September 25, 2011

The fog was lifting this morning when we left for the Acadia National Park. Our first stop was the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. It sits on the edge of a cliff and is very difficult to photograph without descending the steps down the cliff. After reaching the bottom of the cliff, it is necessary to crawl over about 100 feet of large boulders to reach a point to photograph the lighthouse. It can only be reached at low tide.

The fog was still hugging the water and offered some eerie images.

Our next stop was at an area of the beach that is called Seawall. Seawall is an area of naturally occurring granite, loose boulders, and rock.

The fog looks like it is crawling along the through the trees and over the water.

At 1,532 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the center piece of the Acadia National Park. It is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. It is one of 20 mountains on Desert Island. It is composed of mostly pink granite with forests of spruce and pitch pine.

Looking down from the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the town is Bar Harbor. There are two cruise ships anchored just outside the harbor. The passengers are ferried to Bar Harbor by small boats.

Another view from the summit looks down on the Frenchman Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Normal tide is about eight feet along the southeast coast of Acadia. Note the cave like wear in the rock near center of the photo.

Several lobster boats run out of Bass Harbor. Note the traps on the dock.

Tomorrow we will be returning to Acadia.

September 24, 2011

Our trip up US1 today took us through several old New England towns with beautiful houses. The styles vary and most are painted white. But, every now and then you come across one that has been highlighted using two or three colors. We found this one in Thomaston, a small town near Rockland, ME. Another unique feature of this house is the small glass enclosed room sticking out of the roof that resembles an enclosed widow’s walk.


The fog continued to hang around all day producing enough moisture to run the wipers on the car. Our only stop of the day was the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. This is a very unique lighthouse since it sets on a breakwater wall that is 4620 feet long.

The breakwater was started in 1881 and was completed in 1901. The length was extended several times and the height was raised 4 feet between 1899 and 1901 after a nor’easter washed over the wall and damaged several ships. The breakwater is 20 feet wide on the top. (The below photo was taken from shore, about 1 mile from the lighthouse.)

It is built in a pyramid shape and the structure contains 768,774 tons of granite. The water is 50 feet deep at the end of the breakwater and the light tower stands 39 feet above the breakwater.
Note the lobster trap buoys along the breakwater. (The below photo was taken from the lighthouse, looking toward shore.)

A mom and pop lobster boat checking lobster traps. Most have out around 500 traps and check them on three day intervals.

The Governor Curtis, a ferry, is headed to a nearby island.


Tomorrow we will be going to the Acadia National Park.

September 23, 2011

Today was designated a sleep late morning. By the time we got ready to head out the skies were starting to look a lot better and before afternoon came, the sun was peeking through. Our first stop was at a small antique shop across from our motel. It was loaded with lots of interesting items and the proprietor provided a lot of information about some of her wares.

Since this was our last day in Brunswick, we decided to go by Libby’s and have another lobster roll. We must have made an impression on our first visit because as soon as we walked through the door she said, “There’s that boy from Virginia”. We just don’t know if it was a good or bad impression!! This shot is for you, Alex!!.

After lunch we drove to Bath which is on the Kennebec River. The town is thriving with lots of nice shops including a jewelry store that has all the original show cases, woodwork and black and white tile floor.

One of the original bank buildings still stands on the corner (Behind the clock). It now serves as a coffee shop. The vault alarm is still in place on the side of the building.

The clock was manufactured by Seth Thomas Clock Co. in 1911. It originally stood in front of Hallet’s Drug Store on Front Street and was moved to its present location in 1966.

Dinner tonight was at Trattoria Athena. It was number three on the list of “hole in the wall” places to dine given to us by Captain Ed Rice. We can say that Ed is three for three on great places to eat. The Braised Lamb and Baked Goat were scrumptious!

The Getty store that we featured a few days ago was very small but was not as noticeable as Sista’s BBQ. Sista’s is on Pleasant Street in Brunswick and a real head turner. The building is about 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

Tomorrow we will be driving up US1 to Ellsworth.

