these cliffs, you know, so stuff like that. So I talked to actually the person that was she owned the the property where I was staying. And she recommended going to this little fishing village of Corea or. Actually, I think it's Korea, but with a C and there is like a food truck kind of thing there, but lunch on the wharf and it's only open in the summer and it's only open like from 11:00 to three and not open on Sundays.   [00:20:28.550] - Tamara Gruber So that kind of thing, like where you kind of have to know about it to go, but they have lobster rolls and all that, and you're right on the water. And, you know, there are places like that and like further south in Maine that people will line up for for like an hour, you know, but they're like it was just so nice, you know, like I sat just looking at the boats, because I can't even tell you how many harbors there are, because all these little coves and, you know, they're just filled with lobstering boats and fishing boats and they're just bobbing there.   [00:20:57.440] - Tamara Gruber And all along the the pier, as you just see, you know, all the lobster traps and you see the bouys and the ropes. And it's just it's so classic. It's so classic, like Maine and New England. So it's like, I don't know, it just kind of, you know that expression like fills your bucket, just kind of like your bucket with like all these, like, good sites that you wanted to see when you came to Maine.   [00:21:18.470] - Tamara Gruber And it's like everywhere you turn is there there's another lighthouse, you know, like it's just it's so quaint.   [00:21:24.440] - Kim Tate Yeah. Well, I was definitely jealous of all the lobster rolls and stuff you were having, so I definitely think that's something people think about. So the food sounds like it's it's definitely not to be missed when you're on a trip there.   [00:21:37.080] - Tamara Gruber I came home and Glenn was like, what would you want for dinner? And I'm like, I think pasta, a chicken, I had a lot of seafood. And then when I was like further north, you know, it was like much more casual. So like I had a lot of fried stuff there. So I kind of just want, good. You know, like, give me salad, you know, that kind of stuff.   [00:21:56.360] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. But yeah, there's a lot of other things, like there's some cute farms like organic farms you can stop at. There's a couple of wineries surprisingly, but they specialize in fruit wine. But I did visit the one that was the oldest in Maine. It's called Bartlett Maine Estate Winery. So it's a distillery too. So I guess, you know, you can maybe find your your drink in one of those, too. So, you know, there's other things that you can do.   [00:22:20.210] - Tamara Gruber It's not just about like hiking and stuff like that, but yeah, there's just so many good places. So after I stayed in Winter Harbor, I went over, I kind of made my way east to the town of Machias. But first I stopped in this town called Milbridge. And there were a couple of things that I think of note there that I would want to mention. And one is that you can do a puffin tour from there with Robertson seatours and Adventures.   [00:22:48.740] - Tamara Gruber That's the one that I was supposed to do, but unfortunately got canceled. But there's some really nice parks around there, too. So I went to this park called McClellan Park. It's a state I don't actually I don't know if it's State Park. I think it's just a local town park. So you're driving, like, down this peninsula and you're like, oh, is this going to be worth it? And then you turn into this park and it's just, you know, you're driving through the woods, really bumpy little road.   [00:23:13.580] - Tamara Gruber Follow the sign to the picnic area. I get out of the car at the picnic area and it's like one table in the middle of like a grassy kind of field surrounded by trees. And I'm like, why am I here? You know? And then I realized then I realized there was like this little path. And so I follow this path. And then you're on these gorgeous, like rock. I wouldn't call them cliffs, but like, you know, these big boulders along the coast with picnic tables there.   [00:23:37.640] - Tamara Gruber And I'm like, OK, I get it now. It's gorgeous. And if this was at home, there would be so many other people there, you know, you'd have to stake out your spot. All that there was I saw, like in the distance one other person, you know, so you could just go and have this amazing picnic with a wonderful view. And I feel like, you know, that's that's what it was about. It was just about like amazing views and stuff like that.   [00:24:00.680] - Tamara Gruber But without the people, I'm going to sound like very like people adverse. But, you know, like it can get crowded in places. And it's just so nice to find those places that are still so great that are undiscovered somewhat, you know.   [00:24:13.130] - Kim Tate Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's awesome. I think it's it's kind of interesting that, like you said, that there are those spaces still and it's hard to know, like, as you know, people like you and I who shared travel destinations. And I think we need to all be mindful of looking for those little more. I mean, beautiful places certainly don't just end at the border of a national park, although sometimes they can. But, you know, it can be quite beautiful anywhere you go.   [00:24:41.890] - Kim Tate Yeah. And in talking to the locals, they're kind of like, well, we know we want people to come in, don't have to change. So it's still in that little bit of, you know, back and forth thing. But apparently, like during the pandemic, people have been buying land up there, like sight unseen, paying cash, just like grabbing up land. So they're kind of like what is going to happen after they have a winter to up here, because that is a very different experience.   [00:25:10.760] - Tamara Gruber So we'll see. They're a little worried about, like, you know, driving up the cost of land and rent. And things like that, but we'll see, you know, like it might really transform, you know, so that there becomes a bit more of an infrastructure. But I will say, like, you know, you do have to go with expectations, like I ate at this one place called Saltbox in Winter Harbor that was, you know, a very nice restaurant, you know, wonderful food.   [00:25:33.670] - Tamara Gruber Like, you know, what you would expect from, like a fine dining type of experience. But mostly it is like a family home cooking kind of places, you know, so you just have the right expectations. It's not like there's anything wrong with that. But, you know, you're not going just a lot of heavy, rich food over time.   [00:25:51.500] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, yeah. Lots of fresh fish and stuff, though. The other thing that I would really recommend, especially for families, I think is I did a guided hike with Hazel from Maine Outdoor School, and she's like an outdoor educator. She's, you know, she's from Maine. She's very passionate about it. But she knows so much like about the area, but also about like the, you know, all of the plants and all the trees and all the the birds and, you know, like everything that you're going through.   [00:26:22.600] - Tamara Gruber So I feel like she could do something that would really engage kids. She's used to doing like kids programs, too. So she knows how to be very engaging with kids and, you know, teach you a lot, but then maybe bring you places that you may not have found on your own. And, you know, one of the things she offered to me was to do like an evening paddle, like where you could see wildlife and stuff.   [00:26:43.030] - Tamara Gruber And we didn't do that just because of my schedule. But that would be something other. I'll just make sure you bring, like, proper bug gear if you're going to do that. Yeah, I should I should mention that, like, yeah, May and June are usually like black fly season in Maine but I got really lucky and I did not get bothered by them at all. And even the mosquitoes, which they're always there's like t shirts that are like the state bird is, you know, mosquito.   [00:27:08.410] - Kim Tate Yeah. I remember having to fight with mosquitoes when we were there.   [00:27:12.160] - Tamara Gruber So I didn't have too much of a problem with that either. I mean obviously I put on bug spray the things that drove me a little bit crazy a couple times were like those no see ums.   [00:27:20.110] - Kim Tate Oh yeah. Those little gnat biters.   [00:27:22.090] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Because they're the ones that just drive you insane. Yeah. But it was only a couple of times and like usually if you're moving it was fine. And they say like after like mid-July somebody said that's like the third thunderstorm in July is when the flies go. I love these like old time.   [00:27:39.820] - Kim Tate Like the Farmer's Almanac type. Yeah that's right. Yeah. What about I mean another thing does just mention that, you know, we don't deal with as much out here, but pretty soon the whole US is going to have to deal with it. Just being aware of ticks and Lyme disease when you're out hiking and checking yourself for that. Right.   [00:27:54.550] - Tamara Gruber Ticks are a huge problem. And I actually I'm a little bit worried that they're going to be worse this year just because, like some people that I know that are spending a lot of time outdoors are finding them already. I actually when I did the glamping at Terramor in Bar Harbor, I sat outside by the fire for a while and then it started to rain. I had a blanket wrapped around me because it was kind of cold. And when I came in, I, like put the blanket out just to look at it.   [00:28:16.570] - Tamara Gruber And I found a tick on it and I was like freaking out. You know, I flushed it like it wasn't on me. I did it had a decent mirror. I did like a good tick check, but I definitely think, like, yes, spray your gear. There's some stuff I can link to it on our show. Notes that you can spray like your backpack and your shoes and things with before you like, not, you know, like spray it, not when you're in it.   [00:28:38.350] - Tamara Gruber And then just, you know, use some good bug spray and do good checks and wear it and all that kind of stuff. But Hannah's going back to camp this summer in Maine, and I've already told her, like, OK, you really have to be good about this.   [00:28:49.270] - Kim Tate You know, I think wearing the hats, the big one is just getting in. Your hair is the other.   [00:28:52.960] - Tamara Gruber Apparently, they climb up, you see, like a lot of times because it's like you're going through the tall grasses and they grab on your leg, they grab on to like your shoes and your legs. And that's why some people will tuck their socks, like, in to their socks and then, you know, so then they crawl up and they look for like warm areas, like armpits and stuff like that. So, yeah, I mean, there's plenty of stuff online to tell you, like what to do about it.   [00:29:17.470] - Kim Tate Yeah. I don't want it to discourage people. I mean, everyone is dealing with that, but it's just something like for me, I'm not so used to it out here in the West Coast. So it's definitely something to be mindful about. I think Kansas I remember my mom checking me when I were I would play in the woods.   [00:29:32.200] - Tamara Gruber So, yeah, when I grew up, we we would get them a lot. And it didn't figure out the same way because there wasn't that disease associated with it, you know. Yeah. So yeah. So it is definitely, you know, something to stay aware of. But luckily that was my only encounter with that, you know. And I did keep checking all throughout.   [00:29:51.910] - Kim Tate Yeah. Yeah. Just something to be mindful of for people I don't want. Sorry to go off on that side tangent, but I think it's important to just know since we are talking about it as a destination.   [00:30:01.720] - Tamara Gruber Definitely. So from there I made my way to this town of Machias, which is like a little bit larger of a town. And there's some other things you can do if you did want to like kind of base there for a little bit. There's Roque Bluffs. State Park has a nice sand beach, and I think nearby there's like Jenkins' Beach, which is more like ground, colorful pebbles, but there aren't as many like beach type of places, you know in Maine, because it's at least in that section, because it's more rocky coast.   [00:30:27.500] - Tamara Gruber So it's nice when you can find, you know, a real beach to, like, hang out on or sabayon. In the town of Machias, there's a nice, like waterfall in the center of town. But I will say, like, there's not again, there's not a lot when it comes to restaurants. And I think there's two or three more motel kind of places. I think a couple of them have been renovated, you know, so that they look, you know, newer.   [00:30:52.130] - Tamara Gruber But it is still that kind of accommodation unless you would want to rent a cabin. But I actually stayed at a gorgeous place. It was called the Inn at Schoppee Farm. So it was a farmhouse that they've converted into an inn. And I stayed in the river room, which was on the first floor. I think the other rooms are on the second floor. And it was gorgeous, like the person the people that run.   [00:31:18.190] - Tamara Gruber It's like a young couple clearly have such nice design style because it felt like it felt like it was from like a magazine or a decor show because it was just very simple, like farmhouse kind of, you know, like white linens, like the wide plank floors, the exposed beams in the ceiling. There's like old little table, but just with a like a vase of like these simple yellow flowers. So it's just like wood and white and a little splash of yellow.   [00:31:45.140] - Tamara Gruber And it was just it was beautiful and it's right on the river. It's accessible to like this path that's used for like biking or running or ATVs or stuff like that. So and it's just really great outside of town. So that was really like a wonderful farm. I don't know if you'd call it like a farm stay because there weren't like animals and things around, but it was it had that feel. But I think, you know, unless you're going to take a couple of rooms, it's going to be better for like a couple than a family.   [00:32:12.010] - Kim Tate Makes sense.   [00:32:13.640] - Tamara Gruber And then the next day, I decided I was going to drive all the way out to the Canadian border, the town of Lubec, because it is everyone kept telling me, you got to go. It's such a cute town. And I realized I was only like forty-five minutes away. And I'm like, how do I come this far and not make it go all the way, you know? So I was like, you know, I'm just going to get up early one day and do it.   [00:32:36.710] - Tamara Gruber Although I will say I did not get up as early as some people do, because the thing to do in Lubec is there's this really cute, like red and white striped light House called the West Quoddy head light. And it is the, you know, the easternmost town in the U.S. And so it is where, like the first sunrise, you know, first hits the U.S. So it's like a lot it's a thing for people to go and see sunrise there.   [00:33:02.240] - Kim Tate New Year's Day. I've seen pictures of that.   [00:33:05.510] - Tamara Gruber But you know me, I'm not a morning person. Sunrise right now is like four something, you know. So I was not going to get up at like three thirty to drive out there wasn't happening. But still I went out there and again handful of people were there while I was there. So I, I set up shop, I had my tripod, I was taking pictures, you know, I was like hanging out there. And I am so self-conscious about stuff like that, like I feel so uncomfortable, like taking up anyone else's space or time or whatever.   [00:33:35.990] - Tamara Gruber So I tend to not do those things when there's people around. I just feel really uncomfortable. But because there was no one around, I'm like, oh, cool, I can take some pictures with me in it. I'm going to set up my tripod. And so it was it was nice. It was really cute. And then the town itself, I mean, it's quiet now because obviously the border is closed, but it's really cute. There's a place called Cohills inn & Pub which supposedly makes like great cocktails.   [00:33:58.970] - Tamara Gruber There's a brewing place there. There's all kinds of trails and things. If you did decide to stay. And what most people do when the border is open is there's this island that kind of shares the border and it's called Campobello. And it's where the Roosevelts had like a summer home. So you can go out there and visit like this, you know, historic home. Sometimes they'll do like tea with Eleanor, you know, and the those things to do.   [00:34:23.540] - Tamara Gruber But, like, that's a really popular thing to do. But it's it's closed right now because of the the border is closed. But if you go in the future, when the Canadian border is open, like, definitely check that out. But it was well worth it. And there's also if you go, you have to stop at this place called Monika's Chocolates. She will walk you through every bit of her shop. She makes everything by hand.   [00:34:44.660] - Tamara Gruber So not just the chocolate, but she makes her own peanut butter. She makes her own caramel. Like everything that's going into this stuff, she's making by hand also. And the chocolates are amazing. So I was like, OK, they're going to melt in the car, but I have to get some. And so I was like trying to keep them cold by putting, like, water bottles around it and stuff. So that was kind of wrapping up my time in the Downeast region.   [00:35:10.250] - Tamara Gruber And then I went up to the Maine highlands.   [00:35:12.740] - Kim Tate Yeah. And so that's the Maine highlands. It's kind of like what you and I that's more of the lake and mountain interior, is that correct? Yeah.   [00:35:19.400] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. I spent one night in Bangor kind of as a layover and I visited like I drove by the Stephen King's house. He does still live there, but I guess they're turning it into a writer's retreat. And actually, I was able to get a lot of history because I took a walk, actually were supposed to be walking tour, but it because it was like 95 degrees, they nicely drove me around with the Bangor Historical Society.   [00:35:42.620] - Kim Tate But they have a whole bunch of different tours that you can do because it at one point had the most millionaires. And I don't know if it was New England or the U.S., but because it was a logging town, there was like just a lot of wealth there at one time. So the town itself has these beautiful Victorian mansions, like the architecture's really beautiful. A lot of downtown was destroyed in a fire at one point. And obviously it's not a big lumber town today, but it's still cute like downtown.   [00:36:12.470] - Kim Tate I mean, it's a little bit hard to judge sometimes right now some of the towns, because they're like coming back. But it was much more vibrant than I would have expected given this past year, you know, and everything that's happened. Yeah, but it was you know, there are a lot of cafes. There are tons of like outdoor dining kind of options. It was cute. You know, it was definitely a cute little town. And then they have like a good concert arena there that apparently bands love to play at.   [00:36:38.090] - Kim Tate It's like you're on a river. And so, you know, people will come from far away to go see a show there and then stay overnight. So I stayed surprisingly. This one really surprised me. There's a casino hotel like I didn't expect that. They say this place called like the Hollywood Casino Hotel. But like, luckily, like, I was not interested in going to the casino, but like, the hotel part is separate. So, like, you didn't have to encounter any of that other stuff at all.   [00:37:06.770] - Tamara Gruber Like even I came in a different entrance thinking I could cut through to get to the hotel because I'd walked across the street for dinner. And that was completely sectioned off, so it's like you, I did not have to walk through it at all, so that was like if you're not into gambling, then you don't worry about it   [00:37:25.430] - Kim Tate We have a casino hotel out here like that, that's very separate that you can get to him through a lobby, but you don't it's not like a Vegas hotel where you walk through the casino to get to the elevators or something.   [00:37:34.690] - Tamara Gruber Right. And where they don't want you to find your way out.   [00:37:36.890] - Kim Tate Yeah, exactly. You know, you actually can't find your room.   [00:37:40.790] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. So from there, like the next morning I drove up to where I was staying in Millinocket Lake. But first I stopped at a place called the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, and I did like a guided paddle, was with a naturalist there. And this is like a it's a really nice like if you are staying in Bangor and you want to get out and do some, like, walks and hikes without driving an hour and a half, it was you know, it's only like maybe 25 minutes or so out there.   [00:38:09.830] - Tamara Gruber And they've tried to make it really accessible and affordable for families. So it's free. They do take donations. You can even borrow canoes or kayaks for free. I mean, they hope that you make a donation. So that's really nice. And a lot of their trails are wheelchair or stroller accessible, which is a lot of hiking trails in Maine are what they call rocks and routes. So it's a very uneven surface. So anyone that has any mobility issues, it's it's a bit of a struggle to get out in nature.   [00:38:40.500] - Tamara Gruber And so the fact that these are like, you know, nicely done trails, there's also another one called the, I don't know, Orono bog boardwalk that I did. So it's like a boardwalk, you know, out like overlooking a bog back in. So it's nice to see that, like, again, for families that don't want to have, like, something too strenuous but want to get out nature, there's something for them to do.   [00:38:59.870] - Tamara Gruber Then I drove up to it's called the New England Outdoors Center. And remember how you and I did like the Appalachian Mountain Club Lodge and we did that. Yeah. So it's you know, they have a large and then they have cabins. They don't do the same kind of family style dinners, communal dining.   [00:39:17.710] - Kim Tate Yeah.   [00:39:18.200] - Tamara Gruber So it is different in that way, but it's on a lake and it's a lodge. They run activities, they have a restaurant there. It was closed when I was there just for that day. They try to balance it with other restaurants in the area so that everybody has a day off, you know, especially being short staffed right now. But they put me up in an amazing cabin like this, especially when I walked in there, I was like, OK, to three bedroom, two bath cabin with like this gorgeous kitchen.   [00:39:44.690] - Tamara Gruber I can't believe, you know, like this is what I wish I had people with me.   [00:39:47.720] - Kim Tate Yeah, of course. I remember you sharing your stories. I was like, oh, man. And it's like always happens with us when we find a great place, it's like, oh, you're here for ten hours.   [00:39:56.420] - Tamara Gruber I was there for one night and I'm like, oh man. But they have a mix of cabins like they have smaller, like, you know, kind of more basic cabins. They're premium cabins. I think this was like a premium lodge, you know, kind of thing. But they have some that sleep up to fourteen. So great for like family groups, you know, extended families, friends, that kind of thing. And the waterfront there is beautiful.   [00:40:18.380] - Tamara Gruber So they had their on Millinocket Lake looking across the lake to Mount Katahdin, which is the tallest mountain in Maine, and that's the end point of the Appalachian Trail. So it's like where it's famous because a lot of people will finish their hikes there and so people will go and meet them and greet them. So it's a great view. They have, like, I guess a tiny little beach front area, but they have like a picnic area, you know, like along the waterfront.   [00:40:44.210] - Tamara Gruber And you can borrow canoes and kayaks or stand up paddleboards to go out. They also rent mountain bikes and they're building out like mountain bike trails there. But the thing that I did that was exciting was I did one of their wildlife tours. So when you and I did a moose tour, we went out like early morning and we're in a van. And then we did a canoe. This one they have in the evening or the early morning. But you go out on a pontoon boat, so you go across the lake and then you go into all these little streams and inlets because that's where the moose come down, like   [00:41:17.630] - Kim Tate where the almost like the airboat tours in Florida.   [00:41:20.660] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, yeah, yeah.   [00:41:23.090] - Tamara Gruber So we did that and we were like looking around and it was like, you know, that point where you're just about to give up. And then he's like, I think I see something. And it was really far in the distance, but you could really see there's the moose. And as we were coming back, we saw another one like a little bit closer to shore. So I still have not seen one with, like, the I've still haven't seen a male with the antlers   [00:41:43.940] - Kim Tate Still. I know I was watching all year. I was watching all your pictures and I'm like, oh, another. And whatever the female ones are called.   [00:41:50.690] - Tamara Gruber Cows. Yeah. Yeah. So and they're still big because they're still like they are because.   [00:41:56.870] - Kim Tate Yeah. You don't want to get, you know, next to one of those.   [00:41:59.630] - Tamara Gruber But yeah I was super excited though because I saw a lot of beaver and beaver was one thing that it's just I don't know, I've always wanted to see one in the wild because I see the beaver dams a lot.   [00:42:10.970] - Tamara Gruber But you never actually see the beaver. And so as we were going, you know, you would see the Beaver Dam and then you would see like a head swimming through the water. And when I did my paddle at the wildlife refuge, like earlier in the day, she was talking about Beaver and, you know, you mostly would see them at night and that they slap their tail to scare you away. And she kind of demonstrated with the paddle how loud the slap was.   [00:42:35.410] - Tamara Gruber Well, I got they slapped their tail at us a lot, you know, so I have a picture of like this huge splash from them. So, like, I have some pictures of their head in the water, but it's like a distance. It's nothing. It's nothing that like. Yeah, yeah. Nothing great. But definitely saw them. Definitely heard them that really get away from here. Oh yes. That was cool.   [00:42:56.540] - Kim Tate Awesome. So lots of wildlife and getting out into nature. What else did you do when you were in that area.   [00:43:02.830] - Tamara Gruber So I did do some kayaking on the lake, but it was a little bit choppy. So I didn't go. I kind of just stuck to shore and, you know, just kind of explored a little bit because then I was driving the next day, I drove up a little bit further north, but I took another scenic road. It's Route 11 and it's called the Katahdin Woods scenic byway up to a town of Patten, like there's a lumberjack museum there.   [00:43:29.650] - Tamara Gruber So it's big, big, big lumber town. And I stayed at a place called Shin Pond Village. And this is they also have a bunch of cabins. So they have camping sites, RV sites. And then I think about a dozen different cabins, again, like a two bedroom cabin. It was you know, it was nice. It was it was not fancy, but it was it was spacious and, you know, nice.   [00:43:54.950] - Tamara Gruber And so I liked it a lot. And, you know, it had kind of a nice view over like a meadow. But the thing that they do there is they rent side by side like ATVs. But the Polaris like side by side here, because there's just like tons of trails out there. So it's kind of like one of the big things to do in that area is to go, you know, ride these trails. And so there's different ATV clubs that have built them out and maintain them.   [00:44:22.600] - Tamara Gruber And so someone from Shin Pond Village took me out on a little guided tour. They don't usually do the guided excursions, but each of the vehicles has like a GPS built in and a tracker built in. So it's kind of easy. They give you a map, they kind of talk to you about where to go. But I was surprised that even as we're driving, like I would get lost in a second, you would think. But she was easily following GPS.   [00:44:43.600] - Tamara Gruber But there were also times when you come across like a trail map and they'd be like, you are here. And it was so different things. So that's good.   [00:44:49.750] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, they really maintain them nicely.   [00:44:51.610] - Kim Tate It sounds kind of funny, but there's some show on TV and I don't even know what it is, but it's like the I don't know what they would be called, but they're like the police officers that take care of nature, OK, or whatever. Yeah. Some kind. And they have the show. I remember it being in Maine and they were talking about it was there was a bunch of ATV drivers and they were talking about all the trails and like their speed limits on the trails and yeah.   [00:45:14.710] - Kim Tate Like a whole trail system. And it was kind of it seems like it's a major it's almost like it seems like it's like cross-country ski trails during the winter and then in the summer. Snowmobiling. Yeah. Or snowmobiles. Yeah. So they turn out that's what it probably is, a snowmobiles and they turn on ATVs in the summer. So it's kind of cool how they it's such a big part of their life out there.   [00:45:35.860] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. I was talking to Riley from Shrimpton village and she was saying that it's actually winter was always there big season for snowmobiling, but summer is now becoming like just as big or even bigger. And it's longer season, obviously, you know, for ATV and Hannah and I did something similar to this, like a couple of years ago up in northern New Hampshire. We went up and we did a little cabin in a place, you know, did kind of guided tours, you know, and we actually crossed over into Vermont for the day and had lunch and came back.   [00:46:03.400] - Tamara Gruber And, you know, it was really neat. So it's definitely some of these towns, like there's just not a lot of other stuff there, you know, so like this has become both their recreation and a way to bring in tourism. . And I think of like my nephew loves ATVing, you know, like he would love to go up there and do that, kind of like for me, you know, an hour or two of bumping around and I'm OK.   [00:46:25.780] - Tamara Gruber But, you know, some people are like, really love it. And I also like, how fast can we go? How much, how dirty can we get that stuff. Yeah, but like like they brought me up to the top of I think it was called Robert's Mountain and, you know, really beautiful view. She's like, we love to watch sunset here. But then on the way back we encounter a lot of moose. And again, that that's OK.   [00:46:45.130] - Tamara Gruber I do not want to be on the ATV trails at night, but she said those things I like really good lights and all that. So I'm like, OK, I mean, you know, so if you're into that, it's definitely a great place to go for it. But there's also like plenty of other hiking and stuff to do nearby, of course.   [00:47:00.250] - Kim Tate Yeah.   [00:47:00.730] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. So because it's so there's this new national monument called Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. So if you think about like the national park system, like National Park is like the most well known. But then there's all these other types of public land, right, the historical monuments and, you know,   [00:47:17.480] - Kim Tate That's like that white sands, I always got thrown that it was a national monument, but now it's a national park.   [00:47:23.670] - Tamara Gruber Now it's a national park. Exactly. Yeah. So it is. They told me it's very rough and I didn't know exactly what that meant. But basically it means that there's really not like facilities there.   [00:47:33.810] - Kim Tate So I mean infrastructure. Yeah, there's no visitor center and bathrooms and stuff like that.   [00:47:37.230] - Tamara Gruber Exactly. It's more about I mean it's it's newly designated. So I'm sure some of that will develop over time. But it's also an international dark sky preserve and newly has that designation too. And that's like actually I think it might be a sanctuary. So there's levels there's like a sanctuary preserve community. There's like different designations for dark sky, but it is known for its dark skies. So I don't think they want to develop it too too much. But it's good for like if you want to do backcountry camping and stargazing or if you did want to do some like a real back country, like hiking.   [00:48:14.340] - Tamara Gruber But I will say, like I so the first night that I was up there, I drove in and I was meeting an astronomer from Dark Sky Maine to do some stargazing because I was a little nervous to just like wander out there on my own, like, where do I go? What do I do? And so I started driving into the park and it has like a 17 mile loop, I think 14 or 17. And they told me it would take like two hours to do the whole loop.   [00:48:39.030] - Tamara Gruber And I'm like, OK, you know, and wondering. But as I didn't realize, it's like ten miles, like just to get to the loop it felt like. And so and it's really rough. So there are a number of places where you would go, you know, up in this section of Maine and you and I experienced this to where it's really logging roads.   [00:48:57.240] - Kim Tate Yeah. You don't even know if it's a road. Yeah.   [00:48:59.460] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. So it is, you know, it's gravel but there's like there's different grades of gravel, like it is, you know, like there are big potholes, big chunks of rock, you know, like where if you, if you have a low clearance car like forget about it, like it's it's not happening for you. And so I'm bumping along this and I right before I went, I had my car serviced. I'm like, OK, we just did a whole lot of driving, going to make sure my car's like in good shape.   [00:49:24.780] - Tamara Gruber And they said like, oh, I think you need tires. And I'm like, really? Because I got tires right before you and I went to Maine two years ago. But I well, I didn't drive like 5000 miles, you know. Yeah. For one road trip. And then I've done all these other we drove to Florida, you know, like we have put on a lot of miles. And so I could think was what if I pop a tire out here?   [00:49:43.230] - Tamara Gruber There's no cell service. There's no one coming. I just have to walk, like, through the wilderness back. So I'm like, you know, I'm just going to wait. I'm just going to wait over here, you know, for the person I'm meeting and he's going to drive me in. So that's what I did. So I would say, like, it is a place to go, like if that is what you're looking for.   [00:50:01.860] - Tamara Gruber But just be aware, you know, when it comes to services that that's what it is. I actually totally because I was reading a blog post recently and it said you could see lots of monuments there like you were there.   [00:50:18.570] - Tamara Gruber Yes. Because it's called the National Monument. Does not mean there are monuments there.   [00:50:22.470] - Kim Tate Exactly. It's not like Washington, D.C.. Yeah, that's crazy.   [00:50:26.610] - Tamara Gruber So I'm like, OK, blogger, start to make sure you've actually been there.   [00:50:30.390] - Kim Tate But anyway. Don't write for SEO, write for helping people.   [00:50:33.420] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, exactly. So at least our listeners know that we're going to give it straight. Right. You know. Yeah, I really feel. But we went out there and we saw a beautiful sunset over the mountain because we stopped this overlook overlooking Mt Katahdin and then they clouded it up. So I was like, I am such a bad.   [00:50:53.430] - Kim Tate You have such bad luck with it.   [00:50:59.250] - Tamara Gruber I mean, at least we got this. I got to see the northern lights. Normally every time I've done stargazing, you know, it rains or it clouds up. So we hung out for a while. I mea

Just off the coast of Maine lies anchored the oldest national park east of the Mississippi, a park with an artistic flair and blue blood in its founding. Though Acadia National Park is small, coming in around 35,000 acres, it plays much bigger, as they might say in golf. You can explore more than 40 miles of bucolic carriage roads, hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain, search tide pools for marine life at low tide, or kayak the waters surrounding Mount Desert Island. Kurt Repanshek sits down with Acadia Superintendent Kevin Schneider to talk about his park, the challenges it faces, and how they’re preparing for your visit this summer.

In this episode we wake up at 4AM to experience Cadillac Mountain, the first place in the United States to see sunrise. We also hike the Bubble Trails where you can "push" a large boulder off the side of the mountain. We find out about a tough hike up to an old Fire Lookout Tower and why Echo Lake Beach might be worth skipping on your visit to Acadia. Lastly, we find out if the Schoodic Peninsula is worth the drive!

The theme of the day is jerseys. Between Patrick Mahomes, the Cardinals, and Will’s high school alma mater, there’s a plethora of representation. We are coming off the most amazing sunrise that we’ve ever witnessed at Cadillac Mountain, the first point of sunrise in the US. It was a breath of fresh air that we all needed, especially before running into a slight disaster only a few days later!   Links to resources: Patrick Mahomes Instagram   Help us make a difference today by donating! https://www.gofundme.com/f/out-039n-about-national-park-foundation-fundraiser Find all of our social media and links: https://linktr.ee/outnabout

Dan and Alan record from Cadillac Mountain after watching the sunrise. We also had our first guest as an unknown hiker. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dan232/support

All it took was 30-something years, but we finally made it to Acadia National Park! And this misty Maine park definitely lived up to the hype. Although we missed popover season (and sunrise at Cadillac Mountain was thwarted by an ominous fog), we enjoyed some foliage-filled hikes, bouldered up some "bubbles," dodged territorial loons, and explored the craggy coast with Finn, who told us Acadia is his new favorite national park.  
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Rob Suminsby quite literally grew up in Acadia National Park. On this episode, we hear all about Acadia and Rob shares some of his favorite spots on the island, the history of the park and insider information that only locals know. We then switch gears and go into some of his recent adventures that he’s taken in his 50s and talk all about outdoor mindset. Rob lives by the motto that your age is just a number and not a limiting factor for getting outside and taking more adventures.   Links from the episode: Acadia National Park: https://www.nps.gov/acad Suminsby Park: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Suminsby-Park/137152383125221 Cadillac Mountain: https://acadiamagic.com/CadillacMountain.html Hunter’s Beach: https://acadiamagic.com/little-hunters-beach.html Bald Peak Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/maine/bald-peak-trail Bar Harbor, ME: https://www.visitbarharbor.com

Acadia National Park is one of USA's most famous national parks and the only one in New England. Over 3.5 million people visit Acadia National Park each year, and Kita Roberts of Pass the Sushi and Girl Carnivore shares her adventure there. Stating how Acadia must be part of our bucket places to go, Kita describes Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, Mount Desert Island, Isle of Haute, Schoodic Peninsula, and the Loop Scenic Drive, as well as the hiking, biking, kayaking and canoeing, horseback riding, and boat tours you can enjoy there. On top of that, she gives her advice on the best time to go there and the essential wearables you need. Click Here for the Show Notes: https://activetraveladventures.com/exploring-acadia-national-park/ Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Active Travel Adventures Community: activetraveladventures.com Active Travel Adventures Facebook Page Active Travel Adventures Facebook Group Active Travel Adventures Twitter Active Travel Adventures Instagram Active Travel Adventures YouTube Kit Parks LinkedIn

This week's special episode is a follow up to our previous episode where Melissa shared her Life Between Lives (LBL) regression with hyponotherapist Nancy Canning. If you have not yet watched/listened to the previous episode, you might want to before watching/listening to this one (to gain the most). Find it in the show notes below. Melissa goes into more detail about her afterlife journey in this episode, and we answer questions like: Do we plan our life-threatening diseases before we're born into this life? Are we really greeted by our loved ones when we cross over? Did Melissa not have a spirit guide? Why did Melissa seem to take key parts of her afterlife journey so "casually" during this LBL? And was the regressionist asking leading questions in this LBL regression? We really got some great questions from you, the audience — so thank you! Little inside info… Melissa’s photographs on this episode are from our mini-vacation to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine. I must say it was one of the most beautiful and romantic long weekends we’ve had in 40 years. We had 70-degree weather in October. If you watch the photos on YouTube, you’ll see a crow that visited us on Cadillac Mountain and a sunset on that mountain that was breathtaking. Just watch each sunset photo in order and you’ll witness the sun going down. We also saw the sunrise one morning. Just imagine the sunset in reverse. I hope you enjoy this special follow up episode, and if you have any comments, feel free to leave them on AfterlifeTV.com, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Much love, Bob Olson ~ AfterlifeTV.com & BobOlson.com SHOW NOTES: THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: Best Psychic Directory http://www.bestpsychicdirectory.com Melissa's Life Between Lives regression - Glimpse Into The Afterlife – Life Between Lives Journey Recorded MICHAEL NEWTON'S "JOURNEY OF SOULS” BOOK https://www.amazon.com/dp/1567184855/ BOB'S BOOKS: The Magic Mala: A Story That Changes Lives https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Mala-Story-Changes-Lives/dp/0965601919/ The Magic Mala Audiobook is now available! https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Magic-Mala-audiobook/B073RN5266?qid=1499712941&sr=1-1 Magic Mala Moments - Share your stories and read others' experiences: http://bobolson.com/stories/ Answers About the Afterlife http://www.answersabouttheafterlife.com/ BOB'S AUTHOR WEBSITE Answers About the Afterlife & The Magic Mala http://www.BobOlson.com .......................................... AFTERLIFE TV NEWSLETTER - Join and get notified of new episodes! http://eepurl.com/jZiyb ASK BOB A QUESTION for Afterlife TV: http://www.afterlifetv.com/question TELL YOUR STORY for Afterlife TV: http://www.afterlifetv.com/story iTunes PODCAST (leave a review of the show): https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/afterlifetv-with-bob-olson/id529018781 Get an INSTANT READING - No Waiting (Bob Olson’s site): http://www.bestpsychicdirectory.com/instantreadings.php

