Whale Watching, Jaws Bridge, Sea Turtle Release! // june life update

Hi again!! Our June started off with a bang cuz we traveled to Maine! Our trip was so so good. We had the best time doing so many things, and just spending time together!

     Our first day was a long one cuz we woke up at 4:00am to catch our flight! We had no problems on the way there, so praise the Lord! The first full day was so sweet cuz we went on a boat tour to see some whales! It was a loooong boat ride to go out far enough to where the whales normally go (which was actually in Canadian waters woop woop), and it was only twice as cold as we expected it to be cuz we were out on the water! But the tour guide told us that the weather was actually perfect for the tour, the best weather they've had all season, which was so cool to experience. We shivered (at least, I did) a lot but we did get to see one whale! Its name is Zunie and it was a humpback and so cool. The tour guide also told us that this was the first humpback that they've seen this season, so we got to experience several firsts of the season on our tour. We saw the whale like five times jump in and out of the water. After the tour, we got some food and went back to our hotel for the night cuz the tour was an all-day affair.

     Our second day was fully devoted to Acadia National Park! I'm so glad we took the entire day for the park because we didn't feel rushed at all. We drove around the park like three times, stopping at several spots to explore. It was very cloudy and foggy, but it made the mountains and cliffs look extra moody and so so cool. Plus, because we were out in the sun (cloudy but you know what I mean) all day long, it was so nice that it was so cloudy because it was extremely hot and we didn't have to worry about being sunburnt. The weather was just perfect! We got to see the cliffs that they used when filming parks of the movie Shutter Island, which is one of Elijah's favorite movies so he was on cloud 9. We just had the best time exploring! We felt like kids, getting to climb things and jump over rocks and all the fun stuff.

     Day three started extremely early (like 3:00am) because we went to watch the sunrise in Acadia! They have a mountain in the park called Cadillac Mountain, which its summit is one of the highest in the state and it's the first spot in the US where you can watch the sunrise! So, the sun rose at like 4:00am, and we got to see it much earlier than the rest of America! It was so cool, but also pretty chilly. We were cold and sleepy, but it was such a beautiful sunrise! It was also really cool because we were so high in elevation, that when the clouds showed up (cuz the forecast was supposedly cloudy), we got to watch the clouds show up and cover up the sun, but we were so high up on the summit, that it wasn't cloudy where we were. Really interesting how the sunrise works! After our sunrise adventure, we explored Acadia some more, but it was only like 8:00am, so we almost had the entire park to ourselves! It was so quiet and peaceful, and we got to explore the park even more than we did the day before. On our way home, which was about a 20-minute drive back to our hotel, there's really one main two lane road, but it encountered a car accident right before we left, so we got to a point where there was lots of traffic, and they weren't letting people pass. Finally, a firefighter explained to us that there was *one* other way to get back to the other side of town that we needed to be, but it was like the backroads of the backroads, and it extended the trip home by like 30 minutes. Let's just say, we were super glad when we finally got back to our hotel. We ended up taking a nap for like 2 hours, which meant we didn't wake up until like noon. It was perfect though, and so needed! We eventually got up "for the day" and left to go on a Stephen King tour! The town that we flew into (the town next to where our hotel was), is actually the hometown of Stephen King, which is where Mr King got lots of his inspo for a lot of his books, so naturally, we had to take a tour of the place! Our tour guide for the day was awesome. Apparently, our tour guide's father is good friends with Stephen King, so all of the information of the day was very factually correct. We tried woopie pies, a staple in Maine, and got to see Stephen King's house! And his guesthouse. And his elementary school, along with lots of other cool spots. It was a very fun day.

