Camden, Rockport, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Ocean Park, and return home
(posted from home)
(This post covers 19-26 September)
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 26 September-
The great weather couldn’t last and today was a rainy one. We settled in at home and took care of the returning-home chores. Labashi also got back to work on re-organizing the house, getting our bedroom closets back in order, a task left undone before our departure for Alaska.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 25 September-
Today Labashi and I had to say goodbye to our lush life at the Maine seashore. We were underway by 0800 and put the pedal to the metal for home. Our trip was remarkably easy, as we buzzed down I-95, I-495, I-84, and I-81 to home in record time (for us). By 1700 we had neared home and we celebrated with a dinner at our local favorite, the Hillside.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 24 September-
This morning I drove over to the local Starbucks where our friend works and read the Times, enjoyed a mocha, and chatted with her on her break. She works part time, often the very early shift, so she gets off work in the late morning and has the rest of the day for herself. I had barely finished the paper when she was finished work.
Another friend of hers met us at the house and we drove to Prout’s Neck for a cliff walk. This is Winslow Homer territory and particularly striking. We saw one postcard view after another as we walked the rockbound coast, pausing time and again to wonder. We walked for about an hour and a half.
We then drove to a gourmet-foods shop called ‘The Cheese Iron’, where we bought some goodies for the evening.
Back at the ranch we enjoyed an apple/walnut tart, a variety of cheeses and, of all things, a ‘smoky chipotle sea-salt chocolate’ recommended by our friends. We enjoyed a chili dinner and had a wonderful evening of conversation and laughs.
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 23 September-
Today we drove on to Ocean Park to visit Labashi’s high school buddy. In the afternoon she and Labashi talked and shopped together so I went for a walk in the nearby Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. We had found the trails here while geocaching in this area in 2005. I had wanted to follow each to its respective parking lot so today was my chance. It took me about two hours to walk each trail before returning to the van. I was surprised to find the trails merely exited in suburban neighborhood with no parking nearby. I suppose the local residents have these to themselves for the most part but if you can find the little trail openings between homes, the trails they lead to are almost guaranteed to be quiet and little-used. I didn’t see much wildlife on my walks but did get a good workout.
That evening we had a long supper together and enjoyed each others company.
---------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 22 September-
We began today in Bar Harbor. We’re not big fans of Bar Harbor’s crowds but our off-season visit today allowed us to enjoy a pleasant morning looking at art work.
We then took the slow-road south, winding back down toward Camden. We stopped at two used-boat dealerships to look at classic Maine-style boats and also spent a few minutes on the latest MacGregor 26 power-sailor design. The new news on that one is a rotating mast which reportedly improves its speed and pointing ability. I’d love to have the much-larger interior and the easy-to-raise mast system but it’s just WAY too much money. The boat alone is $22K and would need an $8000 outboard plus another $3000 in ‘accessories’ needed to actually enjoy the boat.
At Camden we took a walk through town, looking at boats in the harbor and art work in the local shops. We again had spectacular weather. Blue sky, 65 degrees, and a pleasant breeze.
After Camden we continued south to Freeport where we walked and then camped in the RV parking lot. We watched a DVD of the new MacGregor 26—a very impressive sales job by Roger MacGregor.
---------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 21 September-
This morning we drove to the ‘quiet side’ of the Island. We first toured Northeast Harbor, finding our way to the marina. Many years ago--- about 1985--- we had camped at the head of Somes Sound and launched our Zodiac dive boat there. We had motored around to Bar Harbor and as we returned I realized we were low on gas and probably wouldn’t make it back to the campground. We came in to Northeast Harbor and I was yelled at by the dock guy for pulling up to the main dock rather than the dingy dock. I was stunned. My Zodiac was no dingy--- it was my dive boat and nearly 15 (!) feet long. But we nevertheless moved to the crowded dingy-dock and I had to carry my gas tanks around to the main dock to be filled.
Labashi was convinced this hadn’t happened at Northeast Harbor but rather at Southwest Harbor. So of course we had to go on to Southwest Harbor and take a look. The layouts of the harbors and docks are completely different but we still couldn’t fit all the memory fragments together. But just between you and me?--- it was Northeast Harbor.
We loved taking the drive around Somes Sound today. Our 1985 trip was the first time we had seen dolphins in the wild and they had come as a complete surprise. Very cool!
