The Cannon Family's travel blog

I hesitate to even label today an “activity day” because we pretty much did nothing.

The End.

Okay maybe it wasn’t that boring.  (I’ll let you decide!) We woke up relatively early as the morning was very bright and the hotel doesn’t have blackout curtains. We had our gourmet breakfast of Cinnamon Chex and Keurig coffee.  We grabbed some beach chairs and an umbrella and staked out our space on the beach.  That was the biggest challenge: finding a spot that would provide the social distancing that we would be comfortable with. We got things set up with another family from our hotel about 10 feet away and then headed to the coffee shop for some REAL coffee.  There’s a great cafe on the corner, Dolce Crema, that we would frequent several times today.  We started with some lattes (mine iced and Frank’s hot) and settled into the beach chairs for they day.

That started the battle for space.  As people started to roll onto the beach, they headed for every nook and cranny, often without any thought to how close they were getting to others.  At one point we decided to put down a “spacer towel” between us and the family next to us to make it look like someone was already there and prevent others from muscling in.  On the other side of us, we watched a couple spend 45 minutes wrestling with and 8×8 shelter, the edge of which was about 6 feet from us.  The precarious nature of the structure and the windy conditions made sure no one got anywhere near them for fear of being underneath when it collapsed!

And so we were set for the day.  Sorta.  You may know that we are notoriously bad at doing nothing.  We tried very hard.  It was incredibly warm for the coast this far north and the water was unbelievably cold! We people watched for a while, walked along the beach, grabbed a sandwich at the corner cafe (chicken salad on a GF roll for me, a lobster roll for Frank), took a dip, grabbed some gelato (pistachio and pink grapefruit), and just generally did nothing much for a good 5 hours.  Then we were done. Funny enough, we lasted longer than the couple with the shelter who packed up and left about 2 hours after they finally got things set up.

Around 3pm we packed up and headed to the hotel pool (and the hotel pool bar!) and went for a swim and had a few drinks.  The wind was too strong to play cards so we got out the travel dominoes and played while finishing a bottle of rosé (yes, we are those people now!)  Then it was time to shower and figure out what to do about dinner.  Because we are lazy and because they have a gluten free dedicated fryer, we went back to The Shack next door for a fish and seafood fry:  haddock, scallops, and clams with fries, all gluten free.  YUM!  One last troll through the town and it was back to the hotel to play cards and enjoy a bottle of prosecco.

The news has been all about when the hurricane will hit the area and we are looking at a rainy and grey day tomorrow for our last day with some severe weather tomorrow night into Wednesday.  Given that most things around us are closed on Tuesdays, we are considering heading home a day early to avoid the worst of the weather.  We’ll keep you posted!

Numbers for today:

• High temperature: 90 degrees
• Wind speed: 20mph gusting to 25
• Water temperature: 69 (brr!)
• Boogie boards and floaties that were blown down the beach and hit us: 3
• Pages of my book read: 15

One of the most entertaining things about sleeping in a king sized bed is seeing how far apart we are when we wake up.  Today we had at least two pillows between us – which may explain why I slept so well. 😉  Breakfast was part of the package so we made our way out to the lobby to order vegan oatmeal (GF option) and sweet potato and chicken hash. The morning was beautiful and we enjoyed the sunshine on the deck while we were eating.  Then it was time to head out.  We couldn’t leave Mount Desert Island without a visit to Acadia National Park.

Car packed up and top down, we made our way to the crown jewel of the National Park service.  I was reminded of the Longfellow poem I learned in 7th grade (thank you Mr. Heffernan):  This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks. We drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain where we had spectacular views of Bar Harbor and all the smaller islands.  It was breathtaking but I confess that we were less impressed than would have been the case if we hadn’t already seen great views from the top of several other mountains that we had hiked to the top of.  We did make a note that this was a destination we would need to revisit as we didn’t feel the flying visit was sufficient.

