Day 12

Greetings from Ellsworth Maine, gateway to the Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor,

Look what we found Dad!

Amazing

Pamie Sue giving you a play by play report of our day's adventures.  We left this morning from Ledges by the Sea with tears in our eyes(or at least mine, surprise surprise). What a quaint little inn with charm and a million dollar view.  But off we went to explore new territory.  One thing about Maine, if you miss the turn for a lighthouse, you'll always find another one.  We missed Indian Island Light but found Curtis Island Light instead(turned out to be one of our favorites.)  Of course since we were here, we had to explore Mt. Battie in Camden Hills State Park to get a panoramic view of Camden and the surrounding areas. Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!  Guess it was worth the $18 park fee to drive up to it. Next we continued down the road and took another detour off Highway 1 to see Fort Point Light at Stockton Springs.  It also was located in a state park.  It was located along a beautiful rocky shore, so typical of Maine.  Of course we took many pictures.  It will be a miracle if we will be able to identify each one by name when our trip is over.  I've lost count now how many lighthouses we have seen.  Back on the road again.  Funny how an hour and half drive can take us three hours.  So much to see and so little time.   We only stopped at one antique store today so that made Judy happy(although she didn't get much knitting done today.) Since she is our chauffeur, we want to keep her happy! But she's been a real trooper and hasn't complained.  By now we were getting hungry so we stopped at a lookout area and had a little picnic.  Dad would be proud!  We ate our cheese curds and whoopie pies we had bought earlier this morning.  The pullout was overlooking a suspension bridge so we had a nice view.      

Overlooking Camden on Mt. Battie

     We checked into our hotel and decided to hit Acadia National Park today as well.  So we drove down, yes,to another lighthouse.  This time it was at the tip of the peninsula and were told it was the most frequently viewed lighthouse.  This one was called Bass Harbor Head Light.  It wasn't as impressive as the others, but had another wonderfully peaceful rocky shore.  We spent over an hour searching for sea glass.  It became a treasure hunt for all of us.  You would have thought we had won the lottery every time we found a piece of broken glass.  A lady actually asked what we were looking for and probably thought we were crazy when we told her.  But wait until Sharla makes some beautiful jewelry when we get home.

      On the way back, cars were pulled over and traffic was backed up.  We were sure there must have been a terrible accident.  As we got closer, we noticed people jumping out of their cars and running to the scene.   We were fearful for what we would see.  BUT WAIT!  THEY WERE ALL CARRYING CAMERAS! So, we grabbed our cameras and out we went.  A moose, a whale, porpoises or maybe even a bear!  We positioned our cameras and looked up.  What would we see, was a bald eagle.  Yes, we have to admit it was impressive, but come on, we have those in Iowa.  But after taking several pictures, we continued down the road.  The excitement was just too much for us!  But first we had to look up several restaurants we had been told about.  Yes, you probably guessed it,  lobster.  What else would we want in Maine.  So we are now back in our hotel and getting ready for another day of adventures tomorrow.  We plan on taking a trolley or bus tour around Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.  Hopefully, there won't be any fog to delay our travels.  Today it was clear, so we're hoping for another adventurous day.
       Hope all is well there!  We miss you all
Pamie Sue
Jammin Judy
Charlie Ann
Peppermint Patty