We needed a walk this morning and once we decided that we took the first thing that came along. In this case luck was with us. We had happened upon the Ships Harbor Nature Trail. It was absolutely stunning this morning. The trail was a loop, one side through a dark, mysterious forest, the other along a granite-lined inlet with views to several islands across the gin-clear water.
After our walk we drove on to the nearby Bass Harbor light where we took another short walk.
We then found a fire road on the map near Pretty Marsh. At the time I was thinking we’d just drive the fire road back to Long Pond but we found a trail. We spent the next two and a half hours walking the Western Trail to Great Notch and back.
As we departed the van and walked through some knee-high ferns, I reminded Labashi “You know, we don’t have to worry in places like this because there are no snakes in Maine.” Less than 10 minutes later we saw a snake. It was the cutest-ever little green garter snake but nevertheless a snake. “Oh, yeah,” I said, “there are no POISONOUS snakes in Maine”. But my credibility had already been blown.
The Western Trail wound through ferns and across large rock faces open to the sky before turning into the woods and beginning a gentle but steady climb. Before long we were following a small creek-bed winding through beautiful pines. We reached a short, steep pitch which made us re-consider whether to continue. But once above it, we were rewarded by reaching the Great Notch and a turkey-foot intersection of trails. I’d love to have a chance to explore all of them. After we caught our breath, we headed back down to the van. Once there we realized how perfect the afternoon was… perfect for a nap!
After a brief nap in Mocha Joe, we drove to the historic Jordan Pond House for supper. Labashi enjoyed the crab cakes while I had an excellent lobster chowder. We then returned to the Blackwoods Campground for the night.
---------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 20 September-
This morning we had yet another perfect day as we drove north. Labashi wanted a real breakfast today and it took a while to find a worthy diner. We finally spotted it in the small town of Verona—the ‘Seabreeze’. Cars and trucks crowded the parking lot, nary an out-of-state license plate in sight. We knew we were in the right place as we walked in and everyone looked up (politely) at the strangers, then turned back to their meals. Fortunately I was wearing my red-plaid Woolrich shirt and blaze-orange Buckmasters cap so we fit right in. The staff was friendly and the food was great!
We continued north to Ellsworth where we replenished our supplies at a Shaw’s grocery store. We have decided to take advantage of the great weather and spend a few more days in Maine before heading home.
We then went on to Lamoine State Park campground where we had stayed three years ago while in the Acadia National Park area. But this time Lamoine had the nicer upper section of the campground closed off and we had a hard time finding an open and level site so we decided we’d take our chances in the National Park. And if the campgrounds were full there, we could still come back to the state park.
At the National Park we first took in the Visitor’s Center and saw a very good introductory film, reminding us that Acadia’s charms are subtle. After all we’ve seen in the last few months, that’s a good reminder for us. We won’t be seeing any volcanoes or lava fields, we won’t be seeing grizzlies or caribou or musk ox. But it’s a beautiful place.
We drove around the park loop road to Jordan Pond where we walked a few miles of carriage roads late in the day. I had asked a ranger for a recommendation of a quiet walk and she had suggested these carriage roads. But as we approached the area, cars were parked everywhere and it looked like the trails and carriage roads would be crowded. But she was right. Once we walked just a few tenths of a mile away from the parking lots, we saw almost no one. We saw one other couple in two hours of walking.
We then drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain as a place to park for supper. We happened to get a perfect parking spot overlooking Bar Harbor and the Schoodic Peninsula. As Labashi made supper we watched the shadows lengthen and night overtake the town.
We then drove on to Blackwoods Campground and had no trouble finding a campsite. Sites were $20 this time but you must also have either a $20 park pass or the interagency annual pass. Fortunately, we already had the annual pass from our Alaska trip. (Labashi jokingly accuses me of coming to Acadia just because we could get in free with the annual pass).
We spent the rest of the evening blogging and reading.
---------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 19 September-
Today was the day of our friend’s life-celebration service. We had found our way to the chapel late yesterday and the service wasn’t till 1400 so we had the morning to prepare and to reflect on his life.
