Maine Coast

There have been a few states that I was really excited to see on this trip: Utah, with all its national parks; Montana, with its wide-open spaces; and Maine, with its rocky coastline. After almost 5 months on the road, I've finally reached the third of those destinations.

I arrived in Maine after leaving New Brunswick on September 9. I had a relatively difficult border crossing, actually; apparently, being on the road for several months and driving multiple times between the USA and Canada made me appear suspicious at first. The border agent asked me how many states I'd been to; I told him I'd have to count. He eventually let me through, with a quick "Welcome back."

Anyway, I stopped in the town of Machias, Maine, for a quick meeting with Patty, because there was a Dunkin Donuts there, and I knew I'd have wifi capability there. After my meeting, I asked around about some sights to see in the area, and I was recommended to see Jasper Beach in Machiasport, Maine. It was beautiful! It's an all-rock beach. The rocks are all different colored jaspers. Down near the water, the rocks were small, but they became larger and larger the further the stones were from the water. Every time a wave would recede back from the shore, you could hear the rattling of the stones on one another...like a rain stick, only much louder. It was very, very cool, and I smiled every time.

I sat there for a long time, and then I finally left and continued my drive to Trenton, Maine, just across the bridge from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I went to a lobster pound that night, and ate a lobster roll, because I was too chicken to admit that I don't really know how to crack and eat a lobster. The roll was good, but watching everyone dig into their crustaceans made me determined to eat a lobster before I left the area.

The next morning, I went to Acadia. It's actually a pretty busy park, with lots to do and to see. The first thing I did was to drive to Sand Beach, which is one of the few sand beaches in New England. It was allright, I suppose, but nothing spectacular. But from there, I took the Ocean Trail along the shoreline to Otter Point. And it was a beautiful hike. It started at the beach, then climbed up to the roadside, and then wound along the cliffs along the shore. I stopped countless times to wander around the cliffs and just watch the waves pound the shore. Halfway through the hike I stopped at Thunder Hole, where the crashing waves created a huge noise, apparently, when there's a storm. No storm the day I visited, so no thunder. But it was really cool to just look around there....the area is basically a small inlet, and the water would change by many feet between a wave coming in and a wave going out. As the tide came in (the thunder is heard best at high tide), the water would swell higher and higher; when the water ran out after each wave, whirlpools in the deep-blue water would form. The water looked frigid, and smelled tangy. It was outstanding.

The rest of the hike was excellent, too. As I got closer to Otter Point, the cliffs became higher and more jagged, and again, I'd just stop and look around. When I finally reached Otter Point, there was a couple standing there, as well. They were looking around, but obviously did NOT see the otter which was playing off to the side and bobbing his head up and down. I tried to point him out to them, but by the time they came over to where I was standing, he had disappeared. I waited 15 minutes for him to return, but he never did. I consider him my personal, private otter, and thought he might be sending me a message.

Since then, I've looked up the symbolic meanings of the otter. Basically, the otter represents female energy and playfulness. Supposedly, the highest quality of otter "medicine" is to recognize that the world is a joyful place where all can play without fear of harm or loss, and about finding time to play, not just to work. Otter is also the native American zodiac sign for January 20-February 18, which encompasses my birthday (January 22). My personal, private otter, indeed.

After I finished my hike (which took most of the day, given my stopping and looking around), I went to the Jordan Pond House for popovers and tea (and lobster stew, since I hadn't eaten lunch). It was delicious! The popovers with butter and strawberry jam were to die for...definitely have to learn how to make them when I return to Atlanta.

After lunch (it was 4pm by this time), my feet were really hurting me, and the weather turned foggy and it started to rain. I drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain, but couldn't see anything, and so I went back to my B&B and read that evening. It was a nice, relaxing evening, and I went to bed early.

The next morning, I drove back to Cadillac Mountain and took lots of pictures from the top. It's not very tall, only 1500 feet, but it is the tallest mountain on the northeastern seaboard, and it provides spectacular views of Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor. But there were a zillion people up there, so I didn't stay long. Instead, I went back to my car and drove to the west side of Mt. Desert Island (one of the parts of Acadia), and hiked to Beech Mountain. The hike was short but really beautiful, and I had an amazing view from the top. After that hike, then I drove down to Southwest Harbor and had lunch at a cute harborside seafood restaurant, which was really good. Then I continued driving down the west side of the island. I decided to do another hike along the Ship's Harbor Trail, and I'm so glad I did! It started along an inlet where the water was really, really calm and still. But then the hike took me out to the coast, and with just a bit of scrambling in and out of the rocks (which wasn't very hard), I ended up on the rocks onto which the waves were crashing. It was spectacular. I sat out there for two hours, it was that amazing.

That night, with my hair still smelling of salt air from my hike, I went back to the Lobster Pound and ordered a lobster. I had the same waitress I'd had two nights before, and she was pretty great, coaching me through how to disassemble, crack, and eat a lobster. And I have to say, it was truly outstanding. The meat was sweet and delicate, and I thought it was fun, taking it all apart!

I had such a great time in Maine, even though I didn't see much of it. The coastline and waves were so amazing that I was tempted to drop everything and move there! The only thing that stopped me was the fact that everyone I asked told me that living there is "great in the summer, gorgeous in the fall, and really, really cold the rest of the year". Maybe a vacation home, then?