So Long, Maine...

Last morning in Maine - heading home after driving down to Boston.  We'll be back, and give ourselves a little more time in Bar Harbor and maybe to drive north into central Maine.

Good morning from here...

25th Anniversary Whale Watching

Happy 25th!  A quarter of a century...and we spent it on a whale watch.  I wasn't going to do this as it took most of the day, but on a suggestion from a co-worker, I booked it a few days before.

I was convinced, as was Chris, that we weren't going to see anything, that we would get skunked and basically sit on a boat all day.  Well.  We were WRONG.

First, the weather was PERFECT.  So calm out on the ocean - look at the pics - and a slight breeze.

Second, THE WHALES WERE EXTRAORDINARY.  I mean, there were six humpbacks that we saw pretty continually for an hour+.  Jawa, Scream, Patchwork, Clipper, and one whose name I can't remember (apologies whale!), and the last one they couldn't identify.  Lots of pairs out there together - fitting for our anniversary.  SO MUCH ACTION!  Breaching (and apparently a double breach off the bow of the boat that I couldn't see), pec flapping - which is the whale slapping their fin on the water, flukes...oh my god.  I tend to think they know that they are being looked at and kind of perform to make us happy.

I mean, we saw a goddamn SHARK too.  Seals, seabirds, dolphins.  But the whales...they were the stars of the show.

I took about 650 pictures, most on continuous shutter, and below are only a few of the really good ones.  I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone.  It was splendid.  Not a bad way to spend 25.  💗

Acadia Nation Park

 We saw the park today in two installments - one before our whale watching cruise, and one after.

Part 1 - Jordon Pond, morning.

If you've never been to Acadia, you should come.  It's peaceful.  Quiet.  Pristine.  When we got down to Jordan Pond after just a little walk, it was a place where I wanted to sit down with a cup of coffee and a book and just be.  

Part 2 - Driving the Park Loop, evening.

So it turns out you not only need a parking permit to access Acadia, but you need a reservation to drive up to Cadillac Mountain.  DOH!   Well, we drove the park loop and that was spectacular to see when we approached sunset.  No retouching.  Those photos are just how it looked.  

A Room with a View

 This is the view from our room and balcony...

Bar Island, Bar Harbor, Maine

So Bar Island is this super cool thing.  It's part of Acadia National Park, and at low tide, the island is accessible by foot across a natural gravel land bridge.   You can really only get there 1.5 hours before and after low tide - which was at 3:49pm today.   If you don't make it back, you're out of luck and stranded there until low tide again.

The weather today provided us sun and a bright blue sky by which to walk to it and soak in the beauty of it.   Spectacular.

Headed for Bar Harbor...

We left Portland this morning to head up to the rest of our trip in Bar Harbor.  Stopped to get coffee at a great little coffee shop two doors down from our AirBNB; lovely.   Ate leftover donuts from Hi Fi; delightful.  We then headed out with designs on eating at a place in Camden on our way to Bar Harbor.

Um. No.  Talk about a shit show.  So busy, too many people, congested streets.  Hard pass.

So we just traveled on up the coast.  First, we stopped at Laite Memorial Beach - what a beautiful view!!   WOW.  It really is magical here.   

The we drove on and found Lincolnville and stopped at McLaughlin's.  OOOH-WHEE.  It was lovely.  Oystas (Pemaquids).  Lobsta roll (probably the best one yet).  Fish & chips.  Sometimes the best things are stumbled upon, no?

Memories of our first apartment.

 So the heater in our AirBNB, when it kicks on, sounds like this.  For 20 minutes.  And multiple times in the middle of the night.  

Lobstering!

Well it was a cold, damp, rainy morning so we decided to spend it all outside!  

It started with a stroll down to a food truck that had sandwiches named "The Jeff" and "The Lesa" just like P's hubs and daughter.  Ordered coffee from a joint on the way.   Food truck was parked in a weird little alley, so no go.  Cold press with malt extract is gross, so that was a fail too.  

However, we ended up having an excellent coffee and breakfast sandwich at Hi Fi Donuts on the way to our lobstering cruise!   Sometimes the bad brings you to the good.  Just sayin'.

Lobstering was fun!   It's an easy 90 minutes out in the bay and a little bit into the ocean.  If not for the rain it would have been perfect. We emptied old and filled new bait bags, dropped pots in, and got about 6 or 7 lobsters out of the deal.  I met a young woman from Wisconsin that worked at Epic - strange coincidence that I'd meet someone in Maine who works at the same company as the nephew.  Lucky Catch Cruises is the way to go if you want to do this - super fun and chill.

Of course we then went to Portland Lobster Company, as you do, for a lobster roll and fish sammie.  Delish!  

Forecast

 57 degrees and rainy tomorrow for our lobstering excursion.  Thank god it is only 90 minutes.  😬

Eventide Oyster Co. - Bucket List

When we did our New England trip 2014 and came to Portland for two days, we walked by Eventide many times.  We always paused and thought, "Should we stop and eat here?  It's supposed to be good."

We never did, and I've had oyster regret ever since.  So today, we put our names in for a 2.5 to 3 hour wait, and it was totally worth it.  Lemon Stones, Wet Smacks, Chebeague Islands, Bluff Heads, More Lemon Stones, and Pemaquids.  All from Maine.  There is something magical about eating a thing right from where it's from.  No air travel on ice to get somewhere, just pulled out of the estuary or bay right there where you are.  MAGICAL. 

The brown butter lobster roll was delightful, but Chris's fish sandwich was simply amazing.  I want to go back and get it tomorrow.  And the whoopie pie and hand held was a great finisher.

After that, we just came back and vegged out and binge watched Wings.  Not a bad way to spend the evening, I'd say.  Now onto planning tomorrow which includes breakfast at a food truck, and lobstering for sure.  Beyond that it may involve the ferry to Peaks Island, or just more goddamn oysters.  Either way, should be another great day in Maine.