Great Day 2 in Maine

July 10 - So far it’s been a great day!  We got up at 7:20 and had the free breakfast in the lobby.  They had the waffle machine, cereals, muffins, donuts, toast, bagels, oranges, apples and 3 kinds of microwavable egg sandwiches.  I ate way more wheat that I’ve had in months but the waffle was light and tasty and I didn’t have any butter, just lightly drizzled with syrup.  Now Bill is a whole other story!

From the boat

We wanted to get the free parking since we’d be able then to walk around downtown and have lunch after our 9:30 tour.  Bill dropped me off at the check-in office and he got the closest free parking about 4 blocks away.  We had a bit of a wait but I wrote some postcards and he played solitaire on his phone.  I took a half of a Scopace before we left for my motion sickness and once we got underway I decided I better take another half.  The morning whale tours were cancelled due to weather further out than we were going but it was still colder on the boat than we expected and choppier.  We still had a

Winter Harbor Lighthouse owned by a doctor

great time and I got 5 lighthouse passport stamps and good photos of 4 of them.  We saw Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Egg Rock Lighthouse, Winter Harbor Lighthouse (and seals), Bear Island lighthouse. We could see the house on Baker Island but the lighthouse was obscured by trees that the park service does not have the money to keep cut back.  We did not get close to it at all so that was disappointing.  Actually it was misrepresentation by the tour company. I was under the impression there were stops to go see them but 3 were privately owned, one is on park land and the other is a residence of the coast guard that you can drive to.  We learned about the island itself from the Naturalist on board and saw bald eagles,

Passing sailboat

harbor seals, jelly fish and a duck-like bird that’s a cousin to the puffin.  We saw the roof of Martha Stewart’s 3.5 million dollar home, homes of the rich and famous and some that used to belong to the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Fords and other.  We saw where Mel Gibson stayed and filmed two Stephen King movies.  The tour was about 3 hours and we saw magnificent coastlines, tree covered islands, elegant sailboats, gorgeous “cottages” (no matter the size if it’s along the coast it’s a cottage) and the top of Cadillac Mountain.  

Once we were back on shore we strolled Main Street where we stopped in at the Island

Bear Island Lighthouse

Explorers’ Information Center where I got a parks stamp.  We decided to buy a box lunch and eat in the park overlooking the harbor.  The sun was out and it was a perfect lunch.  I went with lobster roll and Bill had some kind of sandwich.  Then we walked back to the car and stopped in at the hotel to check on Molly.  She was fine but needed more food, nothing new about that. 

We headed back out to drive the other half of the island by way of Seawall Campground in the National Park for another stamp.  The next stop was actually at Bass Harbor where we could park and walk down to see the lighthouse but they have a sign telling you the house is occupied year ‘round by a Coast Guard family so stay off the grass and don’t look in the windows.  We finished our drive around the island and found the place we ate lobster literally right off the boat 11 years ago.  It was in the tiny town of Bernard.  Bill was excited to fine it.  Too bad it wasn’t time for lunch or dinner.  There were hundreds of lobster traps stacked on the piers and it all looked strange as it was low tide and no water.  We stopped in Bar Harbor on the way back for iced coffee at a Circle K and the machine was broken and what I ended up getting was iced mocha lattes that tasted like chocolate milk to me.  Bill loved his so I gave him half of mine.  We came back to the room to rest and I’m typing now so I don’t forget where all we went today.

Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound

We just got back from the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound.  We

Kelly's dinner

ate there when we came 11 years ago.  I had read about it in a magazine.  The place is nicer than it used to be and now they charge for everything individually, even drawn butter and a lemon.  Geez!  I had a 1 ½ pound steamed lobster, corn on the cob as I’m so tired of cole slaw and a ridiculously overpriced salad.  My lobster was delicious.  I took my time and really cleaned him out too.  Bill had a lobster sandwich and potato salad and was pleased with it.  He splurged on Maine blueberry pie a la mode.  On the way home we stopped at the KOA campground and their best sites are $140 per night.  Wow!  Way too rich for our blood!

Got back just after 8 so will work on all of my photos so maybe I can post tomorrow night.

Readers:  Don't forget you can go to the photo albums for more of our great pictures!