Part of the reason for the short stay was Frank’s increasing concern over the angry swelling on my leg where some unidentified insect had bitten/stung me after our hike on Big Moose Mountain on Friday.  While I felt the painful sting, I had no idea what had climbed/flown up my shorts and assumed it was no big deal.  Until the large hot painful welt arose, I didn’t think much of it.  When that welt developed blisters today, that was the last straw – I would seek medical care. Period.

We made our way to a walk in clinic in Ellsworth (outside Bangor) and 90 minutes after my arrival I left with instructions to use higher doses of antihistamines and watch for infection.  While I felt like the stop was unnecessary, I was very cognizant of how lucky I am to have had the ability to be seen without worrying about being able to afford it.

And then we were off again!  We made a quick trip to Augusta to visit the capitol building (part of a plan to take selfies at all state capitols!) and continued toward today’s destination: Old Orchard Beach.  A place I haven’t been since I was in high school, I wanted to have a few days of the stereotypical New England summer vacation.  We stopped for a quick lunch at Five Guys in Waterville before rejoining I-95 and the bane of every convertible driver: lowering clouds.  Although the day started bright and sunny in Bar Harbor, grey skies were now prevalent and the occasional drop on the windshield gave us pause.

But there would be no capitulation! Frank truly believes that if you own a convertible the top should be down ALWAYS barring downpours.  Speeding down the freeway with Thin Lizzy Radio playing on Pandora (we finally get consistent signal!) we outran the worst of the rain arriving at the Beachwood Motel at about 4pm.  This is the quintessential beach motel:  two levels of exterior doors overlooking the pool and just steps from the beach.  Our King Partial View room (we can see the path to the beach) is STUPIDLY expensive but the location is great and the place is immaculately clean.

We unloaded and wandered around to explore and get some groceries (we have a kitchenette) and figure out our plans for the rest of the day.  The skies were still grey although there was no rain so we enjoyed a quiet drink at our little table and chairs outside the room while we watched the kids swim in the pool.  Then we wandered next door to The Shack where we indulged in the stereotypical steamed lobster dinner. A little more wandering about town (the people watching is AMAZING! I think Frank is the only person in this town with no ink! And that may include some of the kids!) and it was time for a nightcap.  Again, we sat outside and watched as the hotel put on a light show: playing music while flashing the lights of different colors somewhat in time with the tunes.  Very entertaining!  I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

Numbers for today:

• Convertibles sighted on the freeway: 3
• Minutes of rain while driving with the top down: 10
• Percent of rides open at the beach: 10%
• Steps taken: 11,419
• Moose sighted: 0

Today as a day of transition as we were leaving Moosehead Lake. We had originally planned to be here for a full 7 days but when I made the reservations, I put in the wrong end date.  So we had one part of the holiday ending on August 1 and the next part starting on August 2 which left us in a lurch for one night.  Our hosts in Rockwood would have been very happy to extend our stay but we were done with the rural life and were ready to move on. After a little online research, I decided that we would head to Bar Harbor at the gates of Acadia National Park – a place I have always wanted to visit.  A little more time on line got us a lovely king bed room at the Inn on Mount Desert just out side of downtown.

The sun was bright and the day promised to be warm – almost taunting us with the promise of a dry day.  We had a breakfast of leftovers – one scrambled egg, 3 pancakes, 1 Skyr, half a pint of blueberries and 2 GF pan au chocolate – and packed up the car.  A short goodbye to our hosts and goodbye to the chance of seeing a moose; we were on the road to the coast by 9:30.  The drive was nothing special except that the weather was glorious and the traffic was light.  We made a quick stop in Bangor to see the largest cargo plane in the world that had randomly landed there last night. Then we got into the line of traffic heading to the island very much like any other coastal location.

We got to the hotel and dropped off the car while they finished cleaning the room.  It was time to hit town for lunch.  Unlike the rest of this trip so far, we were in a walkable town with LOTS of other people.  It was quite a change.  Also unlike the north country, masks were everywhere and explicitly required in most places.  In many places at the lake, masks were requested or strongly encouraged but not required.  In Bar Harbor, there are signs everywhere that say “Wear a mask, don’t make us ask” and the less polite “No mask, no service.” What a difference a day makes! In fact everywhere we went for food or drinks, they took our name and a phone number for contact tracing.