The Land of Beulah In his classic allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, Christian life depicted by John Bunyan, he captures various aspects of the Christian pilgrimage from the City of Destruction, unregenerate, being lost, with a burden of guilt and unforgiven sin pressing on his back through the narrow gate, to the cross where at last that burden falls away into the empty tomb, and then many adventures and dangers that follow until at last, Christian and his companion, Hopeful, reach the River of Death, and they cross the River of Death, and go up finally at last to the celestial city, Heaven. And so every aspect of the allegory captures some aspect of the pilgrimage from being lost, dead in your transgressions and sins, beyond death into Heaven. But at one point, very fascinating point of this, allegory Christian and Hopeful come on this side of the River of Death, and that's the key, to a place called “Beulah Land.” The Hebrew word Beulah means beautiful, comes from the Book of Isaiah. And Bunyan describes an experience that these pilgrims have in Beulah Land. I want to read that to you, "The Pilgrims were entering Beulah Land, whose air was very sweet and pleasant, the way lying directly through it. And they solaced themselves there for a season. Yeah, here they heard continually the singing of birds and heard the voice of the turtle dove in the land. And in this country, the sun shines night and day. Therefore, this was beyond the valley of the shadow of death, it was out of the reach of giant despair, and neither could they from this place so much as see Doubting Castle. Here, they were within sight of the city they were going to. Also here, met them some of the inhabitants thereof, for in this land, the shining ones commonly walked because it was on the borders of Heaven. Now, as they walked in this land, Christian and Hopeful, they had more rejoicing than in parts more remote from the kingdom to which they were bound, and drawing near to the city, they had a yet more perfect view thereof. It was built of pearls, and precious stones, also the street thereof was paved with gold, so that by in reason of the natural glory of the city, and the reflection of the sun beams upon it, Christian, with desire, fell sick. Hopeful, also had a fit or two of the same disease. But being a little strengthened and better able to bear their sickness, they walked on their way and came yet nearer and nearer, where were orchards, vineyards, gardens, and their gates opened into the highway. Now, as they came up to these places, behold the Gardner stood in the way to whom the pilgrims said, 'Whose beautiful vineyards and gardens are these?' The answer, 'They are the king's, and they are planted here for his own delights and also for the solace of pilgrims.' So the gardener had them into the vineyards and bid them refresh themselves with delicious fruit. After that they fell into a rich sleep, and they talked in their sleep about the celestial city to which they were going, and after they woke up, they saw the reflections of the sun upon the city, for the city was pure gold, and the reflections were so glorious that they could not as yet with open face behold it but only through an instrument made for that purpose. After that Christian and Hopeful resumed their pilgrimage to the city." Now this is on this side of the River of Death. An experience, a foretaste of heavenly glory. What in the world is Bunyan talking about? Everything in Christian's journey in Pilgrim's Progress connects with some aspect of the pilgrimage from being lost ultimately to Heaven. All this foretaste of heavenly glory before they've crossed the River of Death, something that happened ahead of time. And a vision of the celestial city, clearer than they had ever had before, so glorious, they couldn't look on it full on, but only, as Bunyan says, through an instrument made for that purpose. You know how it says in 1 Corinthians 13, "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face-to-face." Also how it says in 1 Corinthians 15, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." And how it says in Timothy, that God dwells in, “unapproachable light.” So they couldn't look full on at the glory of the city, but just through an instrument, I think the scripture, prayer appointed for that purpose, they had a glimpse of Heaven. Is there a Beulah Land experience in the Christian life? Is that even possible? Can we have such a vigorous, overwhelming foretaste of heavenly glory, that our hearts are overflowing with it, peace and love capturing our hearts at that moment, something we can experience now, and that we'll never forget the rest of our lives? Is that even possible? If so, should we seek it, what should we do about it? Is there something we can do to pursue such a foretaste of heavenly joy? I think that Ephesians 3:14-21, at least in part, addresses these questions. That Paul is actually praying for the Ephesian Christians to have precisely that kind of an encounter with God. I believe it's part of our birthright as Christians, to have a lively, vigorous sense of Christ's love for us poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and that that pouring, that sense, that experience can be so great that we can hardly know if we're awake, or asleep, alive or dead. I also believe that most Christians never experience 1/100th part of this, that it's possible to go to Heaven, never having had anything like this at all. That the ordinary ministrations, the workings of the spirit in our lives are amply sufficient to bring us through a fruitful wonderful prayer life, Bible study life, Christian life, using our spiritual gifts right up until we cross the river of death and go into Heaven. I believe all of that's true, but I think the language of Ephesians Chapter 3:14-21, seems to go far beyond any of those things. Knowing the Unknowable: A Mystical Connection with Christ Look again, this time, beginning of verse 16, Paul prays for these Ephesian Christians, "I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide, and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ, and that you would know that love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever, Amen." Ascending the Mountain of Christian Experience So we've been working our way through this incredible prayer and we've reached this point of seeking to know the unknowable, some kind of a mystic connection with Christ, far beyond anything that we have experienced. To some degree, as you read this, we're ascending the mountain of Christian experience, of sensing, of feeling that Christ loves us. Most Christians, I believe, live most of their Christian lives down on the smog-covered plains. They're alive, they're not “dead in their transgressions and sins,” they are serving God, but they are with heads down, breathing in noxious fumes from the world, becoming increasingly sickly in some sense spiritually, barely able to be mindful of such a mountain of Christian experience that's even possible, perhaps questioning whether it's even possible. Most Christians I think, live there. But Ephesians 3:14-21 speaks of Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Christians. He gets on his knees before the Heavenly Father, and he prays for them and he prays that God, through the Spirit, would strengthen their hearts. The focus is on the inner man, on the inner being, the heart, the soul, and a strengthening work, a buttressing work going on through the Spirit because something massive could come upon you. And I think that that strengthening is necessary in two senses, for the journey up the mountain above the haze through the self-denial, the prayer, the turning away from worldliness, the turning away from sin, it's hard. Christ suffered when he was tempted. And so, we suffer when we resist temptation and say no to the things of the flesh. And nothing's come back yet, there's been no feedback loop, no elevation yet. And we wonder if there's even anything in all this and you have to be strong to persevere and not give up as you seek Christ in new ways, ways you haven't before. And so he prays that there might be a strengthening through the Spirit, according to the riches of God's glory, in the inner man, in the inner being. To the end, and we talked about this last week, that Christ would settle down and dwell in your hearts through faith, that you would be able to have, in some sense a continual feast with Christ. We talked about those meals that Jesus continually was eating with his disciples and the conversations he would have and the fellowship. It just seemed to be one meal after another with Jesus, from beginning to the end of His ministry, and how we can have a continual feast through the Spirit with Christ, a sense of Christ's love for us in fellowship with us, which is really, the consummation of the whole Immanuel, God with us, Christ dwelling with us, making his tabernacle with us, walking with us through the day, that “Christ would dwell in your hearts through faith.” Christian Mysticism: A Supernatural Experience But more than that, based on certain testimonies from saints, from Christians that have had overwhelming experiences, overwhelming foretaste of Heaven, that you're going to need strength just to survive it, that it's so massive, so overwhelming that like D.L. Moody said, "Alright, that's enough. I can't take any more. I'm only flesh and blood. There's only so much of this I can take, I’ve reached the limit." So there's that dual sense of strengthening necessary in all of this, through the Holy Spirit. Now, I know that Christians are leery of these kinds of things, some leery ones have talked to me in the last couple of weeks, that's fine. I love those discussions, "All right, where are we going, what are we doing? Are we going to become charismatic?" Is that what's going to happen here at First Baptist Durham? Is that what we're talking about? Friends, I am trying my best to be faithful to Ephesians 3:14-21, and I read extreme language here. Extreme. Far beyond things that most of us, that I myself have experienced. And I yearn for that. I yearn to have that happen at our church, I yearn for that in my life. I would like to have an encounter with God that I would never forget. Something that would happen to me that I would say years later, "That was one of the days of Heaven, something happened to me that day, I don't know if I was awake or asleep, alive or dead, whether in the body or out of the body, I don't know, God knows, but I saw things, heard things, experienced things that I can scarcely put into words." And as I look at Ephesians 3, at this prayer, I think it lines up with a healthy Christian mysticism, if you want to use that language. A healthy experience of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, a triune working of a sense of His love that is so great and so empowering that it will have a great impact on you in terms of your own personal holiness, your internal journey and our church's external journey, evangelism and missions in this community unto the ends of the earth. And I yearn for that. I'd love to see God do that in this church. So that's what I've been praying for. Evidence in the Text: Not a Common Experience So look at the language. Look at verses 17-19, "I pray that you're being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints," he says, "to grasp how wide, and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." So we're grasping at the infinite dimensions of Christ's love as though your soul is just soaring over the vast expanse of the infinite universe of Christ's love and you're probing the dimensions, and you're probing the limits of the universe and you soon come to realize there's no boundary to this. There's no limit to Christ's love for me, I never realized how great it was. He's praying in paradoxical language of you knowing something that transcends knowledge. To know the unknowable. And you need power in order to do it, and you need to know love, to know, to sense love. That's what he's talking about. To experience it more fully, more deeply than you've ever done before. And the end of all of that is that you would be filled, so filled that you could be said to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. That something like that could happen to you. Not the emptiness of Eastern mysticism or Buddhism or any of those kinds of things or the weird kind of some of the medieval Catholic mystics that focused over-much on odd aspects of theology, and were not well-grounded in truth, who focused on the Virgin Mary and did some other things, not talking about those things. I'm actually talking about a more orthodox experience than you've ever had in your life, saturated with truth flowing from scripture, to the point where you didn't realize there was all that there. That's what I'm talking about: Fullness, not emptiness. And then in the doxology, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably infinitely more than all you ask or think." Seems like extreme language don't you think? Something far beyond anything you ever thought was possible. Talk about that more next week. It's not a common place feeling, not an everyday occurrence. And if you think so, then you just haven't read the words of Ephesians 3 carefully, and that's why I'm trying to go through it carefully, going through these phrases, so you realize there is far more in terms of your sense of Christ's love for you than you have ever known before, and that it's a good thing for you to have that, for you to know that Jesus loves you, far more than you ever did before. John Owen put it this way, "There is a light that cometh and overpowerth a man's soul, and assureth him, that God is his and he is God's. And that God loveth him from everlasting. It is a light,” listen to this, this is John Owen, “a light beyond the light of ordinary faith." For All Christians, Not Just Some These Ephesians Were Already Converted Did you hear that? It's beyond saving faith, it's beyond that and that's the very thing we get, as we've been saying, Paul is praying this for Ephesian Christians. They're already converted, they've already heard the “word of truth, the Gospel of their salvation, having believed they were already marked in Him with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,” that's already happened, and yet here he is praying. Not "and yet", because of that he's praying that they would go far beyond what they've already experienced in their Christian lives. And this isn't just for some specialist Christians. These Experiences Are For Every Christian This is for anybody, this is for ordinary people, so he prays for all the saints. See that in verse 18? "That you may have power together with all the saints." And we talked about that last time. Saints is not like the Catholics say. The special ones, the Hall of Fame ones. This is anybody that God could do this to, “pouring out His love into your heart by the Holy Spirit.” And in the doxology, to Him be glory in the church, he's praying for the whole church, for everybody to glow radiantly with glory. That's the sense of it. This is for everybody. Now, many Christians are going to beg out, they're going to opt out. They’re going to say a lot of things, "Too hard, don't really think it can happen, don't really need it, don't really want it." What? "I don't really want a foretaste of Heaven." Well, "Do you want Heaven?" Let's start there. "Yes, I want Heaven." "Would you like a foretaste of it?" "No, I have no interest in that." "Huh, explain that to me, help me with that." "I want heaven but no foretastes." "Okay, I like a little foretaste." "How about a bigger one?" "Well, that's... No, I don't want a big one, I want just a medium foretaste." See, the whole thing doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If you want Heaven, I would think a foretaste would be good. If you want a little foretaste, why not a big one? God is able to do immeasurably more than you ever thought was possible in this whole area, talk about that more next week. Now, toward the end of the 18th century, beginning of the 19th century, there was an American congregational minister, named Edward Pason, and he talks about Beulah Land. He talks about the experience that I began this sermon with. Pason had been a Christian for many years, he'd lived out a very fruitful ministry for Christ as a pastor, but then God took him to a whole new level of experience of Christ's love for him. And he wrote to a fellow pastor, he said, "When I read Bunyan's description of the Land of Beulah where the sun shines and the birds sing day and night, I used to doubt whether there even is such a place on this side of the River of Death. Does it even exist?" But then he said this, "Were I to adopt the figurative language of Bunyan, I might date this letter that I'm writing from the Land of Beulah of which I have been for some weeks now a happy inhabitant." Wow, I wouldn't mind spending weeks in Beulah Land, but Edward Payson was spending weeks. He said this, "The celestial city is full to my view. Its glories beam upon me, its breezes fan me, its odors waft to me. He fills the whole hemisphere pouring in a flood of glory, in which I seem to float like an insect in the beams of the sun; exulting, yet almost trembling, while I gaze upon this almost excessive brightness and wondering with unutterable wonder why God would deign to shine upon a sinful world as this. A single heart and a single tongue seem altogether inadequate to my wants. I want a whole heart