Day Nine – A Foggy Day in Camden Town!

June 29, 2016 – It had to come some time!

Our final breakfast at the Comfort Inn and it includes cheese omelets and sausage patties along with all the other goodies.  We spent a lot of last evening repacking all our belongings AND the gifts we’ve bought along the way and now it’s time to put the FOUR suitcases in the car, along with our backpacks and the cooler and assorted miscellany.  Note – one of my suitcases is empty and will probably not come home with me!

It’s been raining off and on all morning, so we stage all the luggage on the covered porch;  but the rain quits long enough for us to load up without dodging the raindrops!  We’re off to see three lighthouses on our way to Bar Harbor, if the weather permits.

 It’s an hour and a half to the first one, Marshall Point Light House.  We pass through some little Maine towns and a lot of rain and drizzle but, amazingly, when we get to the light the rain has stopped!  There is a group of fourteen people on a mission trip who are enjoying Maine’s sights on their one free day and they are the only other people we see.  It would have been nice to have blue skies for this lovely light house;  but the haze makes an interesting effect, too, and it’s what we’ve got, so we work with it!

The second stop if Owl’s Head and is only a half hour down the road.  It is also a Coast Guard station, so we have to park and walk.  That sounded ominous until we turned the corner and there it was! It isn’t very tall and we couldn’t get inside this one, either, but that’s okay.  There is a gift shop and the proceeds all go to help maintain the state’s fifty-seven light houses.  The volunteer is another teacher!  That’s all we’ve met on this trip!  Every teacher seems to need a summer job or activity!  

St, George and the Dragon at the St. George Fire Department

 There is a small display of tourist information and we notice that there’s a winery nearby.  Onward!!  Our trusty Waze lady takes us straight to Breakwater Vineyards, named for the next light on our agenda.  We do the tasting and a little shopping.  One of their labels shows a lady and two dogs.  The lady is Jean, the owner, and the dogs are India, who is usually on the premises, and Sammy, her boyfriend! Another shows them at the beach.  We each taste four wines, and, of course, each others!  I have the Rose  Rugosa, Bees Knees Mead, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Marilyn tries the semi-dry reisling, Something Sweet, Black Cap Cider and the dry riesling.  We also learn that there is something called Vinoshipper.com through which you can order on line!

Time to give the last light a shot.  It is called Rockland Breakwater Light House and when we get there it is drizzling.  We decide to sit in the car and have lunch.  It’s about three thirty and breakfast was at eight, so we’re pretty starved!  We’ve got hummus and carrots and red peppers and Irish Gold Dubliner cheese, so we won’t be deprived!  And there are still cashews and almonds and raisins, if need be! 

About the time we’ve finished, the rain clears up again and we’re off.  The light is a mile away, down a breakwater (probably could have guessed that!) and on a clear day you can probably see it.  Today – not so much.  In fact, today – not at all!  There are people who are doing the walk; but they say you really can hardly see it at all until you’re nearly on it.  We’re not doing that.  It’s late and we’ve still got another hour and a half of driving (or riding in my case!) before we get to Bar Harbor.  It is both challenging and frustrating to try to do something creative through the ever-thickening fog.  But it’s fun, too!

 Now it’s just driving.  We go through Rockland and Rockport and Camden and lots of other little towns and finally make it to the Wonder View Inn.  Our room is in the building on the top of the hill and we can see the water (right now it’s just grayness – but it will be water in the morning!)  And there are two king-sized beds and a ton of room.  Life is good! Oh!  And we have our own balcony on which to sit with coffee and watch sunrise over the ocean!

 We walk right next door to the Looking Glass Restaurant, which is part of the huge campus, and have dinner.  Marilyn has chicken piccata, which looks divine. I have the black pepper beef tips with gnocci, roasted tomatoes and crispy onions.  What a treat!  They even bring me GF bread for the garlic-infused olive oil. The restaurant has a fabulous view of the water and when the fog lifts we'll be taking advantage of their porch! The wait staff is adorable!  The busboy is forever filling our water glasses and chatting and our waitress comes running after us to return Marilyn's credit card!

Back to the manse to settle in, plan tomorrow, blog and crash!!!  Long day!