Month: July 2024

Cape Cod, Plymouth and Salem

 

July 9, 2024

 

Our friends who have spent their lives exploring the world always stop at the visitor center in a new location, so that is precisely what we did on arriving in Cape Cod from Martha’s Vineyard. 

A very kind snowbird named Glenn from Englewood, Florida spent almost a half hour sharing his favorite spots on Cape Cod.  By the time he finished, we were well past lunch, so we took his advice and went to Captain Parker’s Pub in nearby Hyannis for chowder.  His recipe has won the chowder contest on Cape Cod so many times he retired to Champion Status, so he went to Boston and won their chowder contest many times.  Yep, it was the best we’ve ever had.  It had just the right taste and texture, the size of clams and potatoes, and was made in small batches all day to be extra fresh. 

We stopped at the JFK Hyannis Museum, which chronicled the Kennedy family’s ties to Cape Cod.  There was one room about Bobby and a hallway upstairs about JFK Jr., but all the rest was on JFK.   It is always sobering when such promising lives are cut short.  Outside, we overheard a younger person telling friends, “I heard he was driving around in his convertible, and someone shot him.  How sad.” Ignorance of history beyond unfathomable.

We stopped by an Amazon locker to pick up packages and drove up the cape to Dunes Edge, our campground near Provincetown.  This campground is in the steep dunes area, but we got a “fairly” level site for the next week while we explored Cape Cod.

We took the Sunday Jazz Train, which I had booked previously, and then upgraded to the club car with the band. 

We enjoyed a lovely lunch feeling quite elegant with the live music and view of the Cape Cod Canal.  The drummer let Larry play during our ride and told him he had an excellent beat. 

Another day, we explored some of the beaches and lighthouses at Cape Cod National Seashore.  Of course, we had to go to the Nauset Lighthouse, which is THE iconic lighthouse on the Cape Cod Potato Chips bag! 

We chatted with a ranger at the Salt Pond Visitor Center before watching several movies about park geology and history before we walked the Nauset Marsh Trail and took the shuttle out to Coast Guard Beach.

This beach ranks in the top 10 beaches in the US, so even though it was before noon on a Monday, it was already dotted with beachgoers.

We are still surprised by the warning signs for great white sharks at all the beachheads and the advice not to swim with the seals.

After a quick lunch at the Marconi Station Site, we visited the Highland Light and Museum.

Erosions of the cliffs necessitated relocating the lighthouse, and there was an engaging video to watch before climbing to the top.  The view from the top was spellbinding, and I kept looking for whales while Larry peppered the volunteer with questions.

We booked a whale-watching tour early one afternoon, which allowed us to bike around Provincetown in the morning.

Sea Salt Tours has a 35-foot boat named Ragamuffin with six passengers and took us out to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

The Bank is the feeding ground for whales, especially during the spring and summer months.  Our little boat proved quite agile and fast, so we could spend time observing the seals off of Race Point on the way and maneuver quickly to whales.

We saw at least several humpback whales feeding, and on the return trip, we spotted a fin whale—over 80 feet long with a fin like a surfboard and a body like a torpedo.

Back on land, we got a treat at the Portuguese Bakery and then biked to the Pilgrims Monument and First Landing Site.

Though Plymouth claims the Pilgrims, they first landed on Cape Cod, explored the area for six weeks, and signed the Mayflower Compact in the harbor before going to an abandoned village in Plymouth.  Provincetown erected a tall granite pillar on its tallest dune to remind Plymouth who was first.

We drove down the Cape to Harwich one morning to tour an organic cranberry bog farm.  The tour lasted almost 90 minutes and followed what happens in a cranberry bog through each season.  The actual flooded bog and harvesting last about 48 hours from start to finish, and then a big truck with a vacuum hose sucks up all the cranberries in under an hour.  There are few independent bogs any longer as more giant corporations do most of the growing and keep prices low, crowding out the smaller farms.  As with any farming, there are many perils and abundant government oversight. 

We thought this road sign was humorous

We chose nearby Sesuit Harbor Cafe for lunch as they are renowned for their lobster rolls, so of course, the parking lot was full even before lunch.  The line moved quickly, and soon, we were sitting with our lobster roll and tuna sashimi.  Classic Cape Cod lobster rolls are cold with mayonnaise as the binder and may or may not have celery added.  They were delicious, of course, but we prefer the ones from Mystic that are warm with garlic butter. 

