Downeast Digest: Day 2

Thursday, October 6, 2005

Got up and going around 7:30 am. They have a continental breakfast here, with fresh bread and muffins. Yum! Rosie nibbled like a bird and picked up "magic pebbles" in the driveway while we ate. People from everywhere here–including a group of young Amish folks from Berne, Indiana. Caught a fleeting glimpse of Sadie, the resident Maine Coon cat.

Off to Acadia National Park! Shortly in, we stopped by a small marshy area where Steve took photos and we explored. I found an area that is one solid patch of lupines. Too bad we are here to late to see them in bloom. I'll bet they are gorgeous. We drove further in but the fog was too thick to see much of the coastline, although we did pull over a few times.

We stopped at the Gorham Mountain trail and got into hiking mode. This is about a 2-mile hike, not too rugged but mostly rock all the way. Rosie kept pretending to be a cat, and when we got to an area where we had to climb, she'd yell, "Paws and claws time!" The trail was marked by rock cairns and spots of blue paint. Since the fog was heavy, we didn't get to enjoy the normally 360-degree vista from the top, but we did see some other neat things. The squirrels here are tiny, about the size of a chipmunk. And the mountain is covered with wild blueberry bushes. If we'd been here in the summer we could have grazed all along the trail. At the top, a fellow hiker took a photo of all three of us.

Downward, downward! The stupid hiking boots I got are killing my feet! When we finally made it back down, the fog had cleared a bit and we walked across the road to look at the coastline. It's so wild and rocky. Huge chunk and bluffs of granite as far as you can see. We walked about 1/4 mile to an area called Thunder Hole, which is a hollow area in the rocks. When the tide goes out it empties and when the water rushes back in, the air is forced out and makes an explosive burping, spewing and belching out of water. There were lots of people there because everyone likes to see burping, spewing and belching, especially Rosie Brown.

We've worked up an appetite by now, so we decided to drive into Bar Harbor for lunch. Bar Harbor's a touristy town but with a decent selection of restaurants. We ate at the Parkside Restaurant. I had broccoli cheddar soup and a bacon cheeseburger. Steve had a buffalo wrap and Rosie had fish and chips. Afterwards we walked around to a few shops including one called "Bark Harbor" with lots of dog items. Naturally Rosie wanted to get something there and boohooed when I wouldn't let her buy yet another stuffed animal. Mean Mommy!

We headed back to the park, and decided to drive up to Cadillac Mountain. This was my kind of mountain! Once we reached the top, which was a short drive, it was fairly flat and had a nice paved trail all the way around, perfect for someone with acrophobia. It's very rocky, and Rosie insisted that we play Mommy and Baby Mountain Goat. I had to do some leaping from stone to stone and had to say "Mahhhh" in a loud voice occasionally, so I tried to do this when no one was around. We could see two big cruise ships docked offshore from the top of the mountain. The clouds were actually sweeping right past us, which was really neat. You could see them coming at you and then suddenly you’d be engulfed by them and wouldn’t be able to see around you for a few seconds. I’d grab Rosie, point and yell, “Cloud!” when we saw one coming, and we’d hang onto each other and giggle like idiots while it went around us.

After this, of course we’d worked up an appetite again, so we cruised back down toward Jordan Pond. We stopped and Jordan Pond House and took tea on the lawn at promptly 4 pm–jolly good! Rosie had a popover alamode, I had popovers with chocolate sauce and tea, and Steve had popovers with strawberry jam and coffee. Then we took a walk around the pond, which is a huge lake by Indiana standards. The path is gravel for a bit, and then becomes a slightly elevated boardwalk for a pretty long distance. The boardwalk is made of two and sometimes three roughly hewn pine logs. Of course, this was great fun for a 6-year-old to walk on and a challenge when an oncoming hiker needed to pass.

We headed back to our car, and our motel, about 5:30 pm, just as dark was falling. Rosie ate another of her beloved grilled cheese sandwiches at Jordan Pond House before we left.

In bed and asleep by 9 pm. The moutain air is pretty rejuvenating.