Sun, Jul 29

Left Acadia this morning at around 10:00. Real pretty drive from Bar Harbor to Bangor. Arrived at the Sebago Lake area and were set up by 3:30. Stopped and had breakfast at a truck stop outside of Bangor. Had a very unusual breakfast—scrambled eggs, polish sausage and baked beans instead of potatoes. Oh, and raisin bread toast. Very different. They also have molasses bread here which is really good. The Sebago Lake area is beautiful. Can’t wait to go down by the lake. It’s surrounded by mountains. We’re outside of Raymond, ME, away from the touristy area on Crescent Lake. Really pretty area. We may even go swimming. It does feel warm here. Maybe we’re acclimating to the cooler climate? We’re back on full hook-ups for three days before we go into New Hamshire and no hook-ups for a month. Had to come into the rec room at the campground to get on the Internet though. We have hardly any signal here—at least on AT&T. My Verizon phone has a good signal. Unfortunately, our air card is AT&T. So, I guess we’ll veg out on TV, do some laundry and relax a little before continuing on.

Jordon Pond from the Jordon House

Dining at the Jordon House

Sat, Jul 28

Our last day here. Up bright and early (before 6:00) because I had a headache and couldn’t sleep. So we made a fire and sat around trying to be quiet so as not to disturb other campers sleeping. Fog started rolling in. Chilly, cloudy, and foggy. Decided to go over to Acadia gardens and the Abbey museum. Stopped by thunder hole but nothing happening. Should have gone earlier. I had a tee shirt, sweat shirt and polartech on. Got over to the gardens and it was so warm I stripped down to my tee shirt and jeans. Decided for our last day we’d go to the Jordan House Restaurant for lunch. It’s been in Acadia since the late 1800s. The restaurant is situated on a hill overlooking Jordan Pond with both inside and outside seating. We sat outside. We both ordered lobster stew and popovers. They’re noted for their popovers which are sort of like cream puffs but tastier. They’re sort of hollow on the inside and are served piping hot (in lieu of rolls I guess). They also fill them with ice cream and drizzle chocolate sauce over the top for desert. Yum. The lobster stew was delicious—big chunks of lobster in a rich butter, cream and wine broth. No calories there! The outside seating is great—dogs are allowed and they’re everywhere.

Our stay at the Blackwoods Campground was great. The restrooms are new and clean. No showers in the campground but accessible just outside the entrance (coin operated). Thank god we have our own shower. We may have to haul water, but it’s worth it. They also have a bus service on the island and it stops at Blackwoods. Mike says it’s free also. Find that hard to believe. It goes to all the little villages and also Bar Harbor. They run on propane gas and have racks for your bikes. Pretty convenient.

Tomorrow we leave for Sebago Lake.

Lobster Buoys

Fri, Jul 27

Used the last of our wood this morning for a fire. Relaxed around it for a while. Bid goodbye to our neighbors from Kentucky. A couple with 5 kids—mostly older kids. Really nice family. Mike helped them with their rental motor home a couple of times when they had problems. Then we put our packs together and headed over to Sand Beach. We hiked the Ocean Trail which started at Sand Beach and ended at Otter point. A perfect day—warm and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. The water was deep blue and was beautiful against the pink granite rocks and cliffs. Two miles to Otter Point and we had our lunch. Then hiked back. Lots of people around on the rocks. Is it my imagination, or are the leaves turning? Time to head south I think. Got back and took a shower and washed my hair. Boy did that feel good! Then I heated up left-overs for dinner—which isn’t easy without a microwave. Had dinner and then we filled the water tank. Mike emptied some out of the grey water tank, took it to the dump station, and we ran the generator for a couple of hours. Settled down with my book about the journal of a sea captain’s wife. Pretty interesting. She was pretty racy for her day.