Our campground is at the base of Mt. Battie, one of the Camden Hills. Mt. Battie has an overlook and many trails. We drove to the top and parked at the eastern viewpoint, overlooking colorful Camden Harbor immediately below with Penobscot Bay stretching off into the distance. The morning was cool and a bit windy so we were very happy to have the morning sun warm up the van. We stayed for an hour, watching the islands transition from the dark, almost inky green of early morning to mid-morning greens and a few yellows.
We returned to the campground for showers. After I finished, I tried the campground’s wi-fi connection from the van and found it worked great; there must have been an antenna on the shower building. While Labashi took a long, luxurious shower I checked email, uploaded a blog update, and checked the news. I had been grumbling about having to pay $20 for a site but with long, hot showers and wi-fi, that’s not so bad. Now if they’d just add a Starbucks counter nearby, perhaps I’d quit grumbling so much.
After our showers we drove back to the top of Mt Battie for lunch. We again parked at the viewpoint. From there we could see Rockport Harbor, Owl’s Head Light, North Haven and Vinalhaven, Camden, and off in the distance, Butter Island and even Mt. Desert Island. Butter Island is where our friend took us for our first sailing overnighter back in 1985.
After lunch we donned our nice clothes for the life-celebration and drove to the open-air chapel. The backdrop of the chapel was Penobscot Bay and we saw sailboats cross the background as the life of our sailor friend was celebrated in word and song—a perfect touch and one he would have appreciated—perhaps even arranged.
Family members and a few other friends spoke, then Labashi spoke and also read a poem our friend had written during an early-morning watch as we passed Monhegan Island, inbound for Rockport. She had found it in a file we had from trips with our friend. It spoke of the sun, the sea, and the heart of a sailor.
After the ceremony we went to the Rockport Boat Club where he had his mooring. We mingled, exchanged stories and learned even more about our dear friend. We still can’t believe he’s gone. It’s not right.
Much later we returned yet again to the top of Mt. Battie. We had supper as we watched the shadows fill in the Bay and darkness grip both land and sea. We saw Owl’s Head Light and another distant lighthouse far to the southeast come up. We watched the nav lights begin their nightly dance. From such a vantage point, it all seems to make sense. The earth continues to turn, the sun continues to rise… and set. The stars continue to burn. And they will do so long after we’re gone.
============ END OF POST ==============
(posted from home)
(This post covers 19-26 September)
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 26 September-
The great weather couldn’t last and today was a rainy one. We settled in at home and took care of the returning-home chores. Labashi also got back to work on re-organizing the house, getting our bedroom closets back in order, a task left undone before our departure for Alaska.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 25 September-
Today Labashi and I had to say goodbye to our lush life at the Maine seashore. We were underway by 0800 and put the pedal to the metal for home. Our trip was remarkably easy, as we buzzed down I-95, I-495, I-84, and I-81 to home in record time (for us). By 1700 we had neared home and we celebrated with a dinner at our local favorite, the Hillside.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 24 September-
This morning I drove over to the local Starbucks where our friend works and read the Times, enjoyed a mocha, and chatted with her on her break. She works part time, often the very early shift, so she gets off work in the late morning and has the rest of the day for herself. I had barely finished the paper when she was finished work.
Another friend of hers met us at the house and we drove to Prout’s Neck for a cliff walk. This is Winslow Homer territory and particularly striking. We saw one postcard view after another as we walked the rockbound coast, pausing time and again to wonder. We walked for about an hour and a half.
We then drove to a gourmet-foods shop called ‘The Cheese Iron’, where we bought some goodies for the evening.
Back at the ranch we enjoyed an apple/walnut tart, a variety of cheeses and, of all things, a ‘smoky chipotle sea-salt chocolate’ recommended by our friends. We enjoyed a chili dinner and had a wonderful evening of conversation and laughs.
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 23 September-
Today we drove on to Ocean Park to visit Labashi’s high school buddy. In the afternoon she and Labashi talked and shopped together so I went for a walk in the nearby Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. We had found the trails here while geocaching in this area in 2005. I had wanted to follow each to its respective parking lot so today was my chance. It took me about two hours to walk each trail before returning to the van. I was surprised to find the trails merely exited in suburban neighborhood with no parking nearby. I suppose the local residents have these to themselves for the most part but if you can find the little trail openings between homes, the trails they lead to are almost guaranteed to be quiet and little-used. I didn’t see much wildlife on my walks but did get a good workout.
