Maine

We've finished our trip to Maine, down east in Maine.  I've created a new type of log for our journey.  Try it and see if you like the new format.  Start at the arrow and browse counter-clockwise.  Don't forget to move your cursor over each postage stamp so that you can read the comment before clicking to see the snapshot.  They are half the fun.  The photos may not convey all of the natural beauty that is there but I got an amazing variety of scenes.  The other half is on a video cassette.

I now research things a lot beforehand.  In this case, I knew of some great hiking areas at the beginning and at the end of our 9 days.  At the start our goal was Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park.  This small place was a wonderland packed with sights ranging from the busloads of international tourists that you will see at the visitor center on weekends to a hike on windswept Mt. Cadillac after sunrise and a hike around pristine Jordan Pond.  We flew in to Bangor on Saturday and got to Acadia on Sunday.  Many of these hikes are through boggy areas but where there is water they have provided boardwalks or bridges.  When you do these hikes you will be astounded by the lush forests all around and the mosses on the ground.

As to food, it will be hard to escape the down home cooking with offerings of cole slaw and ff potatoes.  Even the lobster stew is provided free of any vegetables as they proudly say in "down east style."  We did enjoy the brunch on Galyn's deck overlooking the Bar's Harbor.  The surprise was the recommendation of our hostess Lise at Captain Cates B&B in Machiasport, The Artist's Cafe in Machias.  This quiet college town, once a center for logging (the logs still line the banks of the river there) even had a wonderful coop store like our Wellspring or Weaver Street back home in Chapel Hill.  But The Artist's Cafe was well worth the visit.  I did get some fresh tomatoes diced with some onions and basil with my delicately flavored haddock.  With a good merlot it was heavenly.  Go to Machias and join the crowd one evening.

Our accomodations at Campobello Island in New Brunswick were in the rugged log cabins of Lupine Lodge, the place to be there.  From there you can roam all over the island and do parts of the Quoddy loop over and again.  I reserved for the nights of the 5th, 6th and 7th but maybe more time would be better.  There is so much to do.  The locals let us know quickly that Eastport and Lubec had been invaded by the crew of the reality based TV show, Murder in Small Town X.  See if you can find the scenes in my log below.  In short, you'll see well kept national and state parks, collect polished beach stones, commune with the squirrels, seek out a few lighthouses, squish through arctic bogs, watch whales (Campobello Whale Watching Co.) and enjoy seeing the largest tides and whirlpools in the world.  Now begin your tour of Maine from your computer screen on the left below.  Enjoy!

Visit Old Town (U of Maine)
Sept. 8th, drove back to Bangor.  
Sept. 7th, Herring Cove
There are a lot of Maine lighthouses - want to find them?
East Quoddy Light, Campobello Island
West Quoddy Head Light, ME
The strip bar scene for Murder in Small Town X.
Lubec, ME
Sept. 6th, a long but exciting day
Campobello International Park, NB
Another fantastic pebble beach
Start  Here  Our whale watching cruiser Gibraltar Rock near where the Roosevelt kids frolicked Poor fisherman must climb 40 ft Sunset at Campobello We revisit Quoddy Head State Park Turtle Pub becomes $2 Bill'sTV crew turned this pub on a dusty street into a sleazy strip joint called $2 Bill's for their 4th episode. Whites on the line Extremely well-kept homes of the pre-depression royalty Hubbard Cottage
The only still picture of a whale I got Our Captain rod in on his shiny 2002 Harley Must risk hiking over tidal flats to get there
Sept. 1st, arrive Bangor a little after 5 Paper mill outfall next to the collapsed dam, Bangor, twilight. FDR spent summer's in his youth paddling his canoe from this cottage. Roosevelt Cottage
Most beautiful view in the most beautiful State Park in Maine! Quoddy Head State Park
Sept.2nd, walk around Bar Harbor Dinks Taxi Restaurant This house was the set for the TV movie. Eastport, the scene for Murder in Small Town X.
View from Galyn's The harbor from which we cruised to harvest lobsters and see the seals Honoring the fisherman Statue built by TV producers
Linda lovin' the lobster. Tourists get to fondle the lobsters and starfish

View of Mount Desert Island from the top of a pink granite rock

Sept. 3rd morning

 Windblown on the bridge at the north end of Jordan pond United Church of Christ, Millbridge Classic house right out of a work of art

Wandering along a pebble studded beach

Sept. 4th afternoon

 Growing wild everywhere

Rosa Rugosa

An exquisite gem of a B&B with a breakfast to die for

Capt. Cate's B&B

 Sept. 5th, Machiasport, Seeking seclusion - we found it.
A fiddler played Acadian tunes as we sailed away. A windblown peak above Bar Harbor View from the south end of Jordan Pond at one of the Rockeffeler bridges Everett Wallace house

We're American Gothic

 A collection of treasures

Great beach for pebble hunting

 Telephoto lens on the tripod in the morning

Visit their History Museum 
Bermel's Guide to Mount Desert Island; Bar Harbor Maine Resource Guide, Camping in Acadia National Park

Two magnificent views from atop Cadillac Mountain

 

 A hike around Jordan Pond with lunch at the famous tea house Sept. 4th morning was brilliant as we set off to the east.  Had to stop at Millbridge and then on to Route 1 and...

Jonesboro and Roque Bluff State Park.

The Artist's Cafe in Machias; it is not to be missed - best cuisine in Maine!

Five cormorants in a row.  I am very pleased with this shot.

  

woodbar.gif (3573 bytes)