We had a fabulous lunch at the Side Street Cafe where I had a Gluten Free lobster roll (which was amazing!) with a raspberry gimlet.  Frank had a haddock Reuben (which he said works way better than it sounds!) with a blood orange margarita.  All in all an excellent meal!  Then we wandered around town doing all the touristy things we couldn’t do in the rural north. It was urban hiking at it’s finest – more than 12K steps worth!

We finally got checked in to the room and had a shower and some down time before it was time to eat again.  For dinner, it was Geddy’s down on the waterfront.  Nearly everything on their menu was
gluten free – including the fried calamari appetizer. Amazing! Frank had shrimp scampi and will smell like garlic for at least a week!  I had the seafood pie which was outstanding! We wandered across the street to a park where everyone seemed to have gathered to watch the sunset which was very pretty.  A little more walking and it was time for an early bed.  Tomorrow would be another transition day.

Numbers for today:

• Mosquito bites: 3
• Unidentified bites requiring large doses of Benadryl: 1 (it really hurts too!)
• Complements on my silly smiley-face mask: easily a dozen
• Extra bags to fit into the packed trunk: 3
• Moose sighted: 0

Today would not be a day with an early moose hunt – we slept relatively late (which means later than 6:30!) This is to be our last day at Moosehead Lake so we wanted to make the most of it.  There were lots of options but the only one that really appealed to us was to take on one of the tallest heights in the area: Big Moose Mountain. It is the sight of the first mountain based fire tower built in 1905.  (History lesson complete.)

We had our typical fortification – fried egg on toast with sausages – before heading out for the challenge of the week.  This would be the most ambitious hike yet:  only 4.2 miles long but the elevation gain would be more than 1800 feet.  But my hiking motto is “when in doubt, go up!” so off we went.  The first mile or so was pretty tame with only a slight incline and a few rocks.  At about 1.3 miles, there is an abandoned ranger station and then the climbing begins.  It wasn’t like the sheer rock scramble on Mt Kineo on Wednesday, but instead was more like the worlds longest stone stair case.  At times we were convinced that the trail would never end.  But eventually we made it to the top and the views were spectacular.

We took our time on the trek back down – elapsed time 3.5 hours with about 2:45 in actual hiking time.  It was invigorating and humbling at the same time.  We finished about 1:30 so it was lunchtime!  Back into Greenville for more crepes – today was the Roma for me (mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, spinach, and pesto) and the club for Frank (tomatoes, ham, spinach, turkey, russian dressing) – outstanding yet again!  Then we popped into a few shops for the obligatory touristy items that had moose or Moosehead Lake emblazoned on them.  The clouds were looming dark and threatening again so we headed back to the flat to do some laundry and wait out the rain.

Which never materialized.  We got the washing done and played some cards but the clouds brushed past with nary a drop unleashed.  Then back to Kelly’s Landing (really the only decent restaurant in town) for their Friday Fish Fry including GF haddock and sweet potato fries for me!  One last moose stalking trip to sit patiently by the Shirley DOT station at dusk (a rumored favorite of the lumpy brown creatures) but alas we were disappointed again.  The drive home was glorious and we ended the day with wine and ice cream while we packed.

Numbers for today:

• Minutes waiting for moose to appear: 23 (ADD takes it’s toll!)
• Hikers we met on the trail today: 12
• Pieces of fish Frank had on the “all you can eat” fish fry: 4
• Percent of people NOT wearing masks at the restaurant: 50 (so sad)
• Moose sighted: 0

One of the most annoying things in life is waking up earlier than you have to and not being able to get back to sleep.  It is doubly annoying when it happens on vacation!  But sometimes it happens and today was one of those times.  Wide awake at 6:30, Frank announces that it was time to go stalk moose.  {sigh} Okay, sure, why not?

