A.N.P.

Behold, the rocky Maine coast!

 

Sunday - Mother's Day

A.N.P. stands for Acadia National Park, and that was the theme of the day.  Most of the park isn't open yet, owing to it being early season, also sequestration cuts.  We did, however, do a pretty good job of seeing what we could today, and thanks to the weather, we probably couldn't have done any more anyway!  And, my FitBit tells me we walked nearly eight miles today, so there.

The weather.... good thing we're used to (and not afraid of) a little rain and fog.  Make that lot of both!  It actually enhanced the aesthetics of our ANP experience though.  We were able to drive along part of the Shore Drive, which travels above and through the craggy rocky coastline.  The fog swirling around all the rocks contributed to the "out there" feeling of being on the coast.  We took some time to walk at Sand Beach, which as its name suggests, is very pretty and sandy, nestled in a cove surrounded by rocks and trees.  There were a number of other folks down there, including a young couple with a baby and a baby Labradoodle.  Doggie was having a great time playing Chuck-It, oblivious to the rain and sand.

Only about five miles of the Shore Drive is open right now, and it's a one-way drive along the coast, but we were able to stop several times, running into the same people at each stop.  At the aptly-named (and funny name) Thunder Hole, we chatted briefly with a friendly woman who was working on just the right photos.  We ran into her later at lunch, too.  Anyway, the Thunder Hole features rock worn away by the relentless waves, and the way that the waves pound the rocks sometimes sounds like thunder.

We reached the end of the open part of the drive, pulled into a parking area/picnic area, and set out on foot.  The roads are closed to vehicular traffic, but are open for walking and biking.  We set out on the road, walking back toward the hiking trail that runs along the top of the shoreline.  We spent only about 10 minutes on the pavement, but even so, we were all alone on the road, we could hear and see the ocean, and smell the wonderful pines.  It was even better once we reached the hiking trail, where we spent about a half-hour meandering up and down, taking care over slippery rocks and the odd tree root.  Of course, the rain started in earnest when we were as far from the car as we were going to get - but we were both pretty well prepared for the rain.  Nonetheless, we both got wet, but not cold, so that's ok.  We could hear the bell from the nearby buoy, and see numerous lobster traps set up, too.  And, we had the place to ourselves.  Just what I'd hoped for!!

Back at the car, we shook out the jackets and set out along the road again.  Acadia National Park is somewhat unusual (in my experience, anyway) in that it has sections of the park interspersed with non-park lands. As we drove around all the roads of Mt. Desert Island, we ducked back and forth into the park.  The interior roads for the park, as previously noted, are all closed, though, so we were just traveling around its exterior.

Stopped for lunch in Southwest Harbor, at a friendly local cafe.  In addition to our trail friend, with whom we chatted, we enjoyed a friendly waiter's company, too. The waiter, in fact, was in high gear at first, then admitted he'd inadvertently kicked into "August mode, with needy people."  Ha!  We reminded him that (a) it was only May, and (b) we were in no hurry!  We got dried out (mostly) and well fed on local mussels (Nancy) and a lobster omlette (KW)  Then, a wander back to Bar Harbor, with a few stops along the way. We had a quick look at the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, which wasn't officially open to visitors (yet) but was featuring a cool red light.

Back in BH, we took advantage of doing a bit of shopping, and then a wander through the non-commercial part of town.  Walked down to - but not across - the sand bar that stretches to Bar Island.  Met several folks walking their dogs :-)

Something I didn't know - maybe you did, but I didn't.  Lobster fisher folk have their own patterns on their lobster trap buoys/markers.  Kind of like a brand on cattle.  That's cool.

It's been nice to stay in one place for longer than just overnight.  I can see that Bar Harbor probably gets pretty crowded in the summer.  I wouldn't care for it as much then, but I'd love to come back sometime anyway.  I had hopes of doing some things this time such as kayaking, or taking a scenic flight from the Bar Harbor airport - neither of which were going to happen today (weather and schedule)  It would be cool, though, to do some more exploring.

Tonight, we'll sleep well!

cheers,
--Kit and Nancy