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Arriving back at the car, we headed into Southwest Harbor for lunch at Gilly’s on the Harbor Restaurant. I ordered fried shrimp with french fries and the others got their orders of fish and chips. I also tried one of Ted and Sarah’s steamed clams.  The meat of the clam was too salty and slimy for me to enjoy, and I was glad to have a tall glass of ginger ale to wash down the taste.  I was glad I tried it, but I’m beginning to think my affinity for seafood does not extend far beyond salmon and shrimp. We pulled out the map to pick our hiking route for the afternoon. There was some argument of where to go, but we finally agreed to visit some the coves along the West side of Somes Sound.

Down Fernald Point Road we parked at the Valley Cove lot. Ted and Sarah walked down the gravel road to the beach and along Flying Mountain Trail which follows along the coast of Somes Sound.  Mom, Dad, Luke, and I hiked up Valley Cove Trail to the top of Valley Peak and St. Sauveur Mountain. The hike was only two miles round trip, but the severe grade tuckered us out quickly, especially with the day’s weather sunny and hot (temperatures in the high 80s). The climb followed along the cliffs bordering Somes Sound and we were able to peer 700 feet down the mansion-studded, evergreen-covered mountains at the sail boats and yachts cruising the water below. Back in the cover of the dense forest, we were doused with the fresh scent of pines and cool loamy earth. The the sunlight was strong enough to dapple the path with light and heat, but the breeze whisked through the small openings in the trees cooling our sweaty limbs.

After being attacked by mosquitoes for a half an hour waiting for Ted and Sarah to return to the parking lot, we drove up to the Echo Lake swimming hole.  We changed into our swimsuits, but left without swimming because the sandy beach was so crowded. Instead, we drove back to the East side of Mount Desert Island to the sandy beach and swimming area along Rt 3 in Seal Harbor.  The temperature dipped about 5 degrees as we wound down the other side of Somes Sound and we were all a bit hesitant to plunge into the 50 degree ocean water.  But we waded in up to our hips in to time at all.  We were all hopping around on our tip toes and hugging ourselves tightly to keep warm.  Sarah looked at me with a serious and determined gaze and held up her hand with three fingers raised. Aloud she counted, “Three” and still holding my gaze, she dropped one finger and voiced “Two”.  Before I could shake my head “No, no no!”, she had dropped the last finger and called  out “One” and I had to dunk my entire body in the frigid saltwater. I resurfaced in less than 10 seconds from the shockingly cold water, and was surprised that my upper body felt warmer in the warm afternoon air now that it had been dunked in icewater. Mom and the boys followed shortly after. We all waded around in the water for a while longer, but ended up just lounging in the sand for another hour before heading back the cottage for a dinner of leftovers.

We are getting our laughs in tonight watching Comedy Central.

After lunch we drove around to Blueberry Hill to start Anvil Trail up to Schoodic Head.  The trail was an exciting trip over boulders, through mossy forests blanketed with red pine needles, and rocky balds with views of the ocean below. Ted and Sarah lagged behind for most of the hike, with bum knees and a dog making it difficult to maneuver through the steep parts, but everyone enjoyed the hike up to the highest point on the Schoodic Peninsula. We scrambled back down the mountain and joined up with Alder Trail, where a stiff coastal breeze met us and dried the sweat that had been dripping on our warm, sunny climb up.

We had completed our hike in a little less than two hours so we killed some time lounging on the rocks at Blueberry Hill. My feet were hot and swollen from being swathed in wool socks and stuffed in hiking boots, so I cooled them off in the ocean water.

Back in Winter Harbor we grabbed ice cream at the sub/sandwich place along Rt 186 before Luke and I were dropped back off at the Winter Harbor pier to meet the 5:00 ferry to Bar Harbor. The evening sun warmed our faces and Luke and I had a lively chat about Maine, his school plans, and my thoughts on the coming semester. Our car was waiting for us in the parking lot when we stepped off the ferry. My smile as I walked proudly down the pier, feeling like a regular boater, was bittersweet knowing this was my last ferry ride and that I had just made my last trip to the beloved Schoodic Peninsula.

