Bikes, Lobster and a Kayak

As we continued to explore the park, there were still a few things on our list to do.

We started Sunday afternoon by taking our bikes to the Loop Road at Eagle Lake. We set out for a 10 mile ride. We had no idea that the route would take us around two mountains with up and down hills at various grades and levels of difficulty. I never seem to ask enough questions to the right people. However, it was another one of those days that all I wanted to do was turn in a circle and snap pictures. In Maine, what we consider a small lake is called a pond. As we pedaled by Jordan pond and Bubble pond there was plenty of time for rest because we had to hop off for so many photo opportunities.

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After the bike ride we finished the day around a campfire having a supper of chili and brownies for dessert. While waiting for the fire to burn down the full moon appeared on the horizon. Just an unexpected blessing to a perfect day.

On Monday, we hopped on the Bar Harbor shuttle bus and headed into the famous coastal town. There were two cruise ships in the bay so we knew the little town would be overrun with people. We shopped for a few items for the grandkids and then bought ourselves the souvenir T-shirts that we rarely purchase on our travels. But Acadia and BAH HABA could not be denied. And Flat Nathan…he just wanted ice cream. We headed up Main Street to McKays Public House where Ed fully intended to order boiled lobster. I am not a shell fish eater so I had a mild white fish for my entrée. We topped off our meal with a shared piece of pie made with Maine blueberries.

Our waiter for the evening gave us food for thought. Some Floridians give us flack about being snow birds. They often complain about the influx of people during the winter months. Our waiter shared that he would be leaving for Florida within the next 10 days. He works seasonal in Maine and in Florida. Last week I had just met a person that does Kayak tours in Maine and then goes home to Florida to do taxes in the winter. So what? Well, I hope the Floridians that grumble realize that the “seniors” are not the only ones flocking into their state in the winter. Kind of like geese with hummingbirds…we come but on our backs we also bring in the seasonal staff that wants to get out of the cold northern states. Not all traffic jams can be blamed solely on the granny’s and the pa’s.

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The next morning we were up at 5:30 and on a mission. We were driving up to Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunrise. The drive was quiet until we made the turn to climb the mountain. A mass of cars could be seen behind us. The rangers had warned us about the number of people that do this but we did not expect to see the mountain summit teeming with bodies as we searched frantically for a parking place. The wind was blowing about 15 knots and the air was bitter cold. We found our little spot and waited. At 6:48 it made its appearance on the horizon. It was worth the wait.

Later that day we headed to Long Pond to finish our final activity item on our activity list. We launched the kayak and paddled around for over two hours. No one was on the water except us and Flat Nathan and Travis. The serenity was the perfect way to finish our epic adventure at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor Maine.