for every separate emotion I'm feeling and I want a whole tongue to express that emotion." Four Concentric Circles of Christian Experience Wow! What in the world is he experiencing? And could there be some of that for me? Could I experience something like that? Well Payson, who's a pastor, started to diagnose Christians and their experiences in his shepherding, in his ministry. And he came up with what he would call, four concentric circles of professors of faith in Christ, people who claim to be Christians; Christians. He said this, "Suppose people who claim to be Christians arranged in different concentric circles around Christ as their common center. Some value the presence of their Savior so highly they cannot bear to have even a moment's separation from Him. Even their daily chores and their employment. They will bring up and do as best they can constantly in the light of His countenance, and while engaged in it will be seen constantly raising their eyes to Him as they're fearful of losing even a single beam of his light." Continually focused. I don't want anything to come between me and the Savior. That's how they live, all the time. Circle number two: "Others, who to be sure would not be content to live out of His presence, are yet less wholly absorbed by it than these, and may be seen a little further off, engaged here and there in their various callings, their eyes generally upon their work, but often looking up for more of that light that they love." Circle two. Circle three: "A third class beyond these, but yet still within the life giving rays, includes a doubtful multitude, many of whom are so much engaged in their worldly schemes that they may be seen in some way standing sideways to Christ, looking most of the time away from Him to their tasks and their employments, but then, occasionally looking back to Jesus and being refreshed." And then circle four: "Yet further out among the last dimly scattered rays, so distant that it's often doubtful whether they come at all within their influence, is a mixed assemblage of busy ones, some with their backs wholly turned to Him, wholly turned upon the Son, and most of them so worried and troubled about their many things as to spend, but little time for their Savior." All of these claiming to be Christians. So… Where Are You? So where are you? Where are you? Are you able to find yourself in there somewhere? It has to do with a sense of continual focus on the love of Christ, a sense of dependence on Him, reliance on Him, and of feeding back from Him through the Spirit of sense of His love for you. Do you live your life in continual focus on Jesus, sensing His presence, knowing His love, filled with his peace? Or are you further? Or further and further? Or further and further and further away from a warm, vigorous sense of Christ's love for you? Now, Payson said, "It's not hard for any of these to be reclaimed or strengthened. All you have to do is turn and face Christ." That's it, and how do you do that? Well, by the means He's ordained, by the scripture, by prayer. And the turning is two-fold. You're turning away from worldly pursuits, away from the “sin that so easily entangles you,” away from an over-focus of God's good gifts in the world that can become idols, a turning away from that to Christ in the scripture and in prayer, until you feel your heart warmed and empowered by the Spirit and a sense of joy and love filling you. That's what it takes. And then, once that starts to come, you become zealous and jealous of that and protect it from anything that would encroach. That's how you become one of those inner circle people. They're not intrinsically different than anyone else. It just has to do with how they're living. Rooted and Established in Love Paul Continues His Prayer Now, I've been following the text; Payson's insights are helpful, but let's look a little more carefully at Ephesians 3. Look at Verse 17. That's where we're at as we move through this. He says, "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Rooted and established in love. I have a strong kind of dual image here; one of them living, one of them not. Rooted in love, I picture a huge maple tree, let's say, or some oak, some mighty tree, with this deep root system. And you've got these roots subterranean and probing down, and you're able to find subterranean rivers of water, and it doesn't matter what the conditions are above ground, you have a continual sense of the love of God for you in your heart, a sense of right doctrine, you're rooted in the scripture, established and living like a vibrant tree that's rooted in love. And then, established in love, more of a building image, like a building with its foundation upon the rock and it's unshakable, and there's a depth to that foundation, and it's not going to be “blown and tossed by every wind of doctrine,” like it says in the next chapter. But you're rooted in truth, rooted and established, but it says, "In Love." Power to Comprehend Going beyond that, he then prays for power to comprehend, "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp the dimensions of Christ's love." So again, we have power language. Some of the translation just have, “may be able,” but it really does speak of power, and since Paul earlier mentioned power just a moment ago, let's stick with the power theme, that you would be empowered to understand, empowered to grasp; empowered to grasp. To comprehend. So, it begins as mental, it begins as intellectual. So, there's a thought aspect, but it's going to go beyond that. I know, but I know. I started out just knowing, but now I know. "What are you doing with your voice there?" I don't know, I can't put it into words. I'm knowing what's beyond knowledge, but it started with knowledge. It always starts with knowledge, as every love relationship does. Necessities: Knowledge and Emotion I mean, think about a couple that's working their way toward maybe engagement and toward marriage, and they're trying to figure it out, and there's an attraction there and they're spending some time, and they start giving tokens to one another of increasing feelings, right? It could be notes, it could be little gifts, they go out on a date together, spend some time, and then they each go back and ponder the events of the evening; ponder the events. And they're thinking about what happened and what was said and what it meant. And so, that's what I mean, there's a truth behind the things that were said, the notes that were written, the gifts that were given. But then there is something beyond that. There's feelings that go with it. And so, in every love relationship, there's a knowledge aspect, and then there's a feeling that goes beyond it. And you can't sever the two. You can't say, "I just want the feelings. I don't want knowledge. So, I'm going to tell you what, I will just buy for you a precious note from someone and you can take it home and read it. You won't know who it's from, but it's for you." Completely severed from anything. It has no meaning. It's a precious love note. You can buy them at Hallmark. I often wonder about the card people. I mean, can you imagine spending your whole day writing love notes to people you don't know? I often think about the work week. I should just change this subject quickly, but I'm going to say one thing. Ever read a card that you think was written late on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend? Like, "Didn't put a lot into this one, I guess." Alright, back on topic. There is a knowledge that then flows into emotion, and the two can't be disconnected. So, you're going to know Christ's love doctrinally. You're going to know who He is who loves you. Who are we talking about? This is the long-expected Jesus. This is the one that was predicted through the prophets. This is the Son of God and the Son of Man, fully God, fully man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, who did all these incredible miracles, who walked on water, fed the 5,000, who raised the dead, Lazarus after he'd been in the tomb four days raised to life! That's who we're talking about. The one who died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for sinners like you and me. This one who died, who was our substitute, who was raised to life on the third day in a resurrection body and ascended to Heaven and now sits, we're told in the Bible, “at the right hand of Almighty God and rules over Heaven and Earth.” This Jesus loves you. That's incredible. Think about that. So there's a doctrinal base. He said, "I want you to know what is beyond knowledge." Far more than just mental but it begins intellectual. And then he goes into this dimensional language, "To grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." So, one of my fellow scientific, geeky people, came up to me a few weeks ago and said, "Why do you think four dimensions? Wide, long, high, deep." I said, "I don't know. Usually we think in terms of three dimensions. I said, "I think of it maybe in terms of perspective. You stand and you're looking at something beautiful. And you look left and right, and you look as far as the eye can see, and look in the foreground, and you look up and you look down. It's your perspective maybe. I don't know." But he talks about the dimensions, a sense of Christ's love for us. Like it says in John 15:9, "As the Father has loved me even so have I loved you." Now, ponder that. And we could never fully comprehend the amount of love the Father has for the Son, but Jesus says, "That's how I love you." To love that surpasses knowledge. And so, I want you to ponder. I want you to have a sense of the dimensions of this. How Wide? So I pictured this, and I thought about one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, along the coast, the rocky coastline of Maine. The highest mountain there on Mount Desert Island is called, Cadillac Mountain. You can drive up to the top. So I imagine taking a friend who's never been out of the city, like we talked about C.S. Lewis, he's used to making mud pies in the slum. So you're bringing him out and you're taking him through the night; through the dark of night. And it's a very dark night, and you drive and you get to Cadillac Mountain and you go all the way to the top, but it's still pitch black. And you get out of the car and you just stand there. And it's about an hour before sunrise, and then little by little, some of the light starts coming over the Atlantic Ocean and you start to see what there is in the foreground and in the distance. And as more and more light starts to spread, you start to see what there is up the rocky coastline, and you start to see Bar Harbor, the fishing boats down in the bay, the trees that come right up, the trees that are close are huge right in your face and then there's some that are further away. You see rocky cliffs. You see Eagle Lake, and other things behind you. You're looking behind you. There's the inland area of Maine, and more and more and more light as the orange and the reddish light of the dawn and the sunrise comes until it's full light of day. And I have a feeling that that's what Paul wants you to do in terms of the dimensions of Christ's love for you. Now, I don't know that he meant for us to parse it out, but I'm going to just do a little biblical meditation in front of you. This is what you do on your knees. You get the Bible and you say, "Okay, how wide is your love for me, Christ?" And I don't know that we could do this, but I think of it in terms of the breadth of Christ's saving purpose around the world, that we have been adopted into a royal family of brothers and sisters “from every tribe and language and people and nation;” the diversity being staggering. It's a broad work of Christ that He's done here. How Long? And then, how long? I think of the time axis there, that if you look back behind you, you're looking as far as your eye see and even farther to eternity past, before the creation of the world, God the Father set His love on you by name and chose you “before you were born or had done anything good or bad, chose you in Christ.” As it says in Jeremiah 31:3, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." And so, he set an everlasting love on you, knowing full well you would sin and what sins you would commit, and how Jesus at that point in eternity past covenanted to shed His blood for you, in effect, dying for you convenantally and in the mind of God, before you were even born, or before the world was even created. As it says in Revelation 13:8, "Our names have been written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." And how it says in Ephesians 1:4-5, "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted." So, you're looking behind you, and that's as far as the eye can see, Jesus has been loving you by name, right up until the time you were converted. Now, when you look forward you say, "Okay, for the rest of my life, He's going to keep loving me. He will never leave me. He will never forsake me. He's going to filter all of my temptations. He won't let the Devil have at me. No temptation will seize me, except what is common to man, and He will be faithful and will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I can bear. And if I should fall into sin, He will restore me. “He will, when I confess my sin, cleanse me from all unrighteousness” and restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast. And I'm going to continue running this race until I die. And after that, then things get really awesome because after I die He's going to raise me up. He's going to give me a resurrection body and He's going to put me in a resurrected world surrounded by other resurrected people and it's going to be awesome. That's how long is the love of Christ for me." How Deep? Let me switch it and talked about how deep is His love. How far down would He go to save you? Picture that. How deep the descent? I was reading a story about a American submarine, the Squalus, that sank off the coast of New Hampshire. And it was in 243 feet of water on the seafloor. And a diver dove down with a cable, 243 feet down, and fixed it to the submarine so that a diving bell could go down and rescue those people. I'm thinking, "That's a lot of commitment. That's a lot of courage." How deep would Jesus go down to save you? And I think about that in terms of Philippians 2, "Jesus being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness,” down. Born of the Virgin Mary, and being “found in human likeness he humbled himself and became obedient, a life of a servant even to death, even death on a cross.” And even that's not enough, because two others were crucified with Him. We have to see in the spiritual realm how He was our substitute and the wrath of God was poured out on Him. That's how deep He went to save you and me. How deep were you? How far down were you in degradation and wickedness and sin? He went that far down to save you. How High? And then, how high? How high will you bring you? How exalted are His purposes for you? Well, we've already seen that somewhat in Ephesians 2:6-7, "God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, He might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." So much more exaltation yet to show you. You underestimate how high He wants to bring you and how glorious is that going to be for you, how wide and long and deep and high is the love of Christ. "That," verse 19, "you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." We're