Lighthouse, Garden, Carriage Trail

This is Maine.

29 May 2017 (posted 1 June 2017)

I wake up with a headache. Bar Island is shrouded in mist. It's Memorial Day.  I think about a bike ride and I'm not feeling it.

We trudge up the hill for breakfast at the Looking Glass again.

Today would be a good day to drive around Mount Desert Island. I pick the farthest point first, the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse, south of Southwest Harbor.

The lighthouse isn't open to visitors.

A lone buoy bell tinks and clanks in the mist.

We follow the trail past the lighthouse.

This is what Maine looks like.

A steep set of steps leads to the shore.

This is what Maine looks like.

There's not much to Southwest Harbor. We walk the main street in a few minutes. This part of the island calls itself "Quietside."

We move on to Northeast Harbor, whose desolation is made more so by the Memorial Day holiday. The only thing open is the greasy spoon, where we have lunch.

Next is the Asticou Azalea Garden just outside of town.

The squirrels have been rubbed small on Mount Desert Island.

This is a Japanese sand garden. No comment.

We're almost back to Bar Harbor when I spot a carriage trail entrance. We decide to walk for a while.

A family on bikes passes by. I notice that the father is riding a road bike with road tires. I ask him if that's working out okay. He says it is.  That gives me an idea.

This is a beaver dam:

The more people on bikes pass us, the more determined I am to take Miss Piggy onto the carriage roads tomorrow. I need to get my bike face on. It's the only thing that's missing.

Another weensy squirrel:

The result of beaver activity: dead trees.

Listen for the woodpeckers.

Lichen on a rock:

Another beaver dam:

At a trail junction we turn around.

The water lilies are about to bloom:

Back where we started, I look down to the side of the road that we didn't take. I'll be back tomorrow.

It's late enough now, and a holiday, so not much is left open in town. I saw this shop last year and never went in. It's closed now. I'm not that interested in what's inside. It's the name I like. It rattles around in my head for minutes each time I pass.

For being a good sport, Jack has earned himself another moose. I've found some locally-roasted coffee, too.

In Southwest Harbor, Jack tried a sip of Moxie. So did I. It has a medicinal aftertaste. The contents of this bottle went down the drain.

On the dessert menu at dinner is whiskey and bacon ice cream. Food is weird here.

I almost forgot! Jack earned himself Douglas the Moose yesterday. We like the look of this moose. Plus, he stands on all fours. Not many of your plush moose will do that.

Tomorrow's forecast looks good. I'm going to figure out how to get from the hotel to the nearest carriage road, and from there to Park Loop Road. I'm going to climb Cadillac Mountain again. I think.