Vacation Part II: Maine

After a few days hanging out with the Quebecois, we drove through the Canadian countryside, and crossed over into Maine at a tiny rural border crossing, with only fumes in the gas tank, since we were adamant that we weren't going to pay Canadian gas prices any more than was absolutely necessary.

We had both long wanted to visit Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert (pronouced "dessert") Island, off the coast of Maine. We drove in and camped on the west and quieter side of the island. Highlights at the campsite included making 2 successful (but labor-intensive) campfires with wet wood from the previous days' rain, as well as biking back to our site carrying our dinner of lobster bisque and clam chowder. The next night, we actually had our first Maine lobster out of a cardboard box, in the dark at our campsite, with nothing but a plastic spoon for utensils.

During the days, we may extensive use of the free bus system (with bike racks!) that L.L. Bean runs on the island. We perused the village of Bar Harbor, biked the scenic "carriage roads" through the hills that the Rockefellers built, walked the ocean coast, and hiked to the summits of the twin "bubble rocks". My guess is that few places in the USA have been cultivated as a park for so long as Acadia. Thus, it is rustic, but not rugged, the way that parks out west would tend to be. All the roads and trails are very well maintained, and there's a fun history of wealthy patrons building huge cottages back at the beginning of the 20th century.

After leaving Acadia, we took a day to explore the involuted coast of Maine, which apparently has more ocean coastline than any other state, including California (Alaska?). At Muscongus Bay, we achieved a personal goal, that of eating super cheap lobster (less than $10) on a picnic table, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean (see picture above). We followed it up with yummy blueberry ice cream that may or may not have been eaten by JFK back in the day, judging by the pictures on the wall. We ended the night in New Hampshire, and drove the rest of the way the following day, stopping at Niagara Falls on the way back, just in time to watch the moon rise over the falls.