The sky was bright and sunny but the air was chilly but nevertheless the couch on wheels headed west along route 6/15 to an area we had been told was usually good for moose spotting.  For the first time possibly ever, Frank was trolling along at 30mph on a 55mph road watching carefully for large lumpy brown animals.  He did see a small one disappear into the woods so there may have been a sighting but like before, we have no photographic evidence.  So back for breakfast we went.

Fried eggs on toast and a couple of sausages later, we headed out again along the same road.  This time we were bound for Moxie Falls, supposedly one of the hidden gems of the region.  It is probably a pretty short hop as the crow flies but roads are scarce commodities around here so we had to drive for about an hour to reach our destination. It was a short hike to the falls – more like a walk really since several others we saw did it in flip flops – but well worth the time.  The scenery was beautiful.  I can only post the pics from my little portable camera but Frank took plenty on his big new DSLR Canon that he got as an early birthday present.  We’ll definitely post those as soon as he figures out how to get them off the camera…. 😦

We scrabbled around along the bank of the river and found a lovely quiet spot at the water’s edge to just sit and watch the smaller parts of the falls.  For about 5 minutes.  Then a family with 4 small children plopped themselves down right next to us and spread out their towels and blankets while the kids shed layers and prepared to jump into the pool at our feet.  When I got up to go, the mom said (somewhat coyly) “I hope we aren’t kicking you out.”  There is no polite way to honestly respond to such a disingenuous comment so I made no response.  It’s funny because in general I have found people to be very polite and almost hesitant to take liberties given the current pandemic.  Case in point:  the family yesterday atop Mt. Kineo who were happy to let me take as long as I needed on the fire tower before they ascended so as not to crowd me.  Today was nothing like that.  Not enough to spoil the day but it did take the glow off just a bit.

It was time to find our midday repast so back towards Greenville we went.  The route was more direct but involved lots of unpaved roads and bumps and dust. We managed to come out unscathed and found a parking spot in the middle of town right in front of the crepe truck – lunch was at hand!  The crepes were fantastic – Frank had something spicy with cheese and jalapenos.  My was GF and dairy free with turkey, brie, walnuts, and raspberry jam.  Yummy!  A quick pop into the outdoor gear shop to get Frank a hat to save his forehead and nose from the sun and we were ready to take on the next challenge:  a short hike to see the wreckage of a B52 bomber that crashed in 1963.

This would normally be where I wax historically about the story behind the memorial we hiked to except for the part where we didn’t get there.  The logging company that now owns the land with the access road to the trailhead had closed the road.  So no second hike for us today. Hmmmm, what to do on a sunny summer afternoon?  Time for a swim!

We headed back to the flat for a quick change and then found the same spot of grass at the edge of the lake next to the same folks we saw there yesterday.  It’s funny but we are finding ourselves running into the same people over and over.  Today at Moxie Falls, we chatted with an older couple who hiked Kineo at the same time we did yesterday.  At the public beach we ran into a mom and her small boys who had been seated near us at Kelly’s Landing the previous evening.  It was no surprise that we saw the same people swimming at the same place today since they told us that they are there every day.  But they were pleasant enough to not complain when we sat down nearby (we asked first BTW) and we wound up having very pleasant, socially distant conversations with them over the course of the afternoon.  Then the skies darkened and the “scattered thunderstorms” we had been promised decided to arrive.

Tonight was a very quiet night with a gourmet dinner of frozen pizza and beer (GF Freschetta is very good BTW!)  One last moose search at dusk – just in case but no joy – and it was time to enjoy that last glass of wine and some local sea salt caramel ice cream before turning in.

Numbers for today:

• Road work areas involving flaggers: 4
• Miles of unpaved road traveled: 35
• Number of leaks discovered in cooling system: 1 (small)
• Miles hiked: 1.5ish
• Hikers on trail with us: 20,000 (okay more like 20 but too many)
• Cool waterfalls: 1
• Moose spotted: 1 maybe?

We awoke relatively late to a beautifully sunny and clear sky.  Today’s plan was to ferry over to Mt Kineo (small island in the middle of the lake) and hike to the top. The shuttle boat leaves every hour on the hour so we had planned to take the 10am shuttle which gave us plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast.  On the menu today:  fresh berries, Skyr and GF granola.  Plus some bonus pan au chocolate (GF of course – when you find a new Shar’s product you just gotta try it.  Verdict:  yummy!)

