GCI: Sea & Shore

The second phase of our New England adventure took us to the magical land of the Cranberry Isles. (The GCI of my title is Great Cranberry Isle and there is a Little Cranberry as well.)

What a wonderful place to relax, visit with friends, throw sticks for the dog, work puzzles, eat lobster, and generally just really, really enjoy the life we're lucky enough to live.

view across Great Cranberry Isle's Pool
back toward Mount Desert and Cadillac Mountain

Here's what the Isles looked like, cartographically, back in the late 1800's, according to the photo my brother cleverly took in the Great Harbor Museum in Northeast Harbor (where we caught the ferry to GCI)...

Our ferry landed at the top of the island, at the pier in this pleasant little harbor:

The island is served by a people-only ferry, worlds different from the large car ferries that we are used to seeing along the Gulf coast.

There was an interesting discussion going on while we waited to board at Northeast Harbor. Some of the ferrymen seemed to think that the Sea Queen was having some difficulties and that they needed to bring up another boat for us. And after hearing bits of this conversation, we thought that sounded like a good idea.

However, less conservative heads prevailed and we pulled out on the little boat you see on the left here. We made it to the island just fine. However, on our return journey we rode another ferry and heard that the Sea Queen was in for repairs!

Since this is the only way to get from the "mainland" of Mount Desert Island to the Cranberries [relatively] cheaply, all kinds of goods, as well as people, take these little ferries. They just load bulkier items up on top while your suitcases stay with you below. I'm sure after a few weeks this system becomes rather cumbersome, especially since, even in the summer, the ferries run only every 2 hours. But for our brief visit it was only part of the charm and adventure of the Cranberry Isles.

It's not too surprising that some folks use the ferries as sight-seeing vehicles. When you get views like these from aboard:

lovely islands on view during the ferry ride
(we think the larger one is Sutton Island)

looking back toward Mount Desert as we approached GCI's harbor

Even when you're not blessed with the glorious weather we had during most of our visit, the fog makes for great photo opps as well...

As scenic as the journey over to GCI is, the most wonderful sea viewing experiences require the more intimate activity of walking around the island. Here's my sister on a spectacular bit of headland during one of our island walks...

How fabulous to have spaces like this hardly 10 minutes from where you rest your head at night:

Our only regret was that both of our walks happened at low tides. It would be really neat to see these shorelines with more dramatic wave action. But they were gorgeous all the same...

I was particularly taken with the incredibly brightly colored lichen that decorated a lot of these rocks.


It pays to look down and enjoy the micro-views on offer, too, doesn't it, even when the wide-angle shots are so amazing.

colorful pebbles make up GCI's "beaches"
(I limited myself to 3 small souvenirs, but it was hard!)neat rocks & the sea...an unbeatable scenic combination

We three visitors from very different climes really enjoyed soaking up the strange beauty of the Maine coast:

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You won't be surprised to hear that I took well over 100 photos on GCI. You can see more of them in this Flickr set. And my next post will give you a glimpse of what life on magical Great Cranberry is like.

Photos from the whole trip (including many not used in the blog posts) are in this Flickr collection.

Downeast Maine, part 2: bridges, history, food, and more

Although Acadia National Park was the main focus of our time in this lovely country, on the advice of our hosts and other knowledgeable folks, we got to see some other really interesting sights.

And have some really good food.


This is the very lovely salad I had at the Flatbread Company in Portland on our first day in Maine. We wanted to eat, preferably on the water, and a quick call to my son, a former Portland resident, gave us just what we needed.

Later we went on to have a great seafood dinner just outside of Bangor at McLaughlin's at the Marina, a yummy brunch in Bah Hahbah at the Cottage Street Bakery, and more than a few surprisingly good muffins/pastries at some of the ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts that for some reason are more numerous in New England than Starbuckses.

Certainly well-fortified for sight-seeing, we had lots to see.


Here's a view looking toward the mouth of the Penobscot River, and, no, my lens isn't faulty. What looks like light streaks on the image are reflections from the glass of the Penobscot Narrows Observatory, atop one tower of the snazzy new Penobscot Narrows Bridge. What great views in all directions! As you'd expect from the highest bridge observatory in the world.

the view east from the Observatory

Perspicacious readers will notice two bridges in the photo above. The new one is on the right and the tower you see at the other end is the twin of the one with the Observatory in it.

