The OBrien Family Reunion 2026 (OFR) is in the history books, and I thought I would do a quick recap (or not so quick).
First, the heat wave that was making temperatures sore to 104° during the July 4th holiday in Philadelphia reached as far north as Maine. It was freaking hot! Greg and I were lucky enough to be staying in our RV, where we had air conditioning, and, believe me, I took full advantage of it!
Beehive Trail
The more intrepid folks in our group decided to hike the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park. This trail is especially difficult. The first part of the trail ascends a 450-ft cliff with exposed edges and steep drop-offs with no railings. The trail requires that the hiker ascend steep granite staircases and pull himself up using iron rungs and ladders.
Greg’s birthday
I posted some pictures of Greg’s birthday party at Tracey’s Restaurant before, but here are a few more.
Acadia’s Ocean Path
Greg, me, Christopher, Marianne, Neal, Lily, and Galen decided to walk the Ocean Path at Acadia National Park from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff. Since the park was packed with tourists, Chris and Marianne suggested that we take the loop bus. It took a while to get there, but at least we didn’t have to fight for parking!
Not long after we started the hike, Marianne took a tumble and hurt her ankle. It was clearly serious, so she and Chris decided to head back to the visitor’s center, where an EMT examined her and called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Chris later texted us this photo.
Meanwhile…
The rest of us continued on our hike to Otter Cliff.
The guys go fishing
Some of the avid fishermen in our group roused themselves at 4 am to go fishing one morning.
Many “sunnies” were caught, but nothing big enough to bring home.
Hanging out in the rec room
Folks spent a lot of time during OFR in the rec room, AKA the garage, because it was air conditioned. The OBriens are a competitive family, which was on full display.
Neal’s owl
One evening Neal was able to capture a photo of this owl on the property.
Sean and Alex do Cadillac Mountain
Sean and Alex were lucky enough to score tickets to drive up to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. Of course, it required getting up at 2:30 am!
Galen and Richard do Cadillac Mountain
Galen desperately wanted to hike up Cadillac Mountain, ideally at dawn. He wasn’t able to find anyone willing to do it with him (it would have required getting up at 2 am and hiking in the dark), but eventually Richard offered to do it with him later in the morning. Of course, they picked one of the hottest days in which to do it!
Others do Cadillac Mountain
Wally was able to score tickets to drive up Cadillac Mountain one morning (not for sunrise), so he, Migzie, Paul, Debbie, and Richard headed off.
Soccer fans
The excessive heat gave folks a great excuse to hang out and watch the World Cup. It was one of the main activities during our week in Maine.
Neal and Lily take a puffin cruise
One afternoon, Neal and Lily took off on their own for a puffin cruise. Neal’s camera got a great workout, since they got to see many other wildlife in addition to puffins.
Family pictures
No OBrien gathering would be complete without lots of family photos.
Sunset cruise
Our second-to-last night in Ellsworth, some of us took a sunset cruise on our rented pontoon boat.
Fireworks
On our last night together, which was July 4th, we decided to skip the fireworks in Ellsworth and Bar Harbor. Instead, some of us wandered down to the dock after dinner to enjoy the sunset and the pleasant weather.
Much to our delight, a number of folks around the lake put on fireworks displays. One of them was only a few doors down from us. We had our own private show! What a wonderful way to end another OFR.
Meanderings & Mind Munchies 