Feeling Clammy...

We were sad to leave Acadia but were impressed with the fact that we had not left Mount Desert in a full week! We had the full day to meander down the coast and decided to take scenic (and historic) route one, with the intention to spend the night in Brunswick. It was a beautiful sunny day so we kept the windows down and the wind in our hair for much of the drive.

After a stop in Ellsworth (at the LL Bean outlet), we made our first detour towards Blue Hill. The town was mentioned in the North America edition of "1000 Places to See Before You Die." It was a picturesque New England town that has become a bastion of chamber music in the northeast. Of course, we forgot to take any pictures as we made our way up the Penobscot peninsula...

Lunch was at Nana's Kitchen in Verona. It was a sparsely attended greasy spoon that served up perfect sandwiches and fries. We even got cake to go!

Lisa was excited to find the State of Maine Cheese Company, which was advertising their cheese curds. We sampled and got some snacking curds for the road. What would a road-trip be without cheese curds anyway?



We spent the night in Brunswick as intended - the goal for the next day would be Yarmouth. It was the weekend of the world famous Yarmouth clam festival!

We showed up early so that we could make the pancake breakfast sponsored by the Yarmouth High School's junior class. They were filled with fist-fulls of blueberries and were well worth the early start!

After breakfast we wandered through the tents, booths and one antique store. We listened to some music and went back to the car to get our camp seats and found Katrina (Lisa's former college roommate). We caught up over a bowl of clam chowder (it was the CLAM-fest after all) and then made our way up the street to listen to the Downeasters Barbershop Chorus. Mac Daddy and the Honeymooners were performing as well!

After parting ways with Katrina, we went to Pat's Pizza with the illustrious group of a Capella singers. It was a lobster roll for me (LOBSTER #3 - the trifecta was complete!) and buffalo chicken for Lisa. We sang some polecats (barbershop standards) in the parking lot and parted ways for a late drive home.

We pulled into our driveway about 1:00AM on Sunday with a vociferous feline waiting at the door! It was another successful road trip!

Acadia, Continued...

Since we're camping in a tent, we tend to be up at the crack of dawn. It doesn't exactly jive with the fact that the first shuttle comes to the campground at 8:50am. However, it does give us some time to hang out at Blackwoods so we wandered to the same ocean cliffs in the morning and watched the sparkling ocean before we headed out for the day.



After enjoying the morning sun, we took the shuttle to Bar Harbor and found a morning snack at the Morning Glory Bakery. I'd never realized that a cheese danish was something you could buy without opening a plastic wrapper - delicious!

We leisurely made our way back to the Bar Harbor town green and took the shuttle on the loop road towards Sand Beach, one of the rare sand beaches on that part of the Maine coast. We got into the ocean up to our knees before our legs went numb from the fifty-degree water. The beach also gave me an excuse to show off my Vermont farmer tan (but I'll spare you THAT terrible picture...).



After we had soaked up enough rays (which was about two minutes for my pasty-white chest), we walked the ocean path towards Thunder Hole. It's famous for the explosive sound and splashing water when the tide is right. Unfortunately, we showed up at low tide when it could have been named "gurgle hole."

We made a quick stop at the campground and then it was back on the shuttle, towards Bar Harbor. After a quick shuttle change, it was back to the Jordan Pond House for us! We were too full for dessert the day before, which gave us a convenient excuse to go back. It would be popovers a la mode (with BLUEBERRY ice cream) and tea for us.



When we went back to Bar Harbor, we bought some haddock to make for dinner. The bakery even provided us with a few pads of butter so that we didn't have to buy four sticks! After struggling with some green wood in the rain, I eventually got the fire going and we cooked our fish in lemon and butter. We ate, dried out our tent, and went to bed.

The next day, we packed up our things and headed to Seawall, the other campground within Acadia National Park. Our new site was much more spacious and wooded than our site at Blackwoods but was certainly further from the carriage roads and popular parts of the park.

We rode our bikes from our campsite over a wooded dirt road towards Bass Harbor. Our first stop was the Bass Harbor Light House. It was originally built in the mid-19th century and is still used today! In that time it has gone through a few fog-warning bells.



Riding down Shore Road, we found the Seafood Ketch Restaurant. It had a patio overlooking the bay and the menu forbade fishing while eating. I had a lobster roll (lobster #2 for the week) and Lisa had the haddock sandwich. While we were eating, a bald eagle flew directly overhead!

We slowly biked back to our campsite. We lazed around all evening and walked the rocks on the natural seawall. It was low tide - and we could only walk as far as the sea cucumber would allow.