The bridge on the left is the old Narrows bridge, called the Waldo-Hancock Bridge (because it connects these two Maine counties, not because it's the answer to that burning question ) .

When work began on refurbishing this lovely old bridge, it was discovered that the cables were too far gone to be reinforced. So a new bridge was needed and the sleek beauty you see on the right here was built in record time. That's the Observatory at the tippy-top.

We really enjoyed seeing these bridges and the views from the top, as well as learning the stories behind these cool structures.

Here's a shot from below of both bridges side-by-side...a nice picture, and a nice metaphor for old and new Maine:


After our Observatory stop, we had planned to head right on over to Acadia. But our ticket to the observatory included admission to this interesting site, and our hosts recommended taking a look there, so we decided we had time for a little spontaneity in our sight-seeing. And weren't sorry we did.

This is the central courtyard of the somewhat confusingly-named Fort Knox, a really neat structure to explore. If, also, a great example of "fighting the last war," since it was part of a string of forts along the eastern seaboard built to defend against British depredations after the War of 1812.

The Fort's interesting system of tunnels and cannon embrasures, arcades and magazine pantries, was just plain fun to walk through. (We found out later that they have a big Halloween party there and that it's a favorite "haunt" of ghost hunters...an ideal setting for both activities.) And little architectural touches like the handsome brick ventilation hole on the left add to the interest of the place.

But we also learned some history of the area, too. Maine's boundary was a matter of dispute with Britain well into the 1800's and of course the proximity of once-French areas of Canada threw another complication into its earlier history. One of the great things about travel: every place you go has an interesting history, with more to learn all the time, no matter how much you think you know about it.

Not the least attractions of the Fort are the views it affords of the surrounding area. You can see why it was placed where it was. Should British warships ever have tried to invade up the Penobscot, they would have had their hands full. But for now, it's a nifty little unexpected jewel on tourists' itineraries.

the town of Bucksport seen from Fort Knox

the Penobscot Narrows bridges seen from Fort Knox

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The resort town of Bah Hahbah (spelled Bar Harbor on maps) wasn't an unexpected stop on our Downeast Maine excursioning, but it was a pleasant surprise for us.

We were expecting crowds, high prices and ritzy-but-sterile shops, and instead found a charming little town that, although obviously living for tourist revenue, still seemed genuine and sweet.

Admittedly we were there in the morning, perhaps before the full flood of summer day-visitors, but the crowds weren't bad. And we were pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices for brunch food items and souvenirs.

Flowers were everywhere (as we found all over New England) and we especially enjoyed a short walk along a path rimming the harbor.

To be sure, there's evidence here of lots of money, especially in the boats just offshore.

The four-masted schooner (?) I saw in the distance was the most elaborate we saw, but I imagine it's rather expensive to run... (note the floats in the water: lobster pots!)

And there were lots of shops, many with very clever names and of course catering to the tourist trade. But somehow we found them endearing rather than off-putting.

a highlight stop for my dog-loving sibs

a selection of Bar Harbor business signs

As my Colorado sister remarked, if Bah Hahbah is your state's Aspen, then you have a pretty nice state.

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I forgot to add this link when I first published the post, but if you want to see about 40 more photos of these areas, check out this Flickr set. And photos from the whole trip (including many not used in the blog posts) are in this Flickr collection.

Downeast Maine, part 1: Cadillacs, Eagles, & Thunder in Acadia

If you travel northeast along the incredibly ragged (and incredibly beautiful) coast of Maine, when you've covered a little more than half of the linear [not the fractal] distance, you're in Downeast.

And the jewel of this region is Acadia National Park, the oldest park east of the Mississippi, and one of the highlights that we'd put on our list early in our trip planning.

Covering most of the area of Mount Desert Island, the Park did not disappoint in its views, trails, or interesting history. Being an older park, it's not surprising that it includes such inholdings as the amazing house you can see in the background of the photo on the left, taken near Thunder Hole. And the famous town of Bar Harbor (or Bah Hahbah, as you just have to say it up there) is also on the island.