That evening, we returned to Provincetown for a sunset tour with Art’s Dune Tours.  Our guide, Johansson, narrated the whole two hours, and we learned a good deal about the beach shacks and dunes in general, which were wider, taller, and more numerous than I’d anticipated.  Fortunately, this area belongs to the National Park Service, which controls access to preserve the dunes and vegetation. 

We watched the sunset from Herring Cove, and Larry snapped some nice photos.

As we were back after dark, our bike ride home across a busy road took some caution. We were on Cape Cod on July 4, and Larry grilled some excellent BBQ boneless beef ribs for lunch.  Though there were fireworks that night, the evening rain shower and subsequent sunset were spectacular, too!

The refrigerator spooked us a little by getting too warm, and Larry figured out, with just minimal tools, that he needed to replace a failing relay for the DC heating element.  We’ll use propane or AC until Larry can get a new relay. 

On Friday, July 5, we left Cape Cod and drove to Plymouth, parking downtown close to Plymouth Rock and Mayflower II.  I affectionately deemed it “Plymouth Pebble” as it is much smaller than it used to be due to previous generations chipping away souvenirs.  It is well protected now with a sturdy monument! 

We toured Mayflower II, which we had seen undergoing restoration in Mystic Seaport in 2019.  The United Kingdom built the Mayflower II reproduction in 1958 as a gift for the WWII Alliance.  It is generally faithful to the original, which was likely sold from scrap after it ended its life as a cargo ship in 1624.  Our docents told us that the builders raised the ceilings in the cargo hold 8 inches since this ship would be a living museum with tours.  The original Pilgrims spent all their time below deck as the sailors were not used to passengers and barely tolerated them.  It was unbelievable that 102 pilgrims and their livestock were crammed into such a small space.  They were tough! 

Afterward, we walked around the waterfront and historical area, looking at the Pilgrim Mother statue, the Massasoit Statue, the 1749 Court House Museum, and the William Bradford Statue. 

We spent two nights at the Wompatuck State Park and returned to Plymouth the next day to tour the Plymouth Patuxet Museum.  The pilgrims took over the village of Patuxet after not finding suitable land on Cape Cod.  Located in an area with good water, land, and fishing, the village had been abandoned after an epidemic in the Wampanoag native Americans.  The Museum was a re-creation of the 1627 Village with knowledgeable and engaging period actors who interacted with us as they attended to their daily lives.

We spent several hours at the Museum before picking up the refrigerator relay at an Amazon Locker, which Larry had installed back at the campground.  Success—the DC heating element for the refrigerator works again! 

On our way to Salem, we stopped in Quincy for a coffee at the Original Dunkin’ Donuts. 

In Salem, we had a gorgeous site on the water at Winter Island Campground, which afforded us a little breeze in this ninety-degree heat wave.  It had an electric hookup, too, so we could run the much-needed air conditioner. 

On our full day in Salem, we walked the two miles into town to the Visitor Center to pick up the first trolley for the narrated tour of Salem with its maritime history and, of course, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. 

We walked home past the Bewitched Statue, the Salem Maritime Historic District, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables. 

On Tuesday, July 9, we left Massachusetts, stopped at a Walmart in New Hampshire to stock up (no sales tax in this state!), and started our adventure in Maine!

Next, we go fishing….I mean catching!

 

My thoughts exactly

 

L. L. Bean, Freeport Maine

 

July 12, 2024

 

We had so much fun with two L.L. Bean Outdoor Discover Programs in Freeport, Maine, that we thought they deserved a post dedicated to them! I had no idea that L.L. Bean had expert-led experiences, but I quickly booked them once I knew.

Our first stop in Freeport, Maine, was at the L.L. Bean store, where we spent some time just looking at all their gear.

We purchased our one-day fishing licenses for a nominal fee before going to our campground at Wolfe’s Neck Campground for the next two nights.

The campground is part of a larger Smith Center for Education Research that works on sustainable agriculture, such as pasture rotation and non-plowing of fields, which is very interesting. They also have a small dairy herd, who walks across the campground morning and evening to the milking parlor.