I finally got my lobster dinner experience! We had picked out six live lobsters from a quaint pound run out of the barn of a Winter Harbor home for a bargain price of $4.00/lb. Back at the cottage, Sarah explained how to sex the lobsters and gave us interesting factoids about the life histories and biology of lobsters. As creatures the spend their entire lives under the sea, they are slowly suffocating and flailing weakly, only able to muster enough strength for a few bursts of activity. Every so often the feisty female would flip out and even expert lobster-boiler Sarah would jump and squeal. The male seemed resigned to his fate.

Served with corn on the cob, baked potatoes and coleslaw, we sat down to a true Maine lobster dinner. I will admit that the sight of the fully shelled lobster on my plate turned me off eating the tender meat tucked inside. The eyeballs seemed to follow my fork’s every motion and the antennae kept tickling my wrists as I pronged potatoes and gnawed on the sweet, crispy corn. Sarah gave demonstrations for cracking open and extracting meat from each of the lobster’s body parts. The meat was not as fishy as I expected. The claw meat was a bit slimier than I prefer. I like the chewier, meatier tail meat much better. I was not blown away by the taste of lobster meat on its own, but I did not care for the taste of it smothered in butter either. I think I would like it seasoned more like sauteed shrimp. I liked cracking open the shell, but I gave away most of my meat.  I would partake in another lobster dinner as they are quite entertaining, lively, messy, hands-on meals.

Some great one-liners from the night:

“Bowl those fuckers”  –Ted

“Hey lady, you wanna come over and take a dip in my jacuzzi?” –Dad (as the male lobster speaking to the female)

“Party’s over here ladies. I’ve got the jacuzzi all warmed up.”– Dad (again impersonating the male lobster)

There was also much improv singing and dancing to the tune of “Rock Lobster”.

In other news, Missy Skyped me tonight. I haven’t talked to her in three weeks but we were able to chat for about 15 minutes. Her flight got canceled and she is laid over in various airports overnight and flying early in the morning. It sounds like a hectic journey home.  I can’t wait to see her when she picks us up at the airport Saturday night, but I am not looking forward to the anxiety of packing for another semester at UT. She is leaving on Sunday and I don’t know how I am going to get to Knoxville, much less get ready to go by Tuesday at the very latest. Ugh, I will not think about this until vacation is over, lest I disrupt my calm, relaxed state of mind.

The trail crossed the a carriage road at marker number 14 and we walked down past West Branch Bridge until we reached Cliffside Bridge, where we turned around and continued down the carriage roads to the Jordan Pond House and then to our car, checking out the gatehouse on our way down the road.

For lunch, we drove into Northeast Harbor and ate at The Colonel. The adults ordered some variation of a fried fish sandwich with fries and clam chowder. I ordered fried shrimp with a side order of seasoned fries. Luke had a cajun chicken sandwich. It was all delicious.We stopped at the bakery housed in the restaurant to pick up some 50% off day-old scones and a scoop of ice cream.

We walked around the ritzy district of Northeast Harbor down to the town pier, where we sat and looked at beautiful boats in the harbor. Most had rich mahogany panels, freshly waxed and glistening and we all dreamed of owning property on one of the nearby coves, islands, or even just  boat to take out for leisurely afternoon tours.

We walked back to the car and drove to Seal Harbor to hang out on the sandy beach. We all waded out into the cold salty water up to our shorts. After a while in the sun and letting my legs dangle off the rocks in the water for a while, the temperature didn’t seem to bother me. Perhaps I was thoroughly numbed.

At the cottage, Mom whipped together chicken and noodles that had been cooking in the crockpot all day and left a savory smell lingering in the hallways of the cottage.

