Category: Travel

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Paddling Up Cedar Creek

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Paddling, Travel

Lots of Green

Bob D. was up for a paddling trip, and we both wanted to do something besides the Green River or the Tuckaseegee. I suggested Cedar Creek in Congaree National Park, and Bob agreed.

The last time I paddled Cedar Creek it turned into an uphill death march, as we had paddled our canoes downstream, then tried to paddle back upstream to get to our cars. I was determined not to repeat that mistake. Initially we were going to take two vehicles and do a point-to-point paddle from Bannister Bridge to Cedar Creek Road, which would be about eight miles downstream. However, since it was a fairly long drive down there and there were just two of us, we decided to put in at Cedar Creek Road, paddle upstream for awhile, then paddle downstream with the current while we were tired. Made more sense to me.

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Acadia and Schoodic Point

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Travel

Schoonic Point Rocks

Saturday, June 27

At breakfast this morning there were two new couples. Our friends from earlier in the week had moved on, and were replaced by newcomers. Laura and I were now the old-timers at the inn, and could talk about the breakfasts, what to do in town, etc.

We wanted to visit Acadia National Park once more. Even though it was a Saturday and likely to be crowded, and the weather was still not cooperating, we decided to head roughly in that direction.

When we reached the bridges over the Penobscot Narrows we decided to visit Fort Knox, located on a bluff over the river, and possibly see if the bridge observatory was open. Laura had hear rumors that the elevator had recently gotten stuck in the 42 story tower, and wasn’t keen on giving it a try, so I was by myself for that jaunt.

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Puffins, Puffins, Puffins

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Travel

Friday, June 26

Strange, but tragic news this morning – not only did Farah Fawcette succumb to her cancer, but there was news that Michael Jackson had died suddenly.  Add in the death earlier this week of Ed McMahon, and the celebrity death trio is now complete.

Yesterday’s puffin cruise had been canceled because of fog.  Today didn’t look much better.   We were afraid to commit ourselves to one direction with the possibility of another cancellation, but did so anyway, heading south.  Before we got too far along the way I called the boat company, and they said that they planned to sail.  We guessed that things must be better down near the coast.

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Pemaquid Point to Boothbay Harbor

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Travel



Thursday, June 25

This was supposed to be our best day, weather-wise, so we had reserve a place on a Puffin Cruise that was supposed to sail from Port Clyde. However, things didn’t look quite as nice when we got up. We started out anyway, headed back south through Camden and Rockland. We had just stopped for a bit more coffee when I got a company from the Monhegin Boat Line that the port was socked in, and that the cruise had been canceled.

They did rebook us for Friday, but it put us in something of a quandary. We had wanted to head back to Acadia at some point, especially before any weekend crowds gathered. Now, though, we were on the opposite side of Penobscot Bay, and we were possibly obligated for tomorrow. We decided to continue in this direction and see if we could find some of the lighthouses along these lower peninsulas.

Our first target was Pemaquid Point. I had remembered visiting here from our previous trip to Maine, and remembered the fort and beach. I thought it might be a good diversion.

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Acadia in the Fog

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Travel

Otter Point

Wednesday, June 24

The weather continued to be rotten. It was alternately cloudy, foggy, or rainy and sometimes all three. We were really glad to have our new rain gear from L. L. Bean. It had been a worthwhile stop.

The breakfasts continue to be fantastic at the inn. This morning was another three-course meal, culminating in a wonderful fritatta.

Despite the foul weather, we decided to head up to Acadia National Park. We figured that mid-week would be less crowded than the weekend, so now was the time.

We headed north out of Belfast on US 1, retracing the route we had take Monday. Once again, I had to resist the urge to stop and photograph every one of the Victorian mansions we passed. Of particular interest to me was the traditional Maine farm house. This usually consisted of a small wood frame cottage, usually with Victorian Gothic trim, and a huge cedar-sided barn that would be attached to the house via a passageway. I guess the farmers wanted a way to get to their barns without having to trudge through winter weather. In many of these the barn had now been converted to living space or garages, so the actual square footage of the house had been greatly increased.

US 1 from Bucksport to Ellsworth was fairly non-descript. Ellsworth itself was a quaint town, with a lovely riverfront area. However, the town was much larger than others we had encountered. The town was somewhat extended even further, by virtue of it being near a National Park. The route from Ellsworth to Bar Harbor was lined with motels and the types of distractions that come with such parks – campgrounds, miniature golf places, etc., etc.

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