That evening we had a long supper together and enjoyed each others company.
---------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 22 September-
We began today in Bar Harbor. We’re not big fans of Bar Harbor’s crowds but our off-season visit today allowed us to enjoy a pleasant morning looking at art work.
We then took the slow-road south, winding back down toward Camden. We stopped at two used-boat dealerships to look at classic Maine-style boats and also spent a few minutes on the latest MacGregor 26 power-sailor design. The new news on that one is a rotating mast which reportedly improves its speed and pointing ability. I’d love to have the much-larger interior and the easy-to-raise mast system but it’s just WAY too much money. The boat alone is $22K and would need an $8000 outboard plus another $3000 in ‘accessories’ needed to actually enjoy the boat.
At Camden we took a walk through town, looking at boats in the harbor and art work in the local shops. We again had spectacular weather. Blue sky, 65 degrees, and a pleasant breeze.
After Camden we continued south to Freeport where we walked and then camped in the RV parking lot. We watched a DVD of the new MacGregor 26—a very impressive sales job by Roger MacGregor.
---------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 21 September-
This morning we drove to the ‘quiet side’ of the Island. We first toured Northeast Harbor, finding our way to the marina. Many years ago--- about 1985--- we had camped at the head of Somes Sound and launched our Zodiac dive boat there. We had motored around to Bar Harbor and as we returned I realized we were low on gas and probably wouldn’t make it back to the campground. We came in to Northeast Harbor and I was yelled at by the dock guy for pulling up to the main dock rather than the dingy dock. I was stunned. My Zodiac was no dingy--- it was my dive boat and nearly 15 (!) feet long. But we nevertheless moved to the crowded dingy-dock and I had to carry my gas tanks around to the main dock to be filled.
Labashi was convinced this hadn’t happened at Northeast Harbor but rather at Southwest Harbor. So of course we had to go on to Southwest Harbor and take a look. The layouts of the harbors and docks are completely different but we still couldn’t fit all the memory fragments together. But just between you and me?--- it was Northeast Harbor.
We loved taking the drive around Somes Sound today. Our 1985 trip was the first time we had seen dolphins in the wild and they had come as a complete surprise. Very cool!
We needed a walk this morning and once we decided that we took the first thing that came along. In this case luck was with us. We had happened upon the Ships Harbor Nature Trail. It was absolutely stunning this morning. The trail was a loop, one side through a dark, mysterious forest, the other along a granite-lined inlet with views to several islands across the gin-clear water.
After our walk we drove on to the nearby Bass Harbor light where we took another short walk.
We then found a fire road on the map near Pretty Marsh. At the time I was thinking we’d just drive the fire road back to Long Pond but we found a trail. We spent the next two and a half hours walking the Western Trail to Great Notch and back.
As we departed the van and walked through some knee-high ferns, I reminded Labashi “You know, we don’t have to worry in places like this because there are no snakes in Maine.” Less than 10 minutes later we saw a snake. It was the cutest-ever little green garter snake but nevertheless a snake. “Oh, yeah,” I said, “there are no POISONOUS snakes in Maine”. But my credibility had already been blown.
The Western Trail wound through ferns and across large rock faces open to the sky before turning into the woods and beginning a gentle but steady climb. Before long we were following a small creek-bed winding through beautiful pines. We reached a short, steep pitch which made us re-consider whether to continue. But once above it, we were rewarded by reaching the Great Notch and a turkey-foot intersection of trails. I’d love to have a chance to explore all of them. After we caught our breath, we headed back down to the van. Once there we realized how perfect the afternoon was… perfect for a nap!
After a brief nap in Mocha Joe, we drove to the historic Jordan Pond House for supper. Labashi enjoyed the crab cakes while I had an excellent lobster chowder. We then returned to the Blackwoods Campground for the night.
---------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 20 September-
This morning we had yet another perfect day as we drove north. Labashi wanted a real breakfast today and it took a while to find a worthy diner. We finally spotted it in the small town of Verona—the ‘Seabreeze’. Cars and trucks crowded the parking lot, nary an out-of-state license plate in sight. We knew we were in the right place as we walked in and everyone looked up (politely) at the strangers, then turned back to their meals. Fortunately I was wearing my red-plaid Woolrich shirt and blaze-orange Buckmasters cap so we fit right in. The staff was friendly and the food was great!