going to talk more about that next week. But just foretaste, a little bit of foretaste, that you would be, in some sense mysteriously, as full as God is, filled with God, filled with all the fullness of God. That's what we'll ponder next week. Application Seeking Christ’s Love So applications. What do we do about all of this? Well, for two weeks now, this is the third week, I've been making a very simple plan appeal to you, and that is that you would turn away from the entices of this world into extraordinary prayer. By extraordinary I mean something different than you've been doing, and that you would be seeking in God, through God, through Christ, a sense of Christ's love for you. You would be asking for it directly. Say, "Lord, I'm not satisfied with my mediocre Christian experience. I'm not satisfied with what's been happening in my soul. I want to know your love more than I've ever known before, and I'm willing to run a race here. I'm willing to deny myself. I'm willing to fast, not just from food, but maybe from electronic entertainment, fast from worldly things. I'm willing to turn my back on the world until you will pour out in my heart a sense of the love of God. I want that. And I don't just want it for myself, I want it for this person or that person." You name them. Somebody, a spouse, a friend, a church member. That you would do that, and that you would be willing to think deeply about these things and "gird up the loins of your mind." 1 Peter 1:13 KJV says it that way. That you'd be willing to think about these things and ponder and go over, and assess yourself and say, "Where am I in that concentric circle? Am I like Pluto? Am I like in the orbit? I'm a Christian, but it's just so cold and dark out here." Or are you closer and closer? Where are you? Meditate on these verses and don't make excuses. Don't be satisfied with less, and don't make excuses. Don't come up short of all the fullness of what God intends for you. Don't live like a pauper when you could live like a prince, and don't make excuses. Don't say, "I'm too busy to spend time doing that." I've thought about, let's say, a 30-year-old businessman who is an entrepreneur, successful business, single, but his business consumes his life and all that, but he feels lonely. He goes home to a darkened place, and lots of material possessions, but he's just alone. And he feels like maybe it's about time that he might find a wife. And you look at, what is he willing to do for that? And if the answer is nothing, he probably won't find one. But as he continues increasingly to acutely feel that loneliness, he's going to start making time in his life. He's going to do what's necessary. Well, I just want to say, how much more could you make time for Christ? Say, "I feel cold. I feel distant and I need to make time to seek Him." And don't think it'll be simple. He's not a vending machine. You pour in two or three quarters and then you get it. He tests us. He's jealous. He's a person. And if you're doing things that offend him, He won't pour out that blessing. And even if you're not, he will stretch you and test you and make you persevere. So persevere. Be single-minded. Remember, it's not impersonal. It's not a thing we're seeking. We're not seeking a thing. We're seeking a person. Turn Away From Sin And be willing to turn aside from sin. It says in James chapter 4, "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that scripture says without reason that the Spirit,” I think the Holy Spirit, “that He caused to live in us envies intensely?” Is jealous over us? That's why Scripture says, “He gives us more grace. That's why scripture says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ Submit yourself then to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” Now listen to this, "Come near to God and He will come near to you." So that's what I'm urging. “Wash your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded.” Don't be double-minded. Be single-minded after Christ, and persevere as it says in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me, and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Praying for the Spirit of God Now, I want to give an invitation to the church. For the last two months I've been praying here at 6.00 AM, praying for God to pour out His Spirit on our church, specifically praying for evangelistic fruit, but also praying for these things, these themes. Recently, some people have heard about this and have joined me in praying, and I'd like to invite the whole church. I come here, so if it were at my house I would not invite the whole church. But I'm inviting any of you that would be willing to make a sacrifice, who would have time to come 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM this Wednesday. And I'm planning on doing this through the end of January next year 2016, so I don't know, for about eight weeks. And if the Lord wants to extend it, He can do that. But I just feel called on by God to call on you to join me in praying. If you're not able to come, then pray on your own during that time for God to pour out His Spirit on our church. Pray specifically for evangelistic fruit. Wouldn't you love to see in 2016 a river of baptisms, of outreach here in the community and really to the ends of the Earth to hear about that as an answer to extraordinary prayer. That's what I'm praying for. But I'm also praying internal journey for extreme experiences with God resulting in holiness; yearning for both of those things. So, if you're able to come, join. If you can't do it this week, God willing, I'll be doing it next week and just come. Start in my office, and if there's too many we'll come in here and we'll pray. Prayer So, close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for the things that we've been learning in Ephesians and we pray that you would pour out your Spirit on this church, pray that you would oh Lord work in this church, give us fruit, oh Lord, give us a sense of your love for us in Christ greater than we've ever had before. And then Lord, give us powerful inducements toward evangelism and outreach. Help us to reach out with the Gospel and to see lost people come to faith in Christ. Help us to know you and to follow you better than ever before through the power of the Spirit in Jesus' name, Amen.

RCL Year B, Proper 9 Recorded during worship at St. Peter's-Trinity Church, Thomaston, CT. Blessings, Fr. Mark Cover Picture is Cadillac Mountain, in Acadia National Park, taken by JRLibby, from Wikimedia Commons.

-sermon transcript- Introduction So this is the last special Sunday focus on evangelism. We have... We took five weeks in the middle of the sermon series in Galatians, and today I want to just do what I can to unfold 2 Corinthians 5 to you. The Book of Hebrews is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Of course, you say to me, "All of the books are your favorite book of the Bible," and that may be true, but I love Hebrews and how it begins there. It says powerfully, “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son.” The awesome truth of the Bible is that there is one God, and only one God, this living God, the living and true God, creator of the universe, infinite in his being, incomprehensible, eternal, perfect and holy. Possessing life in himself, possessing all wisdom in himself, possessing love and power in himself. This one true living God speaks. He lives and he speaks. He speaks and the universe comes into existence. He speaks and his people come into existence. He speaks and salvation comes to the lost. Now, this God, it says, has spoken in the past through the prophets at many times and in various ways. He spoke to Noah, commanding him to build an ark. He spoke to Abraham, commanding him that he should leave Ur of the Chaldees, and later that he should take his son and sacrifice him on a mountain that he would show him. He spoke to Jacob from the top of a ladder that extended from earth to heaven, he spoke to Moses from the flames of a burning bush, he spoke to Israel, the nation, the words of the 10 Commandments, when he descended in fire on the top of the mountain, and the ground shook beneath their feet. He spoke to David and moved him to write beautiful poetry in the Psalms. He spoke to Solomon, and Solomon spoke in Proverbs in words of pithy wisdom, spoke to Elijah in a still small voice, and then later in a fiery whirlwind that took him up to heaven. He spoke to Isaiah, he spoke to Jeremiah, to Ezekiel. He spoke to Daniel through an awesome, gigantic and glorious angel, whose glory was so overpowering that it took Daniel's breath away and knocked him to the ground. God spoke in the past at many times and in various ways through the prophets. Now, in these last days, He has spoken one final word to the human race, and that Word is Jesus. He has spoken Jesus Christ to the human race. And Jesus, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and after he had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.” So Jesus is God's final word to the human race. He is a word of hope and salvation to people desperate in their lost-ness, desperate in their brokenness, people who live every lives, though they may not admit it, who live every day of their lives in terror and fear of death. They're enslaved to their fear of death. Now, now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, now that he is at the right hand of God, and now that the day of Pentecost has come, and he has poured out his Holy Spirit on the church, ge is at it again, he is speaking through us as ge spoke through the prophets. He has poured out his spirit, and he speaks at many times and in various ways through us as though we were his ambassadors. God Himself being in us by the Spirit, making his appeal through us. As Paul says, "We implore you, we beg you, be reconciled to God." God wants to use each one of us to do that kind of appealing, that kind of begging and pleading. He wants us through the Holy Spirit to care whether people, lost people are found. He wants us on fire from within, concerning the lost-ness of the world, and the fact that the Gospel has the power to change everything. He wants us to be his ambassadors. He has called each one of us to a thrilling external journey of worldwide gospel advance. He's called on us to be in the game, to be involved. He's called on us to be warriors in this warfare. There's a world of lost people around us every day, and it is our responsibility to bring them the Gospel. So this is the final sermon in this series on evangelism. It's not the last time you'll hear about evangelism though, we're going to be talking about it. What I want to do is I want to lift up, I think, as I've studied over the last few weeks 2 Corinthians 5, the greatest single chapter on motivations for evangelism. It's like a rich treasure box of evangelistic motivations, one after the other. Now, this sermon actually originally had three parts, I stripped out two of them, alright, stripped out the bad motivation section, stripped out the techniques and tools of the trade section that's gone too. A Rich Treasure Chest of Healthy Motives Now all I'm going to do is just give you 17 motivators that just flow, 17! And not only that, but I'm going to preach shorter than usual because we've got a special time at the end for individuals who are involved in outreaching ministries at FBC to make an appeal to you to get involved in their ministries. So I need to leave even more time than I usually do in preaching. I was at a church recently, and up on the wall was this motivational poster, and it said, "Impossible, difficult, done." That's today's sermon. So we'll start with impossible, and then it'll get difficult, and then we'll find that it's done. 17 motivators that flow. And what I want to do as we go through this just treasure chest of healthy motives. I just want to just zip by them. I'm not going to be able to unfold them. I want some of the mentions, the mere mentions to frustrate you and say, "Stop, wait a minute, I want to hear more about that." I think all of them could be a great sermon in and of itself, any one of these. But recently, a friend of mine gave me a DVD of an hour tour of Acadia National Park. Now, many of you have never been to Acadia, but it's probably one of my favorite places on Earth. It's a spectacularly beautiful national park. And it was an hour tour of all of the best spots in Acadia. So you're taking an hour to see, take a drive along the spectacular rocky coastline of Maine, and then you've got Thunder Hole, and then you've got Seal Beach, and then you've got Sand Beach and Pebble Beach, and you're going to go along there, and then you've got Precipice, which is the closest to rock climbing any normal person will ever get, and then you've got Cadillac Mountain where you can see the sunrise and sunset, and you can see that same rocky coastline. And in Bar Harbor, there's all kinds of art shops and all that. One hour. Well, I've got half an hour to go through even more spectacular material, and that is 2 Corinthians 5. So let's look at it. And what I want to do is I'm just going to ask the question again and again, why should we evangelize? And I'm going to find answers in this text to that question. The Resurrection Body is a Certainty (vs. 1-5) First, we should evangelize because the resurrection body is an absolute certainty. Now, you may fail to see the connection between the fact that someday we'll be raised from the dead and that we should be active in evangelism, but there's a clear connection in Paul's mind. He begins this chapter in verse one, “Now, we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven not built by human hands.” He's talking about the resurrection body. Verse four and five, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now, it is God who has made us for this very purpose.” So the basic idea is this: because we will someday be in a resurrection body, enjoying the perfection, the fullness of our salvation, and because there is nothing that can stop that, no power in Heaven or Earth or under the Earth can stop the resurrection from the dead. What that means is that we will most certainly receive the goal of our faith, the salvation, not only of our souls, but of our bodies. It is 100% certain. So we should have inside us a glowing, radiant hope that causes us to live entirely differently, knowing that our most bitter enemies, sin and wrath and judgment and Satan and hell and death have all been destroyed, and we are free from them all. "Because we will someday be in a resurrection body, enjoying the perfection, the fullness of our salvation...What that means is that we will most certainly receive the goal of our faith, the salvation, not only of our souls but of our bodies." So the great resurrection chapter, Paul draws this exact connection. Because we will most certainly be raised from the dead, we should be active in serving the Lord now. At the end of 1 Corinthians 15, he says, “‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where O death is your victory. Where O death is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now, here's the application of that whole resurrection chapter. Verse 58, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” We evangelize because of the resurrection of the body. We know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. We are seeking the elect, we don't know who they are, we