September 22, 2011

The weather man was right. With clouds, rain and some fog being the order of the day, we headed to Freeport and L. L. Bean. Our last trip to Freeport, a quaint little town with one L. L. Bean store, an ice cream shop and a couple restaurants was about 15 years ago. Now Freeport has five L. L. Bean stores, fifty-nine other outlet stores, and thirty restaurants! While we were walking round, the word “zoo” came to mind several times. One thing that all this progress has brought to Freeport is one of the nicest emergency services building anywhere. It appears that the growth of the town is bringing in plenty of tax dollars.

Our next stop was Maine Distilleries, home of Cold River Gin and Vodka. After all, we needed a bit of a boost after fighting the crowds. Maine Distilleries got its start out of necessity…the family farm was about to go under. At the height of the Adkins craze, the farm could not sell the potatoes which were its primary crop. The decision was made to make vodka out of their leftover potatoes, and the rest is history. Their vodka was chosen the best in the world in 2008. Gin production began in 2010. Now their products are sold in 13 states, including Virginia.


Our boat Captain, Ed Rice, told us about a “hole in the wall” Mexican restaurant in Brunswick, tonight’s choice for dinner. This is a place hidden in an old neighborhood, tucked between houses.
El Camino is a cozy, friendly restaurant with an eclectic mix of color and collectables on the walls. The food is original Mexican made with fresh local ingredients, and the Margaritas are absolutely grand. We arrived a bit after 5:00PM, and there was only one other couple eating; but, by the time we left, the place was full, with people waiting to be seated. Ed is now two for two!!

Tomorrow we will be sleeping in, and exploring Bath, a small town on US1.

September 21, 2011

During our trip to Canada in 2008 we learned to keep a watch on the weather, be flexible and make changes as needed. With rain in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, we made a call to Captain Ed Rice, owner/operator (pictured below) of River Run Tours. We were scheduled to “run” the rivers on one of those two days but were able to change it to today. Ed met us at the docks in Bath at 10:45 a.m. and by 11:00, with clear skies and 70 degree temperatures, we were under way. Ed has been doing this for six years and he will tailor the day to your wishes. We requested old villages, seals, wildlife, lighthouses and beautiful scenery. He was able to deliver everything on our wish list plus one thing that even he had never seen.




The first thing on our journey was a trip by the Bath Iron Works of Bath. BIW has a contract with the Navy for three new ships that are totally enclosed (no exposed deck). The first one is in production and the end on one of the sections is visible in the photo. Security is very tight in the area and two boats patrol the river at all times.

Below is a view of one of the sections of the new ship.

The main river that we traveled on was the Kennebec. One thing about the area is the fact that all the rivers connect with each other upstream from where they dump into the ocean. The entire coast in this area is composed of lots of islands and at high tide there is enough water running around these islands to connect the rivers. It is sort of like having canals cut between the rivers. One of the places is called “Hell’s Gate”. At low tide it is difficult to get through because the water gets too low. But when the tide starts raising the rivers (up to eight feet at high tide) you can get through the gate. Try to come back the other way and you have to fight the current. If the boat does not have enough power, it will be pushed back through the gate. (Photo shows the current running the gate).

There are several river lighthouses along the Kennebec. These lights are all short and mark the curves in the river. This old lighthouse is still used but the house is not occupied. Note the building on the left. This is the old boat house and is not falling down. It was constructed like this with the building on the incline so they could pull the boat out of the water.


Several old fishing villages are along the river. This one was the most picturesque with some of the older docks still intact.

We saw several seals but getting photos of them is almost impossible. During the summer there are thousands in the area covering the rocks. Now only a few still remain, and they were fishing today.

There was a pair of adult bald eagles watching over their young family. The juvenile birds are still black and brown. They do not get their white feathers until the turn four years old.

