 MONDAY |
TRAVEL DAY |
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Speaking of can't wait, two hours after setting up THE POD in it's new location we were back in the truck heading for the Hulls Cove Visitor Station to get my Passport Book stamped. The visitor station is at the very north end of the park and the campground is at the very south end, so we took the quick way there by traveling on State Road 3 which took us through the outskirts of Bar Harbor, ME.
After getting my Passport Book stamped at the Visitor Center we learned that nearly all of the main attractions in the park are located on a dedicated Park Loop Road that connects everything we hope to see while we are here. We decided to drive the western half of the Loop Road back to the campground, most of this section is a one way road leading south, so it worked out just fine for us.
We daylight still left, because it doesn't get dark up here until nearly 8:30PM, we wanted to explore at least one of the main attractions here in Acadia. We drove up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain (1530 ft) and hiked around the half mile rim trail that is there. From the trail we could see the cruise ships in Bar Harbor and quite a few of the smaller surrounding islands. Along with the coastline we could see the entire forested interior of the National Park property. It was quite a site for these two Floridian's whose highest peak in the entire state is only 345 feet above sea level.
We were so excited with our first impression of Acadia National Park today that we can't wait to see what the next two weeks will be like!
 TUESDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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Thank You Northeast Harbor Library in Northeast Harbor, ME
*Today's mileage includes a little scenic drive to Bal Harbor, ME for groceries.
 WEDNESDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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Tricia had two eggs with bacon and potatoes, I had the meaty omelette, both came with their fresh baked, thickly sliced, whole wheat toast. We got a side order of pancakes to share that came with Maine Blueberries and Vermont Real Maple Syrup. We've never spent $50 on breakfast before, but everything was was super delicious and this is after all a tourist town!
On the way out we went through their bakery and picked up a blueberry and cream cheese danish along with a loaf of the same delicious whole wheat bread that we just enjoyed with our breakfasts.
Normally you would be enjoying your popovers outdoors on the back lawn, overlooking the beautiful pond, but with today's rainy weather we had to settle for dining indoors and looking out the large bay windows instead.
Looking around the restaurant we noticed that more than half the tables were doing exactly what we were about to do, spend a little time out of the weather and enjoy the warm popovers.
$12 will get you a pair of warm popovers and a choice of beverage. Traditionally you'd drink hot tea with your popovers, but we went with a refreshing Blueberry Lemonade. The popovers come with Maine Strawberry Jam and real butter, the lemonade comes with some simple syrup so to you can sweeten it as much or as little as you prefer. Everything was super delicious!
Thank You Northeast Harbor Library in Northeast Harbor, ME
 THURSDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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Thank You Northeast Harbor Library in Northeast Harbor, ME
*Once again we drove through Bar Harbor on the way home.
 FRIDAY |
SIGHTSEEING DAY |
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We are spending two weeks at Blackwoods Campground here in the center section of the park. There are two other campgrounds in the park but they are located on separate peninsulas of land that take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to travel to by car. Here, I'll try to paint you a picture.
Take a look at your left hand, spread out your fingers as far as you can. Now imagine our campground on the tip of your middle finger, the other two campgrounds are on the tips of your index finger and pinky finger, get the picture?
We are staying on the middle finger where all of the park's highlights are, not that the other fingers are any less beautiful and they all have highlights of their own. For instance the library we have been going to most days this week is located on the tip of the ring finger.
To get out and explore we decided to go visit one of the other two campgrounds today, the one on the pinky finger. There also happens to be a highly rated laundromat nearby that has a bar and restaurant attached to it. They are both owned and operated by the same family. Two birds with one stone!
Here are some pictures of the coastline and surrounding area of the pinky finger, the location of Seawall Campground and Joey's Laundromat (aka Southwest Harbor).
 SATURDAY |
WORK DAY @ THE LIBRARY |
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Thank You Northeast Harbor Library in Northeast Harbor, ME
We also picked up our forwarded mail at the Post Office across the street.
 SUNDAY |
WORK DAY FROM THE POD |
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Only my AT&T iPhone gets a marginal signal here inside the forested campground, so with the aid of our signal booster Tricia was able to get her work done. Generator hours are 8-10AM and 4-7PM, which is all we need to keep our batteries topped off so that we can charge our laptops, run our cell phone signal booster and of course use the lights and keep the refrigerator thermostat happy. While we are here the refrigeration comes from propane usage, but the thermostat still needs a little electricity to work. The same thing is true about our hot water heater.
With Tricia all set to work I got busy on my project. First thing I needed to do was empty out the contents of the shelf I made for the cargo area the truck. It's a little hard to explain why but I'll try to do my best.
The frame of the shelf is made of 2" PVC piping and the shelf itself is made of 1/4" plywood. I didn't want to make the whole setup permanent so I elected not to glue any of the PVC piping together. Instead it is held together by the screws I put through the shelf and into the frame. This worked well for keeping it all together front to back but after driving around for a few months now it is separating left to right from all the turns and bumps in the roads.
When I originally designed this I felt the cross beams needed a little reinforcing so I put 2x2" lumber inside the 2" PVC piping, I sure glad I did! The shelf itself is doing great but the leg sections keep separating from the shelf. By simply emptying the shelf, pressing it all back together and put screws through the legs sections and into the 2x2's the whole thing should finally be once and for all finished! And still easy enough to remove if we ever have to do so.
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