Somes Fiords (I think)

Thu, Jul 26

Up bright and early and headed to Northeast Harbor to catch the 10:00 boat to the Cranberry Islands. A spectacular day and very warm. Cruised out to the ledges and saw some harbor seals. Then stopped at Little Cranberry for 45 minutes or so. Little Cranberry has a year-round population of 70. Hearty souls. No grocery store on the island. To get groceries, you drive down to the dock (or get someone to take you), catch the mail boat to Northeast Harbor, then pick up your car there (or have someone pick you up), go buy your groceries and run your errands, and take the mail boat back (with all your groceries in tow). And I whine when I have to go to the Shop & Save?? Went through the museum. Mike walked up to the little village and I went to the store on the dock. Bought a book on the diary of a sea captain’s wife in the early 1900s. His ship was a four-masted schooner. Should be interesting. Left Little Cranberry and cruised over to Somes Sound. Saw several osprey nests and an eagle. Only one of the osprey nests had chicks in it. After the cruise we had lunch in Northeast Harbor and then headed to the “quiet side” to see if we could find where Ron and Jan were married. Couldn’t find any way to get down to the water at Seal Cove, so we cut across the peninsula on a dirt road into the interior. Stopped at a little reservoir that used to be the water supply for Southwest Harbor and there was a woman there with her two kids. They had been swimming in the little pond there. Nothing goes over the spillway any more and the pond is a little yucky, but they were swimming in it. We told her we were trying to find out where Ron and Jan were married and she told us about a road called Cape Road that went down to a little park on the water. So, we headed back there—and, sure enough, that was the spot. Back to the campground and ran the generator for a couple of hours and hauled water. A beautiful night with an almost full moon and lots of stars. Think we’ll hike the beach trail tomorrow.

Mary Lou, Laurie, Sarah, Joan, Mike

Wed, Jul 25

Headed over to Sullivan to meet Laurie, Mark, James, Sarah, and Mary Lou for lunch. Then we followed them over to their house. What a great place! Huge house, three-car garage with a couple of rooms over that, an in-ground pool and pool house. Had a great time talking with them. Really nice people. Then we went over to Schoodic Peninsula and drove around. Were going to bike but decided to ride instead. Beautiful ocean views. Back to Bar Harbor and had dinner at the Chowder House. We both got the lazy man’s lobster dinner (they take it out of the shell for you). Were very disappointed because it was the size of an appetizer and cost $25 each. Back to campground. Still warm—79. Tomorrow we take a boat out to the Cranberry Islands.

Tue, Jul 24

Today we decided to take care of a few chores and kick back. We took care of the laundry, picked up a few groceries and ran the generator for a while. And we explored a little more of the quiet side of the island. Then back to the campground and kicked back and read for a while. Had Italian sausage sandwiches for dinner. Had a long fire. A very pleasant evening. There’s a guy playing the guitar and singing a couple of sites over. He’s very good. Our neighbor stopped over for a while.

100 Ft. Bluffs

Quoddy Head Light

Mon, Jul 23

Had a fire this morning and then we headed out for the Schoodic Peninsula. Stopped and tried to call Laurie again. Called her cell phone this time but got her voice mail. Left a message and went on. After going through Bar Harbor my cell phone rang and it was Jan. Apparently I had just missed Laurie. They are out of town and won’t be back until Tuesday night. So, we decided to go to Quoddy Head today and do Schoodic when we meet Laurie. Stopped and had a late lunch at the Whitehouse Restaurant just south of Machias. Great meal! Quoddy Head State Park is in the town of Lubec—the easternmost town in the US. The first thing you see when you get there is the West Quoddy Head Light. Its light still shines through its original third-order Fresnel lens. It wasn’t automated until 1988! The shore here is lined with impressive , black 80-foot cliffs, and if you’re lucky you may see a whale, seal, or porpoise just offshore. Even though the sea was calm and there was little fog, we didn’t see any. We walked the cliff trail and then went inland to the bog trail. What a beautiful trail this was through a thick forest of fir trees and the forest floor was covered with beautiful, lush moss and lots of ferns. Everything was covered with this beautiful, green moss. Made it look like a forest primeval. The trail to the bog was up on a boardwalk to protect this fragile environment. The bog contains many rare species of plants—like the pitcher plant, black spruce, and cotton grass, and even some sub-artic species. Also in this area is the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere. In fact, the Indians used to portage their canoes in a place called Carrying Place Cove which is at the end of the cliff trail. Would have liked to see that whirlpool. Before leaving we drove through the little town of Lubec. Probably much like it was 100 years ago. Mainly a fishing village. Left at 5:30 to head back. Took 2-1/2 hours. We were back by 8:00. Worthwhile trip though. aHaH

Gatehouse to what was the Rockefeller summer home--now the entrance to one of the "carriage roads"

Sun, Jul 22

Made a big breakfast this morning. Then we took the bikes over to the carriage road by Jordon Pond. Turned out to be a very strenuous ride—especially going along Jordon Pond. A very long hill. I whined most of the way. Long hills. Beautiful though. We biked around Eagle Lake and then back by Bubbles Pond. Both were beautiful—especially Bubbles Pond. We had lunch there. We spotted another loon on the pond and watched him for a while. The water was very warm and so inviting. No swimming allowed though. Continued the ride. Finally made it back. Tired and sore. Too much work. Got back to the campground and took a shower. Just had a salad and sandwiches for dinner.