I'll have pictures of this charming town, and some other sites on the island in my next posts, but today I'm concentrating on the Park.

And what a setting for a park! The view above was taken from the top of Cadillac Mountain, which, at 1,530 feet, is not much of a mountain by Colorado standards. But it's the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard, and affords views that make you wonder if it and Colorado's peaks are on the same planet, not to mention in the same country.

Here's what the mountain-top itself looks like, strangely very similar in type of rock to our own Enchanted Rock, it seemed to me, in spite of the very un-Texas-like watery setting:

Coming from the dry southwest, we thought it was amusing that the French named this island Mont Desert, since it doesn't resemble the deserts we're familiar with. But you can see by the photo above that there are wide stretches of bare rock, which, in this part of the country, looks like desert by comparison to the surrounding forests.

Those islands in Frenchman Bay are the real scenic attractions from the top of the mountain, looking like chunks of rocks dropped in a very wide stream:

A few of the islands of the southern coast of Mount Desert (not in the Bay) were of particular interest to us:


In the picture below, where I zoomed in, I've marked Great Cranberry Island, where we'd be heading in a few days. [Unfortunately, my telephoto capability isn't robust enough to show our GCI hostess waving, as she said she was doing when I called her from the Mountain and told her we could see her island.]


There will be photos and descriptions of this magical place coming in a few days if I can keep to my current blogging schedule.

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After our Cadillac Mountain excursion we continued along the Park Loop Road, unfortunately not having time to stop at every scenic spot.

We chose to make Thunder Hole our next out-of-car experience, and enjoyed the rocky coast there:

...although the eponymous hole wasn't much to see, especially since the walkway that would have put you close to it was closed off. (And Oahu's Blowhole (which you can see toward the bottom of this page) was a bit more impressive.)

But that coast is still lovely...

We did some inland rambling, too.

First, a stop at Eagle Lake, since the more popular and historically significant Jordan Pond was really crowded.

The lake was enjoyable not only for wider views, but for the micro-scenery that's sometimes easy to miss when you're surrounded by amazing panoramas. Like these muscular-looking tadpoles in the shallows:


Our next day in Acadia, on the way to catch the ferry to Great Cranberry, we took time out for a short hike by another lake, Upper Hadlock Pond. Which is not on the main loop road and consequently not nearly as crowded.

Regarding the crowds, considering that Acadia is in the east, and it's summer, they really weren't all that bad. And especially being off the main road, we had this pretty little lakeshore almost all to ourselves.

Hard as it is for Texans to believe, since we've been sweltering for some time, summer has really just started around here. You can tell by the lovely new growth on the ends of the spruce branches that we saw on the trail:

A highlight of our walk was an Acadia landmark that we wished we had more time to explore, the carriage road you can see below. In the photo it's laid over a small creek on a very handsome stone bridge, one of many in the Park. [We were supposed to attend a ranger's talk about the roads one morning, but faulty navigating made us too late to catch it. ]

J.D. Rockefeller, previous owner of the parkland, apparently built a whole system of these roads so that he could have quiet carriage rides, after other Mount Desert roads were opened to motorized transport! Now they are favorites of bikers and hikers not needing rougher terrain to enjoy the wilds.

Sibling trip! Sister & brother on the bridge

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I took lots more pictures than just these in Acadia. You can see the others in this Flickr set. And I'll try and write up more about Downeast Maine in the next day or two.

Photos from the whole trip (including many not used in the blog posts) are in this Flickr collection.

Wordless Wednesday: you know you're not in Texas anymore...

Heading west before east

It might seem a little odd to start out a New England vacation in the Rockies, but I never need much arm-twisting to go to Colorado.

And the prospect of seeing a new grand-niece, all 3 of my Denver nephews, and a baseball game at one of my favorite parks (and featuring my second-favorite team)...well, I just couldn't pass it up. No matter how hard it was to explain when I was asked, "Where are you going on your trip?"

And, while Denver isn't my favorite part of the state, it's hard to criticize a town with views down the streets like this one:

Plus, I ended up getting to do all kinds of unexpected fun things. Which I will enumerate for you below.