     Day four was another boat tour! We went out to see lighthouses this time and decided to sit inside the boat instead of on top (we did that for the whale tour and froze!), and we dressed warmer, so we didn't get nearly as cold. It was so cool to see all the birds and wildlife out on the water, as well as see so many cool lighthouses. That tour wasn't an all-day thing, so we stuck around town for a bit to see get some food and be very touristy. On our way home from the lighthouse tour, we decided to be very spontaneous and stop at the small plane runway that we've passed on our way to and from our hotel from the town. They offered flight tours in these small 3 passenger planes, and we figured, why not? We had the rest of the afternoon with no plans, so we went for it. We expected it to be booked for a bit and we'd have to come back later, but they were able to take us up in the air right then! We got a little debriefing of how to talk through the headsets and what to do once we get in the air, and we got a little aerial tour of Acadia and the entire town of Bar Harbor, which was the town we were visiting! It was so beautiful to see up in the air. And our pilot was super cool! He felt less like a pilot/tour guide, and more like a friend who was just showing us around his town. We had a good time up there.
     It was my goal during this trip to experience as many popular New England dishes as I could! I tried at least seven and loved most! My favorite was lobster bisque- SO GOOD. My least favorite was lobster rolls, and I think it was cuz I was expecting a hot sandwich and it was a cold one! Plus, very hard to eat. But blueberries are native to Maine, so I tried very many blueberry drinks and desserts, and they really are superior to any blueberry dish I've ever had in Texas! The only dish I didn't try, that I wish I could've, was clam chowder. I guess we'll just have to go back!

     Our last full day in Maine was actually spent on a very long road trip to Massachusetts! When planning this trip, we came to the knowledge that Martha's Vineyard was only 7 hours away, and we figured, why not go? We had no reason not to. So, we packed up with a day full of snacks and water (but no sunscreen, important info to remember later), and made the trip. Some would ask, why Martha's Vineyard? Well, Elijah is very knowledgeable in many random fun facts, especially if it's related to music or movies. He was the one that discovered that Martha's Vineyard was actually the main filming location of the movie Jaws! And Jaws is one of his absolute favorite movies, so it wasn't a hard decision to make the drive. And honestly, the drive there and back was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. We had so many good conversations, cracked jokes alot, listened to some killer music, and just had the best time in each other's company. Like I said, the drive was 7 hours long, and we traversed through 3 different states, so that was a fun adventure. Boston was one of my least favorite towns to drive through, but it was cool nonetheless! We joked that we would just stop in Boston instead of continuing on and go to a Boston Celtics game. But we decided that navigating downtown Boston was too much of a hassle, so we kept going. We arrived in Massachusetts with no idea where to park in order to board the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, so we stopped for gas and a bathroom break. But while doing so, I did some research and found out that the parking lot for the ferry was actually one street over from the gas station we were at! We made the ferry just in time. Like no kidding, we walked onto the boat via the main deck instead of the passenger boarding deck because we were one of the last 4 people to board and the passenger deck was already closed. The Lord had his hand in the entire day! When we finally got to Martha's Vineyard, we stopped for some food (obviously) then rented bikes for the day! I felt so touristy, riding bikes on an island on a sunny June day. Did I mention how perfect the weather was? No clouds, just perfect sunshine and not too hot either! Just warm enough. We saw the bridge that was famously filmed for Jaws, to which they refer to as "the Jaws bridge" (of course). If you know the movie well, it's the bridge that is in the beach scene that Chief Brody's son is messing around in the lake part of the island, when they find out the shark is in the lake instead of the larger body of water! Keep scrolling to the end of the blog for the pictures, or just google "jaws bridge movie scene" and you'll know what I'm talking about! It was so cool to see it in person, and Elijah was once again, on cloud 9. He wanted to jump the bridge because it's a very popular thing to do, but he saw a bunch of fish in the water and said that if one touched his leg or foot, he'd think it's a shark and he'd be freaked out on another level. I didn't jump in because the lady at the bike rental place said that the water was in the 30s and I didn't feel like freezing to death. We biked around the island the rest of the day in attempt to find another filming spot, but we actually got lost several times and never found them. I blame the poorly marked roads, but neither one of us were nearly as good at directions as we thought. We eventually had to give up because we needed to catch our ferry back to the mainland. In the entire day of biking, I didn't think twice about anything other than how many hills there were on the island, and how far everything was (little did I know that we were just going the wrong way the whole time). Because I didn't think of anything else, I completely disregarded the idea of how hot it was, as well as how I was being directly exposed to so much sun. So, it wasn't until we got back to our hotel late that night, that I realized that I turned into a lobster: completely red on my legs and arms. Always remember to pack sunscreen on summer vacations, y'all! Thankfully, it didn't really hurt. Also, I'm thankful that it was just me who got so burnt because my husband is a brown, Mexican boy who doesn't burn!