We'll be heading next towards Yarmouth, Maine for the world-famous Yarmouth Clam Festival. It's a New England event not to be missed. I'm hoping to eat lobster #3!!!

Acadia - First Two Days

The Westbrook Super 8 offered a satisfactory (but not exceeding standard) continental breakfast to power us through the next few hours of driving. We made the obligatory stop in Freeport to get a bathing suit for me and some bike shorts for Lisa, two things that would be necessary for the week! After wandering through the Mecca of outdoor gear we got back on the interstate and were Acadia bound. Lisa made delicious turkey sandwiches with swiss cheese on sourdough in the car.

There was much rejoicing when we crossed the bridge onto Mount Desert Island. I started to drool as we drove by the many seafood restaurants and fishmongers. We stopped at the visitor center to buy our park pass and were delighted to find out about a new shuttle system in the park. It meant that we wouldn’t have to drive much for the next few days.

We went directly to Blackwoods Campground to get our site. The bikes came out of the car and we were itching to ride them. We took them east on Route 3 for about a mile and then huffed our way back up the hill. It was great to get a little exercise and be out of the car!

The rest of the turkey sandwiches would be dinner before we headed to a ranger-talk on the “Sounds of Acadia.” In some ways it was geared towards kids, but we did learn some bird-calls. The ranger had a great sense of humor and kept us laughing with his one liners. My favorite was (to the tune of Hound Dog): “I ain’t nothin’ but a park ranger, on unemployment most of the time....”

The next morning we awoke to some of the sounds of Acadia and were excited to get onto the bikes. We took the shuttle to Bar Harbor, where we could take a “bike van” to the carriage roads on Eagle Lake. The signs of horse carriages were apparent and it was hard to dodge the manure piles while being tempted by the scenic vistas. We circled Eagle Lake, went back to the visitor center and Witch Hole Pond before taking the Duck Brook Road back to Bar Harbor. Once back in town, the smell of seafood was too tempting and I had to get a lobster! Lisa can’t eat shellfish but she found some haddock au gratin that had enough cheese to make her happy. If there’s one thing that Lisa likes, it’s cheese (and prairie dogs...).



After an unexpected run-in with a friend from college (Hi Bridget!), we headed south of Bar Harbor for a tour of the remains of “Old Farm,” the house of George Dorr. He was a philanthropist that was responsible for many of the land acquisitions that now make up Acadia National Park. His house was one of the smaller cottages (mansions, really...) that were built on Mount Desert. At the end of the tour we were on the rocky shore looking out towards Bar Harbor’s breakwater and Bald Porcupine Island (I’m not kidding, that’s really the name!)



In the evening we drove to Bernard - on the other tip of island to visit with Lisa’s cousin Debbie. I snacked on marinated mussels while we visited. The evening included the first stages of an arch-raising song for Port Henry for when the Champlain Bridge is finally finished. Check Youtube for a viral video coming to a computer near you!

It was a drizzly night and we awoke many times to open and close the tent windows. Our tent is marginally waterproof but needed some time to air out in the morning. It would sit on the picnic table for the remainder of the day. We took showers and then just missed the shuttle. Upon our return, we decided that we could bike to the carriage trails if we could find our way down from a bridge. Luckily, we didn’t have to jump because there was a path and we were on our way uphill, and then uphill some more.

After meandering around Jordan pond on the carriage trails, we found ourselves at the Jordan Pond House for lunch. It was popovers and jam while overlooking the pond and surrounding mountains. We scarfed roast beef sandwiches and eventually found our way back to the campground. Our legs were ready for a break after the hills on Route 3 and we lazed around for the rest of the evening.



POPOVERS!!!!




After a walk to the ocean and a campfire it was off to bed early. Our butts need a break from biking tomorrow, so we'll be going around the loop road in the shuttles.

Wedding Bells Will Ring...

We're on a road trip again, thanks to two good friends getting married in Falmouth, Maine! We came for the wedding yesterday, a first-class affair for sure. We danced until the band packed up, except for when Lisa decided to park herself next to the chocolate covered strawberries. Congratulations Pete and Jess!

Since we were on the road anyway we decided that a trip to Acadia National Park would be a great way to spend a week in July. After last night in Westbrook, we'll be heading north for a week of adventure on the coast of Maine. Of course, I'll be eating every lobster that I can find along the way!

We're off to buy a bathing suit (so that I can dip my toes in the fifty degree water?) and get back on the road.