First off, my sister and I needed to pick up our game tickets ahead of time because we had people planning to join us coming from different directions. Now we could have driven down to Lodo, the rejuvenated historic downtown of Denver, where the stadium is located. But it would be much more fun to ride the train.

The city's light rail system has proven to be wildly popular, and since there was an E line stop near our motel that would take us to within a few blocks of the stadium, and I'd never ridden it, why not?

[Long-time readers should be familiar with my admiration for well-run mass-transit systems. Again, little arm-twisting required to try a new one!]

A smooth, scenic ride, a short walk, and we were at our destination:

And after getting the tickets, we had time to relax at a Lodo coffeeshop before catching our ride back "home."

New experiences:

• riding new light rail
• learning a new (to me) name for neat part of downtown Denver
• and, completely unexpectedly, acquired ownership of new coinage! [I had no idea that these lovelies (see right) were in existence! I'd heard of the Sacajawea coins, but thought they weren't used...and they aren't, in my neck of the woods. (Why not, I can't help but wonder?) But the presidential coins were a complete surprise. I've always rather enjoyed seeing new coins. Who knew you could do that just by paying for your train tickets, and getting this in change from the machine?!]

The next day brought more fun activities.

We got to spend more time with the new little family...

Babies really are better entertainment than TV! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get an adequately cute, unblurred shot of the little one with my camera. But, as you might guess, there are many photos of the child and I was able to borrow this one taken by her proud Granny:

Isn't she a beauty!?

We also had lunch in a funky part of town where I saw one of these (see left) for the first time. Well, well. Not keeping up to date on this kind of news lately, I was just as surprised to see this as I was the Madison dollar coin.

Another brand-new experience. You never know what you'll run into when you leave Texas.

Then dinner with the aforementioned 3 nephews, where, unconscionably, we had so much fun relaxing and visiting, that no pictures were taken!

The new experience highlight of the next day was seeing X-Men: First Class, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

But the real highlight was the game. What an incredibly beautiful ballpark they have! My "Trip Teasers" post included a sunset shot from our seats. But there was even more to see. They have an open-air concourse with great views of town...


...an imaginative hitters' background with occasional animation...

the curved seating section at the top are their cheap seats, cleverly called the "Rockpile"

...and, then, there are those views...

It was even a really good game. A pitcher's duel, which is not supposed to happen at Coors, that the Rocks ended up winning 3-2. Unfortunately, we weren't there to celebrate the victory. Now, we hardly ever leave a game early. But knowing we had to get up at 5 the next morning to catch our plane to Boston, we gave them until the 11th to win it and then headed for the car.

But before we got back to the motel, we heard the win on the radio in the 13th. Wish we'd stayed a little longer!

My favorite Rocky, Troy Tulowitzki, scored from first on a single!!! [This is why I love these guys! and I'm not his only fan...I thought the father-and-son-Tulo-fans on the right were so cute.]

A good omen for the rest of our trip? It seems that it was.

I will try to get the main part of the journey, the eastern leg, written up soon.

Trip Teasers

view from Cadillac Mt., Acadia National Park, Maine

It will be a while before I can sufficiently organize the almost 500 photos I took on the very fun, and very diverse, trip across the country from which I just returned. [500?! Yes! to think that we considered the 350 slides we took in Alaska in 1992 to be a bit excessive....]

amazingly clear Atlantic water on the
rocky coast of Great Cranberry Isle, Maine

But I'm having such fun looking through them (so glad I planned to take the day off from work) I have to start sharing.

sunset from Coors Field, Denver (most beautiful ball park in the world)

I think you'll agree that we managed to fit an awful lot of sight-seeing and activities into a pretty short trip.

grave in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, cemetery

Few areas of the country have such an intriguing and impressive mix of natural beauty, cultural attractions, and fascinating history as does New England.

flowering tree in Bar Harbor, Maine

Flowers, flowers, everywhere...panoramic views...intimate views...quirky details...they have it all.

lobster pots in a yard on Great Cranberry Isle

view of Bucksport, Maine, from
the Penobscot Narrows Observatory

rocks, lichen, and sea on Great Cranberry Isle

Stay tuned!