Morning broke and it was time to explore Acadia National
Park. We started off the day with a stop at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. The tide was up so we couldn't get a view from below.
Our favorite part was a walk along
part of an old carriage road that had been created by John D. Rockefeller in the
1920’s when he owned this land and a major portion of the island. He was afraid that the wild sections of the
island would be ruined if cars were allowed everywhere, so he had made miles
and miles of paths that were off limit to cars.
This remains so even today. We
found one of the paths and joined walkers, and many people on bicycles enjoying
the lovely morning along side of a sweet lake.
We walked a few miles and it was peaceful and
filled with sites to photograph from lake views to mushrooms to wild
blueberries (which we ate...the blueberries not the mushrooms). There were
lots of times when we exchanged taking photos with other travelers. Everyone was in a great mood in this lovely
area.
We then felt like we “should” make a stop at one of the
visitor centers for the National Park.
We drove into what could have been a shopping mall parking lot with
people lined up to take buses around the island because of the traffic, and a
huge line of people coming out the door of the visitors center to buy park
passes. None of this was inviting,
especially after we had had such a peaceful morning. We did venture inside to watch a lovely
movie, but were not drawn to join the throngs trying to experience this beautiful
park. This is a highly visited park
area, one of the areas in danger of being “loved to death” by visitors. We knew there were many other really lovely
sites that could be seen, but a day mid-July was not the time to do this for
us. So we got back in our car and headed
off the island.
We left the island and drove along the coast for several
hours, in and out of little fishing towns and on country roads. We had lunch on a deck overlooking a harbor. Lots of pretty views as we drove. Then we had to get on Interstate 95 for the drive to the
Boston area. Cars, cars, cars. Traffic just built up as we drove through
Maine, a brief stretch of New Hampshire and into Massachusetts. We were ever thankful for our GPS “who we have named
“Joanne” who was able to guide us through the many turns off of the freeway to
get us to our next AirBnB home in Cambridge.
As we were near the home, we were surprised to see a wild
turkey in the middle of the street. It
popped right out at a traffic light, and avoided a motorcycle rider who tried
to chase it off the street. What a funny
sight! We think it came out okay.
Our hosts were waiting for us and helped us to settle
in. One of the biggest problems in
Cambridge as well as the rest of Boston is parking. We were provided with an off street parking
spot that was a very tight fit for our minivan to get in the narrow driveway.
Luckily Dick is an excellent parker and got it in place. We only had to take it out once during the
next several days we would be there.
The house was actually behind the houses that face the
street. It may have been an old carriage
house, since it was over 100 years old.
We had a sweet private bedroom just off the kitchen where we were able
to cook. Our hosts were very welcoming
and charming. There was also another
guest for Germany who was taking a summer school class at Harvard, only a mile
or so away. There as also a small garden with a table that we ate our
breakfasts at outside. All in all, a
great spot to rest and catch our breath after a long stretch of travel.
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