Travel Log: Day 10

Today we got up and drove down toward Bar Harbor to spend the day at Acadia National Park.  On the way into the park there were several seafood places steaming their lobsters right on the side of the road.  Oh, it smelled so good.  So we stopped and got some lunch "to go."  (I ate crab legs in the car-a first for me)

 We stopped at the visitor's center on our way in and I spotted a man in a bright orange Tennessee shirt.  I walked up beside him and gave him a big War Eagle.  He just smiled, but his wife piped in, "Hey, I"m an Auburn fan."  Turns out they were actually from Alabama (Springville) and their daughter is in the band at Auburn.  It was so nice to run into some "home" folks.  Anyway, we bought the audio driving tour of Acadia and began our journey. 

Frenchman Bay

 Beaver Pond (yes, made by beavers)

 Here's their dam to prove it.

 Egg Island (don't ya know that light house keeper got bored!)

 Did you know that the definition of "cottage" is simply a summer home?  It has nothing to do with size.  Here's an example of a private cottage in Acadia.

 another "cottage"

 See all those little specks in the water?  Those are the lobster traps.  Millions of them!  How do the fishermen tell their buoys apart?  They paint them in distinctive patters.

 We found a beach in Acadia.  It was a beautiful day.

 Some local show was even filming. 

 Andrew found a friend to chase.

 He was so excited to find a beach that he didn't want to leave.

 I found a photogenic bird admiring the view.

 Back in the day, one of the Presidents (can't remember who right now...maybe you could find out if you clicked the Acadia link at the beginning of this post) wanted to keep cars out of the park, so he built a ton of carriage roads and carriage houses for the carriage drivers.  This was one of those houses.  However, in the end, progress won out and cars are allowed in the park.  This carriage house is now a private residence.

 We drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain to see some pretty stunning 360 degrees views of the island. 

 I wanted to have my picture made with Andrew, but he didn't cooperate.  This is me waiting for him.

 He finally agreed on a picture so long as he sat right there and we stood in front of him blocking the sun from his eyes.  When did he get so picky? :)

 Mom and Dad squinting in the sun.  Notice Mom's shirt:  I "lobster" Maine!

 I love this picture because it looks like Andrew and Paw-Paw are standing on the edge of the world.  Don't worry, they're not.  It just looks really dangerous.

 We tried to make it back to the cabin before sunset because I hear the sunset views on the lake are amazing, but we missed it by about 20 minutes.  Bummer.  Oh well, we spent the rest of the night toasting marshmallows, making smores, and enjoying a movie.