The Kennebec has a set of range lights which are used for navigation. The one in the back is 12 feet higher than the one in the front. When ships are coming up the channel of the river, they line up the lights, one behind the other, and head straight for them. As they head towards the lights the river curves to the left. When they are able to see the next lighthouse around the curve, they make a quick left turn. This gets them around the curve.


The rivers were beautiful today. We traveled on six of them and saw everything we had requested, plus more.

And, that one thing that Captain Ed saw and made a quick turnaround to check out was a squirrel swimming in the middle of the river which, at that point, was about 100 yards wide. The little guy was swimming for all he was worth. It makes you wonder what happened to induce such a Herculean task!

We asked Captain Ed where the best lobster roll could be found. He directed us to a place that you would never think to stop. It was Libby’s Market in Brunswick, a convenience store with a kitchen. They trap their own lobster, steam them and put a pound of lobster on a large roll. It will feed two people and is soooooooo good. Always ask the locals; they know about the “hole in the wall” places. He also told us where to get Italian and Mexican…reviews to come!

Tomorrow we will see what the weather does and go with the flow.

September 20, 2011

Rain moved into the area early this morning and lasted until late afternoon. Our plans were to climb the Portland Observatory (tallest building in the photo), but with the limited visibility, plan B went into effect. Plan B included antiques, flea markets, Cabela’s, Walmart, AND some good food.

We started with Cabela’s and spent a couple hours checking out the latest snow shoes, vacuum seal food machines, clothes and just about everything else that you can use in the wild. Our tour of the flea market didn’t turn up much; however, Cheryl did find a figurine for a friend. Walmart is our bank away from home. While there, we replenished our snacks and added to our money reserves. Thank you Walmart!!

You may remember a couple years ago we found what we thought might be the country’s smallest Dairy Queen in Munising, MI. Today we spied what may be the smallest Getty store; it is in Scarborough, ME…unique.

After dinner, we made the short trip to Shipyard Brewery for their “by reservation only” evening tour of the brewery. They do this on Tuesday evenings only, and limit the tour to 16 people. It is a behind the scenes tour that takes about 90 minutes, with a tasting of their best sellers at the end. While there, we met a couple from Atlanta. Cheryl and the other wife concluded that hard liquor was better than any ale or beer on the market!!

The rain and clouds are due to leave tomorrow…yippee! We will be moving north to Brunswick, ME, and will be taking a river cruise with Captain Ed Rice.

September 19, 2011

It has been about 15 years since we saw the Portland Head Lighthouse. Maybe we should say we visited the lighthouse 15 years ago but the fog was so thick that we didn’t get a good look at it! Today was a beautiful day and the air was so clear that we see the Portland Head Lighthouse and three other lighthouses from the same spot. One, Halfway Rock Lighthouse, stands 10 miles out in Casco Bay. (Pictured is the Portland Head Lighthouse with the Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse on the right.)

The Portland Head Lighthouse sits in Fort Williams Park which played a major role in defending the US during WWI and WWII. Fort Williams was established in 1872. Over the years 12 inch guns were added that could fire upon enemy ships up to 25 miles out to sea. There were several other fortifications around the harbor that added security to the area.

Just down the coast is a little eatery called Two Lights Lobster Shack. It gets its name from the two lighthouses that sit on the hill above the coast. The location offers some of the best views of the coast in the area. The Lobster Shack is very popular with the locals and tourists.

The rocks in this area look like petrified wood and are stacked up like giant logs. The cliffs are 40-100 feet tall with endless pounding waves.

Lighthouses in the Portland area are a lot smaller than the ones around the Great Lakes. This is the Spring Point Lighthouse in South Portland. It is 54 feet tall and is referred to as the “spark plug”.

Dinner tonight was at Becky’s in downtown Portland. Becky’s was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives a few years ago. The shrimp and scallops, along with the coconut cream pie, were quite tasty.

Tomorrow we plan to climb the Portland Observatory for a view of the Portland Harbor.