On Wednesday morning, we walked 1.2 miles to the L.L. Bean Flying Point Paddling Center for our Cascade Bay Kayak Tour with Maine Audubon.

We kayaked to Pettigree Island, where we beached the kayaks and found a juvenile bald eagle perched on a log less than 50 yards away!

Andy, our Audubon birding guide, shared that the adults were likely nearby, and we saw them flying overhead to check us out (only adults have white heads)

Andy could identify birds we saw, often knowing who they were by sound even before we could see them.

We kayaked around and between Sow and Pig Islands before returning to the floating dock. The tide here changes by 8 to 10 feet, so the long dock, which wasn’t floating several hours before, was fully floating on our return. We walked back to the campground, did laundry, and Larry grilled us a delicious steak dinner. On Thursday, we got up early, had breakfast, and drove 40+ minutes to Miller Park in Lisbon, Maine, for our full-day Androscoggin River Fishing Trip with L.L. Bean. We met our outstanding guide, Chris, and shuttled upriver to launch the boat. Larry almost immediately caught a smallmouth bass, setting the tone for the day.

This is my first fish,  a cute little sunfish who made me laugh after Larry’s bass.

Together, we caught 45 to 50 fish, including smallmouth bass, sunfish with lovely peach bellies, and some fish called “fall.”

Larry caught so many fish that he switched over to try fly fishing, where, under Chris’ excellent tutelage, he caught three fish!

I caught a 17”, 2.75# smallmouth who fought so hard I thought I’d hooked the bottom!

All of the fish were hungry feeders who put up a good fight, and Chris knew which lures to use and how to move them to attract their attention.

Honestly, it was so much fun to catch a fish and see it at the side of the boat that after the first 20 or so fish, we stopped taking photos and let the line loose so that when the fish danced in the water they were usually able to slip from the barbless hooks. We did have to land some who swallowed the lure!

The Androscoggin River has received a massive pollution cleanup, but the mercury and heavy metals trapped in the silt mean that the fish are catch-and-release with the recommendation of eating only three fish — a year!! The fish seem fat, healthy, and full of fight, anyway! In one day, we both caught more fish than probably in our entire lifetime.

We fished all day until, quite literally, the cows came home!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one 😂

Next, we eddy out of the “Maine” visitor corridor to a quiet fishing village.

 

You can bet as we travel that we’ll be looking to see if we are near any L.L. Bean Discovery Outdoor program locations.  We found them at http://llbeanoutdoors.com

 

 

Stonington, Maine

 

July 19, 2024

 

When Larry suggested a return trip to Maine this summer, he mentioned finding a quiet spot on the coast. Stonington is just that, a small lobster village that is still primarily a quiet lobster village with some tourism but (thankfully) not discovered by the summer hordes.

On our way, we stopped at the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College. Both Arctic explorers were college graduates, and the museum has a wealth of artifacts, mounts, and photos from the expeditions of the early 1900’s.

We had planned to spend only a little while, but stayed almost two hours because of all there was to see and learn. Afterward, we grocery shopped and fueled up for the next week as there won’t be many opportunities on Deer Island. We had a lobster roll at LDI Lobster Dock and Dine as a late lunch/dinner, and we can report these were probably the best we’ve had.

Connecticut style, warm with butter, is better than Cape Cod style, served cold with mayonnaise, and here in Maine, we had a hybrid, which is warm lobster with a teensy bit of mayo, no celery, served warm on a brioche roll grilled in garlic butter. Mind blown. I’m not saying I’ll ever make a lobster roll, but if I ever make another grilled cheese sandwich, I’ll grill it in garlic butter!!

We pulled into Greenlaw’s Campground near Stonington at the bottom of Penobscot Bay, where our centrally located site only needed one trax to level. Larry assembled the bikes, so we were ready for a week of exploring!

We biked into town that weekend to check out the Lobster Boat Races, a Maine version of drag racing, and while we were there, we purchased tickets for the Isle au Haut ferry later in the week and biked to nearby Ames Pond.

Back at the docks, Larry spoke with a lobsterman who said that some boats are for racing only and others are working lobster boats.

