Today was a day of sightseeing;
however we didn’t have a definite starting time so no alarms were set. We all wandered downstairs at different
times...I was very surprised to see that it was only 7:10 when I crawled out of
bed. Figured it was much later because
I’d been aware of sunlight peeking around the curtains for some time before
that...forgot that the sun rises early out here.
Breakfast was at Jordan’s House in Bar Harbor. According to the menu, Jordan’s house is
known for its wild Blueberry pancakes.
Of course, that was my choice, topped with real Maine maple syrup.
Tasty!! Another popular choice at our
table was the lobster and asparagus quiche...quite tasty based on the taste I
had of Kim’s.
Then we wandered around town, doing our part in helping the local
economy. Eventually we ended at the
harbor...tide was out so we explored the beach.
I found the seaweed covered rocks to be fascinating. The seaweed attached itself to the rocks, almost
like it was growing on it. It had little
smell, a waxy feel, little bulbs and was somewhat of a greenish brown color...more
like kelp than the stringy green seaweed with which I’m familiar. Time
for a Google search. The site at extension.unmaine.edu describes it this
way: Ascophyllum
nodosum, more commonly called Rockweed, is a species of brown algae or
seaweed that is found along the New England coast. It grows on available hard
surfaces, including rocks, shells, and dock pilings. If the description
wasn’t enough to convince me the pictures posted on the site were the
clincher. Rockweed it is.
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After we were through wandering, we continued onto Acadia National Park
which is located on Mt Desert Island. We
made several stops...Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan’s Pond and Cadillac
Mountain.
Sand Beach was a popular spot;
parking overflowed onto the road. As the
name indicates it was a sandy beach and lots of people were enjoying the opportunity
to walk the beach, play in the sand or swim in the cool water. Some people even braved climbing up high on
the rocks...not sure that was the safest idea but they didn’t ask me for
permission. If they had I would have
told them ‘bad idea’. I could tell the
tide was rising even in the short time we were there. I wrote in the wet sand
in an area that the advancing water didn’t quite reach...by the time we were
ready to leave, the water had risen to erase my writing.
Thunder Hole is the place in Acadia National Park to experience
the thunder of the sea against the rocky shores of Maine! On calm days you may
wonder what the fuss is all about. But wait until the waves kick up a few
notches. Thunder Hole is a small inlet, naturally carved out of the rocks,
where the waves roll into. At the end of this inlet, down low, is a small
cavern where, when the rush of the wave arrives, air and water is forced out
like a clap of distant thunder. Water may spout as high as 40 feet with a
thunderous roar! Hence the name: Thunder Hole. (copied from the site
acadiamagic.com) The water wasn’t
spouting up to 40 feet yet but it was giving all the spectators a good
show. Tide was still rising and it
appeared that it would be foolish to be lined along the viewing sidewalk when
the tide was at its maximum. In fact, don’t
know that you could since it appeared there was a gate at the beginning of the
sidewalk. We were able to experience the
thunder just fine at mid-tide.
Jordan’s Pond is one of two
good sized lakes located along the driving loop. It was time for a hike. We started out
thinking the hike was only about 2 miles...as it went on and on we started
suspecting that was wrong. Found out later
that the trail around the lake is listed as 3.5 miles. Encountered lots of
people wearing a variety of footwear for what they may have assumed was a short
walk. For the most part it was a level
well-worn trail. There were a couple of
sections of scrambling over and through huge boulders and then there was the detour
but other than that it was fairly smooth walking. A boardwalk was being constructed and at one
point we had detour into the trees following orange ribbons....maybe a ¼ mile
or so walk around. The detour brought us
right back to another section of boardwalk which given all the options was my
favorite walking surface. We were all ready for water, a snack and time
off our feet by the time we were done.
Cadillac Mountain at 1,530
feet, is the tallest mountain on Mount Desert Island and the highest point
along the North Atlantic seaboard. From October 7 through March 6 of each year,
it is the first place to view a sunrise in the United States.
(copied from the site acadia.ws)
Although there are hiking trails to the top of the mountain, we
drove. The walk around Jordan’s Pond was
enough walking for all of us for one day. The view from the top of the mountain was
spectacular and gave a different perspective to the surrounding area.
At Bar Harbor I saw what I thought was the shoreline of the mainland
across the way. From atop Cadillac
Mountain I could see that what I thought was mainland was actually several
islands out beyond the harbor in Bar Harbor.
Collectively those islands are known as the Porcupine Islands with each
having its own porcupine name.
The view was well worth the effort of making my tired legs do some more
minor walking. 😎
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Grabbed supper at Smokey’s BBQ and Lobster on the way back to the
house. Since I couldn’t get the waiter
to indicate how big a 1.5 lb lobster is...you know by spreading his hands to
give me a general idea of the physical size... I ordered another lobster
roll.
The history as written on the menu....Thank you for dining at Smokey’s!
In 2017, three “young” local men with years of experience in the food
service industry scraped our pennies together to open a restaurant. We ended up find the structurally
questionable shack you see here and set about fixing it up (I promise you it
was in worse condition before.) The
place was last occupied by “Big Pete” Pearson, an internationally acclaimed
blues players mostly unrecognized in the United States who left the property to
go on tour in Europe. A variety of other
ventures have been through this building, including a somewhat disreputable
local watering hole and a flower shop.
We pay respect to the history of this dilapidated building with our
dedication to serving high quality food in a fun, relaxed atmosphere with good
beer and good music. You bring the good
company!
The food was good, the music was good and the company was
good. 👍
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I wrote Passagassawakeag River
in my notebook and throughout the day managed to show it to two lifelong
Mainers. They each stumbled over it at
first but then both put an ‘m’ sound in their final pronunciation. Hmmm...
One even laughed at it and said that based on the first 10 letters there
is a local joke about it. But neither
gave me a strong confidant pronunciation.
We’ll be in Maine for the next two days...I have time to find out how to
pronounce it. I met the neighbor
today...maybe I’ll see him again tomorrow and can ask his opinion. 😊
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No miles on the bike today...but lots steps on
my Fitbit. 😏
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