Tuesday , June 26 , 2007 - Phippsburg, ME - Well , we have not
really done much since we returned from Bar Harbor or as they say here
in Maine - Down East . We did get the story on why it
is called Down East and it really has nothing to do with direction .
It started when folks from Cape Cod would come up to the Bar Harbor area
for the summer and since it was not Cape Cod , they considered it
stepping down in stature . Go figure . . . I guess it just
stuck but it really sounds silly if you think of it in terms of
direction .
Life is still pretty quiet here at the campground but I understand that
as July 4th comes around , things will really begin to happen .
We got a new load of lobsters for the tank and in talking to Chris (the
owner) , it seems that they cooked 3,500 lobsters last summer .
Yeah , that is right 3,500 lobsters . I suppose during July
and August , I will be doing a lot of " playing " in the lobster tank on
the days that I work . When someone wants lobster , we go
over to the tank and let them pick them out if they want to , if not
then I try to pick out one close to the size they want . We
weigh them , put them in a rope net type bag , put a clothes pin on the
top with a number on it and put it back in the tank until time to cook
them . They can order them anytime during the day and just
tell us what time they want to eat . We have a clipboard and
a dry erase board that we put the info on . I all works very
well . We do have a couple of work campers who are sort of
scared of the lobsters but they really can't hurt you much since they do
have rubber bands on their claws . I was not too timid with
them until the other day when one sort of " growled " at me .
Actually it sort of made a noise and vibrated . That was
sort of weird and I have looked at them a little differently ever since
. I have to get over this as " fishing " them out of the
tank is one of my jobs .
Jerry is very glad that the new cabins they were building are finished
but he is sure that Chris will have more projects for them as the summer
goes on . It is harder work than what he anticipated , but he is
enjoying it and getting some exercise along the way .
The weather has been beautiful . Today was the warmest day
we have had so far and it was about 85 . The humidity was
low we were able to sit outside a about 2 PM and enjoy the breeze . I
understand that it does get hotter but not much and sometimes the
humidity is a problem . I just keep saying that it can't be
worse than Texas in the summer!!
Anyway , that is all for now . I will write more soon .
We are planning another trip a little later in the summer to north
central Maine to Moosehead Lake and that should be a treat . So far
Maine is one of my favorite places on earth and I will share more of it
as I can .
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - Phippsburg, ME - It has been a busy couple of weeks
for us and we are enjoying Maine very much. This is such a beautiful state and
everywhere you turn the scenery is just spectacular.
Last week we were in what they call the "Down East" area of the state
which encompasses Mt Desert Island on which is Bar Harbor and Acadia National
Park. This is also where you can catch the CAT Ferry and go to Yarmouth, Nova
Scotia which we did. In addition to this being a beautiful area, the drive up
was through some very pretty, quaint towns which we want to explore sometime.
We were staying in a lovely RV park on the island but didn't have very
good cell phone service and no internet service. As you all know, that was a
little tough for us geeks.
We arrived in the area on Monday afternoon and were up really early to
board the CAT. We pulled out of Bar Harbor at 8 AM and to was an amazing ride
across to Nova Scotia. The CAT is a catamaran and we traveled at about 50 MPH.
The ride is amazingly smooth even though we did have a little rough patch and a
number of seasick folks. We went on a tour of the Yarmouth area and enjoyed
seeing the lighthouse, a very large lobster pound where we saw a 12 lb lobster
and seeing some amazing ship captain's homes. There are definitely pictures in
the Photo Gallery.
The next couple of days, we drove around the island and particularly
Acadia National Park. The tallest peak on the coastline is in Acadia and it is
Cadillac Mountain. This is where the first rays of the sun can be seen in North
America. The day we were at the top was a bit cold and drizzly but we still
managed to have a good time and get some good pictures.
One afternoon, we spent in Bar Harbor which is mostly a touristy town,
but does have some nice shops and has some quaint areas to explore.
All in all, it was a pleasant, relaxing week and I would encourage
anyone to visit the area.
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