We left before the big races to have lunch and leave for Castine in the late afternoon for our bioluminescence kayak tour. It was Bastille Day, and several events were occurring that we thought might make parking challenging to find. We drove past a street dinner on Court Street, where everyone dressed in their whitest whites and sat at tables arranged down the street.

We found our parking spot in the Town Dock parking lot and made dinner before joining our tour.

The kayak tour in Castine Bay and our experience with the bioluminescence was very different from Florida. In Florida, the bioluminescent organisms were much smaller and glowed so that you could see the outline of fish who swam by crabs and the foam on the waves. In Castine Bay, the organisms were small and discrete and seemed to sparkle when disturbed. Unfortunately, on our evening, the bioluminescent organisms were playing hide and seek, so we paddled around the bay in the dark until we finally found them and didn’t have much time to enjoy them before returning to the dock.

We finished well after midnight and considered spending the night at the boat launch as we wouldn’t return to the campground until 2 am. At least a dozen deer kept us wide awake on the drive home, some standing in the middle of the road daring us to bother them, and others loitering roadside looking undecided as to whether they should run out in front of us! The next morning, we slept in and took the day off until we biked a few miles to Burnt Cove for an evening crab and lobster boil. The setting was quintessential Maine, dockside in a picturesque cove, with delicious crab and lobster fresh off the boat!

On Tuesday, we were at the ferry landing at 6:20 am to load our bikes onto the ferry and head out in the fog to Isle au Haut (haut is pronounced “hoe”).

We were the only passengers other than some locals hired to look at moving some houses on the Island. Larry especially had a nice chat with them about their travels—they’d hiked rim to rim on the Grand Canyon—which confirmed our beliefs to work hard, play hard, and buy good gear for your adventurous life. On the Island, we first biked to the ranger station, where we ate the breakfast burritos I’d packed.

We chatted with the friendly ranger before biking to the Robinson lighthouse and then Duck Harbor Trail to Deep Cove.

It was a solid two-mile hike to a quiet cove, though not as scenic as we would see later.

 

We stopped by Shark Point Beach along the road before parking our bikes and taking the Ebens Head Trail to Eben Head. Eben Head was a neat hike to a rock outcropping with a panoramic coastline view. We saw a seal checking out lobster traps and the lobstermen making their rounds of the traps.

Larry even captured a lobster being returned to the sea!

As we biked and hiked, we found blueberries and raspberries for snacks!

We took the Goat trail to Western Head, where we ate a Mountain House dehydrated meal we’d made ahead. This trail also took us to Barred Harbor, Squeaker Cove, and (a different) Deep Cove. There were tons of roots, rocky beaches, panoramic views, ripe berries, and tons of roots and rocky beaches. It was a trail to remember and well named, as you needed to be a goat to navigate it well!

Afterward, we completed biking the 12-mile perimeter of the Island, bought a magnet at Shore Shop Gifts, and caught the 4:30 ferry home. It was a different return trip, with a boat full of day hikers and a large family on bikes. We’d seen only four people the whole day, so we had no idea where these folks were! The Island’s magic that day was in the southern part of Acadia National Park—in its solitude, remoteness, wildness, and feeling of isolation (perhaps heightened by the fog). I guess that speaks volumes about who we are.

This island looks different from the morning trip!

Back at camp, we showered, had a snack, and fell into bed, where we slept almost 11 hours, perhaps from all the activity compounded by sleep deprivation earlier in the week. We changed sites, as there was an electrical issue at our site, and we like the new one even better tucked into the woods.

In the late afternoon, we dressed up for a rare and memorable treat! We drove to Aragosta at Goose Cove, a small resort restaurant a few miles away, for an 8-course tasting menu, each with small portions but fabulous taste combinations of locally sourced land and sea dishes. We enjoyed each other’s company and discussed where we’ve been and our plans for the future. As one of our friends would say, “wonderful, wonderful!”

On our last full day on the Island, we biked back down to the docks, where we met Zach from Stonington Paddle for a four-hour paddle.

We paddled first to Green Island and The Preserve, where we walked a trail. He identified plants and birds and discussed the granite quarrying around the area.

Ghost pipe-never seen these before

We strolled past a quarry pit where locals often swim before paddling to Little Camp Island, where we beached the kayaks to roam about.

