My mother loved to tell the story of my great-great-grandfather. He was my mother’s father’s mother’s father. whew! A New Englander, he was a sea-captain out of Bar Harbor, Maine.

He served in the US Navy during the Civil War. In his later years, he captained a steamboat out of Petaluma, California, in the waters of the San Francisco delta. He was also a painter, and a photographer.

Here is Sewell Fogg Graves at age 75 with my mother’s oldest sister, his great-granddaughter Harriet.

Whenever my mom told her stories, especially the one about my great, great-grandfather painting his ship in flames (I assume everyone had been evacuated by then!), I thought the idea of the Maine seacoast sounded so exciting. I always wanted to see Maine, but I had never been more than half way across this great country of ours.

Then four years ago this month, my husband and I embarked on an epic journey. Everyone should take one of these at least once in their lives! We packed up our brand new Subaru Forester and drove across the US from coast to coast, camping, exploring, and reconnecting with family and friends for seven weeks.

We went all the way to Maine, and camped near Bar Harbor, in Acadia National Park, before we headed west again. Someday I hope to return, and do some investigating into my family history on both sides. For now, I will share these photos from our trip.

Almost there!

near the harbor

me posing in front of Bar Harbor, Maine