A Day Trip North

After visiting the Schoodic Peninsula we heard good things about the coastline in Northern Maine, or Down East as Mainers call it, so off we went for a day trip.

Our first stop was Campobello Island, were we saw the East Quoddy Lighthouse. 


If the tide is out you can cross to the island the lighthouse is located on by walking across the rocky beach and going up a long rusty looking staircase. 


We spotted these old boats laying on their sides along the shore and wondered if they were wrecked here, or if it’s just the boat junkyard.


Did you know that the Roosevelt Family had a summer home on Campobello Island?  It’s in Canada, but maintained jointly by the United States and Canada as an International Peace Park. 


It’s called the Roosevelt Cottage, and is a “small” thing with only 34 rooms.  Wow!  They were seriously rich people, those Democrats.  (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that comment this election year.)


All the furnishings and photographs the Roosevelt family had are still there, only now they’re labeled.  It was on Campobello Island that FDR contracted polio.


This must have been their family room.  There’s a huge Harvard banner hanging over the fireplace.


The dining room was quite nice, and the megaphone on the left was used to call the children in for dinner.


I think there are 18 bedrooms, and they’re all very nice.


This is a cozy bedroom with a window seat to sit and read.


The children had their private classroom in this cottage.


I forget who’s bedroom this was, but I like the model plane hanging from the ceiling.


I think my Grammy had a stove like this one in her kitchen.  Good things came from my Grammy’s stove, but I’m so glad I don’t have to use one like it.  Mrs. Roosevelt was ok with it because her cooks did all the work.


I’m sure they’re happy they had maids to do their laundry because it doesn’t look like it was much fun working with this equipment.


We went to Key West, the Southernmost town in the U. S., and stopped in Lubec, the Easternmost town.  I told Jaime I wanted to visit the Northernmost and Westernmost towns too, and she reminded me that the Northernmost would be in Northern Alaska.  Too cold!  Maybe we should stick to Continental USA.


Bob and I really like mustard, and we found the only stone ground mustard mill in the Northern Hemisphere.  We bought some, so come for a visit and taste!


This guy was guarding the harbor in Eastport. 


One afternoon I saw a little clip on TV about someone who harvests sea salt and I told Bob I wanted to see that too.  Sure enough, we found him and he was very happy to show us his operation.


He pumps sea water into greenhouses like this and lets it evaporate.


He proudly showed us the finished product.


He showed us how he smokes some of the salt on apple wood.  It’s pretty tasty, so come for a taste of that too!

We have many more pictures from Bar Harbor and Acadia, so keep watching for updates.

Acadia National Park

As I’ve said before, we really like Acadia National Park, and this year it was even more beautiful because Autumn came while we were there. 


The leaves started to change colors and, when it wasn’t raining, the sky was so clear and blue.


Local fishermen sell lobsters everywhere, and we decided to take advantage of their fresh catch.


Bob kept telling me to hold the lobsters up, and they were getting quite feisty.  Even though they had their claws rubber banded, I thought it was a little risky to play with them too much.


Here’s a fresh 2 pound lobster attempting an escape.


After feasting on lobster we went for a bike ride and found a pond with a beaver lodge.


We’ve been to Acadia National Park three or four times before, but we’ve never driven to the Schoodic Peninsula.  It’s a quieter, more peaceful area not far from Bar Harbor, and you can see Cadillac Mountain across Frenchman Bay. 


The Schoodic Peninsula has many little bays and harbors dotted with tiny islands. 





There were lighthouses on many of the little islands.  I’m not sure if I could live there, especially during the long, cold winter months.


I just couldn’t stop taking pictures.


See what I mean?  It was so pretty everywhere we looked.


This little guy must have been Amish.  He didn’t want to have his picture taken.




Get your Schoodic Sushi here!


There were so many little harbors like this, with houses lining the water and the lobster traps all neatly stacked.


Bob went to look for some action.  The fishermen go out very early and come home in the morning.



Each lobsterman has his own colored buoys.



After the nice, relaxing day we had driving through the Schoodic Peninsula we decided it was time for another hike.  That was find with me, I like to hike, but then Bob suggested hiking The Beehive.  The Beehive, what are you thinking?  You know I'm terrified of heights!!  (Look at this picture and you can see in the middle of the huge, steep rocky cliff that there's someone climing up.)  Me?  Go up there again???  

Here's another view of The Beehive.  This time there's someone in a white shirt a little lower than the middle towards the right side of the picture.  This is NOT a hike for someone that's terrified of heights!


We made it! You can even see my scratched, bruised, quaking knees in this picture.


The view from the top of The Beehive was outstanding!  That’s Sand Beach way down there.


If you look closely you can see a cruise ship that’s docked at Bar Harbor. 


This is not a regular cat.  One morning Bob went for a walk and talked to a lady walking this creature.  It’s part cat part ocelot, and will grow until it weights about 40 pounds.


It was very pretty, but it it definitely wasn’t the kind of pet I’d want, or want my neighbors to have.


This last picture is for our friend Charley.  He’s a really good dog and I think his mom and dad should find this restaurant with it’s special Doggie Menu.

Stay tuned for more of Acadia National Park and some special visitors.

A Day in Boston

We’re still driving north, but remember, Bob promised a trip into Boston.  There’s so much to see and do in Boston and when we were there previously Bob had meetings, work, or had to stay connected to work, or I was sort of stressed about a little run I was going to do.  This time it was just a visit to relax and enjoy ourselves, and we did!


It was easy to get to Boston from the RV Park, so we decided to make it a day trip.  We took the T, and the entire ride into Boston took one hour.  It takes an hour to drive to Harrisburg when we’re at home!  


Our first stop was Quincy Market for some lunch.  Yes, clam chowda!


We walked Freedom Trail again.  This was the first time we were able to see everything without Bob on the phone talking about a release at work.  Retirement is nice!!  Paul Revere lived in this house a long, long time ago.


Sorry, I didn’t see the sign that said NO PICTURES ALLOWED (honest), so I have this forbidden picture of Mrs. Revere’s kitchen. 


Paul Revere is riding with his lantern, but Bob is looking very confused.


It’s the Old North Church that Paul hung his lantern from.


The inside of The Old North Church was very nice, but the pews weren’t very comfy at all.  Look at those brass chandeliers.  So pretty!


Bostonians love their boats!


This ship was in dry dock, and I was really amazed at how skinny it is at the bottom!


Of course we went aboard the Constitution, Old Iron Sides, and it is gorgeous!


Come on Bob, you were a Marine, not a sailor!


With all these cannons lined up it’s easy to imagine the battles it won.


The officers quarters looked pretty cushy to me.


This lion looks cute, not fierce.


That’s the officers quarters at the end of the ship, with windows for an ocean view.


Another trip around Quincy Market, and we found Larry Bird’s shoes.


Right next to Larry’s shoes were Bill Rodger’s shoes.  He won the Boston Marathon four times!


No, we didn’t leave Boston without eating some raw oysters.  Yum!


We went back into Boston another day and visited the Kennedy Presidential Library, where his sailboat is prominently displayed outside.

   
Of course you can see the Oval Office the way it looked when JFK was president.


The library has a beautiful view of Boston Harbor.


The Profile in Courage Award


We finished our visit to Boston with a walk through Boston Common.


The Swan boats always look so nice.

It was great to visit Boston, but now it’s on to Bar Harbor!