Packing the Tandem

Packed everything on the tandem one more time and rode to Bar Harbor. Spread out on the Village Green and packed everything into a couple of boxes to mail home.  The boxed tandem and gear weighed about 130 lbs. Robbins Motel.

Hiking in Acadia National Park

Shoe shopping for Mac because he wore out his soles. Hiked to the top of Cadillac Mt.

The trail we took down to Bubble Lake is very steep.

Long Pond Lake

 

Rode our tandem unloaded to Long Pond Lake. Rented a canoe and paddled for several hours.

 Saw a loon fishing from a close distance. Cool and refreshing swim.

Oceanarium

Oceanarium: touch tank, lobster museum, and lobster hatchery. Maine has rules to protect lobster populations. To harvest, a lobster must be larger than a specified size, smaller than a specified size, have no eggs on its tail, and no notch in its tail. If a lobsterman finds a lobster with eggs in his trap, he can notch the tail before he lets it go. Another lobsterman cannot harvest that lobster even if it no longer has eggs because it has been marked as a reproducing female. The number of lobsters being harvested in Maine continues to increase. No one knows what’s happening in the ocean.

Sunset Sea Kayaking Tour

Sea kayaking tour at sunset. Seals, loons, osprey, cormorants, laughing gulls.

Movie & Pizza

The free “Island Explorer” bus stops in our campground. It takes about an hour to get to Bar Harbor. Last night we went to the Reel Pizza place in town. You can order pizza in the lobby. The movie theater has tables in front of the seats and there are couches in the far front. A bingo board is on the side wall and when your number lights up, you can get your pizza in the lobby. We watched the Notebook, a well done love story. I thought the food in the theater worked well and didn’t find it distracting.

Today we made our bus/train reservations. We were thinking about riding to Bangor, where there’s an Amtrak stop. Instead we are going to take Greyhound from Bar Harbor to Portland, Maine, and then take the train. We will leave on Tuesday and arrive in Athens on Thursday.

Sunset at Seawall. Watched the seagulls crack open their food by dropping it on the rocks.

Our Final Destination!

50 miles

Mt. Desert Island, Maine, our final destination! We decided to try out “Quiet Side” Campground, which of course is on the far end of the island. The campsites are private because there’s lots of trees and the sites are spaced out. There’s a wooden platform for the tent. The campground has a rec room and a used book shed.

Orland, Maine

39 miles

Stopped to look at a Shaker furniture gallery. Shady Oaks Campground in Orland. RV neighbors gave us cold water, charged our cell phone, and lent us chairs and a hatchet. Mac made a fire and cooked steaks.

Boat Cruise

Today we walked 1.5 miles into the town of Camden. We looked around in a bunch of stores selling antique furniture, expensive clothes, and tourist knick knacks. Many of the tourists here have little yip-yip dogs they take everywhere. Lobster roll for lunch – good, but $8 can buy a lot of tuna sandwiches.

We went for a two hour cruise on a schooner - a 2-masted sail boat with four sails.

The boat we sailed on was built in 1918 and is captained by the owner, who lives aboard with his wife. They go on 4 public cruises 7 days a week and have for 21 years. There is seating for 18 people, but there were only 13 on board today. Apparently the weather has been unseasonably cool for the last month and the tourist season here has been slow. Captain Jack told stories of the various boats we passed, the birds and lighthouse we saw, etc.

We saw the “Victory Chimes” – the largest 3-masted sail boat to fly the American flag – featured on the back of the Maine Quarter.

It is nice to be on the coast – good food is easy to find and the weather is cooler (sometimes). It's also easier to spend money. We want to go for a full day kayak trip somewhere between here and Bar Harbor, visit Orano, and then head home to Athens and put our house together. A couple of days ago I was feeling homesick, but the coast and associated culture has lifted my spirits. (Plus Jenny reminded me we are homeless.) It will be nice to go home and settle down soon.