Maine 2015
  
 

Day 04

July 30

  
   
  Today Charlie wants to take a ride up to Acadia National Park. So I'm up and uncover Frost so she is ready for the go.  
   
  Soon we're off and headed that way, hoping we'll encounter a good breakfast place along the way.  
   
  It seems we are never far from the water any direction we head, which is fine with me.  
   
  After some serious 'look arounds', the breakfast options look pretty scarce. I've come to the conclusion that folks up here like them 'foo foo' breakfasts of pastries and such. Looks like Dunkin' Donuts is about our only option, so in we go.  
   
  As it turns out, they have some pretty tasty breakfast sandwiches with pork and poultry products on them, so I get a good portion of the nourishment I need. And a Boston Creme chocolate covered donut helps assuage my misery somewhat. With breakfast dealt with, we're back at with enough sugar ingested to push us right along through the beautiful scenery.  
   
  As we get closer to the park and Bar Harbor, the traffic starts to bunch up a little bit.  
   
  We pass another beautiful ocean view just before we find the park entrance.  
   
  Soon we're there and make a quick turn in.  
   
  The views are quite nice as we ascend up Cadillac Mountain.  
   
  Once we're on top and get parked, a nice lady rider offers to test my camera for the second time. I make a mental note that this must be a really good camera so I believe I'll hang onto it - as long as it doesn't file a lawsuit against me concerning cruel and unusual punishment.  
   
  The mountain top itself reminds me a little bit of Stones Mountain in Georgia with all the bare rock places.  
   
  It does afford some pretty nice views of the surrounding countryside.  
   
  We decide that we'll follow the park loop road next and see just where it takes us and what we can see.  
   
  There are some more great elevation shots along the way, but that's about it. When we stop for a minute, I plug in the cabin destination and see how Dave, my GPS, wants to get us back.  
   
  He takes us along a lovely route and under this very interesting bridge.  
   
  Before we know it, we are at the very threshold of Bar Harbor - properly pronounce 'Baa Habaar'. But we decide to avoid it and head back toward the house.  
   
  There is a nice harbor right on the very edge that seems to get plenty of use.  
   
  Fali had noticed an interesting restaurant on the way, so we decide we'll give it a try for lunch. Somehow lobster and BBQ seem like a strange marriage, but it works for us.  
   
  It's a plain and simple place but the smells emanating from it tells our stomachs that they are about to be stretched.  
   
  Nothing fancy about the kitchen area, but fancy usually just means a higher price for the ambiance. And I've never tasted an ambiance that had much flavor.  
   
  I go for the chowder and this one is the good stuff.  
   
  I'm not particularly a fan of lobster, but I figure I'll give the lobster roll a whirl and I am not disappointed.  
   
  Fali decides he'd go for the full tilt boogie, and away he goes. It's pretty sad to see the violence he uses to attack this poor, innocent creature.  
   
 

We all manage to decimate the feast before us but decide the pre-load on our suspensions will not endure any dessert. However, Charlie does persuade our server to bring a small sampling of their BBQ. As we say back home -

"It was pretty larruping."

  
   
  We also passed a Wal-Mart on our way up and decide a stop is in order. We all need a few items and decide we'll pitch in together and get some breakfast stuff that suits our liking. Since the cabin has a full kitchen, we can do to suit ourselves.  
   
  On the way back in, we come up on this interesting contraption. I figure I might could whiz under it, but I decide on further consideration that discretion is the better part of valor.  
   
  Della and Randy have graciously offered 'shuttle service' to and from the cabin, so I bed down Frost for the evening. This free food and chauffeur service makes me think that I could do right well as a rich kid.  
   
  When we arrive, Randy already has a great fire blazing. There's just something about a good fire on an inlet overlook, good friends and good food to make an enjoyable evening even more enjoyable.  
   
  With the fog coming in, the fire helps take the chill out of it a bit. The dark descends like a comfortable blanket and I find my eyelids following the sun down. When the next 'shuttle' is being made up, I decide I'll head back to the cabin on it.  
   
  I have a theory about doing a lot of riding - I call it 'accumulative fatigue'. If you've covered a lot distance or had a lot of saddle time, you get to certain stage of fatigue and you can sense it. I'm there so it doesn't take me long to collapse in a comatose pile of pajamas once I'm back in the cabin.