This seal was checking us out

We rock-scrambled and hunted for blueberries and raspberries, and Zach tried to find clams—clear skies and mostly calm winds made for a perfect trip to end our time exploring Stonington.

Back at camp, Larry disassembled and stowed the bikes while I did laundry before Larry grilled a steak dinner for us to enjoy. On Friday, we left Stonington and headed down east, stopping at the Wooden Boat School, and Larry watched some classes in progress for a while.

We walked to the dock and agreed that this area had an undeniably perfect vibe.

Next, we spend a week in Acadia National Park!

 

Isle au Haut is currently seeking residents according to this article:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/13/lifestyle/tiny-maine-island-recruiting-new-residents/

 

Schoodic Woods and Roosevelt Campobello International Peace Park

 

July 28, 2024

 

We had camped in all the campgrounds in Acadia National Park in the fall of 2019 and knew then that we wanted to return and spend more time in Schoodic Woods. This newest of the campgrounds is not on the Desert Island part of Acadia, so it is less crowded, and the sites are roomy and wooded (no showers, but not a problem for us). On Friday, July 19, we checked in at the ranger station and discussed our plans before setting up at our campsite. The ranger had only a few suggestions to add to our itinerary.

Larry assembled the bikes, and we were off on the bike trail to nearby Frazer Point for sunset before attending an evening ranger program.

On Saturday morning, we rode the bikes down to Schoodic Point, where we went to the Rockefeller welcome center and learned the history of the Navy radio counter-intelligence. Rockefeller gave Schoodic Point to the Navy to get them off his beloved Desert Island, and after they left, they turned it over to the National Park Service for all of us to enjoy. We biked to the Point for the view before returning home for lunch.

Midafternoon, we caught the free island shuttle from the campground to Blueberry Hill, where we hiked 6 miles up Anvil to Buck Mountain and then back to the campground. The first two miles up to Buck Mountain were neat with rock scrambling, blueberries, and vistas of the water and mountains.

After that, some areas were just root-y and rocky, making it a hike for exercise, not views. The forest was often mossy and dark, so it seemed a little magical in the early evening when we finished.

Sunday was an unusual day. We left before 6:30 am to drive over an hour to the central part of Acadia for Mass at St Peter’s in SW Harbor. We’d been here in 2019 and adore this little church’s simplicity. The church doesn’t have stained glass windows but sits in the woods with big windows facing the forest, so you feel like you are worshipping in the great outdoors.

Afterward, we drove over to the Common Good Soup Kitchen for popovers. We had been there in 2019 as well and enjoyed the popovers and oatmeal they serve to fund their year-long soup kitchen. We always make a nice donation and sit awhile to enjoy the Common Good Band—a bunch of lively senior musicians who play ukulele, guitar, bass, fiddle, and violin and sing reasonably well.

Last time, we invited an older gentleman to sit with us, and he turned out to be one of the founders, full of stories about the charity. We had thoroughly enjoyed our visit with him and wondered if he might still be around. This is where it gets interesting. We talked to one of the volunteers, described who we were looking for, and they directed us inside for information on him. And yes, the photo did look like the person we sat with, but—he died in 2017. We returned to the volunteer and hinted that we had been here in 2019 and he passed in 2017, but they just nodded and said, thanks for sharing. We weren’t sure if they were just busy or didn’t hear us correctly, so we didn’t want to be weird and press the issue. We left wondering what or whose company we enjoyed in 2019. Our travels have taught us that the world is larger than we know.

Monday found us again leaving camp before 6:30 am to drive back to Desert Island and park at Jordan Pond. We walked two miles to the Acadia Stables and took a one-hour carriage ride around Day Mountain.

Our driver was a young lady leaving for a year-long folk culture study in Norway this fall. We thought it was a unique and exciting choice, especially for a lifelong Maine resident. Our horses, Turbo and Detroit, were 4-year-old Percherons, and they took us on a very peaceful ride along the carriage roads. Rockefeller built these roads specifically for horses and oversaw their construction closely so the design blended seamlessly into the nature around them. Also, the grade is much lower for horses. We had a very relaxing and memorable journey before catching the #4 bus to Jordan Pond, where we had 11:15 reservations. It was a picture-perfect day, so we sat outside on a table at the edge of the lawn in front of Jordan Pond.