     Our flight home was a very long day because it included two delayed flights and extremely long layovers. We made it on the last flight into Corpus that day, getting us home a little after midnight! We were very happy to be home and no longer in an airport. The rest of the week was pretty chill, aside from going back to work! We just rested and caught up on laundry.

     Honestly, the rest of the month was much less eventful! We babysat our nephew for a day while my sis + brother-in-law had a day trip to Austin. It was pretty successful until he decided to throw up any food/formula that I gave him. Thankfully, we both had spare changes of clothes and he didn't get anything on my couch! By the end of the night though, he was just in a diaper cuz I gave up hope of him keeping anything else clean. Such is the life of babies! It was a good little reminder to me of the reality of little ones and how much I'm not ready for that yet! One day, but not yet.

     I had the honor of photographing a beautiful vow renewal for a couple at church, and it was really a beautiful day! The couple didn't get a chance at a full ceremony when they first got married 25 years ago, so this was their chance. They had all their kids as bridesmaids and groomsmen, and even the bride commented on being nervous for him to see her in her gown cuz they never had that "first look" moment the first time! They all prayed together before the ceremony, which got everyone emotional (myself included), and also after the ceremony while taking communion. It was a lovely day.

     I got to spend afternoons/mornings with co-workers outside of work a few times this month! It was so. fun. I spent a morning with 2 work gals at the beach, watching baby sea turtles be released into the ocean! Well, we spent most of the morning in the car, waiting to get into the national seashore in order to see the release (all of Corpus wanted to see turtles too!), but it was a memorable time and we got to see the last turtle make his way to the water. We finished up the morning with a little breakfast/coffee date, which was equally fun. Another day, I got lunch with a work gal after one of our shifts together and just talked life and work stories! A few weeks later, I got lunch with several work gals after a Port Aransas shift, which included sushi and shopping and that was fun. At my past jobs, I never really made good friends with any of my co-workers to the point that I wanted to hang out with them outside of the workplace. But I work with some really amazing ladies (guys too) and I can't help but wanna spend time with them! I'm grateful for my job and the girls that I work with!

    I came up with a plan at the beginning of the summer, to save up money for some new camera equipment. Most of my equipment is my original stuff, which is at least 8 years old. I'm surprised but very grateful that my camera has lasted so long and helped me to create some beautiful photos for so many people! But I decided that it was time to retire the OG equipment and make a little upgrade. Camera stuff has changed so much in the last 8 years! It's also a lot more expensive. So, I'm making the plan to save up my tips that I make this summer for new things. So far, I'm almost halfway to my goal! I made a checklist, so that every time I reach a goal, I mark it off so I can see my progress. It's been so fun to mark off those goals every day or week! My end goal is to be fully funded so that I can buy the new equipment before our honeymoon trip in the fall! I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

     The summer is here, it's hot, and barista shifts have just gotten busier! People really like their coffee (and smoothies and paninis and gelato) during the summer, so we've got our hands full at work. Elijah's staying busy with work at the deli and doing a great job at it too! Being a supervisor there is really his place to shine- training people to do their job well, encouraging them through the hard shifts, but also being a leader and motivating them to do their best. He shines in this position and the other management there has seen his hard work too. It lifts my spirits and really, makes me so proud as his wife to watch him flourish in this position and do his hardest. It makes me super proud too, when I go in the deli to visit him and his bosses boast about him to me, telling me how much they appreciate him and how well he does.

     The month is over, and we're officially halfway through the year! Crazy to think of how fast 2022 has gone by. Make sure to kiss your kiddos, enjoy the sun (or rain, if that's your thing), watch a movie or two, and get coffee with that friend who you've been meaning to! Enjoy the summer while it's here, cuz if not it'll be gone before you know it! And then you'll be wishing it back too soon.

Always,
Becca

we took a group photo for some people on a trail, so they returned the favor!

Zunie the humpback!

Being adventurous and hanging his feet off the side of the cliff!

Acadia is beautiful!

sunrise on Cadillac Mnt!

sitting on the edge of another cliff - he likes being adventurous!

my turn to be adventurous!

Stephen King's home!

lighthouse tour!

lighthouse tour!

time for an aerial tour of Acadia!

Jaws Bridge at Martha's Vineyard!

sometimes photographing events is a longer endeavor than I prepare myself for

breakfast after seeing sea turtles!