We scurried out the door right after dinner and drove down to the Otter Cliffs parking lot. We got out and walked about a mile down the ocean path in the evening light before settling on the cliffs to watch the sky change colors as the sun set. We spent about an hour before the mosquitoes swarmed us. We hiked back to the car using our flashlights and headlamps and were all pleasantly relaxed as we road back to the cottage.

We watched a show on the travel channel that features a portly balding man with a loud laugh who likes to pat people on the back and give high fives who visits different cities and far off cultures to try strange foods. We witnessed him eating the blood from a splayed open cow with the Masai and maggot filled cheese in Nicaragua.

We pulled out our food and hunkered down on the rocks.

After eating, we spent an hour combing the beach for sea glass and pebbles of a particularly brilliant sheen, smooth texture, or rounded shape. I came away with a few good stones to be used in jewelry.

Driving back into Bar Harbor, we searched for a parking spot. I scurried down to the town pier to ask if there was room on the 2:00 Margaret Todd tour.  The long line of tourists boarding the boat was deceptive, because Tony at the ticket office assured me there was plenty of room, even for Sarah and I as standy-by passengers. I waved the rest of the family down to the pier and we took our seats on the green wooden slat benches on the port side of the schooner. I leaned back to let the sun and breeze hit my face and waited for us to pull out into Frenchman’s Bay. The wind was the slightest of whispers and barely moved us across the bay, but we circled the Porcupine Islands floated along at leisurely pace. Dad helped hoist the sails and talked to some of the deck hands, grinning the whole time like a kid in a candy shop.  His enthusiasm is encouraging and it’s good to see that someone is truly enjoying this vacation. I know I am, although I do miss the fulfillment that comes from purposive work.

When the M.T. returned to dock, we walked up through Bar Harbor, snaking through the crowds of people to CJ’s where Luke and I picked up blueberry soft-serve ice cream cones. Delicious and refreshing.

Back at home, Mom and Dad pounded out ground turkey and pork burgers, heavily peppered, but scrumptious with stoneground mustard, grilled sweet onions, and a slice of cheddar.  Served with baked beans and cole slaw we had a real summer dinner!

Later in the evening we drove into Bar Harbor. We walked along the Shore Path as darkness settled over the town. When we wrapped back down Main Street, we stopped into CJ’s for ice cream and ate it while listening to the Bar Harbor symphony playing in Village Green.  All the orchestra members were wearing lobster hats and the conductor had a moose antler hat on–very cuuute, hah. I wandered into a few shops with Dad to find a shot glass and once we had all tired of strolling, we headed back to the cottage.

We claimed spots along the railing of the third deck to get better looks at the whales. You could really feel the boat tipping and sloshing even in the calm waters.

You can see this humpback whale's flippers underwater!

The Bar Harbor-Winter Harbor ferry.

Ate lunch of sandwiches, chips, and fruit out at the picnic table while looking at the trail map. We decided to head out to the North Ridge Trail and climb up to Cadillac Mountain.

Sarah's dog, Fisher.

2.2 miles UP and UP North Ridge Trail with beautiful looks out over Bar Harbor and Frenchman’s Bay. It was a long, steep climb. Many stone staircases, lots of leg work up and over boulders. It was a spectacular hike. Just challenging enough to make you sweat, but in just the right conditions that the breeze invigorated and pushed you further and faster.  And you just wanted to keep going to get to the next scenic vista.

At the summit, we rested and took in the view from all sides before heading back down the South Ridge Trail. We had planned to connect with the West Face Trail to the Bubble Pond parking lot, but we missed the trailhead and continued down South Ridge, eventually picking up the Pond Trail headed toward Jordan Pond. The trail was a steep downhill scramble over rocks and was difficult to maneuver with rubbery legs and a 40 lb dog. We veered off onto the forest service road and popped out at the Bubble Pond parking lot we had been headed to initially. Luckily we were just in time for the last bus coming around the loop road and hopped on. He let us off along the road a little ways from our car. We were happy to not have to walk 7 extra miles down the loop road.

