June 27 – July 1, 2017

We crossed over into Maine on the 27^th.

I used my awesome Passport America phone app and found a campground in Phippsburg that had availability for three nights at the discounted rate.

Meadowbrook Campground had good reviews but our decision to stay there had more to do with the fact that they serve lobster dinners at a reasonable price.

We were assigned site 16a but when we arrived at the site we saw there was a tree that would hinder receiving satellite reception.  I called the office and was given permission to move down a few slots to 16d because it was wide open. 

Knowing we were only going to be in the area for three days had us on a whirlwind of exploration beginning with the Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth. 

Portland Head Light, at the directive of George Washington, was built in 1791. 

Owned and Maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, the head light is still being used as an aid to navigation.

 

We had lunch at The Lobster Shack at the end of Two Lights Road.  The restaurant has been a local landmark since the 1920s. 

The lobster was very expensive so Monte went with a bowl of clam chowder and I ordered a hotdog. 

The clam chowder was more like a broth so Monte didn’t really care for it.  We ended the meal by sharing a very generous slice of rhubarb pie. 

It and the views of the coast were excellent.

Freeport is a shopping mecca.  One of the most visited retailers is the flagship store of L.L. Bean. 

The company that specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment was founded in 1912.

 

Boothbay Harbor is a yachting and tourist destination. 

 

 

 

 

We visited the town at the tail end of Windjammer Days, a week full of events celebrating large sailing ships.

There was only one windjammer ship remaining in the harbor.  The Heritage, built in 1983, was designed and built by the captains and owners, Doug and Linda Lee.

As it was attempting to leave the port during low tide, The Heritage got stuck on a sandbar.  A member of the crew used a small boat to push against the sailboat in a back and forth motion that eventually allowed the Heritage to break free of the sandbar. 

As we strolled through the town we encountered the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey in dry dock.  The ship, built in 1894, is the official vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

 It is in Boothbay undergoing repairs.  In the 1940s the Ernestina made 20 Arctic voyages to document the frozen north’s flora and fauna.  It came within 578 miles of the North Pole-the farthest north that any sailing vessel has ever reached.

We couldn’t resist buying a couple of Whoopie pies before leaving town.

Popham Beach is a state park in Phippsburg. 

The entrance fee is $8.00 for adult non residents but we were pleasantly surprised when we were informed there was no fee for seniors.  Being an old fart has some advantages. 

The walk to the water was quite a distance and it was very chilly so our stay at the beach was short.

That evening, Monte chose the lobster we would have cooked from the tank located in the office at Meadowbrook Campground.  The lobster weighed in at just almost three pounds at a cost of $8.75 per pound. 

Monte also had a cup of clam chowder that he really enjoyed. 

We rounded out the meal with an ear of corn for him and a baked potato for me for a total of $38.28. 

The campground offers the lobster live if you chose to cook it yourself.  We opted to have it cooked and eat it in the small dining area off the office.  They also provide a block of wood and a mallet to assist in cracking the shell.

It was well worth the work it takes. 

Our reservations to stay at Schoodic Woods Campground in Acadia National Park weren’t until July 2 so we needed a place to stay for two days.  I found a campground just 11 miles from Schoodic Woods that had availability for the two nights we needed but not at the Passport America discounted price because the days we wanted to stay were part of a holiday weekend. 

The campground does not accept credit cards so I had to mail a check with a deposit.  I had included my email in the envelope so I could receive a confirmation they had received the check.

The 165 mile trip to Mountainview Campground in Sullivan, Maine was uneventful.  The main part of the campground is situated on the waterfront on Flanders Bay.  But our site was one of a few sites along the office near the highway on Route 1, the main road between the town of Ellsworth and Winter Harbor.  Ellsworth is the closest town to Acadia National Park that has a Wal-Mart and other supermarkets so Route 1 is quite busy with traffic.  But we discovered that by the time we were ready to go to sleep, we could hardly hear any traffic.

We took a walk down to the waterfront to check out the main part of the campground and to take showers in the bathhouse.

Early the next morning there was a knock on our door.  It was a fellow worker from our workcamping stint at Little Manatee River State Park in Florida.  Armon is currently workcamper at Cobscook Bay State Park. 

Being that we were so close to Schoodic Woods we decided to take a ride there to check out the campsite we had reserved. 

We also took a ride down to Schoodic Point.

  The park is beautiful and we are looking forward to two full weeks of exploration and relaxation.