Jammie Day, I Can See Clearly Now, and Our 2-Month Anniversary

Jammie day! Rain, wind, fog – generally icky weather provided an excuse on Friday, 9/23, for a much needed day of relaxation. I spent most of the day catching up on the computer – drafting blog posts and sorting my pictures. We didn’t even get out of our pajamas until nearly 5PM when the sun finally came out. It cleared off enough to lure us out for a short hike. 

We stayed on the Schoodic Peninsula and did the Lower Harbor Trail – it turned out to be one of my favorites! It was an easy path that wound through the forest and along the water. Lots of lush ferns, moss and trees – it felt like home. The path had such a thick layer of pine needles and wood duff that it was actually springy. Like walking in a bouncy house! We looped back to the campground on the carriage roads to get in our 5 miles - just a nice hike to end a relaxing day.

Feels like a PNW walk in the woods.

Lichen furred boulders.

Tide was in - this would have been a good kayaking spot.

Log pathways to avoid the soggy bits.

Fall color is just starting to show.

Evening light on the meadow grass.

The weather was clear on Saturday, but there was a definite drop in the temperature. No more 80˚ for us – the highs were in the 50’s and the wind was quite brisk. We decided to bike the Schoodic Loop road again to see what we missed in the fog. Definitely a good call. We stopped at several of the scenic overlooks and got to watch a lobster boat at work near the Mark Island Lighthouse. We played on the rocks and in the tide pools and watched a local artist paint at Schoodic Point. Even got to see a trio of fat harbor seals working on their tan. :)

Mark Island Lighthouse

Lobster boat coming around to pick up a trap.

It was fun watching them haul in, empty, and reset the lobster traps.

Ok, who warned them about me????

This is what we missed in the fog. :)

Local artist at Schoodic Point.

Got to play in the tide pools again - check out all the baby mussels!

Love trying to "catch the wave".

Schoodic Point with Cadillac Mountain in the background.

Rog takes a break next to black basalt dikes that cut through the pink granite. 

Surf's Up!

Wild roses were everywhere - most were done blooming, but had tons of huge red rose hips.

Trio of Harbor Seals sunning themsleves.

We rode all the way into Birch Harbor for lunch at the Pickled Wrinkle. Huh? Turns out it is a local delicacy, a carnivorous snail that gets picked up in the lobster traps and pickled for local consumption. Unfortunately (maybe), they were sold out of pickled wrinkles when we were there. Apparently, they’re quite popular (or there are a lot of gullible tourists. Lol).

Our return route cut across the park on the carriage roads. Remember that sign I posted warning bicycles of steep grades and sharp curves? Turns out the flip side – riding UP those grades – is even harder! I promise not to complain about steep downhills ever again. Lol.

We missed out on this culinary adventure. :)

The flip side of the steep downhills is no fun either! Lol.  Rog waits patiently while I grind my way up the hill. 

We ended our day star gazing on the Schoodic Point. This part of Acadia National Park is designated as a dark skies area. It’s one of the few places in the northeast where you can still see the stars and the Milky Way. We took a couple of chairs out to the Point just to sit and stare up. Light pollution keeps two-thirds of all Americans from enjoying this fantastic view. Acadia is actively working to protect its night skies and we were here during their annual Night Sky Festival.  Sorry, no pictures – none of the cameras I brought is capable of night photography and I left the DSLR at home because it’s too bulky to take hiking/biking. Maybe not my most brilliant move. :) You’ll just have to trust me that the stars were stunning – although next time I would bring some blankets and a warm beverage. Lol.

September 25th marked our two-month anniversary on the road! We’ve doubled the time of our longest RV trip and we’re still going strong. Lol. So far we’ve traveled 4760 miles in the RV (not counting day trips in the CRV), gone through 503 gallons of diesel, stayed at 27 different places, visited 7 National Parks/Monuments, several state/local parks, and hit 15 states.  Whew!!

We still find ourselves cramming as much into our limited time at each site as possible. Our goal for the next month is to try cut back on our often overly ambitious plans. While we want to keep meeting our daily exercise goals, a slightly more relaxed approach to our travels would probably do us both good. It’s time for me to admit that we cannot see and do it all – although we have been trying! When you start to long for rain just for an excuse to take a day “off”, it’s time to slow down. Lol.

That said, we have no complaints! The coach and CRV are running well. (Knock on wood.) We are loving the trip and feel grateful every day for this amazing opportunity.  So glad you are sharing it with us!