Acadia NP and a Nature Cruise, ME

We did get up to Acadia NP with our friends.  Yes it is beautiful and there is lots of hiking to be had.  It was, however, a zoo!  So crowded that Mike and I figure we will go back to hike but to the farthest northern point far from the crowded touristy area!  We spent only a couple of hours there before we had to catch a nature cruise we had booked just outside the park.

Acadia NP

good friends, good times!

boarding for the nature cruise

with a load of empty traps, this lobsterman may be moving them 

no sooner did our guide say we might see a bald eagle when one flew by and landed to pose for me;) (upper right)

then she took off and flew right towards us!  It was great!  She swooped down to pluck a fish out of the water and flew back to shore!  Look for her in the middle of the pic

the Acadia lighthouse

this lobsterman is baiting the traps





below you can see him reaching in to one

a large group of seals near the lighthouse

we got a lesson on how the traps work and what size lobster you can keep

there are so many lobster buoys out there it is a wonder the lobstermen can keep track of them!  A lobsterman is allowed to have 800 traps out but the licenses to put them out are limited. The buoy is identified by the color scheme.  Don't mess with another lobstermans buoy!!

on our way back from a fun, informative cruise!

a little searching along the shore for sea glass in the tidal pools

after dinner(more lobstah) at Carriers Mainely Lobster, Mike is so full he has to take a break;)

Fort Knox, Boothbay Harbor, Reds Eats, ETC!

Though our friends are headed back to Vegas today our week was packed!!  Here are some more of our adventures with at least one more post to come:

The Penobscot Narrows Bridge definitely catches ones attention as we head up to Bangor on a foggy Sunday morning.  This cable-stay bridge was built in 2006 replacing an older, unsafe bridge.  We did not cross the bridge this day but will later!

 Just up the highway from the bridge is Fort Knox NHL built originally to protect the Penobscot River waterway from possible invasion by the British and later manned during the Civil War, it never saw any action.  It is a very imposing fortress mostly intact.

gun batteries lined up along the river

from the upper level of the fort again with the river in the background

In Brewer, Maine, we stopped for a brew at Masons:)  Some good beer!

Though we were told Bangor was a must see, we found the town pretty much closed up on a Sunday unfortunately.







A very nice gigantic statue of Paul Bunyon

Monday we stopped at a roadside "yard" sale where Cara found a nice buoy to take home;) 

Reds Eats in Wiscasset is so popular for "lobstah" rolls you must expect a decent wait in line...so here we are in line to try them out!

after about 35 minutes we are soooo close to ordering

Ahhh, here they come!

The rolls were scrumptious with more one lobster per sandwich we stuffed ourselves and did not have to crack a shell!!

Oooh la la!

 On to Boothbay Harbor for the rest of Monday for some Maine coastline:

another lighthouse, there are some 68 lighthouses along the Maine coast

windy here:)

beautiful rock beach and beautiful houses

an osprey not far from the lighthouse

In downtown Boothbay we have a beer at Kalers on the water.  Great brews around here!

Looking at more buoys and maybe a lobster trap....or not;)

evening at Boothbay

Enjoying Maine

As you may have seen, we have been parked in Maine since the middle of last month.  I say parked because we left Paradise at the Saltwater Campground near Thomaston to fly back to WA for a 3 week visit.  We are back and have had a busy first week with friends from Las Vegas who flew out here to meet up with us for a weeks vacation.

We arrived back from our visit to WA to find the weather still unseasonably warm, in the low 90s, and are beginning to wonder if we will see the spectacular New England fall that we had hoped.  Oh well, if it does not happen while we are here this year, we'll have to come back:)

Cara, Mike and Rick are posing in front of the diner we had breakfast at in Portland, ME.  It was recommended by a friend and former "Mainer" in Vegas.  An apparently very popular place near the water we did enjoy it and Cara and Rick jumped right in the spirit with a "lobstah" (when in Maine;) omelet.















Rick and Cara are staying at the Trade Winds Inn in Rockland just a few miles from us.  Their view of the harbor from their suite is very nice!

part of the Rockland Harbor with the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in the background

In the Eclipse Restaurant at the inn that evening our lobsters had just arrived.





Now I had to get my bib on and dig into my first Maine lobster!!

YUM YUM!!

                           Mike making friends:)

the next morning we headed out to the Rockland Lighthouse for a walk 

a gull plucks a crab from the seaweed near us

the one mile walk seemed further in the 90 degree weather;)

had to watch where we put our feet!

A lobstah boat passes near us;)

from inside the lighthouse

only 22 stairs and 6 ladder rungs to the top of this lighthouse

view back the way we came

Mike inside the light checking out the lens

This gull kept watch on top of the lighthouse.

A nice little walk!

On Main Street a touch of elegance on an old bank building

 Our second evening we enjoyed a short walk from the Inn to the Landing for dinner. A lovely view from the patio as the sun faded:

A lesson by Billie on how to eat steamers:)








I don't think that was part of the lesson:)

more adventures to come