Delicious spaghetti with meat sauce, french bread with pesto, and salad for dinner.

Watched Shooter.

Tomorrow we will not be walking…I’m dreaming of sunny boat rides and picnics on the coast.

We began the drive to Bar Harbor around 1:30 and made it to the cottage around 3. We had to make a few phone calls to find out which cottage was ours, but we eventually got all our bags moved into the cottage. Sarah stayed at the house, putting bags and groceries away while Ted and I booked it to Bangor to pick up Mom and Dad and Luke at the airport.  They called to let us know that they were 30 minutes early (a real surprise for an airline these days!). Ted and I made good time and the drive was scenic. Inland Maine is a much different scene than coastal Maine. Instead of rocks and ocean there are densely treed mountains and hills surrounding lakes like blue jewels. The Bangor airport is neatly tucked away in west Bangor and we easily spotted our gang in the pick up area. After hugs and tossing bags into the back, we were on our way back to Bar Harbor.

Sarah had put everything away and assessed the dinner situation, deciding that the three girls would head into town to pick up a few grocery items. Mom and Sarah whipped up some delicious burritos while the rest of us lounged within arm’s reach of the tortilla chips and salsa.

After dinner we popped in SNL: Best of Will Ferrell and laughed until our bellies were sore. The DVD crapped out half way through the Harry Caray bit, but we had had enough for the night and began getting ready to go to sleep.

She brought her adorable pooch Fischer (Fisher?) along. We spent the first hour after she arrived introducing him to Bill and Pauline’s dog Molly as we walked around the SERC campus and took a look at the creations of the sculpture symposium workers. The artists come from around the world to sculpt giant chunks of Schoodic granite. Some of the pieces are donated to area towns for public display. For the past week, from 9-6 every day I can hear the grating sound of saws of rocks and the rythmic pounding as they chip away at the still formless rocks. The rock faces are all marked up  Xs and Os and lines here and there. It’s fun to try to decipher the code and imagine what the finished pieces will look like.

After our walk, Sarah joined us for dinner at our apartment. We whipped together our traditional stand-by meal of sweet potato, black bean, onion hash.  Once again our skillet added a subtle charred flavor, but all in all it was delicious once again. Sarah and I chit chatted about vacation logistics. Yuck. It’s hard to travel in a big group with lots of stuff and a dog. I hope the rest of my family isn’t stressing out too much. Staying calm really helps get through the not so fun parts of traveling and is a necessary tool for surmounting any challenges or solving any problems.

Sarah left around 7. Tajuan came over to return Hannah’s movies and stayed for a while. We had a bit of work to do and were anxious to relax with our movie, so we sent him home after the conversation died down.  We watched Broken English, a quirky self-discovery flick that was pretty bleak and depressing for the first hour, but ended okay when Parker Posey found her long lost French beau. I think I should go to France, where the men are “passionate, intereste…but a little like dogs”.

Only two days til the fam arrives! Let the countdown begin!

We left our car at Storm Beach House and rode with Adam into Bar Harbor, only to find out that the 1:00 whale watch tour was fully booked.  We were only disappointed for a few minutes, before discovering that there was plenty of stand-by room aboard the 2:00 Margaret Todd trip.

To pass the time before we set sail, we wandered down to the bar which connects Bar Island and Mount Desert Island during low tide. I regretted wearing jeans because the water looked very inviting– clear and with a rocky, sandy bottom.  We didn’t have much time to traipse around Bar Island but it seems like a fun place for a quick hike and splash in the water.  Out on the bar, there is also a great view of the harbor.

The bar to Bar Island

Bar Island

The view of Bar Harbor from the bar.

