Tag Archives: seashore

Bar Harbor, walkin’ the walk

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Bar Harbor is a beautiful area sitting like it is in the heart of Acadia National Park.

Acadia is a bit different from most of the National Parks. It’s a patchwork made up mostly of land  and islands that have been donated for preservation. As I understand it, no more land is being accepted into the park although there are other preservation projects that may be available to potential donors.

The eastern portion of the park includes the 27 mile long loop road and 45 miles of carriage roads. The carriage roads are closed to automobiles but you can take a horse-drawn carriage ride or walk the well maintained roads.

We started our day with a traditional Maine breakfast at the Great Maine Breakfast. The traditional breakfast is the lumberjack breakfast, meat and potatoes, eggs and  pancakes. They had a jar of Berrylicious native blueberry jam on the table too.

Oh so good but neither JR or I could finish  our meal. It was a shame too because they were the best pancakes I’ve ever had in a restaurant…no offense to Denny’s or IHop.

After breakfast we (I anyway) waddled out to the car and picked up the cameras. I was hoping I’d see  a fellow we’d spotted the night before when I didn’t have my camera. He was providing me with my “kitty fix” for this trip. He had a pretty white and black cat that he was walking on a lease. I really wanted to take their picture but I didn’t see them this morning.

We moved the car to a better parking spot near a little park on the waterfront and began to explore.

There was a trail that reminded me of the Cliff Walk in Newport.

It ran along the water on one side and large homes and Inns on the other. I think it was about a mile long. We took our time taking plenty of pictures along the way.

Back at the car we decided to find the marina with the boat for the Puffin Tour. It looked to be too far to walk when we checked the map which is why we had the car this morning. It turned out that it would have been quite a hike.

From there we found our way to the visitor center at the park.  I forgot my National Park passport book in the room but I can get the stamp when we come back.  We picked up loads of handouts and information about the park, the trails and the activities. By then it was time to drive JR back to town where he planned to explore while I went looking for some funny little birds called Puffins!

P-Town

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Provincetown or P-Town as its known locally is located at the very tip of Cape Cod. It’s not a short drive to get there by any means but it is a unique destination. For one thing it’s home to the Dolphin Fleet, a well-known whale watch tour company. I’m told they are very successful with their trips out to Stellwagon Banks.

The town itself is very touristy, known for its arts and crafts think “Artist Colony”. A favorite trait of the town is it’s pet (read dog) friendly policy. Shops up and down Commerce Street have water bowls out for your leashed pets. We even saw a dog pulling his owner while the owner rode his skateboard..shades of Cesar Millan (Dog Whisperer) .

The other thing that P-Town is known for is gay pride. It is very accepting of alternate lifestyles. There are  families and children side by side with lesbian couples and gay men. It’s a relaxed and easy atmosphere. Everyone is friendly.

We ate a Mojo’s, a little take out restaurant twice that day. Once for lunch and again for dinner. Lunch  for me was a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich on whole wheat and dinner was the fried scallop plate. Lightly breaded, moist fresh scallops. Makes my mouth water just to think of it.

The day started out cloudy and cool and never really warmed up but eventually the sun did come out. We spent a relaxing day just wandering the town and the wharf area. No shopping this trip just enjoying the sights and indulging in a photo taking orgy.

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Mud Flats and Salt Marsh our Brewster Adventure Continues

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After we wrapped up our visit at the museum I took Dawn and Alex outside so that Nancy could pop into the gift shop real quick. We wandered around the building and found some picnic tables and a sand box.

Dawn was into that sand box in a heartbeat. It was almost lunch time. I expected that we’d be heading back to the car to find a place for lunch but when Nancy joined us she had other ideas. It was time to walk the trails.

The trails were amazing. The only problem was that I wasn’t prepared so I was dragging along behind everyone. It was kind of embarrassing when I’m used to setting the pace but I have noticed that I have definitely begun to slow down.

Anyway it wasn’t long before we reached the salt marsh. A narrow board walk path crossed the marsh. The osprey nest was to the right and there were two osprey on the nest. I wish I had the tripod and the bigger lens. I have to come back!

After crossing the salt marsh the kids spotted some standing stones. It was a solar calendar. A marker gave us information on how it worked and then the kids were off again! 🙂

We continued on down the trail with me bringing up the rear. We began to meet  people returning. They told us to keep going and we’d get to the water. Sure enough. Once we got out of the trees we were looking out over the dunes. The path sloped downward through the scrub grass and sand until we mounted the last rise to find ourselves looking out over the mud flats with the ocean beyond.

Nancy and Dawn walked down the beach to look for shells. I sat on the bank and Alex hung back with me. A lady with a couple of dogs stopped by to talk and we made friends with the canines, a little chihuahua and another medium-sized curly-haired black dog. They were really cute and the view was spectacular.

When Nancy and Dawn came back we headed back to the car. We drove back across the cape to Chatham where we stopped at the Kreme and Cone for a seafood lunch.