Riding Around Schoodic

Woke up to a cloudy sky and it appeared to have rained overnight.  We left around 10:40, more like our usual departure time, 66* and mostly cloudy.  As we only had about 30 miles before running out of gas, we stopped in Trenton for gas ($2.46/gal) and Aroma Joe's in Ellsworth for a hot beverage, then on to Schoodic Peninsula, which is part of Acadia National Park.

We got to the parking area at 11:57, down to 64* but the sun was trying to break through the clouds.  Schoodic is a beautiful place...lots of rocks and waves and there's no charge for parking, although you still need a park pass.

We made our way to the Wansqueak Harbor parking area, unloaded our bikes and headed out on the bike path to cover the 2.7 miles to Frazer Point.  Neither of us remembered that the bike path is seriously uphill 90% of the way and the crushed gravel is difficult to maneuver.  However, the smell of balsam along the way was marvelous. 

It took us about 30 minutes to reach Frazer Point, where we ate lunch.  Of course, it spit rain on us the whole time but we sat at a nice picnic table near the water.

My colorful wrap

This is a really nice little park along the Schoodic loop road.  We had a nice view over the water toward Winter Harbor.

There was a new, improved fishing pier, which provided good views in another direction.

We actually managed to take a decent selfie ;o)

From here we rode along the paved (yay) loop road back to the parking area, 3.4 miles, where we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the area a little longer.

One of the views along the loop road

The sun was trying so hard to shine and it felt so good when it did!

It was another 3 miles back to the car.  For most of the way, this road travels right along the shore and most of it is one way traffic. The smells and the views make the trip very enjoyable.  We made it back to the car at 3:05.

We stopped at McDonalds in Ellsworth on our way home for iced coffees, along with muffins for tomorrow.  We arrived at the cottage at 4:45 and unloaded the car in the rain.  

We had left the windows open and the cottage was pretty chilly.  We turned on the heat, sat in the recliner and read while it POURED rain.  Thankfully we weren't still hiking or biking in the park!

We headed into town around 5:45 and stopped at the Katahdin Art Gallery because we (well, I) want a nice fall picture to hang above our bed during the fall/winter months.  It will replace the ocean one that has hung there year round for years. We (well, I) hemmed and hawed and finally made a decision, asking the owner if he could print it larger for us.  We ended up getting an unmatted print, 22 x 33, which he printed and packaged for us while we waited.

photo by Steve Bart/ Katahdin Art Gallery, Bar Harbor, ME

I can't wait to have it matted and framed, just not sure who to trust to do it.

From there we went up the road to use our gift card at Pat's Pizza, where we could park for free, rather than pay for another hour's parking at $2/hour.  The parking meters, which were installed earlier this summer, have netted the town of Bar Harbor $1,000,000 MORE than was originally projected!!!

Of course, Pat's Pizza is not open on Tuesdays!  So instead, we drove to what used to be Little Anthony's, which is now The Tailgate, paid for another hour's parking and ate dinner there, instead.  Got home by 8:30 and watched another segment of the Ken Burns "History of Country Music" program on MainePublic TV.

I could see stars when we got home ;o)

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)