I love sailing on the M.T. Today’s trip around Frenchman’s Bay was even more relaxing than the first. The wind was not as stiff and my hair was neatly whisked out of my face in a secure ponytail/headband combination, so there was no billowing shirttails or sunburned cheeks whipped by unruly strands of windblown hair.  Although we had to listen to the purr of the motor for some of the journey, I was able to fully unwind and lounge in the sun. Adam caused some distraction, and at one point tempted me to chuck him overboard, but for the most part I was able to shut out the babbling around me and hold conversation with the ocean.  Passing by a small rocky island, we spotted 12 basking seals (Harbor and Grey seals).

M.T.

Harbor seals and Gray seals on a rocky island in Frenchman's Bay.

Arriving back at the pier around 4:30, we decided to regroup at Storm Beach House. John was home from his hike. He’s kept track of all the Acadia trails he’s hiked and it’s impressive to see so many snaking lines of highlighter winding around the contour lines of the map. I wish I had had more opportunities to hike in the Park, although I suppose I’ll get my fill when the family joins me up here.  We called Bernadette and Mo and made plans to meet at the Margaret Todd pier for the 6:30 sunset tour.  Eliot surprised us all by showing up just as we were headed to the grocery store to pick up some snacks for our second sail of the day.  We packed two bottles of wine, two blocks of cheese, sunchips, and apples in tote bags and headed for the pier.  There was a long line of people waiting on the dock and the boat’s benches were already packed so we weren’t surprised to learn that there wasn’t room for six standy-by passengers.

Plan B, we headed to the Ada C. Lore, a two-masted schooner, to see if they would be heading out for a saililng tour soon.  The friendly crew at the ticket booth told us that they would need six paying passengers before they could take us on for free.  We waited around until 7:00, but no one purchased tickets. We almost convinced the crew to take us out by offering to share our snacks, but after laughing with us for a few minutes, they boarded the booth windows and told us that some other day when they had customers they’d be more than happy to take us out.  It seems like a fun sail and I’m hoping to get back to Bar Harbor via ferry or family to check it out.

Plan C, we walked back to our cars and drove into the Park, getting out along the Ocean Drive Loop and walking to Otter Cliffs, where we settled along the rocks for snacks and a hazy sunset. The waves crested a bit offshore and pounded the cliffs, sending spray almost up to our picnic site.  As the colors on the horizon faded to a deep slate blue, the moon’s sheen on the water cast a comforting glow around us as we pulled out the wine, sliced apples and cheese and opened the bag of chips.  While the others enjoyed a glass or two of wine, I happily sipped my water, intoxicated enough by the salty air and warm night. A stiff breeze kept most of the mosquitoes away and the night was nothing less than magnificent. I chatted mainly with Maddie, a wildlife intern for Bruce Connery and coworker of John’s, who we had picked up on our way to the park.  It’s ironic that I’m just now getting to know all these great people and I have to leave so soon.  In this way, the weekend’s activities were all a bit bittersweet.  My only regret this summer has been not having a reliable personal vehicle so that we could have interacted more with the island folks.

Along the path to Otter Cliffs.

Avoiding the puddles along the path. Here you can see (clockwise from left) Maddie, Eliot, Adam, and Bernadette.

Peeking out at Otter Cliffs.

View from our picnic rocks at Otter Cliffs looking back in the direction of the trail

Looking out at the ocean from Otter Cliffs.

John opening the first bottle of wine.

Mo and the cheese.

From left: Maddie, Adam, me, Eliot, Bernadette, and Mo (John taking photo).

We stayed on Otter Cliffs until 9:30. We began to make our way back in the dark  with headlamps and cell phones and the pale moonlight to guide us.  Back on the ocean loop road, we encountered one of ranger friends out on a leisurely evening patrol. As we walked away, he turned on all his flashing lights for a delightful minute.  There was something magical about the way the red and blue strobes lit up our surroundings, giving us eerie glimpses into the depths of the forests.