We continued north to Ellsworth where we replenished our supplies at a Shaw’s grocery store. We have decided to take advantage of the great weather and spend a few more days in Maine before heading home.
We then went on to Lamoine State Park campground where we had stayed three years ago while in the Acadia National Park area. But this time Lamoine had the nicer upper section of the campground closed off and we had a hard time finding an open and level site so we decided we’d take our chances in the National Park. And if the campgrounds were full there, we could still come back to the state park.
At the National Park we first took in the Visitor’s Center and saw a very good introductory film, reminding us that Acadia’s charms are subtle. After all we’ve seen in the last few months, that’s a good reminder for us. We won’t be seeing any volcanoes or lava fields, we won’t be seeing grizzlies or caribou or musk ox. But it’s a beautiful place.
We drove around the park loop road to Jordan Pond where we walked a few miles of carriage roads late in the day. I had asked a ranger for a recommendation of a quiet walk and she had suggested these carriage roads. But as we approached the area, cars were parked everywhere and it looked like the trails and carriage roads would be crowded. But she was right. Once we walked just a few tenths of a mile away from the parking lots, we saw almost no one. We saw one other couple in two hours of walking.
We then drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain as a place to park for supper. We happened to get a perfect parking spot overlooking Bar Harbor and the Schoodic Peninsula. As Labashi made supper we watched the shadows lengthen and night overtake the town.
We then drove on to Blackwoods Campground and had no trouble finding a campsite. Sites were $20 this time but you must also have either a $20 park pass or the interagency annual pass. Fortunately, we already had the annual pass from our Alaska trip. (Labashi jokingly accuses me of coming to Acadia just because we could get in free with the annual pass).
We spent the rest of the evening blogging and reading.
---------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 19 September-
Today was the day of our friend’s life-celebration service. We had found our way to the chapel late yesterday and the service wasn’t till 1400 so we had the morning to prepare and to reflect on his life.
Our campground is at the base of Mt. Battie, one of the Camden Hills. Mt. Battie has an overlook and many trails. We drove to the top and parked at the eastern viewpoint, overlooking colorful Camden Harbor immediately below with Penobscot Bay stretching off into the distance. The morning was cool and a bit windy so we were very happy to have the morning sun warm up the van. We stayed for an hour, watching the islands transition from the dark, almost inky green of early morning to mid-morning greens and a few yellows.
We returned to the campground for showers. After I finished, I tried the campground’s wi-fi connection from the van and found it worked great; there must have been an antenna on the shower building. While Labashi took a long, luxurious shower I checked email, uploaded a blog update, and checked the news. I had been grumbling about having to pay $20 for a site but with long, hot showers and wi-fi, that’s not so bad. Now if they’d just add a Starbucks counter nearby, perhaps I’d quit grumbling so much.
After our showers we drove back to the top of Mt Battie for lunch. We again parked at the viewpoint. From there we could see Rockport Harbor, Owl’s Head Light, North Haven and Vinalhaven, Camden, and off in the distance, Butter Island and even Mt. Desert Island. Butter Island is where our friend took us for our first sailing overnighter back in 1985.
After lunch we donned our nice clothes for the life-celebration and drove to the open-air chapel. The backdrop of the chapel was Penobscot Bay and we saw sailboats cross the background as the life of our sailor friend was celebrated in word and song—a perfect touch and one he would have appreciated—perhaps even arranged.
Family members and a few other friends spoke, then Labashi spoke and also read a poem our friend had written during an early-morning watch as we passed Monhegan Island, inbound for Rockport. She had found it in a file we had from trips with our friend. It spoke of the sun, the sea, and the heart of a sailor.
After the ceremony we went to the Rockport Boat Club where he had his mooring. We mingled, exchanged stories and learned even more about our dear friend. We still can’t believe he’s gone. It’s not right.
Much later we returned yet again to the top of Mt. Battie. We had supper as we watched the shadows fill in the Bay and darkness grip both land and sea. We saw Owl’s Head Light and another distant lighthouse far to the southeast come up. We watched the nav lights begin their nightly dance. From such a vantage point, it all seems to make sense. The earth continues to turn, the sun continues to rise… and set. The stars continue to burn. And they will do so long after we’re gone.
============ END OF POST ==============
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 21:55
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