Because we are staying 5 minutes from the boat dock, there was far less preparation necessary for today’s departure.  We only had to dress for the hike and grab the bare necessities since we could easily return to the flat after the hike.  We got there in plenty of time and joined other hikers, and a few golfers, for the 10 minute trip.

Half of island is private property with houses and a golf course and half is a state park with a mountain that peaks at about 1800 feet.  The total height is a tad shy of the 2100 feet for Little Moose Mountain from Monday’s hike but the vertical climb is steeper: 905 feet basically straight up.  Or at least that’s how it felt.  Which meant that I was in heaven – when you have the choice, go up!  We chose to climb the Indian trail on the way up as it was shorter but steeper. (Note to self:  when choosing a trail where a significant portion is scrabbling up sheer rock, your hiking poles are pointless. ) The views along this trail are amazing so it seems a little anticlimactic when you get to the summit and you can’t see anything for the trees.  But there is a fire tower – it’s only 60 feet up old steel slatted stairs to a small wooden observation deck.  You are correct:  Frank didn’t make it.  His vertigo was having none of it.  Even I had a bit of a hard time and I’m not afraid of heights!  The view was outstanding – the photos don’t do it justice.  And there aren’t enough of them because the camera ran out of memory right as I started taking pictures and I didn’t want to spend more time at the top than necessary.  Fellow hikers we had been passing intermittently on the climb up had arrived and they were being kind enough to give me my space so I didn’t want to take too much time. (There would be NO chance for social distancing on this platform!)

So back down I went and we headed back toward the lake shore along the Bridal Path which is much less steep and rocky (my knees were grateful!).  We arrived in time for a quick stop at the bathroom in the golf clubhouse before catching the shuttle boat back to the shore. We headed home for lunch – great use for leftovers! – and they proceeded to change into swimwear and went in search of a great place to swim.

We hit several public “beaches” and by that they mean a bumpy area where water laps in a way conducive to walking into the lake.  None of them were quite our speed (too much flotsam or jetsam collecting nearby – my OCD was having none of that!) so we soldiered on and found ourselves back to the dock area where we got the shuttle earlier.  Across from the boat launch was a lovely grassy area with a pebble entry to a pretty deep part of the lake.  A circle of women chatting over their Corona seltzers while their kids swam was our sign to investigate.  The water was cool and clean and the swim was absolutely fabulous – just what the doctor ordered after a strenuous and sweaty morning.

Then it was time to shower and head out for dinner.  We chose a restaurant in Monson that we had driven by several time yesterday but didn’t realize that they were good for GF options.  By the time we got south of Greenville, the puffy clouds had turned ominous and we got the top up on the convertible just before the torrential downpour began.  We sat in the restaurant watching the rain come down while enjoying soup (Frank says it was the best French onion soup he’s ever had) and sandwiches (a GF reuben for me please – delish!).

The skies cleared just as we left and headed north to do our daily moose stalking.  It was a bit later than was ideal and things were getting pretty dark by the time we got to a stretch of road where a sighting would be likely. As I fiddled with my phone trying to find some music that we hadn’t heard a dozen times already (cell service is pretty spotty here), Frank quietly said “that was a moose”.  WHAT?  Where?  Turn around!  We found a place to turn around on the dark two lane road and head back to where he saw the dark shape with eyes that “looked right at” him.  But alas, on our return we could find no moose.  Our hosts did confirm that the area of road where we thing the sighting occurred is frequented by a young female so that seems to support Frank’s assertion.  But we have no photographic evidence so the hunt will continue tomorrow!

Some interesting numbers for today:

• Number of people on the ferry: 19 (each way – weird)
• Number of people without required mask on ferry: 1 on return
• Miles hiked: about 4
• Incline: 905 feet over 1/2 mile
• Hikers on the trail today: 14
• Time engaged in friendly conversation with hosts: 30 minutes
• Moose sightings: 1 maybe?