preach the gospel, they will come to faith in Christ, and some day they'll be in resurrection bodies, and so we. That's why we evangelize. The Indwelling Holy Spirit is a Deposit (vs. 5) Second, we evangelize because the indwelling Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing that future. Look at verse five, “Now it is God who has us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” The indwelling spirit is a constant proof within us of our future glory, of the certainty of the new heaven and the new earth, the beauty of that world. We have a constant deposit, a down payment, a stipend check coming to us from our billions and billions of inheritance, and we are living off that little stipend check and it's pretty generous, and we have our hearts filled with hope through the Holy Spirit. And he is guaranteeing that future, and he constantly urges us to know that we are loved by the Father, he is the Spirit crying out "Abba, Father," and he gives us power to evangelize. The Spirit's not afraid of anybody. He is Almighty God, and he lives within us and testifies that we are children of God and that we are God's Ambassadors, and we have a deposit inside, proving this. Walking by Faith, Not by Sight (vs. 6-8) Thirdly, we evangelize because as a result of all of these things, we have learned to walk by faith, not by sight. We live a different kind of life as a result of these things. Look at verses six through eight, “Therefore we are always confident, and we know that as long as we're at home in the body, we're away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” So in the middle of that statement, Paul talks about his confidence, and he talks about how we live as Christians in this world. In this world, we will have trouble, in this world, we are away from the Lord; that means we don't have face-to-face fellowship with him. That's why Paul says, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain," something better. So we're away from Jesus in that sense, and we're yearning and longing for our heavenly home, aren't we? But as a result of that, we have learned to walk by faith, not by sight. We don't look at the world the way everyone else does. We've learned to look at the world differently. And so we've learned to live differently. We walk by faith and not by sight. And so, as a result, we see the purpose of our time here on Earth differently, and that's why we evangelize. We evangelize because there are eternal issues at work here. We evangelize for that reason. And it's a strong motivation to walk by faith, not by sight. Parenthetically, our faith gets stronger and stronger the more we're in the word. The more you hear good preaching, the more you're saturating your mind, memorizing Scripture, having daily quiet times, you're going to better and better walk by faith, not by sight. Pleasing the Lord (vs. 9) Fourthly, we evangelize because it pleases the Lord. It just pleases the Lord. It brings God pleasure. And that has become the central motivator of our lives. Look at verse nine, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we're at home in the body or away from it.” This is among the most powerful motivators every Christian should have for everything they do. In Ephesians it says, “We should find out what pleases the Lord.” So we read the Scripture and we find out from his word what it is that pleases him. And we yearn to please him. We want Jesus to be happy with us. We want him to be pleased with how we live, not just generally, but every day, every moment. We want him to be pleased with the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart. And it very much pleases the Lord when we lay down our lives for others, when we're willing to be self-sacrificial and pay the price to see someone else brought to faith in Christ. The Greek word here for "make it our goal", or "make it our aim" relates to a love of honor, relates to ambition. Paul says, "I'm clamoring for the honor of pleasing Christ." That's what he's saying, somewhat like an athlete, an Olympic athlete, just yearning for the honor of a gold medal, or a soldier yearning for the honor of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Wanting something like that, there's a yearning for honor. I want the honor of Christ expressing his pleasure in my life. I want him to be pleased with me. Judgment Day Assessment (vs. 10) And that brings me right to the fifth one. We evangelize because some day we're going to give him an account for our lives. Someday there will be an assessing of everything we've said or done as Christians. Look at verse 10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.” Let me say this to you gently but clearly, every single Christian in this room underestimates Judgment Day. We underestimate what it's going to be like when this verse is fulfilled in our case. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. This Judgment Day assessment, this Judgment Day accountability is consistently taught in the Bible. People struggle with it too. I've had so many people quote me this verse, in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Well, it is true that there will be no condemnation for you as a Christian, but it is not true that there will be no accountability. It is not true that there will be no assessment. It is not true that you will not have to give an account for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. There's a difference between giving Jesus an account and having Jesus say, “Depart from me, you are cursed into the eternal fire...” There's a difference between those two. And notice that it says, “We'll have to give Hhim an account for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.” So the bad breaks into two categories, things that you did that you shouldn't have done, and you have to give an account for that. But there's also things that you should have done and didn't, and you have to give an account for that too. When he sets up an evangelistic opportunity and you don't do it because of selfishness, you'll just have to give an account for it. Conversely, you give an account for the good things done in the body. Imagine him asking, "Here you were faithful, you stepped out, you were scared, but yet you showed courage and you evangelized, and it went very badly, and you got fired, or that person was never nice to you again, and yet you kept on evangelizing. How do you give an explanation for that?" And you know what you're going to say at that point. "You worked in me, courage and boldness by your spirit. To God be the glory." You'll give him full credit. And then you know what he's going to do? He's going to give you eternal rewards for those things that survive the fire of judgment. Read about it in 1 Corinthians 3, “But the gold, the silver, the costly stones, the things you do by faith for the glory of God, out of love for others, those things that survived the fire, you'll have them to look at forever and ever.” And you know what those Judgment Day rewards will be? Praise from God. He'll express his pleasure with you and he'll say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Well done. You were bold, you were clear, you loved people enough to share with them. Well done." Hey, let's have as many of those as we can. Amen? Let's store up treasure in Heaven. Store up as many evangelistic opportunities. Just be faithful. And if you get persecuted a lot, and if you have trouble a lot and all that, store up the courage and all the times you kept going anyway. To God be the glory. But we evangelize because there will be a Judgment Day assessment. Fear of the Lord (vs. 11) Sixthly, we evangelize because we, alone in this world, understand what it means to fear the Lord. We know what it is to fear the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Verse 11, it says, “Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.” Alright, by the way, that's just a check, verse 11, just to check to be sure we're not taking things out of context. Alright, we're talking about evangelism, evangelism, evangelism. Should we be, maybe there's another topic here? No, no, there's no other topic. This whole chapter is about this, it's about evangelism, reaching out with the gospel. In verse 11, he says, Because we know what it is to fear the Lord, we persuade others. Persuade them what? To repent and believe in Jesus, to be reconciled to God. That's what he's talking about, the whole chapter. Okay, so that was just a check. We're in the right area, we're not taken out of context, but the motivator here is the fear of the Lord. “…knowing what it is to fear the Lord…” Now, what does that mean? Well, we understand the fear of the Lord in this sense: The wrath of God and the curse of God and the judgment of God, those things were motivators for us to flee the wrath, to come to Jesus. We ran to Jesus and we found refuge, and now we don't fear God's wrath anymore, but we know those thoughts. But we're surrounded by people who aren't thinking about that at all, they don't know that there's a wrath to come. We do though. So now we can fear on their behalf, say, "I'm afraid for you, I fear for you if you don't repent and believe. I'm afraid what will happen to you if you don't repent and believe this gospel. I'm fearing for us both, but I pray that God through the Holy Spirit would move you into the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom and that you'd flee to Christ." So we know what it is to fear the Lord. Jesus said in Luke 12, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing to you. I'll tell you who to fear. Fear the one who after the death of the body has power to destroy both soul and body in hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” So we do, as Christians, we fear him, but they don't fear him, they're not afraid to die in that sense, they're not afraid. They might be afraid of the process of death, but they should really fear what happens after death, and we have to fear God for them and so we persuade others, we plead with others to flee the wrath to come. The Love of Christ Compels Us (vs. 14) Seventh, we are active in evangelism because the love of Christ compels us. Verse 14, “The love of Christ controls us,” “…compels us,” “…constrains us,” lots of different translations, just something grabs hold of us strongly and pulls us in a direction. Controls us, compels us, constrains us to do what? Well, to evangelize, like we've been saying, we're pulled strongly. What does it? Well, the love of Christ. Now, NIV decides it for us saying Christ's love, but I'm going to just go straight from the Greek here and say the love of Christ, because it brings us to a bit of a head-scratching mystery. There's two different ways to understand the love of Christ compels us. It could be the love that Christ displayed... So as we get to see what kind of love Christ displayed on the cross, the way he died for us, that compels me to want to imitate him, and to lay down my life as he did. So that's the love that Christ displayed compels us, or it could be our love for Christ compels us. The fact that we love Christ, the love of Christ, our love for Christ compels us. Jesus said, “If you love me, you'll obey what I command you.” And Lord Jesus, you were seeking and saving the lost. This is what you're doing in the world. I want to be involved. I want people to love you, Jesus. I want them to... And you want them, the elect, to be with you and to see your glory, I want that too. So we love you and I want to serve you that way. Which one? Does it matter? They're both biblical themes. Let's just say the love that Christ displayed and then the love He pours out in our hearts for him, both of those things compel us and constrain us and move us to evangelize. Christ’s Death Puts Compels Us to Live for Others (vs. 15) Eighth, Christ's death compels us to live for others, frees us from selfishness. Verse 15, “For Christ's love compels us because we're convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” Verse 15, and he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again. Now, I talked about this when I preached that single verse sermon on Galatians 2:20. I don't know if you remember that. But in Galatians 2:20 it says, “I have been crucified with Christ.” What's the next part? “I no longer live.” And I talked about that for a while. I no longer live, I don't have an ambition for my own life anymore; an independent ambition, Paul is saying. I just live for this one thing: I live to please Christ. I live to serve him and to serve others. I don't have a selfish ambition anymore, that's what he's saying there. So all of us are so selfish. That's the nature of the flesh. What's in it for me? Every day, deciding what would I like to do today? You know, the idol of choice in the West, we have so much wealth and so much free time and so many options, and so we are so tempted towards selfishness, but this verse is a heat-seeking missile towards selfishness, blowing it up. 2 Corinthians 5:15, it says, “And he died for all that those who live, that's us, should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised up.” Again, we should no longer live for ourselves, but for the lost, for suffering sinners who are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. We should no longer live for ourselves, but for him who died for us and was raised again. We should no longer live for ourself for selfish reasons, but so that we might evangelize. Basically, the excuses I make for not evangelizing, they're ultimately, all of them selfish. It costs me something, it hurts me, it's difficult for me. It's just selfish reasons. I don't want to be selfish. I really want to live like Paul did, free from selfishness. Seeing People from an Eternal Perspective (vs. 16) Ninth, seeing people from an eternal perspective. We evangelize because we now see people differently. Verse 16, “So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view or a fleshly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ this way, we do so no longer.” So we're trained by all of this doctrine, all of these truths to just see people differently. We walk by faith, not by sight. And so we see people by faith and not by sight. We don't see people the way that non-Christians see them. The very people that we live with, and work with, and shopped with, and watch games with, and travel with, those people are eternal beings. Every one of them is created in the image of God, every one of them, a sinner who has transgressed the laws of God, and every one of them will spend eternity either in heaven or hell, all of them. In our natural way, we tend to look at people from a self-advantage point of view, What can this person do to further my agenda or hinder my agenda? And if they can further my agenda then they're good and I'll use them, but if they hinder, then they're my enemy and I'll oppose them and be mean to them. But that's the way a natural person sees others, we don't see people that way anymore, we've been liberated, we don't see... We don't regard people from a worldly point of view. We see people as eternally significant creations who someday are going to get separated from the others and will either be with the sheep or the goats. That's how it's going to be for them. We see them from that point of view, and therefore we're going to evangelize. We once looked at Jesus from a carnal point of view, but we don't look at him that way any longer. Because We’re New Creations (Like Jesus) (vs. 17) Tenthly, we evangelize because like Jesus, we are new creations. You, if you're a Christian, you have been changed. You're a different person. You've been transformed. 