We are actually camped between Bangor and Bar Harbor, about 40 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. It's a FHU, KOA with all the usual amenities and campsites under the trees ... and quiet. They have a nice store, friendly people, and a grille where they serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner selections, including pizza delivered to your site. Oh, did I mention there is an ice cream shack next door, serving up everything from shakes to sundaes to soft and hard-serve? So, if you are asking yourself, why did he choose something 40-miles from the Harbor? Now you know ... well, partially! It's also $$$ instead of $$$$!
Yesterday was a day well-spent. We started with the area around the pier and adjacent park overlooking the Harbor. This is a beautiful spot to picnic and just watch the boats come and go. Then, a short walk to the downtown area, which is actually multiple blocks of shops with a park in the middle. Here we found a cup of coffee, and a bench along Main street, where we just sat for a while and watched people and cars go by. I think we counted 10 different state's license plates.
There were a two gigantic motor-yachts in the harbor, and we watched as one left and another pulled-in, 4-decks above the waterline. It was sporting enough electronics above the bridge to probably qualify for small, Navy destroyer-class. Wow! Where does this kind of money come from?
In one of the shops, Louise found a pair of beautiful earrings at an amazing, non-tourist price. As it turns out, the owner was so nice to us, and prides herself in keeping prices lower than most. The best thing ... she gave us the names of the best lobster shacks, where the "locals" go, and how to avoid the tourist-level pricing which can be $20 more each, for a good lobster. We probably spent a half-hour in her shop just chatting and learning about the area. Louise met a woman from the New York area and had a great visit.
More on the lobster in a minute. You can't come to Maine without eating lobster!!
After leaving downtown, we headed for Cadillac Mountain National Park for our 11:30 "vehicle pass" reservation, the entrance only 10-minutes away from downtown. Cadillac Mountain is THE major destination for visitors to Acadia National Park. It's the highest point on the East coast of the USA, and offers magnificent views of coastal and island landscape.
We hiked the short distance to the top from the parking lot on easy-access, poured-aggregate walkways. The top of the mountain itself shows evidence of having been formed by volcanic activity, and the rock outcroppings were of tricolor granite content, just beautiful!
The picture above is of Bar Harbor below us and a few of the many islands in a breathtaking, 360-degree panorama. The weather was slightly overcast, about 65-degrees, and the elevation at the top actually placed us in the clouds. We had to descend a few hundred feet to get decent pictures.
Okay, now for that lobster. We opted for one of the lobster shacks suggested by that shop owner downtown, and were not disappointed. Louise and I split a whole lobster and a lobster roll. And, a container of lobster-dip, crackers and a couple brews! Yum and yum again!
You pick a live lobster from the cooler in the restaurant, it gets weighed, then off it goes into one of the boiling water pots out front.
Oh, that Lobster "roll" is basically a hot dog bun filled with fresh lobster. These are the popular way to eat lobster here, I think, but expensive ... $24 each. You are paying for the labor it takes to extract the lobster meat, I suppose. Okay, here I am about to get cracking.
We head out today for a campground on a lake in Henniker, NH ... $23/night, FHU with our Passport America club card.
Stay tuned for more adventures ...
You are making my mouth water…..
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