Back in the Jeep, we drove Maddie home and then back to Storm Beach House. Carrie was home and opted to go with Adam, Bernie, Mo, Eliot, and Paul for a night hike up to the summit of Beech Mt. I didn’t have proper shoes, and I wasn’t feeling very peppy, so I decided to hunker down at Storm Beach House with John and wait for Hannah to get dropped off (she had spent the day with Jake). John and I chatted about our experiences on the island this summer until Hannah showed up around 10:30, at which point our conversation turned to friendly gossip about our friends, potential romances, and in-depth character analyses (made more interesting as John grew more and more insightful the more Jack and Coke he drank).  It’s always an interesting conversation when you find someone who has the same intuitions and perceptions.  Our conversation went on and on, over tea and ice cream, until finally around 12:30, Adam, Carrie, and Eliot returned.  That was our cue to head over to Dermott House for a sleepover with Mo and Bernadette. We felt bad about making it such a late night for them, but I was glad to spend more time with the girls. I’ve been sorely missing female company and it was refreshing to have a giddy, but down-to-earth girl talk with the two of them before showering and hopping into bed for a quick night’s sleep.

Mo woke us up around 7:30 as she got ready for work. We got ready quickly, needing to head to Bar Harbor for the 8:30 whale watch. We hugged Mo goodbye and thanked her for letting us spend the night. We roused Bernadette to give her a big hug, give her some homemade strawberry jam as a token of our appreciation and we zoomed off for Bar Harbor. We popped into Hannaford for some breakfast items. I was happy to find parking in the lot near the pier and our luck continued when the tour actually had space for some free-loading Parkees (Park employees).  We were warned that it was uber-foggy, which would make it difficult to see wildlife and might induce motion sickness. I was a bit nervous heading out, but I was able to eat my breakfast and keep it down easily, even as we skipped over 5 foot swells.  I spent a good deal of the ride in the cabin or walking around the boat this time to escape the cold, wet fog.  The boat was not crowded due to the foggy conditions, and many of the ones on board were holed up in the galley with white-knuckled grips on their barf bags so I was able to make my way to the railing as we slowed to view pelagic birds off Petit Manan. Although we couldn’t make out the island through the cloudy curtain, we were similarly invisible and the birds were very active. Flocks of Arctic and Common Terns flitted to and fro over the boat. Watching the them turn on a dime and dart across the sky in unison is thrilling.  Puffins bobbed in the waves and a few flew directly over head, allowing for great looks at the small, brightly colored birds. I didn’t feel like pulling out my camera today, but John got some a few good shots. I’ll see if I can get his permission to post them here.

After the whale watch we said goodbye to our island friends as they headed back to Storm Beach House and we made our way through Bar Harbor looking for a few last-minute souvenirs and gifts.  I made some really exciting purchases–some great handmade Pakistani wool slippers and gloves on sale, Tibetan prayer flags to hang in the dorm room to welcome success and good fortune to the next school year, a good map of Acadia’s trails, and a bandana with a map of the park on it–perfect to add to my scarf collection!

Deciding that we had exhausted our resources in Bar Harbor, we headed back to Ellsworth. We made a few stops along the way, pulling off and following signs leading to Thomspon Island and other scenic areas just so we were sure we weren’t missing anything. In Ellsworth we made a few unsuccessful stops and then progressed down Rt. 1 to Jordan’s snack bar, where I got my first Maine Moose Tracks. Moose tracks used to be my favorite ice cream as a kid and now I remember why.  We stopped to explore Tidal Falls on our way to Schoodic, but the area was unimpressive. It had a nice view of a cove, but I didn’t see any falls. Perhaps at high tide the riffle in the water looks a little more like a waterfall. We breathed a deep gulp of sea air and then hopped back in the car and finally ended up at the apartment around 4:30, just in time to greet the evening fog.

The Barry Gibb Talk Show

Immigrant Tale

P.S. I also love Andy Samberg.

Iran So Far

P.S.S. I love Sean Connery and Alex Trebec, too.

Celebrity Jeopardy