Bubbles (Jordon Pond in foreground)

(Named after some guy's girlfriend named "Bubbles" because it reminded him of a certain part of her anatomy. My my, she must have been something.)

Sat, July 21

Cloudy this morning but showing promise of clearing. Had a campfire and leisurely drank our coffee and tea. Not very warm. Mike went over to a site behind us to try and help the people (in a rental RV) get their slide out. Could not figure it out. We left to go hiking. Hiked the Jordon Pond trail (3.6 mi). A beautiful little hike. Had really good views of Bubbles—two cone-shaped peaks named after some guy’s girlfriend named Bubbles. He said it reminded him of a certain part of her anatomy. Bubbles must have been something. After our hike we drove up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Spectacular. The ocean side was shrouded in fog and mist. Tops of the mountains on the little islands were visible but the fog was everywhere. The other side was clear as a bell and you could see for about 20 miles. Then we drove over to the other side of the island and explored that. Stopped at the Bass Head lighthouse. The shore there was beautiful with pink granite boulders jutting out of the water. Wished I’d had my camera. The towns we went through were great. The oldest town and the first on the whole island was Somesville. That and Somes Bay were really beautiful. Stopped at Sea Wall which was shrouded in fog. Also stopped at Pretty Marsh on Pretty Marsh Bay. All in all a beautiful drive. The village of Northeast Harbor was really ritzy. The homes there were unbelieveable. And in the town of Manset in Southwest Harbor sat the biggest sailboat I’ve ever seen. Lots of money in the area. Back through Seal Cove to the campground. Filled the water tanks. Had sandwiches for dinner. Pooped. Saw a Loon on Jordon Pond and two doe and three fawns in Manset. We played Monopoly until about 11:30.

Otter Point obscured by fog

Fri, Jul 20

Rained most of the night last night. Love it. Rain ended late morning and we headed out on the park road towards the visitor center over by Bar Harbor. I’m sure it was a beautiful drive, but it was so foggy we couldn’t see anything. Checked out the visitor center and bought a map of the park and a book on some of the hikes available. There are also 44 miles of what they call carriage roads in the park which you can bike on. One of the Rockefellers built the roads and most of the bridges in the park when he had a summer home here, and then he gave them to the state. The old gate house still stands over by one of the trails. We decided 10 days is not enough time here. Had lunch at the Chowder House in Bar Harbor and then came back. Walked the trail from our campground down to the shore. How beautiful! Sat on the rocks and watched the waves crashing in against the boulders. It was high tide and pretty spectacular. Still very foggy though and you could hear ships’ fog horns in the distance. Back to the campsite and built a fire. Had pork chops, mashed potatoes and corn for dinner. Blueberry pie for desert. Sat by the fire after dinner until it got dark. Supposed to be mostly sunny tomorrow.

Thu, Jul 19

Cool, foggy and drizzly off and on this morning. Mike and I got playing Monopoly and lost track of time and before we knew it, it was 11:00. Hurried up and put everything away and were ready to leave by 12:00. Stopped at the Mariner’s Pub in Searsport for lunch. Cute little town. Back on the road and arrived at Blackwoods campground by 3:00. Beautiful campground and we have a really nice site. Was cloudy all day but it didn’t rain at all. We have absolutely no cell signal at all—either one of us. We’re only 7 miles from Bar Harbor, but it’s pretty hilly. Actually, I’m not sure if we had a signal in Bar Harbor or not. After we got set up we went back out of the park to buy some wood. Came back and had a campfire. Sat by the fire and read for a while. No hook-ups for the next 10 days. Think we’ll be using the generator a lot since we’re in the trees and it’s cloudy anyway so the solar panels won’t be getting enough sun to charge the batteries. Temps in the upper 50s when we went to buy wood. Think it will be pretty chilly tonight.