Views of The Atlantic Ocean!!!!

Unlike the West Coast where you can drive down Highway 1 and see the ocean most of the way with lots of sandy beaches, Maine is made up of rocky fingers that stick out, carved by glaciers, resulting in many bays and sheltered areas.  Yesterday, as we drove down to Acadia National Park, we didn't see the ocean at all until we got to the very end of the peninsula.  In fact, we got lost looking for the Visitor's Center.  As I drove, Barbara kept an eye on the map ... except the National Park map just has lines drawn for the roads ... no road names or numbers!!

At long last, we found the loop road and the park entrance.  As I scrambled to get my NP pass out, the ranger waved us through ... it's FREE day!!  We soon found out what THAT meant!!  The loop road is two lanes wide, one way.  The right lane was completely blocked with parked cars for over a mile at Sand Beach.  Since most of the coastline looks like this, those infrequent sandy areas draw huge crowds.  This is actually Thunder Hole, where more crowds were stacked up, waiting for the thunder.  We didn't hear any ... it's not a blowhole, it's just the noise from the water hitting the other side of these rocks ... but only with the perfect tide and wave action.

This spot was beautiful with a nice sandy area, but closer to the water it was all small rocks.  A few years ago Barbara and Tom were here when a whale washed ashore.  They weren't allowed near it while students took samples to determine the whys and wherefores!!  I was glad the crowds of people didn't come a little farther around the road.  It was beautiful here!!!

I was actually able to get a foot in the Atlantic ocean on this beach!!  For much of the road, there are no views ... just walls of trees.  Many hiking trails will take you to the top of the mountains, including Cadillac ... the tallest at 1500 feet.  It's not as crowded as Yosemite, but come early to get a parking spot.  We missed the Jordan Pond House because there were 10 cars ahead of us and NO available parking spaces.

In California, you would call this glacial cutout a lake ... they call them ponds here.  

Everywhere you looked were beautiful spruce and fir trees, along with huge bushes covered in those crabapple-looking fruit.  Turns out they are a wild rose ... the red fruit are rose hips!!  Eventually we made it to the Visitor's Center just in time to watch the movie about the history of the park.  In the "old" days you could take a carriage ride along roads that skirted the water.  Those carriage rides are still available today, along dirt roads and rock overpasses, giving you a sense of the early 1900's.

Barbara and Tom suggested dinner at Captain Nicks outside of Bangor, a little over an hour away, so we left the park behind, braving the crowded Monday afternoon traffic.  They ate here a few years ago and said it was delicious ... that work's for me!!  With so many wonderful things on the menus here in Maine, it's hard to make a choice.  Not wanting TOO much food, Barbara and I chose the Lobster Stew ... and what a GREAT choice it was!!  Big chunks of lobster in a creamy sauce with a little sherry thrown in.  That's it ... no vegetables or potatoes, just yummy lobster and cream!!  Tom had a huge lobster salad!!  Oh ... and fresh baked rolls to boot!!  The BEST ... which of course made me want to try and duplicate the recipe.  I bought two small lobsters that the restaurant cooked up, cooled down and put on ice for the ride home.  The recipe couldn't be easier according to the "Maine Home Cooking" cookbook I purchased at the park.  Butter, half and half, sherry and of course lobster!!!

I love this picture ... Tom was smiling, I just couldn't get my camera to take the picture fast enough, so on Facebook I said this was when Tom found out we were "sharing" the wild blueberry pie and ice cream!!!  They did share it ... I opted out ... and Barbara said it was absolutely the best blueberry pie she has ever eaten!!  Once we got home, I cleaned the two lobster and gave one to Barbara for salad or stew.  That turned out to be a rather messy stinky job when the juice drained down into my stove top.  No worries ... 30 minutes later I had it all clean!!

It's moving day again as we head further south to Portland Maine Elks Lodge.  Keep your fingers crossed they have a couple of electrical sites open up for us!!