2 Corinthians 5:17 was the first Scripture verse I ever memorized with the Topical Memory System and the Navigators packet. I had been a Christian for two weeks, someone gave me that little card and 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation, the old is gone, behold, everything has become new.” And they wanted you to know right away that you've changed, everything is changing in your life, everything's different now, and so I thought it's an interesting verse to choose. Of all the verses in the Bible it's the first one to have a new convert memorized, but it's been with me ever since, and I just think about that. We are new. Now, here's the thing, Paul already called our bodies tents that are wasting away, that's not new creation stuff. As a matter of fact, there is no new creation stuff in this world. Anything you can touch or see, whatever, that's all old creation stuff and it's going to get burned up, all of it's going away. All of it. But if you're a Christian, you have been born again and your soul, your true self is a new creation entity. It will survive the rest of your lives through judgment day and on into eternity, you are a new creation. And therefore you're free from all of the burdens and the pressures and all of the wickedness of this world, you're free from that, and you can fly above all of those depressing motivators, like a 747 pilot, breaking through the cloud cover, spending the whole day in bright sunshine when everyone else has cold drizzle, you're a new creation, you can spend your life like that. I love that story from Howard Hendricks, he saw a new believer and the person was just so gloomy and negative. You know your personality? I know. I don't know. How are you doing? I'm doing fine under the circumstances, and he said, “What are you doing under there? Get up above the circumstances. Christians don't live under the circumstances. Break through the cloud cover. Get up above where it's bright sunshine all the time. You're a new creation, not under the same things others are.” And so we just think about life differently. People need to see that kind of hope glowing inside you so they can ask you to give a reason for it. Because We’re Reconciled to God (vs. 18) Number 11, we evangelize because we ourselves have been reconciled to God. Verse 18, “All this is from God…” What a great statement that is, I could spend a whole sermon on just that. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry”. We'll talk about that. But we are reconciled to God. Now, what is reconciliation? Well, it's all about relationship. If you have two individuals and they're at odds with each other, they're acting like enemies, they're in conflict, and then some things happened so that their relationship is healed, and they act like friends and they speak kindly and lovingly to one another, and they have kind thoughts in their hearts toward one another, and their love is restored for one other, that's reconciliation. That's what it is. And so it is with us. We were God's enemies. In Colossians 1:21-22, it says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight without blemish and free from accusation.” So now we are no longer God's enemies, but we are now more than just his friends, we are adopted into his family. We are sons and daughters of the Living God, we have been reconciled. Okay, how is that a motivator for evangelism? Because we want others to also have that same experience. We know how sweet it is to know that our sins are forgiven, how sweet it is to know that God is no longer angry judge, but now loving Father. How sweet that is, and we want others to experience that same thing. Because God Has Given Us the Ministry of Reconciliation (vs. 18-19) And so 12, we evangelize because God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 18-19, “All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” This is an incredible idea. This is the one, this concept has just captivated me, the idea that God has entrusted this ministry of reconciliation to us and is in us now by the Spirit doing that work. That's awesome. So God sees the world and outside of Christ there his enemies, and he has entrusted to the gospel message of Christ, incarnate by the Holy Spirit, living a sinless life, dying on the cross, and atoning death, raised from the dead on the third day. That message of the gospel, that repentance and faith in him, all forgiveness of sins comes through repentance and faith in him. Romans 1:16 says, “I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation.” What Paul would say here, power of God for reconciliation, all of that, God's like handed the keys over to us. That's awesome. Now, he is sovereign over all, that he controls it all. But he has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. So we have this call to evangelism and missions, the external journey. Because God Has the Whole World in View (vs. 19) Thirteenth, we evangelize because God has the whole world in view. Verse 19, “…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ...” It's got to keep moving out, this is an eternal journey, an infinite journey. We're just going to keep going. There's always going to be more work to do until Jesus comes back. And so we care about missions, we care about others, and we care about evangelism for the same reason. This isn't a local salvation, this isn't just for you or just for us in this club, a small exclusive club, but there's a pressure, a drive to move out even to the ends of the earth with this message. Because Forgiveness of Sins for Others Awaits Our Efforts (vs. 19) Fourteenth, we evangelize because forgiveness of sins for others awaits our efforts. Look at verse 19 again, “…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their sins against them.” I mean, how guilty do non-Christians feel? How does their conscience assault them? How they are filled with regrets? How they are aware, at least to some degree, of the bondage and the chains that hold them back? They know that they're miserable in sin, maybe not like they should, and that we get to come and say that God in Christ is willing to forgive all their adulteries and all their fornication, and all their lies, and all their idolatries, and all their selfishness and irritability, and all the times they've shown anger, and all the bad words they've spoken. He's able to take all of it and cover it in the blood of Jesus. He's willing to take all of their sins and throw them in the depths of the sea. He is willing to move them as far away from him as the east is from the west, and that's awesome. We get to evangelize and be there at that moment when they receive the gift of forgiveness of sins. Because We Are Christ’s Ambassadors (vs. 20) Fifteenth, we evangelize because we are Christ's ambassadors. Verse 20, we evangelize because we have an official position in the kingdom here, we're ambassadors, we're officially credited ambassadors to this world in the coming kingdom of Christ. We represent the coming King, and we have the right to proclaim a message of forgiveness in his name. We have authority, you realize? As ambassadors, we have the authority to command people to repent. You realize that? Think about that. In Acts 17:30, Paul said in Athens, “In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” The more you meditate on that, the more courage you get in evangelism. What do you have to fear? You are out there as a representative of the King, and the King is graciously offering rebels a chance to lay down their weapons of rebellion and with amnesty be brought back into the kingdom with complete forgiveness. We get to say that, but we are commanding them to lay down their weapons of rebellion, we're commanding them to repent. And we have the authority to announce to them whether their sins are forgiven or not. Isn't that incredible? We actually get to tell them that their sins are forgiven or not. In John 20:23, he says, “If you forgive anyone their sins, they're forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they're not forgiven.” We don't do the ultimate forgiving, we're just ambassadors, we're giving the message. And if you listen to my gospel and you don't believe it, you're still in your sins. And we have to tell people that, but if they listen and they repent and believe, we can tell them that their sins are forgiven, and that's why we evangelize. Because God is Pleading With People Through Us (vs. 20) Sixteenth, we evangelize because God through his Spirit is inside us, pleading with people, “…Be reconciled to God.” I have felt this, this burning desire that a total stranger become a Christian. I felt it, I was on an airplane and I had a great conversation with this guy, he was very interested, asked lots of questions, and at the end of that time, about an hour... Look, I only do hours with people who want it, I don't force it on people, alright? But this guy was an interesting conversation, he was asking, bringing up all kinds of objections, we were having a great time, we were in our final approach, I knew we were just about done and he said, "Why do you care so much?" 'Cause he could tell I wasn't being inappropriate, but I was into it, alright? And he could say, "Why do you care?" I said, "This may seem strange to you, 'cause I've never met you, and in a few minutes, I'll probably never see you again, but I really want you to be with me in heaven. I really would like to sit down with you at that banqueting table and look at the Savior and just know your sins are forgiven. I want to celebrate with you forever. I really want that." And I know the reason why is that because God was in me pleading with this guy to be reconciled to God. And that's a sweet thing. It's powerful. Now, I have a lot of other verses, I don't have time for here, but God wants us to feel what it feels like for him to be God and be rejected, to “stand all day long and hold out your hands to a disobedient, obstinate people,” Romans 10. To “have the insults that have fallen on him, fall on us,” Romans 15. To have a stand outside the city gate and bear the reproach he bore, he wants that, but he also positively wants us to enjoy conversions and salvations like he does, as though God himself were making his appeal. Because of the Perfection of Christ’s Atonement (vs. 21) And then finally, because of the perfection of the gospel. Because of the perfection of the gospel. Verse 21, we evangelize because we get to preach this kind of message: “God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That's the centerpiece, the exchange. Our sins lifted from us and laid on Jesus, and he die. His righteousness given to us like a perfect beautiful robe and we stand in it forever. Alright, 17 motivators. Developing a Culture of Evangelism The Elders Want to BUILD on this month… not that it would just float away One last thing I want to say to you and then I'll be done, we're going to have some folks come up here. We yearn as elders to see a culture of evangelism develop here. We don't just want five or six people as a result of this month-long emphasis, five or six people to be converted and get baptized. Hey, look, we'd take the five or six people, we'd be thrilled about that. We're excited about that, but that we want more than that. Many State the Goal in this Language: a “Culture of Evangelism” We want a whole culture of evangelism. What does that mean? It means that evangelism just kind of permeates the atmosphere of everything we do, it permeates the atmosphere of this ministry, that we're thinking about it all the time, we are learning all the time how to be better evangelists. We are reading books on it, we're discussing it, it's involved in the sermons. "We want a whole culture of evangelism. What does that mean? It means that evangelism just kind of permeates the atmosphere of everything we do." Now, it doesn't mean that it'll be all I preach on, it doesn't mean that. I believe we must keep the two journeys side by side, I want to keep feeding the flock to grow up to full maturity so I'm going to preach verse by verse expositional sermons, but every week, as I've been doing for years, I'm going to break off and make the gospel clear to people who need to come to faith in Christ, I'm going to do that. Applications & Closing Remarks But meanwhile, we're going to increase our contact with the gospel in terms of evangelism, in terms of BFL training, home fellowship. I think it'd be great if every home fellowship people asked, "Who are you having a gospel conversation? Who did you have a gospel conversation with this week? What's the person's name? How can we pray?" "Well, I didn't have one this week." "Okay, how can we pray for you that you would have one this upcoming week" Say, Well, there's some pressure there. Mm-hmm. Yeah, positive peer pressure, you know? We desire to be an example to others, examples create pressure and others to do the same thing. We want to have that pressure. And so, pleasant... Never guilt. Guilt is not a good motivator. But we say, "How can I pray for you?" It's like, "Honestly, I just am too afraid to open my mouth." Okay, can I pray that God will give you some boldness just to have a friendly conversation this week? Let's start there. Not even evangelistic, but just that you reached out and had a conversation. Culture evangelism, that we're continually praying for this person at the convenience store, this mother in the playgroup that we're with together, this co-worker that I work with, that we're talking about these things all the time. Now, I'm going to pray, and in a minute, Ryan's going to come up here and some people who are involved in outreaching ministries at FBC are going to come and talk about their ministries, and our desire is, if you want to piggyback on existing work that people have already done in which they are regularly meeting lost people, and you want to get part of that, that's a great way to grow in evangelism, and they're going to tell you different ways you can do it. Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you for the things that we've learned today. We thank you for the Word of God, and we ask, O Lord, that you would please help us to be filled with the Spirit and to be joyful, and to be effective and powerful in evangelism, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

"The Maine Event" continues and Day 3 kicks off at 3am as we make our way to Cadillac Mountain to be the first people in these United States to see the sunrise.  Join us on the car ride up the mountain and hear our reactions to this jaw-dropping event.

Pastoral Reflections on Family, Friends and the World in which we live.Pastor Del would love to hear from you. You can send your comments to JerseyPilgrim@gmail.com or leave your comments on the blog. http://jerseypilgrim.blogspot.com.

Mike and Dusty journey to Maine to explore the Queen of Choose Your Own Adventures: Acadia National Park. ON their first day, they summit Cadillac Mountain and hike to the tip of Great Head.Instagram: @GazeAtTheNationalParksFacebook: Gaze at the National ParksTwitter: @GazeAtTheParksSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gaze-at-the-national-parks/donationsWant to advertise on this podcast? Go to https://redcircle.com/brands and sign up.