We split one popover as they’re famous for them, and it was delicious—crispy without overdone and soft on the inside. We also split a house salad and an excellent Brie/lobster grilled cheese sandwich with blueberry crisp and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

It was a quintessential and fabulous Acadia National Park experience!

Back at camp, Larry worked on getting us cell coverage for Canada, and it turns out that Consumer Cellular now has an option for that, so we didn’t have to switch carriers like we did last year.

We had an evening sail with Sail Acadia the following day, with the owner single-handing the sails. The wind was light for our three-hour trip, so we also motor sailed. The captain told us about the parts of the island we passed, who lived where, and when, as many famous folks and celebrities have and do reside here in their summer homes.

We visited the Bunker Ledge monument, constructed in Thomas Jefferson’s time, to mark the reef. This pyramidal structure has faithfully served its purpose and remained unchanged across time and a changing world. Very Cool!

Another day, we drove in the fog to Milbridge for a lobster tour. Sadly, the fog was very thick, with a record low tide for the month, so it was eventually apparent that the experience would not be.

We did laundry in town and then prepped for our USA departure by using our produce, meat, and eggs, locating the Parcs Canada passes and our passports, and stowing the bikes.

On Friday, we journeyed to Canada, and we made several stops on the way. Our first detour was to Sandy River Beach, where we were supposed to find beach glass, but instead, we found a low tide to walk across a small island. The tide was coming in fast, so we took a photo and beat it back to shore.

We made another detour to Jasper Beach for the sound of the waves on the rocks, which was probably less remarkable than expected as it was low tide.

Our last stop was Cutler Coastal Trail, where we set a brisk pace on a rocky and rooty trail (is there anything else in this part of the world?) to a cliffside overlook.

We crossed uneventfully into Canada, where the border agent asked if we brought anything. What an odd question—we have everything we need for this adventure with us! But there was no contraband, so we said no and passed through.

At Herring Cove Provincial Park, we switched from a woodsy, unlevel site to a level spot in the field for the next two nights.

Saturday, 7.27, was an adventure-filled day! We drove to East Quoddy Lighthouse about two hours before low tide and were able to cross for a tour of the Lighthouse.

The crossing involves three ladders, a bridge, and walking across the sea floor that is 23 feet underwater at height tide. The tide moves in and out at 5 feet per hour, so you must be smart about timing your visit. There is abundant kelp and sea grass on all the rocky, which makes passage quite slippery. We had fun, and the view from the Lighthouse was great!

We then drove to the Roosevelt Campobello International Peace Park, where FDR had a summer “cottage” and also came down with polio there. As we entered the parking lot, a volunteer asked us if we were there for “the event,” Not knowing what the event was, we answered “yes” anyway. He replied that parking might be a problem and that if we couldn’t find a spot, there was overflow parking 1/4 mile away. Of course, Larry slid us into a nice place at the end, no problem! It was the 60th-anniversary celebration of the Park, attended by the United States governor, Senator and US Representative, Passamaquoddy Tribal Leaders, Provincial Premier, and even Roosevelt’s granddaughter.

Sam Waterston, of the TV show “Law and Order,” was there since he did the voice for the park movie. He was kind enough to take a photo with him.

After the speeches, we toured the visitor center and museum before joining the free buffet lunch for all attendees. We toured Roosevelt’s Cottage and the Hubbard Cottage, which had a spectacular oval window overlooking Friars’ Bay.

Yes, that is FDR’s fedora!

And, Eleanor’s desk

This window is spectacular!

We also went to Mulholland Point Lighthouse and drove the carriage road to Liberty Point for photos to round out the day.

On Sunday, we returned to the USA and visited Quoddy Head State Park in Maine. The visitor center wasn’t open yet, so Larry got some photos of the Lighthouse in the morning light before we walked the coastal trail to Green Point.

The fog rolled into the coast on our hike but did not affect our stroll along the arctic bog where there were abundant pitcher plants, one even with a bug in it!

After a stop at the lighthouse museum, we drove to Calais, Maine, for our last night in the US for almost a month. We filled the LP tanks, did laundry, received a few packages, and ensured we were again ready to cross into Canada.

Next, inching our way to a long visit to Prince Edward Island